In September I had opportunity to hear Anna Maria Tremonte, host of CBC’s The Current reflecting on the role of local elected leaders and the media. She said “More politicians should speak from the heart. These days, though, a politician rarely gives an answer that has not been filtered through a heavy dose of media training”. She suggested that by avoiding clear heartfelt communication about issues elected officials miss opportunities. “If you believe strongly that you should take an action, you should be prepared to tell others why you are doing it,” she said to a standing ovation.
Her words resonated with me as I have always believed in being open about issues.
You may have noticed that Shaw TV is showing repeats of older council meetings. That is because the City no longer has the services of the person who taped council meetings. New technology is also required that the City doesn’t have.
I met with Area A director Mike Sosnowski, FAR manager Andy Cohen and the team that does blasting to discuss Avalanche Control Program Timing. Last winter a lot of complaints were recorded regarding the effects of blasting in early morning. Mr. Cohen explained the reason was due to construction of the Polar Peak Lift that was completed this past January. The location of this lift necessitated extraordinary control work that sometimes needed to be accomplished before seven in the morning as well as needing larger blast sizes. In a follow-up letter to Council Mr. Cohen stated that FAR has “Reconstructed our Avalanche Control Sequencing to make every effort to commence avalanche control after 7 am. Although on rare occasion, the snow pack may dictate we need to start prior to 7 am for the safety of our staff and guests.” As with everything in life there is always a pro and con to everything. In this instance individuals were unnecessarily disturbed by the sound and vibration of the blasts however the early blasts were required for the safety of the workers and people on the hill.
CUPE president Barry O’Neill was in town to present his Ten Percent Shift. Spending ten percent of monies locally could provide multiple benefits to a community. Met with Valley mayors and several provincial representatives from China, India, Korea, USA and Europe to exchange information regarding trade opportunities for the Elk Valley. I also presented Fire Chief Shawn Ivany with a 30 year Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal and certificate. Chief Ivany has extensive training in the fields of fire protection, rescue and emergency services. Congratulations to Chief Ivany on achieving this milestone. Byron Sarabun has been promoted to position of Supervisor of Public Works, Congratulations Byron. Pets Society’s Pierre Dupont presented plans for a couple of areas for an off leash dog park that was referred to the Leisure Centre Master plan in the works. Council commends Mr. Dupont for all his work towards making this a reality.
An issue of concern addressed this week by council was the garbage bin area at the Chamber site. Council had bins placed there specifically for use of secondary home owners and visitors so they wouldn’t leave garbage outside when they left town Sundays. Animal carcases, old furniture, wood products and bags of garbage are being placed inside, on top and on the ground making the area very unsightly and unsanitary. These bins will be removed and users will have to cross the highway to the new Transfer Station to deposit their litter. Having unsightly garbage at the entrance to our town does not produce a good impression. Depositing garbage of any kind in that area will now be illegal.
We have invited Mike Lorimer, Regional Director, Southern Interior Region of the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure to visit Fernie during peak periods of ski visitors to experience first-hand the traffic congestion and number of accidents that have happened in past years. This is a follow-up to our meeting with this Ministry in Victoria.
Kerri Wall introduced Interior Health’s Healthy Communities Initiative for chronic disease prevention and health promotion. She said in her presentation that local Government has contributed more in the past 150 to the health of people than doctors and hospitals have and that Fernie in particular is doing “great things for community health in terms of accessibility, food security and embracing a culture of wellness. I would like to partner with council to continue building an even healthier community by making it easy to make healthy choices so as to improve the general factors of health for the entire population.
In August Council sent a letter protesting the provincial government’s proposal to disband warehousing and distribution of liquor products in BC. We believed this would impact local jobs. A reply from Minister Rich Coleman states that this proposed request to privatize the liquor distribution has been cancelled.
The Building official’s report states that this year to date value is $14,821,000.00 compared to $10,920,000.00 in 2011.
As mayor I was pleased to lay the wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day, special thanks go to the Fernie Legion for organizing this very moving event each year. I have to mention how great it was to have the Ghostrider Team involved in the services, even more special because the guys had played three nights in a row in different venues and won, had spent some time in a hospital because one of them was injured, flown that morning from Penticton, got home by bus and came to march in the parade. Way to go Ghostriders!
A lot of meetings are attended each week by members of council, this past Monday I was in Cranbrook to hear and meet with Minster Mike De Jong who provided a very informative presentation on the Provincial Budget.
Wednesday was the City Beautification Committee that welcomes new members who would like to be involved in shaping how our town looks, if interested put your name at City Hall. Thursday and Friday were meetings with Elk Valley mayors, and others regarding Ambulance concerns and the newly formed CBT Community Funds. Friday I spent nearly four hours trying to digest an intense engineering report on liquid waste management currently underway and I must admit this is no easy task although reading the funding numbers certainly kept me awake.
And finally, parents always hope children will grow into productive adults with caring hearts. This past year I have seen that in my children, my oldest daughter worked through her diagnosis of stage four cancer by helping to raise money for a woman who needs financial help before and after a double lung transplant will be considered to save her life, and then also raised money for another woman who was facing eviction notices because she wasn’t able to work after cancer surgery. Her siblings and all of the extended families of uncles, aunts and cousins as well as many friends chipped in to raise the necessary monies. I am very proud of Julie and everyone who helped her. But this week I was proud of my son Nick’s quick thinking. On seeing the look on his co- workers face and without any training he took action and performed the maneuver that saved the man’s life. He didn’t think it was anything special but his co-workers praised him for what he did to which he replied that he hoped that if it had been him in same situation someone would have helped him. And this was my week.
