There's a communication breakdown in Squamish, says mayor-elect Rob Kirkham, and he's ready to tackle it.
"It is hard to just say the word 'communication' and expect that to present the big picture, because it is such a big word," said Kirkham, who is currently a municipal councillor.
Lines of communication between the District of Squamish and the community took centre stage in the recent municipal election. Campaigning under the banner of a more inclusive, transparent city hall, mayoral candidate Auli Parviainen - who before she declared her candidacy was known to only a small segment of the population - came within 179 votes of winning the top spot in last Saturday's (Nov. 19) election.
Although highlighted in the run-up to voting, communication is a subject Kirkham said he took notice of during his three-year term as councillor. He said he recognized through complaints he received from residents that there was a lack of information getting to the public about district-led initiatives and policies.
In a world where council's votes are instantly streamed on the Internet, it is vital that people understand the background to decisions, Kirkham noted. Even though the soon-to-be-former councillor insists he made a lot of small steps toward opening communication lines, there still a lot of work to be done on that front, he said.
"We need some help," Kirkham said. "I would have to say we would need some help as far as expertise/advice in that area."
Teaming up with Kirkham to chip away at the problem are incumbents Patricia Heintzman, Doug Race and Bryan Raiser. New at the table is Ron Sander, general manager of construction for North Vancouver's Neptune Terminals, who placed third in Saturday's council race, local builder Ted Prior and Susan Chapelle, owner of Squamish Therapeutics (see related article, page A3).
"I am very happy about the group which were elected on council," Kirkham said, adding that each brings something different to the table.
Once sworn in on Tuesday, Dec. 6, it will be straight to work. The council will need to deal with the district's operating and capital budgets, including addressing future infrastructure requirements.
There is also the Squamish Oceanfront Development Corp. board and debt to deal with, he noted. Having had three directors resign from the board in recent weeks, the board is waiting on its shareholder - the district - for direction.
As for the debt, the municipal subsidiary is quickly nearing the end of its $9 million credit limit, Kirkham said, adding that it will be up to the new council to decide what to do with the district's loan guarantee tied to the money.
Kirkham said he believes the municipality can take the land to rezoning, but it is not a developer or a risk taker. The project needs to go to the marketplace for that step, he noted.
"I am convinced that the [Oceanfront] plan is what Squamish wants," Kirkham said.
Sander is among those who's not so convinced of that. In his election campaign, he called for the retirement of the plan and a push to lease the land to port-oriented businesses. As a group, the new members of council will need to listen to Sander's ideas and those of any other members, Kirkham said.
"I think that is the great example of municipal politics at work and I don't mean the political aspect of that," he said. "I mean having seven independent-thinking, intelligent, caring people, that have done their research, investigated and come up with their own perspective on things and entering into a debate and coming to a consensus on how to move forward."
