(for older news item, check our News Archive)

Cordova Bay beach clean-up day - everyone welcome!

After a very successful beach clean up at Coburg Peninsula in early July, Juan de Fuca Power and Sail Squadron is participating with other Vancouver Island South District Squadrons (VISDS) in cleaning up the shoreline at Cordova Bay beach from visitor litter and incoming tidal debris.

Sept 18th is the clean-up date - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Meet at McMorran's Beach House or Agate Lane Park.

The beach clean up is a step in a different direction for the Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons whose focus is primarily teaching courses on boating and navigational safety.
For further information, contact: Wallace McMorran - mcmorran@mcmorrans.com. Membership Officer for the Juan de Fuca Power and Sail Squadron - A Unit of Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons.
Web address: www.jdfsquadron.ca

Cordova Bay Esso to close

With much regret, Cordova Bay Esso owner Mike Burkmar announced today (Aug. 9/10) that his service station and car repair shop will have to close at the end of January.

He told the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs in a telephone interview that he tried to keep the car repair shop on-site but Imperial Oil/Esso wants the entire site closed and fenced off for three to five years. He said the reason given was that the underground tanks are 20 years old and it is not worth replacing them.

Mike has leased space for car repairs at No. 1, 6809 Kirkpatrick Crescent, off Keating Cross Road in Central Saanich. His mechanic and one apprentice will move there sometime in September to work. Mike will divide himself between the two sites until the Cordova Bay site closes at the end of January.

Because Mike lives in Cordova Bay, he wants present customers to know that he can collect cars that need repairs and deliver them back.

Cordova Bay Esso, which is one of the few service stations in Greater Victoria that pumps gasoline for customers, is the last service station in the neighbourhood except on the west side of Patricia Bay Highway at Sayward Road. The PayLess/Shell station at the corner of Cordova Bay Road and Doumac Avenue closed in 1998. Before then a Chevron station closed at Cordova Bay Plaza, as did a later car repair shop.

For almost 30 years, Lyall Steer owned and operated Cordova Bay Texaco which became Cordova Bay Esso in 1991. He retired in 1996 and sold the business to Mike.

***New editor urgently required for
The Cordovan newsletter***

We’re still looking for that “special” someone to become the new editor of The Cordovan newsletter, which is scheduled to go electronic starting in September. For more information, please contact Penny Joppe at: 250-658-8566 or by e-mail: pen.ton@shaw.ca. There are a number of people willing to help; we just need someone to oversee the production of our online version.

All The Cordovans (and older Spindrift newsletters) from 1947 to 2010 can be found on the 'Newsletter' page of this website.

Let the community consultation begin

Saanich council sent a unanimous message on July 12, 2010, to the Ministry of Transportation - it's time - now - to communicate and consult with the community about safety-first changes to the dangerous intersection of Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road in Cordova Bay.

"Council has in the past relayed to the Ministry that a community consultation should be commenced," said Couns. Judy Brownoff and Leif Wergeland (who is a Cordova Bay resident) in a report that was supported by council.

"This has not happened. In fact, the community association feels quite strongly that an advisory committee should be established with the ministry, Saanich and the community to start these discussions."

Council agreed that community consultation should commence and supported the establishment of an advisory committee to start discussions on short-term solutions to problems at the intersection and will so inform the ministry.

At a standing-room-only public meeting in Cordova Bay on June 15, 2010, organized by Saanich South MLA Lana Popham, one resident asked if the ministry would be willing to form a consultation committee. "We'll take that under consideration," replied Patrick Livolsi, the ministry's regional director for the south coast of BC.

The Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs has been waging a safety-first campaign for this intersection for the past year. For more information, please click here: Pat Bay/Sayward intersection safety issues.
(News item provided by Roger Stonebanks, CBA member.)

Cordova Bay Day, 2010

Another successful "Cordova Bay Day" was staged by the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) on Saturday June 26, 2010, in the grounds of St. David by the Sea Anglican Church on Cordova Bay Road.

This was the 7th annual Cordova Bay Day which is a fun-time community get-together and a fund-raiser through the silent auction for community endeavours and donations to groups within Cordova Bay.

"I think this was the best Cordova Bay Day yet," said Sally Tuckey, chairperson of the CBA's 2010 Cordova Bay Day Planning Committee. "We were blessed with good weather and the people were able to gather, to relax, and to enjoy the festivities. Cordova Bay is a wonderful community and it is a privilege to celebrate it annually."

Jack Colbert, a member of the CBA Board of Directors and one of the Cordova Bay Day Planning Committee volunteers, and also a Shriner, was instrumental in adding the Shriners to this year's festivities. They sold hot dogs, pop and popcorn and provided two clowns as well as the locomotive and a calliope which played music throughout the event.

The Cordova Bay Pre-School, which operates throughout the year at St. David's, provided a station for bike-decorating as well as playdough for all children present. A lovely sight was the beautifully decorated bikes, trikes and wagons parading along the sidewalk led by a Shriner clown!

Block Watch with a Saanich Police officer was in attendance and the CHIP (cardiovascular health) program provided interest and information and volunteers took blood pressures.

A live Latin band, Mike Lefebvre and Perros Libre, sponsored by Scotiabank in Cordova Bay, played throughout, protected by a tent borrowed from Thrifty Foods. There were membership tables for both the CBA and the Cordova Bay 55 Plus Association.

The face painter was sponsored by Leo Lee of Cordova Bay, mobile mortgage specialist for Canada Trust; Century Group Inc. of 5150 Cordova Bay Road sponsored the golf challenge and Carriss Window Fashions Ltd of 4879 Lochside Drive sponsored the bouncy castle. There were line ups for all three!

An historical display depicting Cordova Bay was enjoyed by many. Also on display was a photo album belonging to Anne Pearson, long-time resident and author of "Sea-Lake: Recollections and History of Cordova Bay and Elk Lake," published in 1981, which is available at the Greater Victoria Public Library.

The silent auction, which raised about $2400, was the result of much work on the part of the volunteer planning committee. There were nearly 70 items for bidding on, many of which were solicited by Diane De Wolfe who oversaw this aspect of Cordova Bay Day, and lots of interest shown. Jennifer Furtado also solicited donations for the silent auction and was liaison for the pre-school. Janice de Cunha worked to provide the historical display. Penny Joppe created the colourful posters and helped out all-around.

The parish wardens of St. David's, Don Johnson and Ron Hall, were welcoming and helpful both beforehand and on the day itself, reported Sally Tuckey, "and we wish to thank them for their hospitality to us."

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW 124 PHOTOS. OPEN THE CORDOVA BAY DAY ALBUM AND DOUBLE CLICK ON THE FIRST PHOTO FOR A SLIDESHOW OR JUST ENLARGE INDIVIDUAL PHOTOS - ENJOY!
(Story by Sally Tuckey with assistance from Roger Stonebanks.
Photos from Sally, Richard Alexander and Tony de Goutière.)

Safety first - and, please communicate
at Pat Bay and Sayward

The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure must engage in meaningful community consultation before plans are drawn up for changes to the Patricia Bay Highway and Sayward Road - as well as at 'open houses' after plans are prepared for public reaction.

This message was delivered to the ministry before a standing-room-only audience of 115 residents by speakers at a public safety forum on June 15/2010 organized by Saanich South MLA Lana Popham at Cordova Bay Community Place.

To read more on this important forum, please click here: Pat Bay/Sayward intersection safety issues.

Cordova Bay Plaza lawsuits settled

Spokespersons for Shell Canada and Cordova Bay Plaza confirmed on Friday 4 June to the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs that the long-standing lawsuits and countersuits over underground gasoline pollution have been settled.

"I can report that a confidential settlement has been reached between the parties," said Shell spokesperson Jeff Gabert of Calgary. "Our environmental consultant will be on site in the coming weeks to do an assessment of what work needs to be done and we'll move forward from there.

"We appreciate the community's patience and understanding to this point. There is a lot of work still to be done, but this is a good step for us and the community, as you will now see some activity at the plaza."

A spokesperson for the plaza said a settlement acceptable to all parties has been reached and that Shell will be "on the site in the coming weeks."

Neither spokesperson would disclose specifics of the out-of-court settlement because of a confidentiality agreement. Such confidentiality agreements are standard practice when civil lawsuits are settled between the parties.

For more information and background, please click here: "Plaza lawsuits move towards settlement".

Cedar bench approved for new Cordova Bay park

Saanich council has approved the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) application for a matching grant of $1,279 for a cedar bench on the property it bought from the McMorran family earlier this year - the lot, south of the beach access near the former restaurant, will be rezoned from residential to park use. The CBA will put up the other $1,279. The total cost of $2,558 covers purchase of the bench and its installation later this year on a concrete pad.

At the same time, the CBA has recommended to Saanich that the park be named McMorran Park to honour the pioneer Cordova Bay family.

The CBA and Saanich have now joined forces to provide six community benches in the last half-dozen years. There are benches on Cordova Bay Road at the Galey Way, Sunnygrove Terrace and Maxine Lane bus stops, all undertaken in conjunction with the sidewalk improvements constructed by Saanich, and at Lochside Park and McMinn Park/Lochside Regional Trail. The CBA funds its half of the cost of the benches through the silent auction fund-raiser at our annual Cordova Bay Day (info above).

A very successful AGM

Saanich South MLA Lana Popham and Saanich Coun. Dean Murdock were the guest speakers at the Annual General Meeting of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) on April 16.

Lana gave an interesting talk of life in the Legislature as an MLA and touched on agriculture, which is dear to her heart, and the dangerous Pat Bay Highway/Sayward Road intersection. She confirmed that she will hold a public meeting on this topic on 15 June in the evening. Lana emphasized that this is a non-partisan issue which involves public safety. The CBA has been campaigning for safety improvements at this intersection for some time as you can see on items posted lower down on this "News" page.

Dean’s main focus for the evening was the Mobility Action Plan, a freedom-to-move planning and guiding document. This plan includes creating transportation alternatives, creating high-density centres and is about connectedness and linkages as well as about efficiency and safety.

At the membership business meeting after the refreshment break, CBA members elected six directors for two-year terms to the executive - Anthony Minniti, Cal Faber, Jennifer Furtado, Jack Colbert, Penny Joppe and Bob Meehan (who join Wayne Christmas, Janice de Cunha, David Kuprowsky, Maureen Leech and Richard Alexander) and bade farewell to retiring board members: Roger Stonebanks, Hanny Pannekoek and Diane De Wolfe. Please refer to "Board of Directors" on this website for your new board members and their responsibilities. A power-point presentation ran throughout the evening, put together and manned by Richard, our new president.
To view this presentation, please click here.

Important news about the future of
The Cordovan newsletter

The executive committee of the Cordova Bay Association for Community Affairs (CBA) has decided that the future of The Cordovan is by electronic delivery: e-mail (to members of the CBA) and posting on the CBA website. This change will occur in September of this year. A certain number of printed copies of the electronic Cordovan will be made available for personal pick-up at locations to be determined – to assist those without a computer.

This wasn't an easy decision because of the long tradition of home delivery of the newsletter. However, difficulty in getting volunteers, rising print costs and concern about the environment have led to this decision.

You can read more about this changeover in the last Cordovan, on the Newsletter page.

Cordova Bay development news