Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Podcast: Rob Purdy on the Big Picture of Sustainability...

 

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/4370352638/

One of the organizers of the Kamloops Energy Fair, and former BC Wildlife Park manager Rob Purdy, spoke to me about some big picture sustainability issues. Recorded at the 2010 Kamloops Energy Fair on June 19th 2010. Almost 7 minutes.

Audio Map

00:00  - big picture of sustainability
00:22 - problems with oil based economy
01:03 - contribution of the Kamloops Energy Fair
02:06 - momentum towards transitioning to a cleaner energy society - key number is 13%.
03:55 - women another potential driver to greener world
          - green economy huge potential.
 

Hard Questions for Kamloops City Hall Staff...

 

Kamloops This Week article on City Hall staff salaries.

The question, in my mind, is not why do you make so much money? The question is how will citizens actually believe you are worth it. I know city staffers are worth the money. I've had first hand experience. Council members often contort themselves every which way, vying for the opportunity to compliment city staff in meetings. But, I am not sure that works in inspiring public confidence in city staff. It seems too cozy to me when I watch on tv or am sitting in the public gallery of council chambers.

Councillors often feel sheepish asking tough questions of senior city staff at council meetings. I know I often did when I was on council. But, this may be the best opportunity for city staff to really show their stuff. 

I also think part of the role of a councillor is to ask tough questions on behalf of the public. Early on in my council term, we were given the opportunity to choose a piece of City of Kamloops clothing. A rationale given by one staffer was that we were now representing city hall in the community. I think it's the other way around.

Long Form Census Debate Will Impact Kamloops...

creative commons photo credit - thank you:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yooperann/4687070480/

The Federal Government has decided not to require some Canadians to fill out what is called the "long form questionnaire" for the 2011 Census. The government says many Canadians had complained to their MPs of the intrusiveness of the long form questionnaire  - so the Tories have decided on a voluntary replacement. On the flip side, however, a lot of reputable organizations and people are questioning this move. First, no formal consultation was done to inform the decision. Second, a lot of government decisions, such as those made at city hall, are informed by good census data. David Eaves has a lot more on his blog.

I'd rather err on the side of having more information and for making the case to Canadians that the requirement to fill out these forms when chosen will help the country as a whole. 

Wacky Weather Impacting City Hall Operations?

Starting to really wonder how our slopes and storm drains are holding up under all the unseasonable rain? Been very strange weather in Kamloops so far this summer.

News Council Sub-Committees : How Words Matter...

 
creative commons credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/imfphoto/4551538226/

Last week, City Council approved various changes and additions to the council committee structure. Notably, and this is a good thing in my view, sub-committees were added for youth, children, and families and for seniors.  These groups, as well as present city committees on race relations (now called diversity) and disability issues, will now be sub-committees of the Social Planning Council.

A really interesting debate was had around the terms of references for these sub-committees. Councillor Nancy Bepple felt that some important groups might feel left out in that their concerns or issues were not explicitly mentioned in the committee responsibilities. Other, like Mayor Pat Wallace, seemed to suggest that this was too much wordsmithing.

There seemed to be exasperation by some, most notably Radio NL reporter Angelo Iacobucci, that this debate was even happening. But, I felt talking about the wording was pretty important. There is a fine line between being too general and being too specific. It just seems like a good thing to spend some time to determine where that line should be. At the end of the discussion, it was re-affirmed that the Social Planning Council is still open for presentations and discussions on the whole range of issues, and Councillor Denis Walsh made a motion to tweak the Diversity sub committee's terms of reference that was unanimously supported by the rest of Council.

Why Not Come Down to the Kamloops Energy Fair?

Saturday, June 19th 2010 - Mac Island.

The below video is an amazing promo, starring some of the organizers (who it turns out are not that shy!) :

More information here...

Reflections on John O'Fee's Council Comment on Government Debt...

 

Councillor John O'Fee's latest column in the Kamloops Daily News deals with government debt. It's a pretty solid piece, in my opinion, explaining the benefits and costs of the practice.

A couple of things struck me.

This first is a bit of tangential point. John partly justifies government debt by saying "Like any enterprise, improvement requires investment." I personally would hate to think this is true. Sometime, improvement might mean cutting when budgets are getting too high or when programs are no longer working. John makes a similar point, seems to me, in the last sentence of his column in saying "It’s certainly not a problem we can afford to ignore."

Second, and this is more of a question, I'm wondering why John used TNRD (our regional district) aggregate figures rather than City of Kamloops figures. It would probably made the column a lot stronger if people had a better picture of what is happening locally.

Looking at Youth Voter Turnout...!

As part of my MA in Professional Communications studies, I am going to be doing a substantial piece of research. I'm hoping I get approved for a thesis (which allows more research time and the ability to conduct interviews / surveys).

What I am planning to research is what voting outreach messages work best to build trust in non voting youth so that they are encouraged to vote.

With voter turnout in Kamloops under 30% in the 2008 civic election, I hope this study will have some relevance to local voter outreach efforts. I think we miss out on so much community wisdom when people are so disengaged from the electoral process. I also think groups who don't vote in great numbers, such as youth, may not see their priorities well reflected in government.

As some may know, I've long been interested in increasing voter turnout at all levels of government. I am hoping my thesis will have national relevance and generally trying to frame the research that way thus far.

Still, I'm also really hoping the work will help increase voter turnout in Kamloops.

Sustainable Kamloops Planning Forum - April 17th 2010

On Saturday, April 17th 2010, the City of Kamloops will be hosting a public forum on planning for sustainability in the community. It will run from 9am to 5pm at the Interior Savings Centre. I hope many people will attend to share their thoughts and to converse with other citizens. More details as they become available.

Sustained Coverage of the Sustainable Kamloops Plan...

In early 2006, I was proud and privileged to have had a role in getting a community discussion going on about sustainability. At the 2006-2008 Council strategic planning session, I brought up the idea of incorporating sustainability into that Council's strategic plan. We had a great discussion, and I remember Tina Lange really championing the idea. Peter Milobar wisely stated that we needed to create a solid infrastructure underneath sustainability type activities lest we overpromise and underdeliver. And, then, Pat Wallace suggested in her calm and friendly style that we may want to undertake a sustainability planning process - and we all agreed this would be good. On the senior staff side, I remember City Public Works Director David Duckworth being very enthusiastic and encouraging of making a sustainability a priority.

I am more than likely missing some people's roles here, but this what I remember.

For the past couple of years, the Sustainable Kamloops Committee has been meeting, working out initial proposals (web site), and are now soon to hold a public forum.

I look forward to explaining and commenting on the process here.