Planning is coming along on the Village of Harrison’s compost/garbage/recycling program and council will likely see its progress by the end of the year. In short time, an outside consultant will be putting together a proposal by piecing together the different issues and needs in the community in order to find something that works for everyone.

The consultant will look at “what our residents’ habits are, how they perceive the issues and problems, what they would like to see in the way of curbside or other forms of pick up and recovery etc.

"This I hope to present to Council just before the end of the year and see where and what they feel is the process from there,” says Village CAO Larry Burk. The next stage, sharing it with the community, won’t be until after the New Year.

“We tentatively set up the questionnaire process for just after the Olympics sometime late February,” Burk says. After that comes the nitty gritty planning, including fiscal details.

“Following the compilation of the details a report will go to council for their considerations. I was hoping to have this part done by budget approval time – May 15 so if there is something to do on that it will be included,” he says. Time and scheduling are the obstacles so far. Not rushing it, though, means a better, well-thought out plan. The report is due to be finished some time in mid to late March.

At the recent Union of British Columbia Municipalities conference, there was a lot of talk on climate change and what individual communities are going to be doing as their part in a global problem. This new program and other initiatives like it could be what get the environmental ball rolling in our local community.

“We are working on the immediate things which have to be in place by May 31, 2010. Mostly amendments to the OCP which are recognition of and policy setting details for any future development within the Village. You should see some of this coming about via public consultation, public hearings etc., some time in early February,” says Burk.

There is a half-day workshop coming up on December 1 where the consultant will be engaging with a number of locals participating in a hands-on way. The new perspectives expected from that workshop will be to bring the challenges and targets to the surface in order to move on to the first step – the amendment to the OCP.

“You will see things like a no idling bylaw, requirements for building bylaw changes like more insulation, all florescent light bulbs, low flush toilets, smart growth principle development standards and so on,” says Burk.

The Village is willing to do their part, but want to be well-prepared. Small communities cannot make big funded project changes like larger communities can so careful planning is especially warranted.

“Higher governments have to take the lead. Hopefully our provincial and federal leaders won’t simply legislate the requirements without an understanding of what has to be done at the leading edge -- us in the local municipalities,” says Burk. It comes down to the bottom line.

“Local governments are for the most part willing partners in this but we don’t all have the resources at our finger tips to make these initiatives and changes work without help.

The provincial and federal governments have to take the lead and have to bring the money to the table or we just won’t be able to do it on our own,” says Burk.