Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Some Budget Information I have found interesting

Here some tidbits from the pages of paper created to inform the 2007 city budget process.

• Comparison of tax increase with the rate of inflation (1997-2006)
  
  
  
• Commitment from your Council to keep major industry tax increases to 1% max during until 2008. (from press release Apr 26, 2006)
  
  
• Citizen satisfaction survey results that indicate Kamloopsians would rather see an increase in taxes than a decrease in service.
  
  
  

Still Scratching my Head over This Headline...

This headline grabbed my attention. I think it was meant to - but I think it certainly fails in the "truth in reporting" category. How in the world can the Kamloops Daily News headline reporters make such a statement with a straight face? If you read the article the headline titled, you would find out that an unscientific survey was done and people who filled the survey out were mostly against a full or partial pesticide ban. You would have also read that the city has received a petition urging us to restrict pesticide use - signed by over a thousand people.

I guess the great thing about such a headline is that it  gets people talking, even mobilizes them.

The Most Important City Meeting of the Year...

This post is about a meeting that I think every person in our incredible community should seriously consider attending.

One of the reasons you pay me a salary is to filter through scads of information, analyze it, and pass on to you the really important stuff. Well, this is really important, in my humble opinion.

At 7pm on Monday February 26th 2007,  your City Council is holding a public meeting to get your input on the 2007 city budget.  This is a GREAT chance to provide feedback at a critical time of the year. The funds we spend are supposed to be a true indication of community priorities - help make this happen!

I am going to try to post a lot about the city budget over the past week, to provide you with important information you can use to evaluate the budget process and the choices so far made by city hall.

Not a lot of people typically attend this meeting, and I think this is a real shame from a couple of perspectives. The decisions we will make in this process will set the tone for the city for the next year(s) and will set the tax rate. Here is a chance to learn about city finances, priorities, and to perhaps have some influence on the process.

I am hosting a little pre budget meeting get together at Cowboy Coffee on Victoria Street and I will buy coffee for the first 25 people who show up. We will be at Cowboy at 5:30pm on Feb.26th - 90 minutes before the start of the budget meeting. Please consider joining us there as well!

A Very Civil Conversation...

A few days ago, I was at the Grinders Coffee Bar, participating in a meeting on provincial electoral reform. A gentleman came up to me and, in a quiet measured friendly tone, quizzed me on my views on outsourcing. He then told me, again in a very measured friendly tone, that he disagrees with outsourcing. Now, the very fact that this person approached me at all indicates that he probably strongly disagrees with outsourcing.

But I was so thankful to hear his views especially for his approach to expressing his views. It was not a closed fist but an open hand. So different than BC labour leader Jim Sinclair's comments that my views were stupid and that I should consider resigning.

You see, I am always open to changing my mind. But, with the harsh criticism that sometimes come with this job, I have to fight the tendency to circle the wagons and dig my heels in.

Plus harsh criticism does little to open up productive discussion, debate, and dialogue on new ideas. Trying to shut people down is no way to continue to innovate and become better.

So, thank you to Dale McRann! I know we talked about discussing outsourcing and other issues some more, and I really look forward to doing that.

Council Meeting Feb 13th 2007 - Recap

Today, Cam Fortems took Michelle Young's place at the media table. Michelle usually covers Council for the Kamloops Daily News. But, she had covered the budget meeting in the morning. And, likely as pertinent, her 9 year old son, Arden Rogers, wanted to come to Council to try to save an old beautiful fountain in Riverside Park. Could have been awkward for mother to report on her son.

Arden, a very earnest young chap, came to the podium at the start of the meeting (public inquiries section) and asked us to consider rehabilitating the Cunliffe Fountain - donated by a prominent citizen in 1962 and recently having stopped functioning.  I think all in the room were very impressed with Arden but agreed we probably won't have the budget to rehabilitate the fountain in this year's budget. Seemed also the consensus that the fountain should not be demolished.

We then went into a section of the agenda called "Chief Administration Officer Reports". In this section is usually a lot of building development related stuff, but also bylaw related issues and updates on important city initiatives and programs. First thing we did here today was vary a bylaw to allow for a sign at the new Lansdowne Village Mall downtown.

We then discussed the status of a much desired pedestrian and bike route from Valleyview into downtown. The problem is getting by the huge morass of highway on and off ramps that is the Valleyview interchange. City staff have been working on a number of different designs, and have run not only into huge cost escalation issues, but also the refusal of CP rail to approve of building over their track. So, now we have to try to revitalize an interim plan to route bicycles and pedestrians through the Gregson and Rivers Trails. City staff will consult with the bicycle advisory committee and other groups,  sharpen their pens in terms of cost, and come back to Council with a solid recommendation.

David Trawin, Development and Engineering Services Director, presented his department's 2006 report. I hope to post here or link to the report in the near future. We were updated on city hall efforts to deal with mountain pine beetle infestation and approved $200 000 in the budget to continue the curbside pickup program - about 80 homeowners have been served so far.

Jim Carroll and Fred Pain came to talk to us about water hauling to Knutsford, and about their contention the publics work consolidation of water standpipes into one location would be detrimental to their efforts to obtain water in a cost efficient and environmentally sensitive manner. Council asked staff to research the feasibility of creating a metred, regulated standpipe in the south west area of the city, closer to Knutsford.

We proclaimed Heritage Week and Scouting Baden-Powell week.

We approved the temporary closing of streets and restrictions of parking to accommodate the 2007 schedule of Kamloops' Farmers Markets.   

Higher Density Development on the Summit Connector

On the Summit connector "switchback" (aka Victoria St (extremely) west), connecting downtown and the north shore with sahali and aberdeen, a new development has been proposed.

Mission Hill  (the Mayor may have doubts about the name) proposes to be  about  200 units  of  condos in 5  six story buildings. Their web site is worth a look just to get a sense of what this could look like.

Last night, the developers hosted an open house session . A few neighboring residents attended. Concerns I heard were loss of views, traffic and parking. The developer is saying that the development creates a friendly community which will integrate well into its surroundings, and will be easier to service with infrastructure. The buildings are sunk about 60 feet into the hill to be less of a view problem for neighbors and a lot of the existing natural rugged character of the hill will be retained.

One lady attending asked if "she should call Terry Lake" because she said I did not seem receptive to her concerns. I assured her that, yes, she should call Terry Lake but, also yes, that I was receptive to her concerns. But, I am obligated to keep my mind open, and to ask what may seem like hard questions to all parties involved.

Public Hearing on the project is scheduled for February 27th, 7pm in Council chambers at City Hall.

Council Meeting Feb 6th 2007 - Recap

Every once in a while, we on your City Council get to close a road - or more accurately, a unused lane usually long forgotten. We started the Feb 6th, 2007 meeting by doing just that. So, to "the surplus lane located on a parcel of land adjacent Johnston Lane, may you Rest in Peace.

 

Council then went on - to the first discussion of a proposed pesticide use and control bylaw for the city. For the past almost one year, a citizen driven committee has been researching pesticide use and a possible bylaw. City staff recommendation emanating from the committee process was to embark on developing a bylaw and education program that would reduce pesticide use in Kamloops. Councillor Pat Wallace moved that we  refer the bylaw to a Council workshop so that we could work out more details. Mayor Terry Lake agreed but the Mayor, Councillor Tina Lange, and myself felt that we should amend the motion to make a statement that Council, in principle, favoured the reduction of pesticide use in the community. After a lot of discussion on the amendment, Councillor Wallace's original motion was read back and we agreed the original motion encompassed support for pesticide reduction. It was painful, we moved forward, and hopefully we become better from it all.

 

We went on  - to discuss a staff proposal to put in a bid to host the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games. After talking about the benefits of the $1 million budgeted city investment, the type of athletes that will be attending, and the notion of involving people with disabilities or who need an entry into the workforce, we approved submitting  a bid.

Council accepted $15 000 for neighborhood parks from a developer of an 8 lot subdivision on Wawn rd on Westsyde, We also sent a proposal to turn the This Old Steakhouse Restaurant to professional offices (mainly for lawyers) to a public hearing.

Subject to the result of negotiations between the KIB and the provincial government on an outstanding land claim, we forwarded an application to the Agricultural Land Commission for the development of slow pitch and rugby fields on the site of the old Raleigh Correctional Centre. We honour the fact the land claim is outstanding, and my strong feeling is that we will abide by any decision reached by the KIB and the provincial government.

The city's new transit planner, Alex Armstrong, helped us understand the new transit plan recommendations. A BC transit planner said the bus system was almost at capacity, in terms of ridership - I have a bit of a different view.

Peter Holmgren, chair of the Communities in Bloom (CIB) committee, updated on us the committee's plans to stay active in the CIB, but not to do an evaluation style project this year. They instead want to focus more on specific projects in Kamloops and mentor other communities in the CIB program.

Council proclaimed White Cane Week. We also passed a number of resolutions asking the provincial and federal government to give greater sustainable funding to child care / day care in Kamloops. We also voted to write a letter to the Chamber of Commerce asking for their involvement in helping encourage the creation of day care spaces in the community.

In the response to letters from 13 different community groups who use Heritage House, protesting a 100% increase in (albeit pretty modest) fee, Byron McCorkell, city parks and rec director, proposed that the city faze in the fee increase over 3 to 4 years.

The last issue on the agenda was the question of whether the community should renew our membership in the Trans Canada Yellowhead Association - worth about $9800 this year. I moved a motion that we not renew our membership. I personally have not seen much value from membership in this association. It may be the only association devoted to a highway in the country! Other Councillors felt that we should wait it out a year perhaps, or at least, talk over the value of association membership with our regional colleagues at the TNRD. Councillor John O Fee moved the motion be tabled to the next meeting, and this motion passed.

So more fun and not really frivolity awaits.

Pesticide Bylaw Coming Before Council Today...

I will be supporting the recommendation from city staff for the city to adopt a pesticide use bylaw. Just got an interesting email which suggest we should call it a pesticide reduction bylaw. I support this because not only do we want to protect human health, we also want to help the success of products that do less harm to human health.

I think we have to work with garden and lawn supply and maintenance companies to help them continue the transition to healthier products and practice. I think, perhaps, Venture Kamloops could be very helpful in this regard.

I want to say the pesticide free Kamloops group has done a tremendous job with consistent communication to with Council with their views and information. Their example is all other groups could emulate in showing community concern for a cause, whatever their cause may be. These efforts don't necessarily mean I or any other member of Council will vote with you, but it helps us make better decisions I believe.

Behind on Council Mtg Recaps Again

Will try to get all Jan meetings recaped within the next week.