Poll: West Kelowna Mayor

[Urbane]

Who's likely to receive your vote for Mayor of West Kelowna?

[inquisitive]

Hopefully there would be one more candidate for the mayor's seat to make the campaign really meaningful. Dare we hope for one more person who comes in with no baggage - making it two old 'uns and two new 'uns.

[Urbane]

Anyone think that Doug Findlater won't be reelected Mayor? Is it better for someone to serve on council for a while and then run for mayor? By the way, this poll will allow you to change your mind and revote.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

i see in findlater's bio he has opted to continue to recognize the change to the name West Kelowna as having occurred in january 2008, contrary to the way he has run the municipality claiming a 2009 date to be recognized by the community.

Doug Findlater was elected to serve as Mayor for the new District of West Kelowna on November 2008 and again in November 2011.

he claims he's going to "CONTINUE GOOD GOVERNANCE AND ADMINISTRATION" all while this disparity of what he believes the effective date of the name change is.

for those wondering what i am talking about...

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=26528#p738237

briefly followed up here...

viewtopic.php?f=33&t=54497&hilit=westminister#p1582795

regardless of who the next mayor is, this issue should be resolved.

[Randall T]

I'm confused. What is the "issue" and what do you propose needs to be done about it?

[Steve-O]

Just ignore him.

[A_Britishcolumbian]

read the documents for yourself,

http://www.districtofwestkelowna.ca/Mod ... entid=1638

the first page, order in council 035, signed by the Lieutenant Governor, jan 29, 2009 made the next two pages, the letters patent, effective.

the letters patent amends the prior letters patent to read "District of West Kelowna" as the municipality, and that the change occurred jan 29, 2008. this can be seen on the third page of the documents.

so, all bylaws passed, all fines, fees and taxes billed/collected, and other such things that took place in the time between jan 29/2008 and jan 29/2009 by 'district of westside' are fraudulent as such a named district did not exist.

you can see that findlater stands by this in his bio, but in the business of the municipality, they show the change as taking place jan 29/2009, and they have not amended any paperwork to reflect the proper date to my knowledge.

[Hassel99]

read the documents for yourself,

http://www.districtofwestkelowna.ca/Mod ... entid=1638

the first page, order in council 035, signed by the Lieutenant Governor, jan 29, 2009 made the next two pages, the letters patent, effective.

the letters patent amends the prior letters patent to read "District of West Kelowna" as the municipality, and that the change occurred jan 29, 2008. this can be seen on the third page of the documents.

so, all bylaws passed, all fines, fees and taxes billed/collected, and other such things that took place in the time between jan 29/2008 and jan 29/2009 by 'district of westside' are fraudulent as such a named district did not exist.

you can see that findlater stands by this in his bio, but in the business of the municipality, they show the change as taking place jan 29/2009, and they have not amended any paperwork to reflect the proper date to my knowledge.

Way to make a big issue over nothing (as usual)

[A_Britishcolumbian]

i didn't realize you were of such wealth hansel99. myself i consider the fraudulent collection of millions of dollars somewhat serious. and any household that was bilked out of say 1 to $10k might feel it is more than 'nothing' as well.

[Urbane]

Along with the bogus issue there are some real issues. I voted against incorporation and for amalgamation but I believe our current mayor and council have done an outstanding job in striking a balance between needed improvements and taxpayers' ability to pay. They're making our young (soon to be as we likely switch from district to city) city work and work well. Doug Findlater has the experience and shown himself to be a highly capable mayor. Nothing against his opponent but perhaps he should have run for a seat on council first and then for mayor. Anyway, the election is a month from today and I expect the mayor to be reelected handily.

[guxcon]

Along with the bogus issue there are some real issues. I voted against incorporation and for amalgamation but I believe our current mayor and council have done an outstanding job in striking a balance between needed improvements and taxpayers' ability to pay. They're making our young (soon to be as we likely switch from district to city) city work and work well. Doug Findlater has the experience and shown himself to be a highly capable mayor. Nothing against his opponent but perhaps he should have run for a seat on council first and then for mayor. Anyway, the election is a month from today and I expect the mayor to be reelected handily.

I would invite you to take a stroll along Western Road this afternoon and enjoy the wafting odors of the many grow ops operating in the area. That is a legacy of Doug's and his council that they seem to be shrugging off. As for those of us who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on improvements on our properties and business setups and pay hefty property tax, it is discouraging to see operations allowed to operate with no regard for the area and other businesses. And no they are not operating under the new Federal legislation of medicinal grow operations. There are only 13 currently licenced, non in the Okanagan.

[Urbane]

I would invite you to take a stroll along Western Road this afternoon and enjoy the wafting odors of the many grow ops operating in the area. That is a legacy of Doug's and his council that they seem to be shrugging off. As for those of us who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on improvements on our properties and business setups and pay hefty property tax, it is discouraging to see operations allowed to operate with no regard for the area and other businesses. And no they are not operating under the new Federal legislation of medicinal grow operations. There are only 13 currently licenced, non in the Okanagan.

Since I can't stand the smell of pot I'll take your word for it and I don't blame you for being unhappy with the situation. If these are illegal grow-ops shouldn't the RCMP be taking them down? Is there something that the mayor and council are doing or not doing that is keeping those grow-ops operating?

[guxcon]

There is currently an injunction in the courts that the RCMP is using as an excuse not to shut the operations down. The City cannot tell me under what premise these operations are operating (who is regulating them) they only tell me that they are "legitimate businesses". The mayor and council recently had the opportunity to control where and how these operations could exist in DWK and choose to allow them into the Light Industrial zone without any concern as to the negative impact on the existing businesses in the area. When questioned by reporters both the Findlater and Ophus said they did not like it but used the excuse that they were forced to make a decision because of some time constraints??? Sorry gentleman but a few years ago you put a one year moratorium on any new developments because you needed more time to complete the OCP, the same could have been applied here! Other cities have extensive restrictions on these operations, no excuse for our council not to have done the same.

[Urbane]

There is currently an injunction in the courts that the RCMP is using as an excuse not to shut the operations down. The City cannot tell me under what premise these operations are operating (who is regulating them) they only tell me that they are "legitimate businesses". The mayor and council recently had the opportunity to control where and how these operations could exist in DWK and choose to allow them into the Light Industrial zone without any concern as to the negative impact on the existing businesses in the area. When questioned by reporters both the Findlater and Ophus said they did not like it but used the excuse that they were forced to make a decision because of some time constraints??? Sorry gentleman but a few years ago you put a one year moratorium on any new developments because you needed more time to complete the OCP, the same could have been applied here! Other cities have extensive restrictions on these operations, no excuse for our council not to have done the same.

Thanks. I'd be interested in hearing more on this topic from those who made the decision(s) to allow those businesses to operate in the first place.

[guxcon]

Thanks. I'd be interested in hearing more on this topic from those who made the decision(s) to allow those businesses to operate in the first place.

I have been trying for the past 6 months to get answers and get nothing but rhetoric and "we are looking into it" Someone screwed up royally and our council and staff are trying their best to side step the issue. Honest business are hounded by Bylaw over minor signage infractions while "grey area" businesses flourish. Time for Findlater and crew to step up to the plate and deliver on the promise they made at the all candidates forums 3 years ago!

PS Nice ribbon cutting on Westlake Road Doug...by the way have you made restitution to the individual whose property your engineering staff dug into exposing roots on established trees and then refused to acknowledge their mistake even after a survey proved them in the wrong? We have a council and city staff out of control and forgetting who they really work for, time to let them know!