It’s been an incredible year so far. I feel like I’m barely keeping my head above water, but it’s been exciting. Spirit Square park design, Housing Diversity policies for a balanced and inclusive community, Spirit of BC public art policy and cultural strategy, REPUBLIC benefit concert, Spirit of the Sea Festival planning, and smoke-free spaces implementation… all great challenges, great learning opportunities, and great goals I’m proud to be a part of.
The Spirit Square project has been an interesting challenge. I’m overseeing a community engagement process that learned from the pioneering experience of the OCP review. The site is very important to the community and there is a lot of passion about its future, past, and change in general. I’m honoured to play a role in renovating such a prominent park, creating a new social space for the community, and refining the way the citizens are involved in shaping the future of their community.
The Housing Diversity Task Force is getting close to the finish line. There is only one meeting left before they begin reviewing a first draft of their report. It has been a gruelling endeavour — not so much because of the research required and balancing of diverse, divergent needs, but because the task force has no budget for consultants or additional staff time. This makes it a constant challenge to focus enough energy required to move the project forward. But it looks like some of the recommendations could be pivotal for maintaining and improving high quality neighbourhoods as White Rock evolves.
Spirit of BC Committee is embarking on a couple of tasks that will create momentum for cultural initiatives in White Rock. Revisions to the Public Art Policy and drafting of an Interim Cultural Strategy are needed to guide substantial investments already on the books. They sound like boring policy papers, but they would set the stage for the City to take arts and heritage issues more seriously and be much more careful about how money is spent when it impacts White Rock’s culture.
The REPUBLIC is a music contest being produced by the White Rock Youth Ambassadors. Five bands will be judged in front of a live audience in the curling arena. The winners will get a prime time spot on the Spirit of the Sea Festival RE/MAX Stage and recording time with Turtle Recording Studios. It is a fundraiser to create a scholarship with the Peninsula Arts Foundation for local youth studying arts. We meet every weekend to plan the event.
Spirit of the Sea Festival (lots of ’spirit’ going on in White Rock right now!) is preparing for its AGM March 18. The preparations have already begun. Requests for application forms for the parade, vendors and musicians have been rolling on strong and steady. Fundraising is well underway and the production team for this year hasn’t even been established yet! We are desperately seeking people with proven success in marketing and promotions, and volunteer coordination. This rollercoaster seems to have taken off already and I haven’t had a chance to put on my seatbelt.
Smoke-free spaces is a continuing pursuit. I am hoping to build consensus among all cities in the Lower Mainland on a higher standard for smoke-free spaces. It would be better for residents and less confusing for visitors if all local cities had the same rules.
This is an exciting and interesting time for me. To keep this good thing going, I’m trying to keep balance in my life so I don’t burn out before all these goals are reached. Luckily I have good friends to remind me to get out and have fun. And I’ve discovered some new music that keeps my brain from seizing. If I’m able to complete these goals, I’ll be happy no matter what the outcome of the next election. If I’m voted out, I’ll be satisfied with what I’d have accomplished. If I’m re-elected, I’ll get to embark on new adventures.
Johan Lennart Wilhelm Sandstrom Says:
April 5th, 2008 at 3:37 pmVisit Johan Lennart Wilhelm Sandstrom
“Dirty Water Makes for Dirty Laundry” Is our water [salt and the fresh] challenged and in jeopardy.
Pollution and the lack of in our environs play an essential role in our ‘destination for tourists locationWhite Rock, BC’
Let me make these remarks: [from my webplace and Internet 'magazine' http://www.whiterockreporter.com
Received and written very sharply and sensibly by Matt Todd, Councillor, 5th April 2008. and in my response on my [above web site...for the rest of the story]
Matt Todd:
“Why is it that some people truly believe that it is government’s job to stop them from doing the things they know they shouldn’t do? Like say, dump things into the storm sewer, which is the ocean by proxy. How much regulation is required, how much bureaucracy necessary to stop people from doing stupid things? I don’t think the outfalls are unacceptable. What’s unacceptable to me is that the water coming out of them is occasionally not as clean as it could or should be. There are other solutions besides closing the outfalls… starting with people not dumping waste into the storm water system”.
-–
Matt Todd
Councillor, City of White Rock
MattTodd.ca
On 4-Apr-08, at 4:47 PM, Johan Sandstrom wrote:
My Google Alert whisked this over to my email: Source: Peace Arch News via Google:/ Cheers/Johan
“No source yet for water woe
By Tracy Holmes – Peace Arch News – April 03, 2008
“The flow of an unidentified substance into Semiahmoo Bay Monday highlights a “ridiculous” flaw in White Rock’s effort to protect the environment.
Coun. James Coleridge, who chairs the city’s environment committee, said his group is calling on city council to make closing off outfalls into the bay a priority.
The recommendation is already in the committee’s environmental draft plan that was presented to council last fall.
“It’s ridiculous the city has outfalls into its beach… unacceptable,” Coleridge said. “At some point, we have to prevent any damage to the quality of the water.”
City crews scrambled Monday morning to locate the source of a reddish-brown discharge that was spewing onto west beach from the Anderson outfall.
As of Peace Arch News deadlines Thursday, those efforts were unsuccessful, and officials were still waiting on test results to determine just what the discharge was.
Director of operations David Pollock said crews continue to monitor the outfall, and investigation into the source is ongoing.
Pollock confirmed the issue of eliminating outfalls is “being discussed,” but noted stopping the flow into the bay would present “a substantial challenge.”
“The water would have to go somewhere else and I’m not quite sure what that would entail at this juncture,” he said.
Pollock noted White Rock’s system is “pretty much the same as every other storm water system in Metro Vancouver,” whereby the water is discharged into a body of receiving water.
He said one option for change would be to divert the storm water into the sanitary system. However, “the existing system does not have the capacity.”
End of quote from the PAN./././.js “