Welcome to Your Kamloops!

The Rebirth of Hillside Stadium

see more photos here

Had the great honour of attending the first big game at the new Hillside Stadium - a great soccer match between the U20 Canadian and Mexican womens teams. I am a big supporter of the Tournament Capital of Canada program, although I often wonder if it should be elevated to the status of the primary "brand" of our city.

Those discussions aside, we have built a truly world class facility in a spectacular setting. I am hoping the we can make a lot of money through innovative marketing to elite sports teams from all over the planet.

Here are Mayor Terry Lake's opening remarks at the game. I am always impressed to hear him speak at an event, even though I hear him A LOT. I had a little trouble figuring out where he was standing at the beginning of my "shoot". And the video quality res is not as high as I would have liked.

How much can a city council consult?

I just submitted this piece as my monthly column for the Senior Connector.

At the July 11^th Council meeting, an issue arose which prompted discussion on this important question. Frances Vyse, from the Valleyview Community Association, shared with us the association's "outrage" about the BC Summer Games mountain bike course.

The association found out this mountain bike course, located in a city park just beside the Valleyview arena, "by chance", after the decision had been made, and is very concerned about the impact of increased mountain biking activity in the area.

I value the time and energy that the Valleyview Community Association must have expended on their presentation. I also value the totally excellent effort of the BC Summer Games committee.

So I made a motion that, after the Games, City Council should not sanction anymore competitions (of any kind) until we have consulted with the various groups who have an interest in using the park in question. This would include the community association, and it also would include mountain bikers, race organizers from a variety of sports, and anybody else who felt they wanted to be involved.

After much discussion, however, council as a whole voted against the motion. Out of the many different thoughts that emerged from the discussion, one was particularly interesting to me. This was the contention that because we were talking about an operational city recreational "facility", that it would be too onerous to consult with all the stakeholders.

I agree that full consultation presents real challenges. When do you stop consulting and start deciding? Would individuals and groups understand that consultation does not necessarily mean council would go along with everything suggested? There are so many users of Kamloops' park network – how would you accommodate them all?

Still, one of my core beliefs is that elected representatives should be constantly consulting.

I would be most interested in reader thoughts on this issue. Was my motion an exercise in frustration? Or was it the right motion at the right time?

Trying to Prevent NIMBYism....

Some preliminary thoughts on this important overarching issue...

The past few weeks, I have been part of a couple of different discussions where the potential of community opposition has loomed large. One such discussion, we were talking about the importance of what is called infill development - the building of homes or commercial buildings in areas where there are other homes or commercial buildings. This  kind of development makes it less expensive for City Hall to service, can create a greater sense of community, and reduces driving time. The question arose: how will existing owners react to more traffic, reductions of views, and other possible intrusions.

I think the only way around such issues is to sit down with existing owners and residents well before starting to approve new infill development. Discussions should centre around listening to concerns, and sharing the benefits of appropriate infill. We need to create a fair process, in which all participants feel invested. This, in my view, will create greater acceptance of the often tough decisions that need to be made.  And many participants will feel less pain at giving something up, if they are asked to do so.

Miss Kamloops Sparkleheads...

I might have mentioned this before in similar or same fashion, but I often find myself thinking how much variety and diversity we enjoy in Kamloops. I used to think that, being born and raised in our little big city, I had a good handle on most of the major events in town. Well, these days, I know that is definitely not the case. Maybe, after the next couple of years.

As one of your representatives on Council, I got invited to attend the Miss Kamloops pageant "coronation" event this evening. So many great people put a huge amount of time in this leadership development program for young ladies.

But for me, it was like entering another universe - of courtesies and royal waves, of ball gowns and  flowers, and of new vocabulary like "sparklehead".  At one point, surrounded by young people in sashes, capes, tiaras, and even one quite massive crown, I felt like I was at a Lord of the Rings convention.

It was quite a marathon event - lots of entertainment, tributes to outgoing Kamloops royalty, an impromptu question contest for the candidates, and finally the big moment. I was able to stay to the end, and did not regret it.

Listening to greetings from all the other Queens, Princesses, and Ambassadors who attended, I realized that these young people play important roles in promoting their own communities. The ladies from Summerland and Revelstoke (I think I got that right) even had promotional raps. Our Kamloops royalty had adapted a ditty from the musical Grease. I got to get them to do that on camera for me so I can put it up here.

Congrats to 2005 - 2006 Kamloops Ambassadors - Miss Kamloops Geralyn Beaton, Princess Rheannon Green, and Princess Kailey Courteen-Nurse. You have made us extremely proud.

And welcome to the 2006 - 2007 Kamloops Ambassadors - Miss Kamloops Eboney Irvine, Princess Theresa Moir, and Princess Melissa Nielsen. I hope you have a wondrous and productive year.

All in all, an enlightening honour for me to show my respect for the great work of all involved.

The Folks from Uji...

Kamloops and the city of Uji Japan enjoy a special relationship. 16 years ago, representatives of both communities established a sister city protocol. Every year, a delegation from one city travels to the other. This year, it was Uji's turn to visit us - their delegation numbered 26 very interesting people.

Council's Executive Assistant Leah McFarlan worked tirelessly to organize and host a very full Canada Day long weekend for our Uji vistors.  They toured the water treatment plant, went on the 2141 heritage railway, participated in community in blooms celebrations, visited the museum, dined with city representatives and the Japanese Cultural Association, enjoyed the attractions of summer time at Sun Peaks, and saw all the new developments at the BC Wildlife Park.

On Canada Day evening, Saturday evening, my wife and I attended the official dinner at the Interior Savings Centre. We sat with two engaging Uji-ans. I also really enjoyed the good humour and livelieness in Uji's Mayor - Mayor Kubota. And I was very honoured to meet two very senior members of Uji City Council ( they have 32 councillors!). Various Kamloopsians also joined us, representing different groups in the community. Towards the end of the evening, we participated in what I can only describe as a festival of gift exchanging. 

I was really lucky to have my wife with me. She spent two years in Japan teaching English and was a most amazing translator. Also, she put together Canada care package type gifts for our visitors. She was simply amazing all over.

In the end, I know these exchanges enrich the life of those who directly participate in them. I wonder, though, if the citizens of Kamloops generally understand why the City has this relationship with Uji and if they generally support the dollars spent in our sister city program.

I don't really enough about the totality of the program to have an informed opinion. I guess I better do some research.

The past week in Events...

Was honoured to have attended the Kiwanis House 35 year celebration. Kiwanis offers much need drug and alcohol addiction recovery programs. Was part of a group of Kamloopsians who welcomed a delegation of 26 from our sister city Uji, Japan. And this evening, attended a bbq put on by the Gay and Lesbian Association of Kamloops.