BAMFIELD COMMUNITY AFFAIRS SOCIETY

General Meeting Unofficial Minutes

 Tuesday 17 February 2026 at 18.30pm
via Zoom - hosted by Jamie Willock

Attendees (16): James Willock (Chair), Julie Bradley, John and Sheryl Mass, Susan Derasp, Bob Beckett, Tom Jensen, Stacy Denton, Laura Bradley, Betty Beyko, Dan Zayonc, Jan Teversham, Bob and Robin Schmitt, Max Salamon, Ben West

Guests Teri Fong CFO, Daniel Sailland CAO,  ACRD

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 18.31

ACRD DIRECTOR’S REPORT: Bob Beckett

2026 General Elections 

On October 17, all BC municipalities and regional governments will be holding elections for municipal councils and regional governments. The election is approximately 8 months away, and now is the time to get the word out and see who is interested in representing our community at the ACRD. We have some amazing, capable folks in our community and it is in our best interest to attract several potential candidates for this fall’s election. I will make myself available to meet with anyone who has an interest, sharing my perspective on the role’s importance, responsibilities, time commitments etc.

Question: Jamie asked if Bob was going to run again and Bob replied that it was not his intention as he will have completed two terms for a total of 8 years and it had been an honour to do so.

Chequing          $12,609.37

Savings              $28,375.13

Member Equity         $5.21

Total Assets     $ 40,989.71

PRESENTATION ACRD Draft Financial Plan 2026-2030 Teri Fong and Daniel Sailland.

A slide presentation was given to present the budget for the coming 5 years. This will be sent with the minutes.

Discussions

1. Future of the landfill site  The current landfill lease has a 5-year extension but lacks a long-term tenure. It is situated adjacent to a First Nations community which is not at all ideal. Daniel said efforts to explore alternative sites, improve employment opportunities, and enhance testing standards are all being looked at.  It is now year 3 of the 5 year lease and ACRD would like to have a plan ready  when the lease expires.

2. West Dock The recent assessment carried out for West Dock does not force ACRD to say yes to managing the dock in the future. The assessment will be available for the public as it is very important that the community is aware of potential costs for maintaining the dock.

Jamie asked if there were any thoughts on expanding the dock but the current assessment is strictly for maintaining the status quo in terms of repairs and replacement. Visioning discussions will be held as the dock, at present, is too small to maintain in terms of possible income vs. projected maintenance costs. What is the business case to expand it or reduce it? What will make it possible? Transport Canada offered ACRD $800,000 to take the dock but ACRD says a lot more would be needed to make it viable.

The idea of a public/private partnership has been floated in the past and Daniel agreed that every angle needs to be considered. The amount of $20 million has been suggested which Daniel said would be better than $800,000.

Bob added that none of us are on the hook for this evaluation. Other small communities have the same issues and have involved MLA Gord Johns to assist them as the costs are too high for them to manage. We are fortunate to have the evaluation being completed.

COMMUNITY REPORTS

Bamfield Community School-Robin Schmitt

1. The secondary class has successfully raised the new greenhouse that has been paid for by BCSA. Grade 3-5 students are growing seedlings that will be put into the greenhouse and later the garden.
2. Kindergarden Registration is now open.
3. Parent- teacher interviews will be held for secondary school students on March 2 and 3.
4. Preplanning and preparation is ongoing for the new generator installation.
5. A kiln is being installed at the school for pottery classes.
6. A sprinkler head retrofit is planned and much of the crawl space has to be cleared out by March 14.

Bamfield Fire Dept. – Daniel Zayonc

1. First Responders – There were three calls for First Responders in the last month.  There are now 22 active members as seven new members joined during 2025. There is an ongoing training programme to enable them to get their tickets.

Bamfield Centennial Park - Sheryl Mass

1. Jodie is back in Bamfield to start work as  Centennial park manager for the summer.
2. Greg Hook has joined the Parks Board as a new member.

Bamfield Harbour Authority-Tom Jensen

1. Tom Jensen and Berry Sills recently attended the 4 day annual conference in Richmond for the 40+ harbour authorities along the coast. These range from Steveston, an active commercial  dock,  to Oona River near Prince Rupert that has only 5-6 berths.
2. The main concern was abandoned boats left in the water that sank. The Harbour authority then has to deal with them. Huge costs can be incurred. This seems to be a major issue on the west coast but not on Canada’s east coast. Harbour authorities can also warn each other of bad dock tenants such as Port Alberni did recently.

OTHER

1. CORRECTION: The January minutes stated that open burning could continue until March 1^st. In fact, open burning should NOT take place until  after March 1^st in accordance with ACRD regional regulations.
2. The Coast Guard and Bamfield Historical Society are celebrating the 50^th anniversary of the 1976 ocean rescue effort  on February 28 with the unveiling of new signs and refreshments.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be on Monday, 16 March February 2026.

Meeting Adjourned at 19.29