The Langley Advance has the Township Q & As but not yet the Citys.Here are mine. Langley Advance answers to candidate Q’s by Langley City Councillor (incumbent) Dave Hall Priorities in answering 5 and 4 ***** #’s 1, 10,18, 6 then #’s 9, 12,20 *****1. Should the Official Community Plan allow increased density in all areas of the City? No No, the City need not make the mistakes of the Willoughby slope just to cash in on development dollars. Liveability is the key. Densification only in the Downtown core and the periphery. There should be some opportunity in identified outlying areas to advance the opportunity for more affordable Townhouse development to attract younger families but preservation of larger lots was supported only a few years ago with a wide process of public consultation. **2. Would you support tolling ALL Metro Vancouver bridges to fund transit? Yes Yes then the tolls on each individual bridge could be reduced to level the playing field and provide a continued Operating source while not punishing those only south of he Fraser. 3. Would you support removing tolls from all Metro Vancouver bridges? No No, bridges were constructed and financed with a formula that built this in. To remove tolls would require replacing this revenue with another tax or fee, likely property tax and a further download from the province. 4. Would you support road pricing to fund transit? Yes Yes, Road pricing should happen in conjunction with bridge tolling but there has to be adequate rapid transit alternatives provided, especially south of the Fraser to get people out of their cars. There should also be significant frequent user discounts available to those that have no alternative transport options. ***5. Would you support increasing property taxes to fund transit? No No, Translink was founded on the basis of property tax and the province has gone back to that well too many times. It is a misconception that property tax is a potential “additional” source as it continues to be an existing operating revenue. There are other potential sources that need to be embraced for ongoing funding and that includes the carbon tax, an increased sales tax, comprehensive bridge and road pricing , and operational savings through a wide variety of measures ranging from scaling back management salaries to finally implementing Quickpass and overcoming fare evasion. *****6. Should a tree protection bylaw be brought in? No A tree protection by-law was introduced and defeated only a few years ago on the basis of a community sense that this infringed on personal property rights, was cost prohibitive, and onerous to administer. What should be introduced is a “Heritage” tree designation Bylaw to identify significant trees of historical importance particularly on City land. There also should be some consideration of a Tree Preservation Incentive Program that might reward those that voluntarily inventory their own trees and receive something akin to a carbon tax rebate (perhaps through a tax assessment reduction) in recognition that maintaining trees provides community benefit both in terms of health and general ambiance. ***7. Should developers be required to provide more low-income housing in the City? Yes Yes, but this is a loaded question. The City already has one of the highest rates of providing low ncome housing. So what’s really needed isn’t more, as we have more than our share, but rather requirements for developers to maintain and upgrade existing low-income housing stock or inventory. 8. Should the City create more bike lanes and public cycling infrastructure? Yes Yes, but this can be cost prohibitive and the solution is currently to add these as infrastructure is altered and along with other road and bridge projects. ****9. Should more of the City’s casino revenue be used to directly reduce property tax rates? Yes Yes, the Casino Revenues should be more directly targeted to infrastructure renewal and functional local need and this would have the effect of reducing the infrastructure levy of current taxation. *****10. Was building the $14 million Timms Recreation Centre the right decision? Yes Yes, this is the most significant Capital construction project in Langley City history. It fills a recreation void that has existed for a generation. The old Timms was in need of costly repairs. The new Timms was originally under-scoped, underfinanced and unnecessarily delayed 3 years in a failed negotiated partnership. After Council input, this facility is comparable to fabulous facilities in other Communities with a full gym, elevated fitness track, large weight room,with multiple multi-purpose rooms and a community kitchen. All of this is being provided without having to do any debt servicing and creating, along with the existing City Hall and Library, a focal point for the Community! 11. Does the City need more public green space? Yes Yes, the area north of the Nicomekl is a blacktop jungle and the loss of the Prairie site to create a postage stamp of a park was a poor decision. There is a need to provide greenways and urban gardens even in industrial areas to provide opportunities for workers to arrive and enjoy a pedestrian and leisure experience at the workplace. ****12. Does the City need more sports and recreation facilities? Yes Yes, the City has always had a large inventory of parks for its size but the City has been left behind in terms of technologies. The City’s “all-weather” facilities at Buckley and grass fields are under-utilized. The City has lost field users to Township artificial surfaces and has clearly not fulfilled its own need. Baseball fields are in need of upgrading and there needs to be continued commitment to subsidies at Twin Rinks and MAP to insure that these “shared” facilities accommodate City use. Certainly the new Timms Centre will fill a gym and fitness/recreation deficit for indoor facilities. 13. Does the City do enough to support business? Yes Yes, the City works well in partnership with the BIA, Downtown Business Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and Tourism Langley. Business taes are amongst the lowest in the Metro region. Langley City has for two consecutive years won “open for Business awards. Langley City has an outstanding reputation with the development community and regularly host UDI events. The city’s vision on innovative “Brownfield” rejuvenation has also been recognized. 14. Does the City do enough for its seniors population? No No, but the demand forces seem that there is never enough to meet the demand. The City needs to more vocally oppose government downloading, speak up for inclusion and accessibility, upgrade Building Code requirements for safety and insist on first response protocol review and timely ambulance attendance. 15. Does the City do enough for youth? No No, but how much is enough?? The Timms may address some recreation concerns, the City does provide some social support through Youth services housed at City hall. There is a continued need for expanded “outreach” and certainly there is a void identified for youth homelessness. 16. Does the City provide adequate cultural services? Yes Langley City would appear to be supportive of both refugee and immigrant integration along with language skills training. Community grants are supportive of cultural events and international celebrations. ***17. Does the City provide sufficient fire/rescue service? Yes Yes, the City provides a higher response protocol than most Fire services and the City taxpayer should recognize that this comes with a price. However, given the demographics of Langley City this is a valued service that achieves , through five man crews, tremendous physical and emotional support particularly for a high volume of medical emergency responses. *****18. Are you satisfied that the City receives its fair share through the Township/City policing service agreement? No No, but the problem is not with the “formula” but rather with the extra funding burdens of integrated teams for which Langley City does not receive, or necessitate, full value for its percentage of contribution. Also the City never completely fills its full complement of officers for a variety of Human Resources allocation reasons including leaves and secondments. As well the Langley City allocation formula has little to do with the negotiated wages that are in the hands of the federal government and come in at far higher than CPI levels. 19. Does the City have a good working relationship with the Township? Yes Yes, as good as in any time in history. ****20. Do you believe Langley Township and City should be amalgamated into one municipality? No There is no reason to suggest that bigger is better. One only need look at the amalgamated School District to see what chaos a Township dominated governance body would do (poorly envisioned restructuring and accumulated debt). The City is debt free and despite the Townships rejection of the opportunity for a Casino years ago there are those that look enviously on the City’s revenue source. He City has its own priorities and certainly as a separate entity can pursue things like a fabulous Timms Community Center, a superior level of street maintenance and snow removal, a superior response to MESA calls by the fire service, and pursue infrastructure and development renewal in a manner that avoids many of the pitfalls experienced in the Township.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 15:01:27 +0000
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