On behalf of the Sunshine Coast Regional District Board, I want to express our profound sorrow and deepest condolences to the families, friends, and loved ones of those lost at the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver. Our hearts also go out to the broader Filipino community and to everyone shaken by this terrible tragedy.

Community festivals should always be places of joy, safety, and connection. These are moments where we gather to lift each other up and share in what unites us, and to have such a day end in heartbreak is deeply painful for all of us.

As a community, we mourn alongside you. We send our thoughts, our sympathy, and our support to all those grieving this unimaginable loss.

Alton Toth,
SCRD Board Chair

Utility bills for 2025 are being mailed out to Sunshine Coast property owners who receive water, wastewater and curbside collection service from the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD). 

Here is some further information about this year’s bill, including how you can pay and where you can ask questions about your bill. 

Rates
This year’s rates can be found at www.scrd.ca/utility-bill and at letstalk.scrd.ca/utility-bill 

How to pay
You can pay your utility bill online by visiting www.scrd.ca/pay and selecting ‘Utility Bills’ on the menu that is provided. All you need to pay is your address and a credit card.  

There are several other ways to pay which are all outlined at www.scrd.ca/utility-bill. 

Questions about your utility bill
Last year, hundreds of calls and emails were received by the SCRD from the community in relation to utility bills.  

Our staff aim to respond to enquiries within 72-hours. Members of the public attending the front counter at the main Field Road office may experience a delay while staff deal with other enquiries. 

The SCRD has a respectful workplace policy, and the safety and wellbeing of our staff is our primary concern.  The SCRD asks that members of the community be respectful when speaking with staff. Any foul or disparaging language will not be tolerated and will result in a call being terminated immediately. Residents attending front counter in person should be aware that our staff will immediately cease any conversations that become adversarial in nature.  

You can also ask questions about your bill at letstalk.scrd.ca/utility-bill.  

Other questions
Information on options to pay monthly and deadlines for payments will be available on the bill. You can also check out the frequently asked questions that are listed at www.scrd.ca/utility-bill. 

Volumetric Billing
In your utility bill, you will find an insert with information on volumetric billing. This is a new way of billing for water that will be introduced for North and South Pender residents in 2026 and for residents on the Regional Water service in 2027. You can learn more about this project at letstalk.scrd.ca/water-billing.  

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is preparing for the start of the annual Islands Clean Up program, a residential garbage and recycling collection service for island residences on Anvil, Gambier, Keats, and surrounding islands, Thormanby, Trail, Hardy and Nelson Islands.

Visit https://letstalk.scrd.ca/islands-cleanup. to learn more about the:

Schedule

Events are planned for July and August. We are currently planning for three weekends of events (instead of the usual four) July 12, July 26-27 and August 16-17. This will include events scheduled on Sundays.

Materials Collected

Every year we will collect garbage and household recyclables and scrap metal for recycling.

This year’s special items for collection are paint, propane tanks, tires and large batteries.

We are not collecting mattresses, boxsprings, fridges and freezers.

Pro tip: if your appliance is NOT a fridge/freezer, we will take it as scrap metal every year.

Registration

Flag stop events require registration – registration will open next week.

Special items will be accepted on a first come first served basis and will depend on the available room.

Register, review the schedule and find information on accepted items at https://letstalk.scrd.ca/islands-cleanup.

Annual maintenance pool closures will take place as usual this Summer as the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) works to extend the life of the facilities and minimize unexpected closures throughout the year.

During these closures, water is drained from the wet areas (pool, hot tub etc.) of some of the facilities so that the maintenance work can be completed.

The pool closures are scheduled to ensure that at least two pools are open to the public at any one time.

Closure Dates

Sechelt Aquatic Centre – The pool, wet areas and change rooms will be closed from Sunday, June 1 to Tuesday, July 1, re-opening on Wednesday, July 2. The weight room and fitness studio will be open except on three Sundays: June 15, 22 and 29, when the whole facility (pool, wet areas, weight room and fitness studio) will be closed. www.scrd.ca/sechelt-pool/

Gibsons and District Aquatic Facility – The entire facility will be closed from Wednesday, July 2 to Tuesday, July 22, re-opening on Wednesday, July 23. www.scrd.ca/gibsons-pool/

Pender Harbour Aquatic and Fitness Centre – The entire facility will be closed from Saturday, August 2 to Monday, September 1 re-opening on Tuesday, September 2. www.scrd.ca/pender-pool/

What work is being done?

Lots of work is planned during the closures. Ongoing maintenance of boilers and pumps will be carried out at all three pools. As will painting and tile and grout work.

At Pender pool, the sauna will be getting some attention. Maintenance will be completed on lights throughout the building at the Gibsons pool, and repairs to the big red slide at the Sechelt pool are planned to take place while the facility is closed.

The SCRD understands that not having the pools available can cause an inconvenience, especially to families and to those who are daily visitors to our facilities. We appreciate our community’s understanding while vital work takes place to ensure our facilitates can remain in great shape year-round.

Stay updated on these closures at www.scrd.ca/recreation.

Due to ongoing staffing challenges, the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is adjusting Sunday hours at the Sechelt and Gibsons pools, effective April 20, 2025. These changes are expected to last until the end of May.

Changes are as follows:

• Sechelt Aquatic Centre: Pool area will be closed on Sundays. Weight room will remain available Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Stay up to date on these changes at scrd.ca/sechelt-pool/
  
• Gibsons and District Aquatic Facility: Will be open Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Stay up to date on these changes at scrd.ca/gibsons-pool/

We appreciate the community’s understanding as we work to address staffing constraints and continue to deliver safe and enjoyable recreation services.

The SCRD has recently hired new aquatic staff who are currently in training. Additionally, SCRD recently hosted lifeguard training which should hopefully increase the number of people available to apply for lifeguard positions with the SCRD.

The SCRD is also planning aquatic leadership course to become a Lifeguard or Instructor this summer. Registration opens June 4.

Updates will be shared on our website and social media channels as they become available.

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) is announcing the temporary suspension of the Food Waste Drop-off Pilot Program at the Pender Harbour Transfer Station, effective May 1, 2025. 

Despite requesting proposals to continue the service, none were received. As such, the SCRD was unable to secure a new service provider after the current contract expires on April 30, 2025.  

“The main reason the program was discontinued is that not enough people took part in it, making it too expensive to keep running,” says Marc Sole, Manager, Solid Waste Services. “The fees collected were only covering 25% of the costs which is not enough to sustain the service.” 

Food waste is recyclable and throwing it in the garbage not only increases the release of green house gases but also reduces the usable space in the Sechelt Landfill.  There are regulations in place that require food waste and other recyclables to be separated from garbage and Pender Harbour Transfer Station site users are able to make use of the following options:  

• Self-haul food waste to Salish Soils in Sechelt. 

• Compost food waste at home. 

• Pay for private collection services, if available. 

The SCRD will continue exploring alternatives for food waste diversion at Pender Harbour and will present any new options to the Board for consideration. Home composter rebates will be available in May. Visit www.scrd.ca/composting to learn more. 

Residents will be informed about the change before April 30, 2025, through notices at the Transfer Station, in the local newspaper and online channels. 

You can also visit www.scrd.ca/transfer-station/ for more information. 

Construction kicks off this April for the Halfmoon Bay Community Hall! Located in Connor Park, this vibrant new space will soon host events, meetings, and social gatherings for the entire Sunshine Coast community.   

Mark your calendars for Thursday, April 3! Join us from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. near the washroom building at Connor Park for a groundbreaking ceremony. Meet Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) staff, who will be on hand to answer questions about this exciting project.

Conceptual design for Halfmoon Bay Community Hall

Stay connected and follow the hall’s progress on our online information hub at letstalk.scrd.ca/community-hall. Ask questions anytime and watch as the hall takes shape!  

Construction of a new community hall is anticipated to begin soon. The hall, located in Connor Park in Halfmoon Bay will be a space for events, meetings and social gatherings available for the entire community on the Sunshine Coast.  

Nearby residents and visitors to Connor Park will see some work being done in the coming weeks to prepare the site and may also notice the two signs that have been recently installed. One of the signs outlines the design and plans for the hall, the other has been placed as a requirement for the Federal Government grant that is covering the majority cost for this project.

Here is what else is planned as part of the site preparation.  

Trees 

The Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) knows that environmental conservation and protection of our forested areas and in particular, white pine trees, are very important to residents. To alleviate these concerns, the SCRD conducted an environmental assessment of the site prior to it being selected for the Community Hall.  

Following this assessment, in February, a certified arborist surveyed the site. A small number of trees within the construction footprint area were assessed and will be removed. The arborist also recommended the removal of several unhealthy or damaged trees to help manage the long-term health of the Park’s forests in the vicinity of the project area and park access roads. 

No white pine trees are part of this tree removal work. In fact, the arborist identified some areas where informal vehicle parking outside of assigned parking areas is affecting the health of white pine trees. As a result, the SCRD will work towards reducing the damage being done to these trees by ensuring clear guidance is in place on where people should park.  

The SCRD’s intention is to construct the hall with as little impact to the forested area as possible.   

Utilities  

Utility work will begin in the coming weeks This work will include the installation of a new water service, electrical connections and septic upgrades for the hall. Residents on Northwood Road will receive notification prior to this work being done as water service installation will involve some excavating work on the road.  

Additional Site Preparation 

An older shed structure, located on the Southwest side of the site will be dismantled. This structure was once used as a washroom and the old pit toilet will be fully decommissioned. Staff are doing this work in a manner that will ensure the trees that border the existing pit, located between the hall site and the playing fields are not disrupted.  

Please note that as the work outlined above continues, there will be some temporary changes to parking availability at the site. Any major disruptions and other information such as project updates and details on the groundbreaking for the hall will be communicated via the online information space for the project at letstalk.scrd.ca/community-hall and at www.scrd.ca. 

Early this morning, Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) utility crews responded to a large watermain break at the intersection of Francis Peninsula Road, Murdoch Road and Beaver Road in Pender Harbour. The watermain break resulted in the disruption of water service for approximately 300 homes in the area.  

SCRD utility crews repairing watermain

SCRD utility crews have now repaired the watermain and are restoring water service to the system. During the watermain break, the system lost pressure so when water service is resumed for your home, you will notice some sediment in your water. With this in mind, the SCRD is asking residents to do the following; 

• Please run water from an outside faucet or a bathtub before running water from an indoor sink / tap. Sediment that is in the water due to the system losing pressure could potentially block an aerator on an indoor tap.  

• Run the water until it is completely clear.  

If you have any questions or require further guidance on this, please contact the SCRD’s Infrastructure Services department at 604-885-6806.