By ROY WOOD
There are more people running to take over one short-term spot on Oliver council than ran for all four open seats in the regular civic election in 2014.
Eight names will be on the ballot in the December 2 by-election precipitated by the September resignation of Councillor Jack Bennest. The winner will serve until the general election next October.
ODN asked all the candidates the same series of questions. Responses from two of them – Aimee Grice and Patrick Hampson — appear today.
- Monday: Charles Pollard and Lutz Stelzner
- Tuesday: Susan Kosola and Donald Lawlor
- Wednesday: Dave Mattes and Peter McKenna
The answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Aimee Grice is 36 years old and has lived in Oliver for 11 years. She works as the marketing and promotions coordinator for the Frank Venables Theatre.
What are the two most important issues facing council and where do you stand on them?
Downtown development. There are lots of empty spaces, which to me is the image of a dying town. I see Oliver becoming an artistic hub, a real focal point where people make an event of coming here. Bring the farmers market out to Main Street; have a place to rent bicycles; have a walking map to show how walkable the town is — here’s the museum; here’s the park; here’s the path. Let’s take the bike and come back and have lunch.
Communication between the town and the community. If we have an engaged town that really knows what’s going on in council chambers, then council has to be accountable. I’m proposing at-least monthly councillor chats. Sitting down and having coffee and having a talk. Going to council and standing at the podium can be really intimidating for people.
What makes Oliver special?
It’s such a special place to raise my children. Inspires them to be outdoors. The arts community. I work at this world class theatre in the heart of our tiny little town.
What is one interesting thing about you that few people know?
I used to be an air cadet. I went to camp and I marched. I think that’s where I got a lot of my strong leadership skills. They were sort of built at that foundational time in my teens.
What are two new ideas you will bring to the council table?
I like the idea of showcasing downtown as an arts hub and showcasing it as walkable. I think its really important that people get out of their cars. Hopefully they’ll stay and shop in our stores and eat in our restaurants.
I’d like to see the town explore zoning for tiny houses to help address affordable housing. It’s such a popular idea right now, if we did it we’d be in the media. The tiny homes are quite small and usually on a trailer so they can be moved.
In one sentence, why should anyone vote for you?
I have new ideas, I’m a strong leader and I’m in touch with a facet of this town that’s not being represented – younger families, people who are artistic and think a little outside of the box.
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Pat Hampson is 75 years old and has lived in Oliver for 17 years. He is retired. Before that, he earned his living as a firefighter in West Vancouver and fire chief in Squamish.
What are the two most important issues facing council and where do you stand on them?
One of them definitely is the survival of businesses on Main Street and the other is the related issue of the volume of commercial traffic there.
Oliver is on the way to Osoyoos and a lot of traffic is going to the border. As a result, Main Street is not a pleasant street to stop on.
It’s probably an insurmountable problem. The issue is where is the traffic to be re-routed. Wherever it goes, there would be commercial and residential impact.
We need to make Main Street an attractive area to stop and shop. Downtown has potential. It has some historical buildings there and it could be a nice place. But again, you have this damn traffic. I’m not sure that we’ll ever solve it.
What makes Oliver special?
It has a small town feel. There is a huge amount of pioneering history here and that is something that it would be nice to capitalize on. There’s a lot to see. You don’t have drive too far to find buildings that date back over 100 years.
There’s a lot to attract people. We have a nice lake and a small rotary beach. Five RV parks and the hike and bike trail. And, of course, Baldy for skiing. There is a lot to do here.
What is one interesting thing about you that few people know?
I took down a bank robber at gunpoint in 1972 outside the Royal Bank at Broadway and Granville in Vancouver.
I was working for Loomis Armoured Car. The teller pointed to the man in a blue coat leaving the bank. I ran after him and pointed my gun and told him to put his hands up. It was lunchtime and there were a lot of people on the sidewalk. Eventually a police officer showed up and the suspect was arrested. It was one of the most emotional days of my life. I got a $3,000 reward, which I split with my driver.
What are two new ideas you will bring to the council table?
The first would be re-routing the traffic on Main Street.
Then there is the desire to sit down and brainstorm the issues we are facing on Main Street. We have to check what other communities have done. There has to be another community in BC that has faced similar issues.
In one sentence, why should anyone vote for you?
I have nine years experience, six as a councillor and one term as mayor, but I’m new to town in the context that I haven’t lived here all my life and I will look at things with a slightly different perspective.