Snow today, gone tomorrow! With the snow melting away and a warmer, wet week ahead, it’s a great time to sit back and catch up with this week’s City news and events. It begins with a thank you to you, Nanaimo, applications are still being accepted for the new Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Inclusiveness, and we talk about solutions for missed garbage collection during the snow days. Read on!
Thank you!
We want to take this opportunity to thank residents and businesses for clearing the snow and ice from the sidewalks in front of your property. When the snow falls, duty calls, and we know there are plenty of inconveniences and challenges that come with it. We would also like to offer extra thanks to those who were able to clear the snow from their catch basins. Well done!
Committing to a Committee for the Community
Inclusivity and accessibility are hot topics these days, and rightfully so. Creating a society that is accommodating, accepting, and enables and empowers everyone to be the best they can be and as involved as they want to be is no small task.
The City of Nanaimo is continuing to recruit for the Advisory Committee on Accessibility and Inclusiveness. Members will be committing to a two hour meeting every two months, as well as reading and preparation time before the meetings.
This committee promotes social and political equity within existing and proposed City plans, policies, bylaws and infrastructure and makes recommendations to ensure that the City is inclusive and accommodating to citizens of all ages, abilities and walks of life.
If you would like to apply to join the committee, please fill out and submit an application form before Friday, January 24 at 4:30pm.
Back in Action
Last week, our version of #snowmageddon passed through with a bit of bite and a lot of white. Now, we are happy to have our Sort Toss Roll trucks back in action and out collecting once again. This is a recycling week, so remember to have your blue and green carts to the curb by 8am on your day for pickup.
With the snowfall, over 20,000 collections were missed. For most residents the extra week delay on the green organics pickup is manageable, but we know for many residents missing a garbage day due to weather is a more significant inconvenience.
For all of the City of Nanaimo’s curbside collection customers who did miss a garbage collection day, we will accept an extra garbage bag (max 50 pounds) on your next garbage day. For those with an upsized black cart, we will accept two extra bags. Please space your extra bag(s) at least three feet (one metre) from your black and green carts.
Thank you for your patience! We don’t like to miss a collection day any more than you do, but it’s a matter of safety first. With the cancelled collection, our drivers switched seats and took to the roads in our snowplows, keeping our emergency routes and main City roads as clear as possible.
For more information, read our Cancelled Garbage Collection FAQs
Upcoming Community Events:
- Thursday, January 23:Musical Entertainment, 1:30 to 3 pm in the Bowen Park Auditorium. This week featuring Pickin’ Pals.
- Friday, January 24: Free Swim, 7 to 9 pm at the Beban Pool, courtesy of Coast Capital Savings
- Sunday, January 26: Lions FREE Skate, noon to 1:30 pm in Frank Crane Arena
This week’s Council and Committee Meetings
This week, the Governance and Priority Committee meets to discuss the first quarter, the Health and Housing Task Force looks at funding for long-term recovery beds, and the Environment Committee looks at its workplan.
- Monday, January 20: Special Governance and Priorities Committee Meeting at 12:30 pm in the Service and Resource Centre Boardroom, 411 Dunsmuir Street
- Wednesday, January 22: Health and Housing Task Force at 3 pm in the Service and Resource Centre Boardroom, 411 Dunsmuir Street
- Wednesday, January 22: Environment Committee at 5 pm in the HR Training Room (2nd Floor) at Nanaimo’s City Hall
Visit the Meetings, Documents and Videos page on the City website to view upcoming meetings, agendas and past meeting videos or visit the Council Meeting Summaries page to read a recap of decisions made in previous meetings.
If you’ve been reaching these weekly updates you are likely aware of our Council Meeting Summaries page, but did you know that we have a page where we post Committee Meeting Summaries as well? Here you can find a summary of motions made at any Committee meeting including the Finance and Audit Committee, Health and Housing Task Force, Environment Committee and more!
The snow last week was all the talk! Well, almost. Here's a recap of City-related news: