What do wildfires, a rail trail, First Nation Engagement, housing, resources and service have in common?

They are some of the matters Columbia Shuswap Regional District Chief Administrative Officer John MacLean has been involved in this year.

At the Sept. 12 board meeting in Salmon Arm, MacLean provided directors with an outline of his work over the past two to three months.

Reorganization of the CSRD staff team has been accomplished, with the establishment of four divisions, each led by a general manager. 

MacLean continues to provide support to staff involved in recovery from the 2023 wildfires.

含羞草研究社淭his has included the response to the changing geotechnical environment due to the fires and our policy/regulatory approach,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淚 have worked with our teams as they have engaged with the province on mitigation efforts as well as provincial regulatory activity in areas like the riparian area regulation. 

MacLean has also continued to work with staff engaged in the restoration of essential infrastructure such as the Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Firehall. 

The Emergency Operations Centre was activated this summer in the Shuswap, with the Hullcar Mountain wildfire in Electoral Area D.  

 The Revelstoke and Area B Team, managed by the City of Revelstoke responded to fires in the Trout Lake and Shelter Bay areas, and the Golden and Area A Team, managed by the Town of Golden, responded to the Dogtooth FSR Fire. 

含羞草研究社淭he Protective Services Team was fully engaged in the Shuswap response as well as supporting our colleagues to the east,含羞草研究社� wrote MacLean, pointing out he assisted Area D Director Dean Trumbley by providing community outreach at the Silver Creek Community Hall during the Hullcar Mountain response.

Together with Chair Flynn and the Protective Services Team, MacLean met with Emergency Management/Climate Readiness Minister Bowinn Ma and ministry reps to discuss the 2023 fires, the challenges and opportunities CSRD sees and changes to the Emergency Management Act. 

MacLean describes his participation in the Rail Trail Project as extensive, including meetings with partners and stakeholder communities. 

含羞草研究社淭he project is proceeding with both the CSRD and NORD completing sections of the trail in Sicamous, Enderby and Armstrong, with the support of already approved Active Transportation Grants,含羞草研究社� he noted. 含羞草研究社淭he focus is currently on supporting Splatsin as they finalize their Active Transportation Grant with the federal government to complete the project. 

MacLean mentioned the First Nation Engagement project that was introduced to the board at the Sept. 12 meeting. The detailed report was accepted as information and will be brought back to the October board meeting to allow for discussion and questions.

MacLean continues to engage in discussions with the City of Revelstoke, Town of Golden and District of Sicamous on various joint initiatives or services. 

While he is engaged in all services provided by CSRD, three initiatives have been the focus of a bit more attention: collaboration with other regional districts on the development of a joint position on emergency management, response and recovery, discussions around all aspects of economic development and working with directors on initiatives or projects that are of interest. 

Looking ahead in the short term, MacLean will be actively involved in financial planning for the 2025-2029 Financial Plan, which will begin with a 含羞草研究社渉igh-level含羞草研究社� budget meeting in October.  

Also on his to-do list is  respect in the workplace and Indigenous cultural awareness training with the board and staff and maintaining 含羞草研究社渟ituational awareness around matching service expectations with resource availability.含羞草研究社� 

Another area of ongoing concern is the incredible amount of attention being placed on housing availability and affordability and the CSRD含羞草研究社檚 role in facilitating and regulating this area.

In response to Area C Director Marty Gibbons' question about strategic planning, MacLean noted that the board does need to have conversations around the issue, but pointed out that strategic plans for municipalities are very different from those for regional districts.

He noted that strategic planning is difficult for regional districts because of the organizational structure in which both municipalities and electoral areas provide services. But he agreed that the board does need to have conversations about what the organization looks like, what it values and what it considers to be important.

含羞草研究社淚 do want to try and avoid a process where we end up having a strategic plan looking a lot like every other strategic plan in the province in regional districts,含羞草研究社� he said. 含羞草研究社淭hey get very heavy on the motherhood statements about protecting the environment and being good stewards of the taxpayer dollars, which are all important values but it含羞草研究社檚 been my experience that it is difficult to drive down to getting full board support behind projects and initiatives.含羞草研究社�

Board Chair Kevin Flynn, was absent from the August board meeting where directors asked for regular reports from the CAO and chair, agreed to provide regular reports on his activities as chair. He advised directors that they can expect reports at every board meeting 含羞草研究社� one month from him and the next from the CAO.