Candidates seeking to be elected to City of Powell River council pitched their platforms to roughly 300 people who attended an all-candidates meeting on Tuesday, November 1.
Hosted by Powell River Chamber of Commerce, the meeting was held in Evergreen Theatre at Powell River Recreation Complex and was moderated by Dan Devita. The format included speeches from each candidate, a question and answer period and closing remarks.
Co-treatment, a proposal to treat the city’s sewage at Catalyst Paper Corporation’s Powell River division, and whether the city should have held a referendum on the concept emerged as a major theme, as well as the need for jobs in the community.
Mayoral candidates, incumbent Stewart Alsgard and Dave Formosa, who is a city councillor, presented differing views of what they would do if elected. Alsgard, who is seeking a fifth consecutive mandate from voters, said he has always believed that he works for taxpayers. “Council should not only consult with the public, but from time to time, ask you directly if you are prepared to accept and pay for a new direction in important matters,” he said. “These are very difficult economic times and Powell River is not immune to the changing economic forces at work provincially, nationally or internationally.”
As mayor, Alsgard said, he has worked hard to protect the community from the severe consequences of the last recession. “Despite those difficult times, we have made great strides with our core capital projects, intergovernmental relations, education, arts, culture, sports and accessibility, and we’ll deal with the ferry issues,” he said. “Stop thinking about asset replacement, start thinking of what function or service is really needed. Look at different ways or providing it and continue building a path to sustainable fiscal measures and environmental stewardship.”
Formosa stressed his commitment when he was elected in 2008 to keep Catalyst’s Powell River division open. He pointed out that while Catalyst closed the Elk Falls division in Campbell River, it has hired workers in Powell River.
Formosa said he would also work with Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation, tackle rising ferry fares and the need for affordable housing, continue working on creating own-source revenue and attracting new investment and help lead a new approach at city hall to managing the city, “one that is strictly focused on learning to live within our means. Our means are shrinking.”
The city has gone from a revenue vs. cost cushion of $4 million a year to just under $1 million a year, Formosa said. “We need to pay very close attention to this trend,” he said.
The 10 candidates for council Jim Palm, Maggie Hathaway, Scott Lukianchuk, Gordon Crawford, Myrna Leishman, Bill Hopkins, Russell Brewer, Debbie Dee, Chris McNaughton and Glen Holstine, outlined their experience and ideas for the future.
Incumbent councillors Palm, Hathaway, Dee and McNaughton reviewed their achievements during the past three years and addressed what they thought needed to be accomplished in the next three years.
Palm also referred to the closing of the Elk Falls mill. “I believe that if it had not been for the efforts and sacrifices of local union leadership, coupled with tough decisions made by mill management and a willingness of your city staff and council to work on reducing the taxation equation, what happened in Campbell River could very well have happened here,” he said. “The bottom line is, we cannot rest and must continue to be diligent in our efforts to retain those jobs for families in this community.”
Hathaway elicited the first laugh from the audience when she said she thought the new community athletic track at Timberlane should be named Blue Heron Track. She reported on a recent meeting with provincial minister of health staff to promote medical tourism in Powell River, an idea she said was well received. She also said she is an advocate of a committee structure, as opposed to a portfolio structure, because committees involve residents. “According to the recently released Vital Signs survey, one-quarter of Powell River families live in poverty,” she said. “This is shocking. We must turn this around. We can no longer bury our heads and pretend that homelessness does not exist in Powell River. It does.”
Dee said the city can’t keep raising taxes and has to curtail spending. “The service review is almost complete and will be a guiding document to the incoming council,” she said. “It will show there are some very tough decisions to be made.”
The agreement-in-principle with Catalyst and the city’s business plan are forward thinking, Dee added. “Not only do they have the capacity to save money, they also have the capability to generate revenue. There is more to these than co-treatment.”
McNaughton provided an overview of his accomplishments. “Drawing on my provincial and regional experience in government, business and community, I’ve been a strong voice on council,” he said. “I’ve worked collaboratively with my colleagues while providing personal leadership on specific initiatives.”
McNaughton said he proposed that Powell River Regional Hospital District become the development partner in the capital project to replace Olive Devaud residence. Along with other members of council, he worked on waterfront development projects and the AIP with Catalyst, he said. “The future success of the mill is not in our control,” he said. “However, council made decisions that positioned Powell River as a place of choice to continue mill operations. We got the job done.”
Lukianchuk, who has lived in Powell River since 2007, said he thinks the status quo needs to change. “We have to work on getting some industry in this town, not minimum wage retail jobs, but jobs where a person can support their family and that students can find a career at after finishing school,” he said. “I’d also like to hear from and work with small business owners to see what will help make them a success and in turn keep money in Powell River.”
Lukianchuk also said he was against co-treatment.
Crawford, who has previously been on council, said he was unhappy with the direction the city has taken. He said he opposed co-treatment and was concerned about the high cost of the overtime for senior staff at the city, which he said was $80,000 in 2010. He also said that Catalyst can function by itself and what made the Powell River mill different from others was its power generation capability. “It’s going to be the economy, world markets that will decide if they open or not,” he said.
Leishman focused on the achievements of past councils she served on, in the 1980s and from 2005 to 2008. “The experience that I offer not only comes from my service on previous councils, but also years of participating as a volunteer on many community organizations,” she said. “Community involvement is where you find out what the community is all about.”
Hopkins said his vision for Powell River was to keep businesses in town and to make the community more accessible to people with disabilities. “There are a lot of issues the city has done really well,” he said. “We need to be doing more things for people with disabilities and accessibility.” There also has to be more opportunity for youth, Hopkins added.
Brewer said his vision was of a healthy, vibrant, culturally diverse, respectful and sustainable community. He said research has consistently indicated that three areas--arts and culture activities, openness and diversity and the availability of parks, playgrounds and trails--are important to people. “We should be basing many of the decisions we make at the municipal level in the context of those three things that people are looking for, as well as the sustainability charter for the Powell River region,” he said. “In doing so, I believe the direction will then become clear for everything else: business planning, economic development, the types of businesses we want to attract and the types of jobs that could be created.”
Holstine, a safety technician coordinator, said he believed Powell River should have a blood donor clinic. “My mandate is to get involved with addressing all issues, whether big or little,” he said. “I will listen to the concerns of the community and council, take part in the process and any aspect that is required.”
The candidates fielded only five questions from the audience. An audience member gave her number, which allowed her to ask a question, to George Orchiston, who asked everyone if they were in favour of a referendum question on the concept of co-treatment. Alsgard, Holstine, Brewer, Leishman, Crawford and Lukianchuk supported a referendum question, while Hopkins, Formosa, Hathaway, Palm, Dee and McNaughton said the city should hold a referendum when it has all the answers about co-treatment.
Other questions were about selling the community’s attributes, supporting heavy industry that could have an impact on the health and welfare of residents, banning backyard burning and changing the name of Powell River to Powell Riviera.
Interested readers can view a video of the meeting here...
