Home

October HIRRA meeting highlights

Thirty people attended the October 8 HIRRA hybrid meeting. The Executive invited Odus Atkinson to play a song as a new initiative to make the meetings more fun. Thank you, Odus! There were updates from HICEEC and Farmland Trust.

The 2026 Property Management budget was approved with some corrections (view here: 2026 reports), and the new Retirement Bonus Policy was approved (view here: HIRRA Retirement Policy Sept 25-25).

November HIRRA Budget approval meeting

All of HIRRA’s tax-funded Committees will present 2026 budgets for approval by the membership at the next hybrid HIRRA meeting on Wednesday, November 12 at 7:30pm. People can attend in-person at the Community Hall or join by Zoom.

The draft budgets will be posted on hirra.ca one week before the meeting. This is an opportunity for islanders to understand their “tax dollars at work.” HIRRA recently renewed the multi-service agreement with the Comox Valley Regional District to provide these tax-funded services (Fire Protection, Recycling Waste Management, Community Hall, Recreation, Comfort Stations, Emergency Preparedness, Invasive Plant Control). HIRRA’s Administrative staff have met with the different Committees to review and develop draft budgets, which will then be reviewed and approved by the Executive, the HIRRA members, CVRD staff, and finally the CVRD Board (in the Spring of 2026).

HIRRA Community Conversation Appreciation

Thank you to the 70+ people who attended the in-person moderated community conversation on the topic of “The Future of Living and Working on Hornby” on Sunday, October 5.

There was a lot of thoughtful sharing of perspectives. Topics ranged from changing demographics, the pressures of tourism and housing, challenges for road and trail safety, community planning, volunteerism, and governance. There were also several comments about community communications, information sharing, outreach and engagement with people who are not already involved in organizations. Before and after the official meeting portion, people seemed to enjoy informal small group conversations.
Thanks to Daniel Siegel for moderating, and to everyone who participated so thoughtfully and respectfully (and for the good snacks).

The HIRRA Executive is excited to host more in person community conversations. Potential topics that have been suggested include “Relationships and Reconciliation with First Nations,” “Tourism,” and “Navigating New Technology.”

BC Parks Fall Update

HIRRA has received an update from BC Parks:

“Plans are in motion to improve camping opportunities at Tribune Bay Park on Hornby Island. Construction begins at the existing campground on Oct. 1, 2025.

Here are some project highlights:

• Improved privacy between campsites.
• A variety of camping options including basic cabins and some electrical sites.
• Materials will be barged in to reduce ferry impact.
• Environmental protections in place for local wildlife.
• Over 5,000 native plants added to support biodiversity.

Stay informed:  helpshapebc.gov.bc.ca/tribune”
Or review more detailed information in this PDF: BC Parks update Sept 23-25

Boat Ramp Reconstruction Update

Construction continues at Shingle Spit Boat Launch as crews are making good progress. Due to the tide schedule and timing for pouring and curing of four tranches of precast concrete deck tiles, the updated launch date is expected for mid-November. Some night work may be required due to tides, however the majority of the remaining work will be completed during daytime hours.

An exact completion date is unknown at this time. For exact updates and more information on when construction will be finalized, visit www.comoxvalleyrd.ca/shinglespit.

Do Not Consume Water from the Sollans Rd. Community Well

Recent chemical testing revealed higher than maximum allowable concentrations of Manganese in the Community Well. The water is still acceptable for washing, but not for consumption.

HIRRA AGM Appreciations

Thank you to the 41 people who came to the HIRRA AGM on May 14, both in person and by Zoom to review the 2024 year-end financials, hear reports from twelve Committees and “acclaim” volunteers for the coming year. The approved 2024 Year-end Financial Statement may be viewed here: 2024 year-end Financial Statements.

Special appreciation for the many volunteers:
~ Executive member, Heather Dawn, who served over the past year and is now stepping down.
~Continuing Executive members Jeff, Patrick and Ted.
~Fifty-eight other volunteers who serve on HIRRA Committees and appointments.

There are still eight vacancies (2nd Vice President and Secretary on the Executive, and openings on five Committees: Comfort Stations, Recycling, Hall, Emergency Preparedness). Contact the HIRRA office (office@hirra.ca or 5-1131) for more information or to become a member.

Committee Reports:  Committee annual reports to AGM 2025 (including Executive Report)
Fire Protection HIFR Report to AGM 2025
Water Stewardship Water Stewardship Report to AGM 2025

In partnership with the Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD), volunteers on HIRRA Committees manage and oversee these tax-funded services:
~ Fire Protection via Hornby Island Fire Rescue
~ Recycling and Waste Management including the Free Store
~ Community Hall maintenance
~ Comfort Stations (outhouses) at various locations around the island
~ Invasive Plant Control
~ Emergency Preparedness planning and education
~ Community Recreation programs offered year round

HIRRA Committees also manage and oversee these services without tax funding:
~ Regional Parks and Trails Advisory to CVRD (including: Mount Geoffrey Regional Nature Park and adjoining Crown Land trails, Sandpiper Beach, Grassy Point, Hidden Beach, Clamshell Place, Periwinkle Place, St. John’s Point Road and Tralee Point, and the Hornby Roadside Trails)
~ Fall Fair organization
~ Cemetery maintenance and management
~ Boat Ramp Advisory to CVRD
~Water Stewardship research, education and soon: on-island water testing (for information only)

In addition, HIRRA is responsible for the Community Well and hand-pump on Sollans Road and the Crown Land lease that provides space for the Clinic; Hornby/Denman Community Health Care Society buildings; Farmers’ Market in the Copse, and Hornby Island Arts Council’s new Arts Centre.

The Doris Savoie Centre building that houses First Credit Union and the HIRRA administration office, and the RCMP office are both located on land owned by HIRRA.

HIRRA is truly at the heart of the island and the hard-working volunteers keep everything running smoothly for the benefit of the whole community. Please know how much we appreciate all that you give!

Trails Survey Report

Thank you to the 131 people who completed the Trails Survey on-line or by hard-copy. The Regional Parks and Trails Advisory Committee compiled the results of the survey on Hornby’s Roadside and Community Connection Trails: Community Trails Survey Final Report April 2025.

Ferry Advocacy

•  Local MLA ,Josie Osborne –  Josie.Osborne.MLA@leg.bc.ca
•  BC Ferry Authority rep for the North Island, Claire Trevena –  ClaireTrevena@bcferryauthority.com
• Executive Director, Marine Branch, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, Francois Bertrand –  Francois.Bertrand@gov.bc.ca

HIRRA Committee Budgets Approved

Thank you to everyone who attended the November 13 HIRRA meeting and approved the 2025-29 budgets for all tax-funded services. Special thanks to volunteer Committee members and the Financial Administrator for the extensive work on the budgets and presentations.

Approved budgets may be viewed here: 2025 Budgets

Composting Toilet Residuals Project

At the February 2024 HIRRA meeting, a majority of participants approved signing the letter of agreement with CVRD to accept Hornby’s Composting Toilet Residuals as a pilot project. Stay tuned for opportunities for further discussion and decisions about the Pilot Project details.

Background documents include the original Sept 2020 CVRD staff report on the Hornby Composting Toilet Feasibility Study. View here:  Composting Toilet Study
CVRD staff updated their report in Nov. 2021 based on feedback from the HIRRA Recycling Committee. View here: Composting Tiolet Study Follow Up 
CVRD staff gave a presentation to the Feb. 2022 HIRRA meeting. View here: Hornby Composting Toilet Presentation Feb 2022.
The CVRD page has more information on Composting Toilets here

Collective Agreement with Recycling Depot CUPE Employees Ratified 2022

Thanks to the HIRRA negotiating team, Recycling Depot staff and CUPE representatives, the Collective Agreement bargaining was concluded successfully.  The DRAFT Collective Agreement was presented at the June 8, 2022 HIRRA general meeting and ratified by the members. The Recycling Depot staff have also ratified the Collective Agreement. View the complete document here Draft_Collective Agreement 2023-26  All changes are highlighted in bold in the draft Collective Agreement. Note that an error was found in the pay table on p. 28. The corrected table may be viewed here: Corrected C.A. wage rate chart May 22

New Cemetery Land Needed 2017

In the spring of 2017 an ad hoc Committee was formed, charged with finding suitable land for a new Cemetery. The existing Cemetery can still accommodate cremated remains but has little room left for full body burials, so there is an urgent need for more suitable land. Contact the Administrator or Cemetery Committee members for more information.

Historic Reports:

In late 2022, HIRRA received a hard copy of Rogers Cell Tower Proposal for a 63 meter tall tower (including 3m lightning rod) housing “numerous panel antennas and dishes” and having a small fenced and locked “compound” at the base containing “equipment necessary to operate the facility”, to be located in the old gravel pit between Recycling Depot and Spark building.
A PDF of the proposal HIRRA received may be viewed here: Rogers Information Dec 22
Inquiries should be sent to the consultant, Brian Gregg by email: briangregg@sitepathconsulting.com).

Prior to the Nov. 8, 2022 Zoom meeting between HIRRA Executive members, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MoTI) and other stakeholders, HIRRA circulated a public survey to assist with discussion and prioritization of Hornby roads issues. This report summarizes the results of that survey: Hornby Roads Survey report Dec 1-22.

View the 2022 Report on Hornby Food Security here: Hornby Food Security Report 01 18 2022

The April 2021 Covid Community Conversation report is available here: Hornby Is COVID Community Conversation Report, April 2021. The facilitators took all the notes and feedback from the April 11, 2021 community conversation by Zoom and created this final report with accompanying whimsical artwork by Rae Mate.

Rats and us: Daniel Siegel created a worksheet on rat management and circulated to all at the November 2013 meeting. Download the rat control worksheet.