By Kevin McIsaac
Fernie has a new mayor and council. Last month, Randall Macnair was elected mayor with 1297 votes, and received more votes than any other member of the newly elected council. I sat down with the mayor-elect and asked him about the campaign, the election and the future last week and found him erudite and passionate about Fernie and its future.
K: What’s changed about the new council?
R: The new council, with six incumbents, is essentially the same group with a new leader. Three years ago it was different. We had the hurdle of new members. Now it is different. We can be more proactive.
K: Are you happy with the results of the election?
R: I’m very happy with the results of the whole group. There’s some experience and good breadth of perspective and some fresh faces.
K: How would you respond to those who would ask if the new council was too anti-development?
R: I don’t think there’s too much slant. Look at the last three years for the development attitude.
K: But even you yourself voted against the golf course.
R: I supported the notion of a golf course and even made the original motion in council to approve it. I was concerned about the golf course process. Some of those concerns have been addressed regarding the environment. There are still some regarding density, but I support development in that area.
K: What are the biggest concerns you have regarding development?
R: That there’re not enough tools in place to ensure affordable housing. Once people cannot afford housing, you no longer have a community. In my opinion we need to look at how other housing authorities like Whistler’s are dealing with the problems. We need to avoid Aspenization. Without affordable housing we lose the ability to attract families and lose our diversity. Projects such as New Horizon Village and Chrysalis House will help. We need a more active role by the city in ensuring affordable housing.
K: How do you respond to people that say there’s too much development already?
R: Most people are comfortable with the rate of change. Some people feel the rate is too fast, some think it’s not fast enough. I think we’re growing at a comfortable pace, but outside forces have a significant effect.
K: How does the City influence development?
R: Through zoning. Zoning has been done and that limits our ability to change, but aesthetics are controllable. We’ll resolve development challenges by recognizing the asset that we have and being aware that people want to come to Fernie. Set the bar high, but make it easy to jump through the hoops and the level should continue to increase in quality.
K: What about expansion? There’s been a lot of discussion regarding West Fernie.
R: Pulling in West Fernie would add about $750,000 to our costs. Expansion is inevitable though. And it probably it should be from Hartley Lake Rd. to Morrissey.
K: What about tourism?
R: The infrastructure to support tourism is in place. Now we need to focus on usage over the whole year. We need to expand visitor-ship by supporting the golf course, the excellent trail system we have and by marketing Fernie. We need to figure out how to compel tourist benefiters to contribute. We need an individual or board to advise the city on marketing. And there’s room for further cooperation between the City, Chamber of Commerce and Fernie Tourism. There’ve been good things happening. It’s a matter of maintaining momentum.
Links to contact information for Mayor Macnair and the other council members, as well as election results and council minutes can be found at: www.city.fernie.bc.ca.
Information about affordable housing in BC can be found at: www.bchousing.org.
