BAMFIELD COMMUNITY AFFAIRS SOCIETY

General Meeting Unofficial Minutes

 Monday, 19 January 2026 at 18.30pm
via Zoom - hosted by Jamie Willock

Attendees (22): James Willock (Chair), Julie Bradley, John and Sheryl Mass, Susan Derasp, Stella Wenstob, Bob Beckett, Stacy Denton, Amy McConnell, Alison Bird, Birgit Gagne, Kurt Krantz, Barry Sills, Christine Jackson, Danni Burgi, Jerry Gassner, Laura Bradley, Betty Beyko, Greg Willmon, Kevin McAughtrie, Dan Zayonc, Jan Teversham, Amaya Black, Piyush Pushkarna

Guests: Calum Mathews, Kacia Tolsma, Genevieve Huneault, Darcie Guarderas

Regrets: Tom Jensen

Acknowledgement of Indigenous Lands: The BCAS acknowledges that the land on which we meet is within the Traditional territory of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations where indigenous peoples have lived since time immemorial.

The meeting was called to order at 18.30

ACRD DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Bob Beckett

#1. Fisheries and Oceans Canada sports fishing regulations

The uncertainty regarding salmon regulations/restriction and the subsequent negative impact on our Westcoast communities is of a real concern for sport fishers, area lodges and other businesses who depend on sportfishing for their livelihood.

I have spoken to our MP Gord Johns regarding our concerns, and I know that Gord has been in contact with Federal Minister Joanne Thompson regarding our collective concerns. While this is a federal matter, I still reached out to Provincial Minster Parmar and Osborne asking them to share their perspective on the issue and asked them to advocate for our communities considering the economic impact on our region.

#2. Congratulations Dan Zayonc

I would like to congratulate Dan Zayonc on his promotion to Fire Chief, and I would like to thank and acknowledge Phil Lavoie for his approximate 15 years of dedicated service, the last 9 years as Fire Chief. Phil tells me he is staying on for a while to assist Dan in the transition. Thank you both for your commitment to the department and community.

#3. Annual ACRD Budget

The ACRD staff and board are busy working on the regional and electoral area budgets. Teri Fong our ACRD CFO will be presenting a proposed budget to the community at the February BCAS meeting.

#4. Mount Underwood Fire Critique

The ACRD recently conducted a critique of the joint ACRD Emergency Operations Center efforts during the Mount Underwood fire. An outside firm was brought in to conduct the evaluation in an effort to determine lessons learned, including what went well and what can be improved upon. This public report will be presented to the board in February, followed up by a presentation in person to our community likely in March.  This will be another opportunity for the community to provide our feedback regarding the incident.

#5. Hacas Inn hooks up to HFN sewer line

I wanted to acknowledge and recognize that the Hacas Inn has connected their sewer line to their sewage disposal plant eliminating the motel’s effluent going directly into the harbor.  

Question:

Greg asked whether there was any news about divestiture of the West Dock. Bob said he would get back to him later and would ask the CAO of the ACRD to speak to the issue at the February meeting. He added that there would be opportunities but they could come with liabilities. Another Vancouver island community has asked Gord Johns M.P. for assistance as the process is complex and can lead to small communities perhaps regretting their actions.

Chequing          $12,609.37

Savings              $28,363.09

Member Equity         $5.21

Total Assets     $ 40,977.67

PRESENTATION – 4 V1 (Forever) Strategies for HFN: Calum Mathews

Calum was introduced by Pyiush Pushkarna, the Economic Development Manager for HFN. Calum said the whole process they are undertaking is to implement increased tourism thoughtfully so as to protect what is special about the community. They are at the early exploratory phase and community input is encouraged/sought at the event at the Bamfield School on January 26 from 4-6.30. An RSVP is required for this.

The presentation- sent with the minutes - describes how the proposed Destination Management Organisation (DMO) would work and how the introduction of the Municipal and Regional District Tax would benefit any development of the tourism sector in Bamfield and Huu-ay-aht Traditional Lands.

Comments/Questions:

Who would hold the funding garnered from the Municipal and Regional District Tax? DMO and business owners would decide on the activities to be funded.

Great idea to extend the season by a week or so on either end. The shoulder season would be best to focus on as there is available space on the Francis Barkley and at the lodges.

Is there a possibility of funding parking in East Bamfield? Yes, but so far the requests to the Ministry of Finance have been refused.

What’s the structure of a DMO? There are two models 1. Local government or 2. A not for profit structure such as a registered society as Ucluelet, Hornby  and the Cowichan valley have created.

NEW BUSINESS

GIA Request- Amaya Black

Amaya requested $1500 to assist the new editors of the New Bamfielder to produce and distribute the newspaper. They took over from Louis and Rae when they left Bamfield and want to continue to inform and entertain the community with reports on local news, events, arts, etc. The details of the request are in the attached application for funding.

Amaya added that the team is looking for contributions of articles from community members.

Jamie said the Board would meet in the next week or so to discuss the request and then Jan will be in touch.

COMMUNITY REPORTS

Bamfield Centennial Park - Sheryl Mass

• The lease area has finally been successfully increased so that all the current floats at Grappler are now within the lease area. The new lease should be good for 30 years.
• The three directors will stay on for another 3 years but there is no chair. Two more positions are available. Other Board members are Andrea Butler and Daniel Zayonc.
• Jody Ann Thompson will run the park again this coming summer.
• One 40 foot float needs to be replaced this summer.
• Safety ladders at the dock are now in place as per regulations at a cost of $7,000.

Bamfield Fire Dept. – Daniel Zayonc

• Dan- now the new Fire Chief- thanked Phil Lavoie for all his work over the past years and commented on his diverse background in IT/teaching/nursing.
• There are 24 active members of the volunteer fire department.
• Dan wants to breathe life into the fire hall and use it more.
• Open burning is over on March 1^st but the venting index should always be checked before burning.

Bamfield Huu ay aht Community Forest- Amy McConnell

• A salvage harvesting operation has been completed on either side of the Life Saving Trail from Binnacle Road. Logs were taken from 15 metres on either side of the trail for the first 450 metres. This was before the trail upgrade that HFN will be doing to make a more accessible track.

Bamfield Community School- Julie Bradley

• The school continues with 34 students. The year started with 44 but some families moved away.
• Because of the reduction in student numbers the school now has two divisions rather than the previous three. This meant one teaching position was lost but one teacher is on maternity leave so  a replacement was not hired. The divisions are K-6 and 7-12. Hopefully the numbers will increase for next year.
• Julie encouraged parents of children new to the school (e.g., kindergarteners) to enroll early (March?) as this will ensure numbers are higher and a third division teacher will be hired for next year.
• The location for the generator is being surveyed and the installation of the generator should be completed by 31 March. This will mean school can continue during power outages.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on Tuesday 17 February 2026. (Monday 16 is Family Day)

Meeting Adjourned at 19.38