Walter Gray, Kelowna's new mayor, moved swiftly Monday to put a pro-business face on City Hall. The
city will create a new business liaison position to work with people
interested in investing in Kelowna, Gray said minutes after being sworn
in as mayor. "They will be the go-to person to deal with
business-related inquiries," Gray said. "This person will work closely
with the (regional district's) economic development commission." Gray
also said he would like to abolish the
advisory planning commission, a
group of citizen volunteers who often get the first look at various
development proposals, discuss its merits and flaws, and then make
recommendations to council. "I believe there are considerable cost
savings and valuable time savings for staff to be realized through the
elimination of the advisory planning commission," Gray said. "This
would make for a faster approval process in getting applications to
council and a public hearing," Gray said. "Time is money." It was a
nearly full-house at the 326-seat Mary Irwin Theatre to watch Gray and
the eight councillors take their oaths of office, administered by Judge
Jane Cartwright. Gray paid tribute to Sharon Shepherd, thanking her
for her 15 years of council service, the last six as mayor. "Your
commitment and passion for Kelowna can be seen throughout the
community," Gray said. Shepherd received a standing ovation when she
walked on stage to receive a gift for her years of service. She was
accompanied on stage by Kevin Craig and Angela Reid-Nagy, two of the
five incumbents who were defeated. Michele Rule, Charlie Hodge, and
Graeme James did not attend the new council's first meeting. Joining
incumbents Robert Hobson, Luke Stack and Andre Blanleil are council
newcomers Gail Given, Gerry Zimmermann, Colin Basran, Maxine DeHart and
Mohini Singh.
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Also see Change underway at Kelowna City Hall by Wayne Moore -Castanet Dec 6, 2011
excerpts:
In detail, those include:
-
RCMP Review - "The City Manager (Ron Mattiussi) has engaged an
experienced professional to objectively determine the policing resources
to meet our community's expectations for a safe and protected city. The
review will also be important in ensuring Kelowna's share of the
regional costs of policing is fair and equitable. With the current tax
year commitment of policing at $19.5M and rising costs for 2012, this is
a critical question. That report is expected to come back before
council at the end of January."
-
Business Liaison Function - "It will not require added staffing,
simply the designation of a go-to person who will be assigned the duty
to deal with business related inquiries and solutions."
-
Committee Cost Review - "Are they all necessary, is there value to the
public and what is the real staff time cost and consequence of forming
these committees? Change is inevitable and constant as our community
changes. To move forward, that likely means shedding some of the
committees."
-
Advisory Planning Commission - "I have asked staff to prepare a report
for council consideration before budget deliberations in January
outlining the role of the Advisory Planning Commission (APC). What
implications are there and what alternative measures are there for
gaining public input into the development review process."
A list of Kelowna's committees can be found at http://www.kelowna.ca/CM/page59.aspx
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