Voter turnout for the federal election may have hit an all-time low, but the eager crowd who attended a Sechelt all-candidates forum may indicate the municipal election is a hot ticket.
Close to 300 people packed the Sechelt Seniors' Centre Oct. 20 to hear the two mayoral and 10 councillor candidates answer questions in the first of three forums.
"There is a good selection [of candidates] for the community that will give them something to think about ahead of the election," said Bruce Milne, former mayor of Sechelt.
The night was sponsored by the West Porpoise Bay, West Sechelt and Sechelt Village residents associations and moderated by Milne who asked three questions of the candidates, beginning with mayor incumbent Cam Reid facing off against competitor Coun. Darren Inkster. The councillor hopefuls followed.
In terms of the five biggest challenges facing the District, all 12 said improvements to infrastructure, sewer and highway topped their list.
Several mentioned affordable housing. Nearly all mentioned the need to diversify and strengthen the local economy in order to avoid what Inkster called a "cyclical" economic pattern and Coun. Keith Thirkell referred to as the Coast's "peaks and valleys."
Many mentioned the need for walking and biking trails, a push to finish the airport expansion project and the extreme need to address B.C. Ferries in light of recent issues.
Thirkell said, "It's not a cruise ship. It's a highway system."
There was near consensus on the desire to see densification of the downtown core while limiting or controlling urban sprawl in the District.
"Denser housing with less demand on the system, using sustainable energy technologies to sell for credits to pay for services," was Duane Burnett's solution.
Only Alice Janisch seemed to qualify her agreement. She said growth must also "maintain the small town atmosphere" that drew her and her husband to Sechelt a few years ago.
Thirkell said he would like to see a marina and development of Sechelt's waterfront while Stan Dixon said tourism along Porpoise Bay should be promoted.Alice Lutes spoke about focusing the economy on local purchasing to reduce the community's carbon footprint and increase local profits and independence from the mainland.
Stan Dixon was the most vocal about social issues, saying council needs to look towards caring for local youth by eradicating drug use. He said all the infrastructure in the world could not make up for dealing with social concerns first.
Due to time constraints, the second question was answered only by mayoral candidates Inkster and Reid. It had to do with sewer capacity and how the mayor should address the issue should the Silverback development fail.
Inkster said he has always been concerned that the development might crater and said he would look to senior government partnerships and continuous grants, work closely with the Coast's new member of Parliament and, if all else failed, he would build modular sewer plants to aid the existing system. He said council has been proactive addressing the issue and has some money already set aside for the project.
Reid downplayed the proposed crisis and said the system can handle up to 4,000 square metres per day and is currently processing 2,000 to 2,200 square metres a day. He said when the prediction was made as to when the system would fail the community, it was estimated that there were 2.5 people per household, but the census since determined there are only 1.7. Reid said he would like an audit to determine whether the District needs to expand the system it has or build a new one.
Question three referred to the balance between community concerns with development proposals in the District that are not consistent with the official community plan (OCP).
Newcomers Fred Taylor, Alice Janisch, Alice Lutes and Duane Burnett brought up a need for more transparency and accountability in council.
Fred Taylor said, "The OCP is being ignored. We need dialogue and discussion with the community so it doesn't go against the intent for it."
When speaking about the official community plan, former councillor Ann Kershaw said, "The OCP is outdated and is being rewritten. If we didn't amend it we wouldn't have things like the library and swimming pool."
Coun. Ed Steeves said, "They are guidelines for development made with the best knowledge at the time. But you can't predict the future, and decisions should be based on what is best for the District as a whole with community input."
Coun. Mike Shanks said at some public hearings, the masses are for a change that does not match the intent in the OCP, and at other times the public opposes change that is in agreement with the OCP, making council's decision a tricky one.
Warren Allan told the crowd, "I defer to staff for the least painful strategy, but maybe there needs to be a moratorium on development. The people in this room come first."
Inkster promised to have "more open, ethical and accountable government" while Reid said he hears the frustration of the public over council process and is willing to "find a better mechanism in order to get public input" when council is dealing with a contentious issue.
The next all candidates forum is Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. at Raven's Cry Theatre.
