Editor’s Note:
Children in Grades 3/4, 5/6 and 6/7 at Arrow Heights Elementary Revelstoke’s asked some pretty interesting and specific questions of the city’s three Mayoral Candidates, Mark McKee, Michael Brooks-Hill and David Raven. The candidates’ responses are revealing. Read on…
Mark McKee’s response
Grade 3/4
1) If you are elected to City Council, what are your ideas for developing the old school sites of Mt. Begbie School and Mountain View School? We would like to see an arts and crafts/indoor fun centre for young people. Could this be a possibility?
Yes it could be a possibility. The School Board makes the decisions and I am sure they will be looking at ideas for these places. I think your idea is a very good one. I would like the fields to stay as green spaces in these neighborhoods.
2) We are concerned about the bears, painted turtles and other wildlife in and around Revelstoke. We think it would be great to create a ‘green space’ downtown which would include a wildlife rescue center and a place where people can see the animals for educational reasons. Would this be something you would consider?
Yes, we consider all ideas and decide if the city can afford it , where to put it, and if the people want it. Here are some places you may know – Grizzly Plaza, the pool, and the Railway Museum. These were all ideas just like yours that somebody had at one time.
3) We are worried about drivers speeding down Red Devil Hill and Airport Way on the way to Williamson Lake. It is very dangerous as our school bus stops near there, and kids walk/ride their bikes to Williamson Lake in the summer. We would like to see more police in that area to stop people speeding. Is this possible?
It is difficult to have police there all the time, but I know the RCMP and City Hall want you to feel safe. Perhaps we could put better and bigger signs up and make sure the RCMP keep a close watch as well. If I become mayor, I think we should sit down with the RCMP and talk about this serious problem. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Grade 5/6
1) How do you plan to reduce the City’s debt?
The first thing I would do is to try to avoid any further loans if possible. To have large projects like the pool we have had to borrow money, but now is the time to look at our spending to see if there are places we can cut back and to build up our reserves which are a savings account that we use in the event that we have something happen that we didn’t expect – like paying for snow removal in a year with a lot of snow. We plan our finances for the coming year and we will be looking for ways to save money, just like you would at home. This is one of the main reasons that I ran for mayor. I will spend a lot of time dealing with financial issues.
2) What are you going to do to make sure that Revelstoke stays a clean and healthy place to live?
We try to encourage tourism because it is considered a clean industry. We have a community vision: “Revelstoke will be a leader in achieving a sustainable community by balancing environmental, social and economic values. Revelstoke will be seen as vibrant, healthy, clean, hospitable, resilient and forward thinking.” We keep this vision in mind in everything we do.
3) How are you going to encourage the young people of today to come back and live in Revelstoke again?
Revelstoke is an attractive city and people do want to stay or move here. We have to make sure that they can afford to live here. This means that they have to have jobs and that houses and living expenses don’t cost too much. If people can’t find a job and the all the houses are too expensive, they will move somewhere else. I want city hall to help people if they want to start a business. The only way we can keep people here is if they can support themselves. Having businesses in town means more jobs and that is the first thing you need when you move here. So if we have jobs and affordable housing, hopefully we are encouraging young people to come back and live in Revelstoke.
Grade 6/7
1)What children’s activities will you promote if you are elected to council?
Perhaps you have spent time at Farwell Pool when you were small. I had 4,000 hits on my Facebook page about this lovely little park, so I know it is important to Revelstoke. It has been closed, but I want to open it up again. It may not look the same as before, I am thinking it may come back as a splash park. There is talk about a skate park and I think this is a project that can be done. I would also like to see more biking trails, adding on to the trails that we already have. I would also like to hear from you on what you think are important children’s activities that we need in Revelstoke.
2) How much do you want to expand Revelstoke, and where would that expansion be?
Revelstoke has changed a lot in the last few years, but our population has not grown. We are lucky that the people that move here are young people and have young families. I hear that we need more people and I hope we can do that but slowly. I would like any expansion to consist of filling in vacant areas of the downtown and filling in our new subdivisions that are already planned or started. I would like growth that the community sees as acceptable, and that we can manage. This way we can offer more services to our citizens.
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Michael Brooks-Hill’s response
Grade 3/4
1) If you are elected to City Council, what are your ideas for developing
the old school sites of Mt. Begbie School and Mountain View School? We would like to see an arts and crafts/indoor fun centre for young people. Could this be a possibility?
Certainly this is a possibility, and I think it is an excellent idea. Perhaps combined with mixed-income housing. So, some would be affordable housing for those in need, and some would be at a market rate to offset the costs.
2) We are concerned about the bears, painted turtles and other wildlife in and around Revelstoke. We think it would be great to create a ‘green space’ downtown which would include a wildlife rescue center and a place where people can see the animals for educational reasons. Would this be something you would consider?
It would be very nice to have a wildlife rescue center. I’m not sure that downtown would be the right place for it, certainly for bears. Habituating bears to humans means that they are more likely to interact with us, which usually does not end well for the bears. If they were rescued with the idea of releasing them later, they would be safer and happier somewhere outside of town.
3) We are worried about drivers speeding down Red Devil Hill and Airport Way on the way to Williamson Lake. It is very dangerous as our school bus stops near there, and kids walk/ride their bikes to Williamson Lake in the summer. We would like to see more police in that area to stop people speeding. Is this possible?
The City could request that police patrol more in this area, especially during the times the bus is there. I would encourage you to write a letter to both the city and the police, and I’m sure that something will be done.
Grade 5/6
1) How do you plan to reduce the City’s debt?
The first step is to not engage in any large and/or unnecessary projects. Next we could hire fewer consultants to help reduce costs. There certainly is also room for improvement in the budget process, as well as looking into making sure that all areas of infrastructure are addressed any time a road is dug up.
2) What are you going to do to make sure that Revelstoke stays a clean and healthy place to live?
I would like to see Mackenzie from Victoria to third street become pedestrian only. To start with, it would just be Saturdays in the summer time, and then proceed from there. I would also like to see the city speak out strongly against the proposed logging on Mt. Macpherson, the Begbie Bench, Boulder and Frisby. These are popular outdoor recreation areas, and I think they should be protected.
3) How are you going to encourage the young people of today to come back and live in Revelstoke again?
By trying to make it more affordable, by protecting the environment around town, as well as trying to create more good jobs that pay well enough for people to be able to afford to live here.
Grade 6/7
1) What children’s activities will you promote if you are elected to Council?
I would certainly like to see the new skate park being built in the near future. I also think that an indoor arts center could be an excellent idea. I have been proposing a community greenhouse as well that would be an excellent educational activity for children.
2) How much do you want to expand Revelstoke, and where would that expansion be?
Personally I would like to see Revelstoke grow slowly. We have only to look to Kelowna to see an example of what rapid growth looks like, and I personally don’t like it. 500 more people in the next 5 years sounds both attainable, as well as desirable. I think there is ample room for expanding our population without expanding our boundaries. There are many empty lots, especially in Arrow Heights. But also, I would like to see an increase in density in the downtown core. More infill housing, as well as the creation of more suites in existing buildings.
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David Raven’s response
- The former Begbie and Mountain View sites.
Both of these properties are controlled by the school board, who have committed to selling them and using the profits to offset the costs of the new high school and elementary school. Nothing has been done with Begbie, and there are a number of groups including the boxing club and Red Cross using the school for their activities. Mountain View is planned for residential development, protecting the 100-year old-school building and the existing play ground. Both are old and very costly buildings to maintain, which is why the school board built new schools and they would be costly to convert to other public uses and a burden on taxes.
The ideas for a craft or activity center are excellent and should be addressed to the city’s parks and recreation department as potential programs at the community center.
- Green space and animal rescue center.
These are two good suggestions, however, for both answers the definition of what is envisioned becomes a key part of the solution. The city is smaller and tightly developed which allows the surrounding forests, riparian areas along the rivers and the rural areas to provide much of the desired benefit of a green space, which is key to animals who can and do move about naturally (bears, deer). Habitat protection and careful control of activities that could harm animals who do not have wide range of movements is much easier (because you know where they are) and effective in protecting them. (turtles or fish). The city has both green space and habitat protection plans within our various community plans. A animal rescue center is a good idea. However, for the protection and comfort of the animals, and to provide the space for them to live in a more natural environment, a facility like this would be better located well outside of the city.
- Speeding in school zones and congested areas.
The safety of childern, walkers and bikers has been a big concern of mine since my childern went to school (Arrow Heights). Police officers share these concerns and concentrate their time where they know there problems which is why you will see them in school zones or where students travel to school more often than other parts of the city.
The other part of the solution is to build a net work of trails and sidewalks to separate walkers and bikes from the traffic. The trail along Red Devil hill, and the new sidewalk along Nichol Road to the school are good examples and I would like to expand this network.
- Reducing the debt.
Much of the current debt was used to provide the city’s 1/3 share (2/3 are shared by the provincial and federal governments ) for infrastructure projects like water reservoirs, sewer systems, water lines or roads, and some debt was spent for the pool. Through tight spending control in the last 6 years and simply not borrowing at all in 2014 the debt will be reduced by about $1 million this year and in future years. The fiscal plan for the city will also increase the amount of money held in reserves, which is savings for future needs to eliminate the need to borrow for these projects in the future. It is the spending of prior reserves, and failing to replace them that forced the city to use debt financing for necessary project and the current debt.
There is a longer answer to this question that would require an understanding of interest rates, the differences between bonds, municipal lending and the amortization of mortages and commercial loans and municipal budgets with the difference between operational activities and tangible capital assets which would be best discussed in a open forum.
- Clean and healthy community.
This question is really about lifestyle and community priorities, and how and where the city places its priorities and service levels. A clean, healthy, active and engaged community is a priority for me, and reflects the wants of the majority in the community. The city have this goal and direction in several plans (ICSP, OCP), and in the budget. However the actual work necessary to keep a city clean, healthy and safe costs money and the service levels (what and how much we do) is balanced against the cost of taxes in each budget debate.
- Keeping generations in the community.
Where you live and work is a personal choice for each of us, and we will all pursue opportunity, wealth, lifestyle, family, education, community, living environment, safety and security, opportunity and love when we make the choice. The answer to the question about how to keep our youth (who are our future) and to attract other is to provide opportunity for meaningful work, adequate wages, recreation choices, attainable housing, affordable living costs, education for all members of the family, health care, social programs, culture and diversity and a sense of family and community inclusiveness. The ski hill and other active recreation options in this environment provide a big part of the lifestyle choice for many, however the need for employment and meaningful wages highlights the need for a balanced economy with sustainable growth.
- Children’s activities.
I would like to see a trail network from the resort to the golf course, a water park, a new skate board park, continued affordable access to skiing, hockey, swimming, ski touring, faster internet access, play parks, a wide range of programs at the community center, skating, art programs, cultural programs and performing art programs. More importantly I would like to see children spending more time with their parents and grandparents doing all of these choices.
- Expanding Revelstoke.
Revelstoke, is very limited by the geography and the opportunities to grow as there are really limited suitable areas surrounding the community in which to grow compared to cities like Kelowna, Vernon or Salmon Arm. The actual city boundaries are even more limited and are surrounded by the Regional District, which offers a more rural lifestyle. The rate of growth in the city will have a big influence on where expansion, and in what form occurs. Revelstoke has had a slower rate of growth than many cities for most of its 115 years. (compare it to Surrey with 10,000 new addresses per year, or a new city 1 1/2 the times of Revelstoke every year).
Looking in to the future, eventually there will be light industrial along the Westside road area, residential development in most of Arrow Heights, more infill within the city core including replacing some of the older and poorly maintained properties, more condos and rental properties, more hotels and tourist properties both along the highway and town core and at the resort base, resort properties will continue to develop above the base level and there will be significant infill development in the Big Eddy of both residential and commercial properties. At the same time there will be growth in the Regional District of more rural properties, light industrial and estate properties.
