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For earlier materials see Table of Contents

July 14th

We See

SQCRD and flowers

How much do Taxpayers pay to maintain all those flowers etc?

When Rupert saw itself as a tourist/ cruise ship destination this might have made sense ( ¢¢¢¢ )--- but now needs re-evaluation

 

·         How much $$ for watering flowers etc

·         Boondoggle: SQCRD cell phone policy cost Rupert $$

·         Sockeye fishery etc—good year?

·         Hays Creek sewer and run-off

·         Revitalization boondoggle

 

 

We even have a special truck to come around and water them

Never mind that it had rained the day before ---- For Rupert taxpayers to monitor this we would have to have some idea of the amount of taxes given to this item --- but present administration gives such high level ‘accounts’ when budget passed it would be impossible for a mere taxpayer to guess – and probably even Council given Rodin/ Howie record on managers pay etc

 

 

I had to FOI the Chair’s Cellphone bills etc – see here and links

SQCRD – it is only taxpayers’ $$$

I was recently given this by SQCRD in response to my question about the Chair’s cell phone and why it was not charged as a taxable benefit when not used for SQCRD business (see my earlier where I asked for cellphone records and most was blanked out--- presumably because personal etc)

While there is a certain smugness to the answer it is patently wrong – see the CRA site where

 If you provide your employee with a cellular phone or other handheld communication device to help carry out his or her duties, the business use is not a taxable benefit.

If part of the phone use is personal, you have to include the value of the personal use in your employee's income as a taxable benefit.

As both the CAO and the Supt of Waste Management also get free cell phones – I expect the SQCRD does not monitor their use either --- another freebie on PR taxpayers

For origin of this item see my earlie

r

 

 

Sockeye salmon run looking better

As I worried earlier – the Skeena sockeye run only marginally fishable yet a gillnet opening on 12th (see image below) --- subsequently the run seems to be strengthening at Tyee test fishery

The Northern View has an excellent article online about the recent awarding of Skeena and Nass with MSC certification – though latter may not seem justified – there is a 5 year period where DFO has to meet 19 conditions dealing with overfishing of smaller non-Babine runs etc

 

From online Skeena Fisheries blog – up-river watch dog

 

Alaska Salmon

Pebble Mine permits taken to court by first nation – threat to Bristol bay sockeye etc

 

Court agrees to hear 1st Nations lawsuit against huge copper gold Pebble Mine which threatens Bristol Bay sockeye run etc

 

NRDC gives reason Alaskan Pebble copper is a very large mine in a very bad place --- many these reasons apply to Fish Lake in BC too

Here are other relevant newspaper articles on fishery etc

In BC the Fraser R Cohen Commission delayed – flooded with paperwork to review

 

Province articles on Fraser Run which looking very good as did the Columbia R etc

 

 

See my earlier on Hays Sewer line

How protected will Hays Creek be?

Getting the Sewer lines out of Hays Creek

But there is still the ‘street’ runoff etc that drains into Hays and other local streams ---below is from the Motel above Hays creek at McBride where runoff from fill presumably cause of the coloring

 

Below is where the runoff from the upper right goes -

 

Below is presumably the leachate from old dump site --- arrow points to incoming pipe and the discoloured rocks etc in stream bed (leachate from old dump?? 

 

 

What are the objectives of ‘Revitalization’ bill presently before Council??

Revitalization Boondoggle

At left is a closing movie store outlet in a building that Gordon-Payne recently asked to have remodelled with a roof top penthouse --- will that qualify for ‘revitalization’? At first it was intended for upgrading facades etc downtown – it was later extended to Cow Bay and any other commercial property – this was done without explanation,  thus I must assume it was discussed in-camera and the public motion to extend was a mere formality etc

 

Tools used to detect underground pipes by city crews – More later

 

 

 

More on street art later

 

 

 

Created by LG on 14/7/2010

Last updated on Wednesday, July 14, 2010