OPINION

I offer 50 questions that may be helpful to ask prior to the Oct. 15 Kelowna municipal election:

1. What's the minimum and maximum number of city council candidates you can vote for?

2. Ask each city councillor: Over the past 8 years, approximately what percentage of your votes -- whether it be a procedural or substantive vote -- have been contrary to how Mayor Basran voted? a) 30%-39% b) 20%-29% c) 10%-19% d) 9%-1% or e) 0%

3. On May 9/22 councillor Mohini Singh said: "I do want to voice my concern about the number of high-rises that we are approving." Why then did she vote 10 weeks later to approve the 46-storey UBCO Tower? 

4. Name the council member who said on July 26/22: "Again this [46-storey tower] is an exception. I don't see us approving many more at this height.... There is going to be heat island effect."

5. The City of Toronto has adopted bylaws that require green roofs (i.e., a vegetative layer grown on a rooftop) for new developments, along with other initiatives. How many of the up to 25 proposed towers within Kelowna's downtown core, or just outside the core, will have green roofs?

6. Is a single public hearing sufficient time for public input into land use decisions before council votes?

7. The public is invited to submit letters to council to express their support or concerns about a proposed project. Submitters are notified that their letters will be available to the public with their email and unit addresses removed. Why then are these letters scrubbed from the City of Kelowna website soon after each hearing is over?

8. True or False? In decision making, Kelowna council always puts developers' interests ahead of everyday citizens. 

9. Why did head planner Ryan Smith first work at Kelowna City Hall, then leave to work for Mission Group, then return to City Hall?

10. Even though the City of Kelowna has a tree bylaw, why did city workers cut down all the trees along the boulevard, next to the former McDonald's restaurant? (corner of Harvey Ave. and Water Street)

11. Why doesn't the City of Kelowna have a Citizens' Patrol program? 

12. During the past 8 years, how many times have city staff completed an impact analysis/ constraint mapping on land *before* bringing their recommendations to council?   

13. Can a city have environmentally sustainable growth without addressing infrastructure?

14. Why did council approve the removal of agricultural land from the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) for a proposed bus storage facility?  

15. Why did the City purchase farmland for a proposed sewage treatment plant?

16. In the 2040 Official Community Plan (OCP), the future land use of Kelowna Springs Golf Course was changed from parks and open space to industrial. Who decided to change the future land use designation? a) city planners, or b) city council on the advice of planners? Why was the change made in the first place?

17. Why did Maxine DeHart, Mohini Singh, and Luke Stack join Charlie Hodge in an attempt to return the land use of the golf course to private recreational? (DeHart, Singh, and Stack didn't raise any concerns about the golf course in 2021 when reviewing the draft version of the OCP, which identified the future land use as industrial)

18. From Loyal Wooldridge's July 18/22 press statement: "I’ve championed a community plan that focused on urban areas while advocating for the preservation of Kelowna’s environment." On Aug. 22/22, Wooldridge joined Colin Basran, Ryan Donn and Gail Given in voting against the resolution to change the future land use of Kelowna Springs Golf Course from industrial to private recreational. How is this advocating for the preservation of Kelowna’s environment? 

19. Why was Hodge the only councillor who voted against the designation of Kelowna's "core area neighbourhood" to include the two previously designated heritage conservation areas (HCA)? Core area neighbourhood allows townhouses, apartment buildings and commercial buildings in the HCA.

20. DeHart has served on council for 11 years, and since 1998 has written a weekly community column, Straight from DeHart. Which do you think the public knows better?
a) the content of her columns or b) her voting record on council?  

21. In the OCP, a steep slope of +30% is identified as a "hazardous condition." Why then did DeHart, Donn, Given, Singh, Stack and Wooldridge vote to approve a 218-unit condo development at 630 Boynton Place (just east of Knox Mountain) on a 60% slope?

22. Is it appropriate for Mayor Basran to use our tax dollars to produce and upload campaign-style commercials/interviews on the City of Kelowna's Facebook page and YouTube channel?

23. In 2018, why did the City of Kelowna reduce their sponsorship of the three-day Fat Cat Children's Festival from $20,000 to $5,000? (This past August, under the direction of the mayor and council, Festivals Kelowna organized the one-day Kelowna Made festival with a budget of $50,000, which was sparsely attended.)

24. It is more common for a city council to vote a pay increase for the next council than for themselves. In 2021, did any Kelowna city councillors vote against an automatic annual pay increase for themselves?

25. When asked what his vision for Kelowna is, he replied "Tech and towers." Who said it? a) Coun. Loyal Wooldridge b) City manager Doug Gilchrist c) Mayor Colin Basran.

26. Over the past 8 years, council has encouraged biking, and increased the network of bike lanes and paths. Ask each councillor: How many times have you ridden a bike from your residence to a council meeting?

27. Why didn't city staff or council notify Hart Road residents of a pending sixteen-unit trailer park application, or the date when the issue would be decided at a council meeting? (July 11/22)

28. Why weren't Hart Road residents allowed to address the council at the July 11/22 meeting?

29. Which member of council, in an Aug. 25/22 interview, attacked the motivations of those who want to see a ward system for city council?

30. According to Zumper.com (a major online rental site), in August, was Kelowna the third, fifth, or tenth most expensive Canadian city in which to rent a one-bedroom apartment?

31. On Sept. 26/22, council voted to change 23 zoning designations to just 6. What were the reasons for the change?

32. The 11 member Liveable Kelowna panel endorsed 5 male candidates and 1 female candidate for council. How many panel members are men?

33. A truly liveable city has a reliable public transit system, where residents can travel from A to B within a reasonable time. How would you rate the Kelowna public transit system? a) excellent b) good c) satisfactory d) fair e) poor.

Colin Basran (then 2014 mayoral candidate): "It is important to improve the connectivity between them [town centres] via public transit and active transportation corridors. Not only does this promote health and active living, it also encourages people to leave their vehicles behind and off our crowded road system. As you are probably aware, we have one of the highest vehicle ownership rates in Canada, not something to be proud of, which incidentally are the biggest contributors of greenhouse gas in Kelowna. Thus, encouraging growth in our town centres, where all the popular amenities are located, can help reverse that trend." (Sept. 29, 2014)

34. Ask each councillor: How many times have you used public transit during the past 12 months? a) 12+ b) 6 to 11 c) 1 to 5  d) 0.

35. Should council incumbent candidates be given opportunities to attend City-sponsored events during the campaign period?

36. Should non-incumbent council candidates be given opportunities to attend City-sponsored events during the campaign period?

37. Regarding proposed changes to the Parkinson Recreation Centre, which of the four options from the 2015 Feasibility Study do you support?

See: https://kelownapublishing.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=780

38. Or... do you support the newest recreation centre proposal that would cost taxpayers about $80 million more, for a total of $166 million?

39. Coun. Maxine DeHart, Director of Sales and Marketing at Kelowna's Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre, is again running for re-election. Is it appropriate for "Maxine DeHart's United Way Drive-Thru Breakfast" to always take place just days before the election?     

40. Councillor candidates include Ron Cannan (former Conservative Kelowna-Lake Country MP) and Rick Webber (former Global Okanagan TV news anchor). Is it prudent to vote for either candidate simply because "he's a nice guy" who has built-in name recognition?

41. Coun. Charlie Hodge isn't afraid to vote against the group. He said in his Sept. 9 interview: "I've been called lone wolf all my career... I represent the general public." In a Sept. 21 news article, who said: "Lone wolves do not make effective councillors?" a) Colin Basran b) Gail Given c) Luke Stack.

42. The term "groupthink" was coined in 1972 by a Yale University research psychologist, who theorized that a group sometimes makes the worst possible decisions. He described the tendency of groups to try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without sufficiently testing, analyzing, and evaluating their ideas. His work suggests that pressures for conformity restrict the thinking of the group, bias its analysis, promote simplistic and stereotyped thinking, and stifle individual creative and independent thought. Name the psychologist.

43. Local developers have trusted the vast majority of councillors to approve their high-rise projects for the downtown core. Which councillor's campaign signs include the slogan, "Your Trusted Voice".

44. Do you think incumbent council candidates prefer low or high voter turnout?

45. Do you believe 18-to-30 year-old Kelownians have the power to determine who's elected to city council if even 25% of this group voted?

46. From Mayor Basran's 2022 campaign flyer: "... I will not make unrealistic promises to win votes." Over his 8 years as mayor, are there any promises he made that are still unfulfilled?

47. What should the new council's number one priority be over the next 4 years? a) affordable housing b) reduce traffic congestion c) reduce homelessness d) public safety e) increase infrastructure f) environmental sustainability & green space g) other.

48. If Mayor Basran and all other incumbent council candidates are returned to office for another 4 years, what do imagine Kelowna will be like in Oct. 2026?

49. What's the minimum and maximum number of Central Okanagan Public Schools trustee candidates you can vote for?

50. What's the name of the COVID-19 conspiracy organization.that has endorsed school trustee candidates running under the ParentsVoice BC banner?

David Buckna, Kelowna, B.C.

We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. We won't censor or delete comments unless they contain off-topic statements or links, unnecessary vulgarity, false facts, spam or obviously fake profiles. If you have any concerns about what you see in comments, email the editor. 

News from © iNFOnews, 2022