As the Islands Trust marks its ninth month without a physical presence at what is typically its staff’s busiest location, trustees learned of a $90,000 budget shortfall for the Salt Spring Island office renovation project — and that it could be mostly covered by salary savings, at least partly related to that office not being open.
Salt Spring’s Islands Trust staff have not had a physical office on the island since closing their doors in late October of 2024 at their previous space on Lower Ganges Road. In 2023, property owner BC Hydro had given notice it would not be renewing the Trust’s lease. After a move-out date extension and an exhaustive property search, trustees finally secured a space this past fall in Ganges — and began substantial and still-unfinished renovations to the former Apple Photo location at 121 McPhillips Ave.
An initial cost estimate of $210,000 was reduced to $160,000 during budget deliberations in March 2024, although after staff received bid responses, the Executive Committee approved another $55,500 a few months later. Today, according to a staff report, much of the current budget year’s “shortfall” can be attributed to funds unspent in the first year, mostly due to delays in receiving a building permit and other contracting issues.
There are relatively modest “budget adjustments” incoming, according to staff — a higher amount than forecast needed for cooling a dedicated computer service room, for example, and an unmet accessibility requirement in the new space that will require shifting the position of a wall.
But notably, trustees learned that between two Salt Spring Island staff vacancies and another at the Trust’s northern office — and alongside the relatively small savings from office services, stemming from the Salt Spring office’s delayed opening — the majority of the shortfall will be offset.
“Perhaps most substantive is the [temporary] island planner vacancy on Salt Spring Island,” planning services director Stefan Cermak told the Islands Trust’s Executive Committee Wednesday, July 23. “Try as we may, it’s been a challenge to fill that position, and we’re now at the point — with just four months to go until the planner is scheduled to return — it seemed logical to continue that.”
The remainder — less than $9,000 — may be funded through a grant opportunity, according to the staff report.
“Salt Spring needs an office back,” said Lasqueti Island trustee and Salt Spring Local Trust Committee chair Tim Peterson. “I’ve certainly heard from residents of Salt Spring that the timeline has not been what we had anticipated, and that’s frustrating for the public.”
The Salt Spring Island office in the past has been used for meetings and training, as well as for Islands Trust staff, including planning services members and the bylaw compliance and enforcement team.
The new space is currently scheduled to open in September.