Sue Zacharais seeking re-election as City Councillor
| Elections |
Submitted by Sue Zacharias, unedited.
I am excited to announce that I am seeking re-election for the position of Councillor for the City of Williams Lake.
I have enjoyed the last three years on City council and would like to continue the great work we have started. It has been an honour working with Mayor Cook, who has garnered much respect from all levels of government and the citizens of Williams Lake for her focus on the tough issues and vision for the future.
The councillors I have worked with, for the past three years, have also brought many strengths to our table and I thank them for that. We all had a steep learning curve but I feel my experience and balanced approach will lead to even greater success in the next three year term.
I am stepping back from my full time job to a lighter work schedule in order to devote more time to this aspect of community service if re-elected.
Over the past three years Mayor and Council have made much progress in reducing crime in the City of Williams Lake. The crime issue was our number one mandate. How could we attract business and families to strengthen and diversify our economy if we were #1 crime capital in Canada? Through much collaboration, strategising and hard work we have worked with Local and First Nations governments, also leaders in the judicial/social sectors and Safer Communities to see a huge drop in crime in Williams Lake. We must continue to work with all sectors of the community in order to continue making a difference.
In this last year of my term [2011] on City Council, our energies have been focused on improving the business climate of Williams Lake and actively seeking economic diversification for our community. There are many positive projects coming on board such as Gibraltor Mine and Mt. Polley’s expansion, as well as, the announcement regarding the Spanish Mountain Gold mining project in Likely. Prosperity Mine has put forward a new plan to the Federal government. A new retail development has begun at the Prosperity Way site next to Wal Mart.
A “Business Expansion and Attraction” report has been finalized and we are in the process of putting together a Task Force which will include key leaders from the business community to prioritize the recommendations from the report and implement them quickly. We may not be able to control Wall Street but we can focus on striving to attract seniors and young families to Williams Lake to take advantage of our affordability in the housing market, outdoor recreation/sports and be “a place to do business or grow a business.”
The goal is to see the Business Strategy and Implementation part of the report, filter down to become a grass roots movement.
Here are some strategies that I would like to see implemented from the Strategy:
1. Review and lower mill rates for major industry. We must be competitive with other communities.
2. Continue working with Thompson Rivers University-WL in developing and expanding our campus in order to provide investment from outside our area.
3. Participate with all agencies in attracting health professionals and other key professionals to Williams Lake.
4. Act on business development opportunities associated with the development of the WL Community Forest and Woodlot Fibre basket, in our local area, partnering with First Nations.
5. Work with key industry and partners in the community for Green Energy Projects.
6. Continue to grow our spectacular and world-renowned Mountain Bike and Hiking Tourism.
7. Promote continued development of our Resource based industries.
8. Create an”invest” in Williams Lake .com website as a stand alone economic portal and promote Williams Lake.
9. Generate and support revitalization of the Downtown core- it is essential!
10. Capitalize on our signature events such as WL Stampede, WL Indoor Rodeo, Farmer’s Markets and the Harvest Fair which attract tourists and promotes our cultural and rural values. Our winter outdoor activities such as snowboarding, downhill skiing, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling need to be promoted in a much bigger way.
I am also very interested in continuing the working relationship with our First Nations partners. I believe, with understanding, we eliminate fear. I look forward to participating with our Aboriginal partners at Community to Community Forums.
I would also like to see a Cultural Awareness workshop take place in the near future between our First Nations local councils and Williams Lake City Council along with the Cariboo Regional District Central Directors [Areas D, E and F]. Sometimes we seem like “ships passing in the night” and the key to success, for all of our partners, is learning about each other, our history and sharing a meal.
Another big issue, coming at all of us, is our community infrastructure. I am proud to say that I was part of the team in asking City to begin a savings account for roads and maintenance. The Cariboo Memorial Complex had a huge repair to our pool and now we are living on “borrowed time” as far as the life of the pool.
I listened to Hon. David Crombie the other day and he suggested that the services we render- fire, police, roads, etc. - are taken for granted by the electors. He went on to say that these services are our connecting tissues and connect our generations, that they are a platform for economic development and are a basis for social peace. I think this is true. So, we are now going to embark on a discussion, through the Joint Committee, regarding our future needs for recreation. How are we going to fund those needs?
Infrastructure has to be reinvented and reinvested in, all the time. I hope the citizens of Williams Lake and the Region will take ownership of our infrastructure and value it and contribute to it as they would their own homes and understand that we need to continue investing in the infrastructure, whether it is linear [roads, sewers, etc.] or non-linear [recreation centers, libraries, theatres, etc].
Infrastructure attracts people. Healthy communities attract businesses. Infrastructure promotes growth. I would like to develop a long term multi-asset investment plan and look ahead 20 to 30 years, at least. As a councillor I would push for balancing long term costs against revenues, while still looking to living within our means.
Mayor and Council and all Cultural partners would need to lead this [as it is a community problem] on how to fund these long term infrastructure debts that we all use. There are many avenues we could take, such as, long term revenue sources, integrated rates, taxes, fees, reserves, borrowing, Development Cost Charges, and grants. Grants to communities are pivotal to sustainability within our communities. I will lobby for a fair and sustainable share of resource and industrial revenues that are generated in our region.
I hope I will be re-elected and be given the opportunity to continue to help our community grow and diversify into the future.
