Okanagan Mission Residents Association Endorsement

I would like to thank the members of the Okanagan Mission Residents Association for their support of my bid for city council.

I recognize that there are differences of opinion about the roles of residents associations and whether or not residents associations should endorse particular candidates. I am secretary for the Glenmore Valley Community Association, which decided not to endorse any candidates. The decision to endorse or not is up to each individual association and its members.

As someone running for council I don’t feel it is appropriate for me to tell the residents associations what they should or should not do.

I stress that I am running as an independent and not as part of a slate or party. If elected I will base my decisions on the merits of each proposal or policy and how it benefits Kelowna as a whole.

The final decision about who will serve on the next city council is up to each individual resident of Kelowna. I urge everyone to educate themselves on the policies of each candidate and to please vote.

For my answers to the OKanagan Mission Residents Association questions, please see my post here.

Kelowna Chamber of Commerce Questions

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has given each council candidate a series of questions to anwers. Below please find their questions and my answers. There will be a public forum co-hosted by the Chamber and the Downtown Kelowna Association on Novmber 9th, 6:30 pm at the Kelowna Community Theatre.

1.) What are your views regarding the role of City Council in maintaining the level of economic growth currently experienced in the city?

Economic growth is dependant on customers. The City plays a key role in getting customers to the businesses through transportation, by ensuring business and commercial districts are clean and safe, and by beautification of city owned property and streetscapes. The local permitting process is currently rated average to good by 54% of business owners, but 39% still view it as poor to fair. Mixed use zoning provides businesses with built-in customers and employees.

2.) The tourism industry continues to be a major employment sector in Kelowna. What role do you believe that City Council should play in enhancing this sector?

The City should continue to support Tourism Kelowna and the Cultural Corridor Project. A survey of civic properties such as the Kelowna Museum and the Kelowna Art Gallery needs to be done for long-term capital requirements. A strategic plan needs to be completed for the Kelowna Arts Foundation and for the Cultural Services Division, as well as the master plan for Parks and Recreation.

3.) The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has requested that the City of Kelowna take a leadership role to coordinate the resources (financial and human resources) on such social issues as drug abuse and homelessness. What are your views toward this request?

The City should no more be involved in telling social agencies how to manage their financial and human resources that they should be in telling business how to manage theirs. What the City can do is provide support in the same way they do for business through the DKA – by contributing funding for an independent ”Social Planning Council.”

4.) Construction of the new Bennett Bridge will address the current transportation needs on Highway 97. What are your views toward addressing future traffic needs in Kelowna as the city (and region) continue to grow?

Alternative transportation concepts need to be explored now in order to begin land acquisition for future projects. A traffic and cost-effectiveness study of the different options, including the elevated highway, the second crossing and the by-pass should be done within the next two years. The bus transit system must be improved to become viable through the addition of on-demand buses and Bus Rapid Transit and development should be focused on the town-centre concept as outlined in the Official Community Plan.

Okanagan Mission Residents Association Forum

The Okanagan Mission Residents Association is planning an all-candidates forum for October 25th, 7:00 pm at the Lutheran Church on Lakeshore Road. In preparation for this, they sent each candidate a series of questions. They plan to distribute the answers to their members at the forum. These are the questions and my answers!


Quality of life for residents of Kelowna:
1. What is the most important thing you wish to address in your first year as a member of council? Please explain the actions you would take to accomplish this goal?

While I have number of goals for my time as councillor, my first priority will be the creation of a Social Planning Council that is all-encompassing, pro-active and at arms-length from City Hall so as to allow for lobbying of municipal and other levels of government. A part-time resource person could be funded by the City to ensure the success of the structure of the council. This has been done very successfully in other B.C. Communities including Kamloops and Prince George.

In-camera discussions:
2. Should all City Council discussions be made public except those concerning staff relations and salary, budget matters and proprietary business information? Please state your reasons.

Council discussions should be as transparent as possible within the limits of human rights and privacy legislation. This allows for communication and accountability.

Official Community Plan:
3. Do you think that the OCP should be binding upon City Council? Please state your reasons.

No. The OCP is a living document which provides a framework for planning and an opportunity to provide a future vision for our community. It is only as accurate and forward thinking as the authors were able to provide at the time and therefore must have flexibility to address unforeseen events and innovations.

Recognizing the distinctiveness of communities:
4. Do you believe that communities such as Glenmore, Rutland and Okanagan Mission must have greater autonomy to develop as historic and distinct communities? Please state your reasons.

No. While each community within Kelowna is unique and should celebrate that uniqueness, they are part of a larger whole. City Council's responsibility is to look at planning that will benefit and enhance the entire city.

Amalgamation:
5. Do you support the amalgamation of Kelowna and Westbank?

My personal feeling is that an amalgamation would prove beneficial to both communities. I look forward to the completion of the Westside Governance Study which will either bear that out or give me cause to reconsider my position.

Ward system:
6. Do you think that a ward system would better serve Kelowna’s growing population? Please state your reasons.

No. Kelowna is not yet large enough for a ward system to be beneficial.

Sustainable development:
7. Should environmental factors such as adequate local water supply, air quality and waste management limit the growth of the City of Kelowna? What do you see as its maximum desirable population? Please explain.

Development should be viewed through the lens of environmental, social health, and economic factors, as well as the ability for existing infrastructure to handle the growth. How we manage growth and its impact on these three factors will determine people's desire to live here.

Advocate for Community Groups:
8. Should the City of Kelowna provide an independent public advocate to assist community groups in making informed submissions to council regarding changes to the OCP or zoning? Please state your reasons.

The City of Kelowna already provides a staff person to aid community groups and while more time should be allocated to this, an independent public advocate is neither necessary or desirable. I would recommend a "Planning 101" course hosted by the City for interested persons.

Healthy Planning Workshop - Smart Growth

Yesterday I attended a Healthy Planning Workshop sponsored by Interior Health and the City of Kelowna, along with the Planning Institute of BC and the Ministry of Health. This was an excellent opportunity to look at determinants of health in relation to urban planning. I was pleased to see councilor Robert Hobson in attendance.
Dr. Larry Frank of UBC, a recognized expert in the interaction between land use, travel behavior and public health, was the keynote speaker.
I have always been supporter of "Smart Growth" principles and would like to share this quote from Dr. Frank:

"At its best, Smart Growth is like a medicine that treats a multitude of diseases - protecting respiratory health, improving cardiovascular health, preventing cancer, avoiding traumatic injuries and fatalities, controlling depression and anxiety, improving well-being. In the medical world, such an intervention would be miraculous. In the worlds of land use and transportation, it is a thrilling, and attainable, opportunity."

Development proposals are already vetted for environmental impact and economic impact - it is now time to do the same for health impact with a detailed set of standards. I look forward to working with the IHA and planners to develop and implement this assessment tool.

Sign, sign, everywhere a sign!

Election signs are springing up all over town like mushrooms!

My team has decided to wait until November 1st to put up any signs on public roadways. No point cluttering up the landscape any longer than necessary.

If you would like a lawn sign for your yard or window, please send an e-mail with your address to therules@telus.net and someone will deliver one to you. Thanks for your support.

Rule on the Elevated Highway

There has been much discussion lately about the elevated highway proposal for Highway 97. If elected to Council, I would be interested in reviewing this proposal.

With Highway 97 now designated a federal highway, there is the possibility of additional funds for improvements from the federal government, in addition to the province. I would be interested in costing the proposal from the bridge all the way to Sexsmith Road - a 50 to 100 year solution. I would also like to see a new artist's rendering of the proposal that shows the sight lines and open space for the elevated highway, as well as the on/off ramps. Finally, I feel that if this proposal were to move forward, I would like to see Harvey Avenue below the elevated highway narrowed and made more pedestrian friendly between Abbott and Gordon.

To this point there has been no serious review of this proposal, as it fell outside of the mandate of the Roads Task Force. The Task Force was created to look at a short-term (10 to 15 years), low cost option to the one-way couplet in order to meet the requirements for the City's Memorandum of Understanding with the Province for the new bridge.

Rule on Residents Associations

It has been a pleasure to serve on the Glenmore Valley Community Association for this past year as secretary. I encourage everyone to participate in their local residents associations. These associations can serve as an important link between City Council and the community.

If elected to City Council, I will look at ways to improve this communication for the benefit of all. The first step would be to provide each residents association with a small yearly grant for communication purposes i.e. newsletters, print ads. Next would be to provide meeting space if possible. Thirdly, I would attend residents associations meetings throughout the city on a rotating basis.

Glenmore Valley Community Association

The Glenmore Valley Community Association held a general meeting on October 5th. Guest speakers were Anne Brown of the Emergency Social Services and Barb Shave, former Red Cross volunteer. Of particular interest was a list of items to have in a "Grab and Go Bag" in case of evacuation.

A "Grab and Go Bag" should contain the following items:

Blanket, water, flashlight and extra batteries, transistor radio, toiletries, address book with family and friends, change for the phone or a phone card, small first aid kit, medical alert data, medications, note book and pen, seasonal clothing

Other items to consider:

Travel games or cards to pass the time, family photo, non-perishable food


A bag stored in the car could also contain:

Candles, a whistle, local maps, sturdy shoes and a small toolkit

Anne recommended that you refresh your "Grab and Go Bag" twice a year when you replace your smoke detector batteries. This includes replacing batteries, changing clothing to season wear, refreshing water and food supply.

The 10 Minute Cure for Procrastination!

Yesterday was a busy day as I filed my nomination papers, helped pick up garbage along Glenmore Road with my sons' Scout and Beaver group, and attended the Okanagan JayCees workshop featuring motivational speaker Rhonda Victor. Rhonda is very inspiring. She led about thirty young business women through a number of exercises to determine their goals and start on the road to achieving them.
One of the gems from Rhonda's workshop was the "10 Minute Makeover". Her theory is that if you give yourself a time limit of 10 minutes, you can get past the road block of getting started on anything - a business project, an exercise program, or any other personal goals. I thought this was fantastic advice and wanted to pass it on. For more information on Rhonda Victor, please visit www.incitecoaching.com.

Deepak Binning Fundraising Dinner

My husband Stan and I attended the Deepak Binning Fundraising dinner on Saturday night for the second year. What a fabulous evening, and a wonderful way to raise funds and awareness around cancer. Many thanks to Mohini Singh for inviting us. The food was fantastic - great work Barbie Bal - and the musical entertainment was invigorating to say the least. Over $30,000 was raised - a record in the five years the event has been running. Congratulations to all the organizers - keep up the good work!