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Council Meeting May 16th 2006 - Recap

We approved a development permit for an extension to Countrywide Home Furnishing's building on Dalhousie Drive. We authorized a reduction to the side yard for a house on the corner of Schreiner and Parkcrest on the North Shore.  Public Works and Utilities Director David Duckworth proposed the new fee structure for containers for the new garbage utility and Council ratified his proposal.

We debated a proposal to modify City Hall's committee structure. The main debate centred around the Community and Council Services Committee. Some members of Council felt the committee was redundant because the bulk of the issues discussed get debated again at a Council meeting. Others felt that the Community and Council Services Committee performed a useful role in making recommendations and doing fuller investigations. In the end. we decided to keep the committee and to review it one year to assess again.

I raised the issue of the poorly worded questionnaire from the Westsyde open house. Staff agreed this was an issue. Other members of Council felt the meeting was quite successful.

Gay Pooler, general manager of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement  Area (KCBIA),  presented the  BIA's  5 year  financial plan.   Garnet Lineker, from Brock Estates on Ord Rd, shared further concerns about the proposed gravel operation across the road from his neighborhood.

We proclaimed ALS awareness month and supported the Kamloops Gymnastics and Trampoline Centre bid to hold the 2007 BC Championships.

The Power of the Air Cadets

Had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to attend the annual review of the 204 Black Maria Air Cadets Squadron.  What I saw was an incredible personal development opportunity for local youth - led by a very dedicated group of instructors and officers.  It was a real eye opener for me to be there.

I took some more photos, which you can see from this page.

Council Meeting May 9th 2006 - Recap

We approved building requests and variances for a modular home on the North Shore, a condo development in Bachelor Heights, and a garage extension in Dallas. We supported the an application to the provincial liquor licensing branch for beverage cart service at the Pineridge Golf Course.

City staff presented the 2006 / 2007 Kamloops transit operating agreement and we ratified the agreement. A proposal to use outside government funding to help combat pine beetle on crown land on the Kamloops area was also ratfied. Various cemetary fees were increased and a new “supplied by others” grave lner installation fee was instituted.

We amended city traffic bylaws to prevent people from parking unattached trailers (mainly used for recreational purposes). We dealt with various items under the new bylaw for hobby kennels for dogs. We endorsed the implementation of a 911 levy (92 cents a line a month) on Bell Canada customers, much the same as we do for Telus customers. Portions of these funds will be used to fund fire and rescue dispatch in Kamloops.

We proclaimed Multiple Sclerosis month in Kamloops. We voted not to proclaim Falun Dafa month or to send a letter of congratulations to the Falun Dafa movement for their 14^th anniversary. This was immediately proceeded by an interesting discussion about the values of the Falun Dafa movement, and about human rights in China.

Public Notice about B100's Cheryl Blackwell

I periodically get called and asked quirky and interesting questions by Greg Shannon and Cheryl Blackwell from B100. Cheryl called a few minutes ago to ask me about my "no car" month and about my ego. I am so uneloquent when these folks call. I found out today that the fastest way to get Cheryl off the phone is to start asking her about her fluffy hair high school yearbook photos.

Vancouver PR lady wanting to know Top Youth in Kamloops

Got a call about 10 days ago from a lady from a PR firm in Vancouver who wanted to get some feedback on the top youth in Kamloops. Unfortunately I erased the voicemail. If you are reading this my friend, thanks greatly for the call, and my apologies. Please feel free to email or call again at 250 377 1797.

Social Enterprise Forum held by Kamloops Elizabeth Fry Society

Had the honour of representing the City and the Community at the first annual Elizabeth Fry Society Conference of social enterprise. In my view, this is arguably the most important conference of the year - as it shared information on how to make non profit associations more sustainable through profit making ventures.

We heard from people who have made this happen. Atira, a lower mainland agency providing transition, emergency and affordable  housing for women, now wholly owns a property management company. This company turned a profit of $60 000 last year. That is money that Atira does not have to find from other funders and it comes with full freedom and flexibility as to how to spend the dollars.

Very powerful stuff.

I Have Got to Watch My Ego.

I did not realize I had such an ego, until I became a member of City Council. I have got to watch this very carefully.

Here is an example of this: a while ago, I noticed I started reading the paper by first looking if I had been mentioned or quoted. A few time, I have even caught myself at a Council meeting wondering how I could say something that would get me in the news. I am pretty ashamed of those moments.

I don't think this is a healthy or good thing, for me or for my constituents. I have always got to remember that I am really not all that important in the grand scheme of Kamloops. Who is important is the people who elected me and the other members of Council. Who is important is the people who contact me and ask for my assistance in some matter or the other. Actually, every other citizen of Kamloops is more important than a member of Council, in my humble opinion.

As a Council member, I do get invited to a lot of events. I am recognized by masters of ceremony. I get a wonderful gold badge. But, as much as I find this alluring, this is not the important stuff.

I have got to stop caring about the glory, and concentrate more on quietly doing great work.

I promise to try my very best, in this regard.

Heritage Commision meeting...

Took the opportunity last night to sit on a City of Kamloops heritage commission meeting last night. The commission advises council on heritage issues and advocates for protection of heritage buildings of significance.

Things that caught my interest included:

• projects to capture the history of Kamloops - through picture, stories, etc
• workshops that educate on how to take care of heritage homes and how to maintain house gardens in keeping with the era a home was designed.
• a request to name a city block after a prominent Kamloops historical family. Discussion ensued on criteria and setting precedents.

I am trying to get to city committees that I don't normally attend. It was a huge pleasure to attend the heritage commission meeting.

Attending the Open House on Westsyde Road...

This evening, at least 350 people attended the open house on various options of increasing road safety on Westsyde Rd. Likely, many more attended.  I know for a fact the first batch of 280 comment forms ran out in the first half of the event.

The main issue here is speed. Westsyde Rd has a general speed limit of 60 kms an hour. But, most people drive much faster than that. That the road has 4 lanes running through a semi rural area encourages speeding, sometimes even without drivers realizing it.

The grim statistic, however, is that, while the provincial percentage of all accidents that cause injury or death is 30%,  on Westsyde Rd 48% of all accidents cause injury or death.

Anybody who reads the papers knows that the City staff have proposed narrowing a section of Westsyde Rd from 4 lane to 2 lane. And you would also know that there has been pretty vociferous opposition to that proposal.

Person after person came up to me at the open house to express their displeasure with the proposal of narrowing the road. Many said what is needed on Westsyde Rd is more consistent enforcement of the speed limit by the RCMP. Some used very colourful language.

Although some people asked why this was not a public meeting with a presentation and a question period, I was happy that it was an open house. With the passion in the room, I think a presentation / question period format could have easily generated into a public lynching. This serves no one well.

Unfortunately, the questionaire presented by city staff was worded very badly and gave the impression of trying to influence the answers. There was some band aid, crisis tweaking given to the questionaire when the second run was copied. But, too little and too late.

I am totally confident that this was an honest mistake, but we can't be making mistakes like this. There is already a perception out there that the City already has its collective mind made up, and that any consutation is token at best.

I know that this is not the case, having seen in my short time on Council many solid attempts by City staff and Council to get broad input.

What I think might solve this problem: a thorough, strict, and standard procedure for any City public meeting / open house. This would mean documents and questionnaires checked and double checked. This would mean rules about how information is presented to ensure not only balance but the appearance of balance. This is just my initial brainstorming.

At the end of the meeting, I met two people who thought narrowing the road might just be a good idea. It was interesting to hear their points of view as well.

I left with many great ideas, furiously scribbled down, and I thank all the people who came up to me to share their views.

Arjun's No Car Month - would you consider it too?

At today's council meeting,  I announced that I am going to park my car for a month. I am going to take the bus, I am going to carpool, I am going to walk.

Why?

Primarily because I believe I need to start taking relatively dramatic personal steps to reduce emissions, helping to prevent a global warming crisis, and generally live more sustainably.

A reduction in my month's gas bills will also be nice.

I want to pass on my experiences so others can see if they might be able to reduce their car usage.

I am really hoping I can see this through. I am so attached to my car. I am going to have to plan well and utilize time even more efficiently.