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Public Forum

Questions and Answers

Over the course of the election campaign, JC has been interviewed many times on his ideas and opinions and how he plans to improve Kelowna for residents and local businesses alike. Here you can find a few of those questions and JC's answers as published in local papers and online.

Shaw Cable
Capital News
O.M.R.A.
Earth Care
Chamber of Commerce
Glenmore Resident's Association

Shaw Cable

1. How can we balance development with environmental, social issues concerns?

I truly believe that we live in the best city in the world. Kelowna will continue to grow as it matures. While social issues may be addressed by the four pillars Strategy, we cannot turn our backs on Development.

I am FOR development and I would like to see residential high-rises be built in the downtown. But We also need to PROTECT our park land, the boardwalk and bike paths... it is, what gives Kelowna, its beauty.

We can't stop progress, all we can do is manage the growth to IMPOROVE the quality of life, for all of us.

2. Should there be some form of ethics policy introduced in municipal government? What should it include?

I live my life with honesty, integrity and strong moral ethics.

I expect that an ethics policy already exists within city council. I believe Mr. Gray's tenure has been "excellent" when it comes to any issues surrounding ethics.

If ethics is a concern to the residents, then a review should be initiated.

3. What do you think is the most important issue in this city, and what will you do to address it?

It would have to be CITY CRIME. I want to clean up the Downtown, the Heart of the City.

There has to be Zero Tolerance when it comes to illegal activity. If someone is doing something illegal, they should be arrested and charged. If they are back on the street the next day doing the same thing, they should arrested and charged again.

If the police need more man power to do this, then I am all for it. It would be cheaper to deal this now, then the future.

4. In Summary...

....we all know what the issues are.

On November 19th you will elect 8 Councillors who will manage your city, for the next 3 years.

Look carefully at ALL the candidates. As "who" you elect, will have a direct impact on your quality of life.

They need to be able to take action.

If they do not, you will see an increase in crime, poorly managed growth, traffic congestion and an overall decrease in quality of life.

If they act using the test of common sense, you will see the criminal element leave, and our streets will become enjoyable again. You will see that growth, will add to the quality of life. for every resident to enjoy.

My commitment is to be educated and informed by the public, and then inform city council; to be educated by city council, and educate and inform the public.

And then..to take action.

I bring an individuals "greatest strength" to city council. The ability, to take action. Vote JC Rathwell.

Capital News

1. Growth is an issue in Kelowna . How would you define sustainable development and the direction the city should take to manage growth?

Sustainable development adds to the quality of life and is supported by the majority of Kelowna residents. Managed growth adds to the quality of life, falls within the guidelines of the OCP and does not exceed our environmental and logistical capacity to service the demands placed upon it by that development.

2. How would you improve public input in council decisions?

It is an obligation of any city councilor to know what the residents think and want, not just before the election but, far more importantly, after, during our term in office. My commitment to increase post election interaction with the residents will allow me to directly improve public input in council decisions.

3. JC's Campaign Message

Hello. My name is JC Rathwell and I want you to vote for me on November 19th. Why? Because I will bring something that is lacking in today's political arena.

The ability to take action.

We all know what the issues are. The councilors you elect will have a direct impact on your quality of life.

They need to be able to take action. If they do NOT, you will see an increase in crime, poorly managed growth, increased traffic congestion and overall a decrease in the quality of life.

I won't let that happen. My promise is to ACT "using the test of common sense."

You will see the criminal element leave our streets, and it will become enjoyable again.

-You will see that growth, will add to the quality of life. for every resident to enjoy.

My name is JC RATHWELL. My "Real" Web site address is VoteForJC.ca

Vote JC Rathwell. For common sense. Action.

O.M.R.A.

Quality of life for residents of Kelowna:

1. What is the most important thing you wish to address in your first year as a member of council? Please explain the actions you would take to accomplish this goal?

I want the streets safer and the downtown cleaned up.

As Manager of Executive Houseboat Charters, a downtown waterfront business that relies on the natural beauty of Kelowna, I have seen first hand what the street people (mostly the drug dealers and users) have done to parts of the downtown. I would like to see more law enforcement, more street lights installed, remove the dumpsters from the back alleys and I would like to see the cameras put back up in the problem areas of downtown.

In-camera discussions:

2. Should all City Council discussions be made public except those concerning staff relations and salary, budget matters and proprietary business information? Please state your reasons.

More discussions should be made public. The public needs to be better informed by whom and why some of these decisions are being made. I am a strong believer that everyone should be held accountable for his or her actions. If you are going to make a decision on something you better be able to stand behind it. That applies to the business world and it certainly goes for people in public office.

Official Community Plan:

3. Do you think that the OCP should be binding upon City Council? Please state your reasons.

Yes it should be binding. There is a 20-year plan in place and it needs to be reviewed every 5 years. For that five-year period it needs to be fairly concrete, with some means to modify for extraordinary issues. If a developer, resident or council wants to make a material change to the plan they have five years to work towards ensuring it gets done on the review. We need some unwavering direction so both the business community and residents can predict what their city will look like.

Recognizing the distinctiveness of communities:

4. Do you believe that communities such as Glenmoore, Rutland and Okanagan Mission must have greater autonomy to develop as historic and distinct communities? Please state your reasons.

If these communities have associations that represent the people of that area and have an idea on how they want to develop their community that is a very positive attribute and I'm all for that as long as it fits into the big picture for the entire community.

Amalgamation:

5. Do you support the amalgamation of Kelowna and Westbank?

I think it is something that has to be looked at. A referendum needs to be presented to see if Westbank and Kelowna residents want that to happen. It should not be forced upon any community but it should be recognized that duplication of administration and city functions in two communities that could utilize a common infrastructure costs tax dollars. And I intend to reduce the demand on the taxpayer as much as possible.

Ward system:

6. Do you think that a ward system would better serve Kelowna 's growing population? Please state your reasons.

I think a Ward system might be good for cities the size of Vancouver but you need to be careful. I would suggest that a ward approach would be applicable where the city has a definitive region with specific unique needs and that the population within that region is quite large. I think Kelowna is too small and that the city is too consistent to benefit at this point.

Sustainable development:

7. Should environmental factors such as adequate local water supply, air quality and waste management limit the growth of the City of Kelowna? What do you see as its maximum desirable population? Please explain.

Environmental factors are certainly a determining factor when it comes to
growth however great strides in technology are being made in those fields. Kelowna will primarily be limited by water supply but we can't close our eyes to progress.

This is a paradise and people will continue to want to live here. We will build up and out and take our cues from cities that have benefited from growth, not suffered from it. I can see the city of Kelowna reaching 300,000 people and more with careful guidance by the city fathers.

Advocate for Community Groups:

8. Should the City of Kelowna provide an independent public advocate to assist community groups in making informed submissions to council regarding changes to the OCP or zoning? Please state your reasons.

The public needs quick and constant access to the city government, not only to address OCP issues but also to 'know' what's going on in their community. An informed community is a prosperous and safe community. An independent public advocate would be a good step. Beyond that it's my intent to interact with the citizens of Kelowna , to find out what all the options and approaches on any major issues might be and then to seek public input, to educate and to be educated when necessary.

Earth Care

1. Do you support the ban on the use of cosmetic pesticides like Roundup, and 2-4,D in the city of Kelowna?

If there is a way to do the same job that cosmetic pesticides do, at
the same cost, then absolutely yes. If it is going to significantly increase the cost and require a tax increase then no, not initially. We would need to review and evaluate all the information available to us to make an informed long-term decision with respect to the impact of pesticides.

2. Numerous communities across the country have implemented bylaws that restrict or ban the use of cosmetic pesticides on public and private land. Would you support a bylaw like this in the City of Kelowna?

Question has been answered in 1.

3. Do you support manual methods of controlling weeds on sidewalks and roadsides instead of using pesticides?

If we can cut down on the use of pesticides by manually controlling the
weeds, then yes we should continue to do so, again provided it's feasible to do so.

4. The Province of B.C has broken its promise to implement the agreed on Okanagan Shuswap land Resource Management Plan. Many of the parks created in the plan have not been moved to class A status and remain Protected Areas. Will you lobby the provincial government to implement the plan and move our parks to class A?

Why has the province reneged? Are there some influencing factors? We need to get all the information. If it's simply a matter of not taking action then I will lobby to have the Resource Management Plant implemented.

5. Do you agree with the establishment of a National Park in the South Okanagan that includes Okanagan Mountain Park as part of the National Park?

That's a difficult question to answer without knowing more facts. What's the benefit of a national park over a provincial or municipal park? I like the idea of ensuring that Okanagan Mountain Park remains and will work to ensure that it stays so.

6. How would you as a councillor work to increase the amount of Parks in the city of Kelowna?

Parkland is a core necessity for ensuring the quality of life is kept at the level we now enjoy. A good balance of parkland, residential and industrial/commercial space draws people and industry to Kelowna . Kelowna is in a unique position that it's beauty mandates that more parkland be made available as part of the long-term plan versus perhaps a more industrial setting. There are cues from other cities in similar circumstance from which we can draw.

7. Do you support the Lawson landing project on the foreshore of Kelowna's downtown area?

I don't believe that we should give up any waterfront property to any development in the Downtown area. We must keep waterfront access available for the entire community to use.

8. What would you do to improve water quality in Kelowna?

The water quality is very important to me, I really on it. I am the
manager of Executive Houseboat Charters.com and we are on the Lake from mid April till late October and hope to turn our business into a four seasons enterprise.

One thing I would work to implement right away is that ALL grey water AND black water from ALL craft using Okanagan Lake be contained and NOT pumped into the water. It's sewage no matter how you look at it and it needs be treated as sewage.

9. What would you do to improve air quality in the valley?

Improve transit to the level that everyone in Kelowna would be pleased to use its services. What we have now is a disgrace and if we don't take action it's going to get even worse. As well, a form of car care that ensures we have clean efficient running vehicles on our streets and highways needs to be implemented. It's not like we are breaking new ground, we can follow examples of larger cities that have already gone through the learning process. Kelowna needs to tackle big city problems before they get here.

10. What type of growth do you feel is appropriate, and how is it sustainable?

City Council has to acknowledge that Kelowna is a four seasons playground and Canada 's Hawaii or Palm Springs . The growth potential in tourism, high tech, manufacturing, and all the related spin off businesses is extremely high. To attract those industries we need to have a safe, clean, vibrant community and a tax structure that is receptive. City councils role is to address the downtown issues, review the OCP, get mass public input and to foster a pervasive feeling of can do, the rest will happen by itself. Kelowna should easily live up to the 'best place on earth' and city council's mandate should be to make it happen.

Chamber of Commerce

1. What are your views regarding the role of City Council in maintaining the level of economic growth currently experienced in the city?

The current City Council is doing a good job in keeping Kelowna moving forward however many areas can be improved upon. Cleaning up the downtown by more law enforcement, urging the justice system to hand out tougher sentences, lower taxes by targeting inefficiency and redundancy, attracting new businesses and increasing tourism both of which will add to the quality of life. It is essential that all areas be kept at the highest level of professionalism. We need to lead by example and be accountable.

2. The tourism industry continues to be a major employment sector in Kelowna. What role do you believe that City Council should play in enhancing this sector?

City Council has to acknowledge that Kelowna is a four seasons playground and Kelowna is Canada 's Hawaii . The growth potential in tourism, high tech, manufacturing, and all the related spin off businesses is extremely high. To attract those industries we need to have a safe, clean, vibrant community. City councils role is to address the downtown issues, review the OCP, get mass public input and to foster a pervasive feeling of can do, the rest will happen by itself. Kelowna should easily live up to the 'best place on earth' and city council's mandate should be to make it happen.

3. The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce has requested that the City of Kelowna take a leadership role to coordinate the resources (financial and human resources) on such social issues as drug abuse and homelessness. What are your views toward this request?

The City of Kelowna should take a Leadership role and do something about the criminal element that has taken over parts of the City. Tourists come from all over the world to see our great city and it's impossible to walk or drive around downtown and not be exposed to this. Drug abuse and homelessness, are social issues that are a by-product of society and cannot be fixed solely by one municipality. The City of Kelowna needs to encourage the provincial and federal governments to develop and implement cohesive plans to address these issues so we can all work as a team to deal with this.

4. Construction of the new Bennett Bridge will address the current transportation needs on Highway 97. What are your views toward addressing future traffic needs in Kelowna as the city (and region) continue to grow?

The new Bennett Bridge is a long overdue addition to the transportation infrastructure of Kelowna and region. We need to be looking farther down the road than we are and plan a second city bridge sooner rather than later. Beyond that we need to think about internal and external traffic flows. Lights should be synchronized, left turns restricted. A few well-placed overpasses would do wonders to the traffic flow. A Freeway bridge should be considered as well. Send it over the lake directly off 97C between the city and Okanagan Mountain Park and tie back into 97 near the airport. Currently developed and new arterial roads could tie in and give you major exits. Lakeshore, Gordon, KLO, Springfield , Highway 33. Now you have a transportation infrastructure that can not only handle the current boom that's taking place in the Okanagan but also encourage future growth.

Glenmore Resident's Association

1. What are you prepared to do, and what changes would you make, to empower and support the various residents associations.

We cannot create a defacto ward system. A number of pocket communities will result in inconsistent management and adversely affect the ability of council to address the issues of the city. A study to determine what the role of Associations play within a civic election needs to be commissioned immediately.

2. What is your timeline for the following road projects: the four-laning of Glenmore Road up to the Scenic intersection (Corbin's Store), a connection from Glenmore Road to UBC-O, a connection from Glenmore Road to Highway 97, and the completion of the Okanagan Bypass from Cerise to Highway 97.

I expect that a transportation department timeline exists and it mirrors anticipated growth in the valley. Before I could comment I would need to make myself familiar with all aspects of the documents. You can be assured that traffic movement and management is a high priority item with myself.

3. Given the tremendous population growth in the Glenmore Valley , what is your timeline for the creation of a parks and recreation plan.

Initially a 2006 review of the overall parks and recreation plan for Kelowna and specifically the Glenmore Valley would need to be undertaken. If the per capita ratio of space falls short of the target then immediate steps need to be taken to ensure such land is made available.