​This past month (October 2019) has been a heavy one for me. I had a total of 19 scheduled events/meetings on my calendar and ended up missing 3 of them due to time conflicts. Here is a quick breakdown of my month of meetings:
 
Regular Public Meetings
 
October 1 – Committee of the Whole
October 7 and 21 – Town Council
October 9 – Princeton Arts Council AGM (conducted the Election of Officers)
October 15 – Princeton Health Care Steering Committee, PGH
October 17 – Princeton Museum (*)
 
Special Meetings
 
October 1 – School Board
October 11 – Strategic Planning – Session #1, RockRidge Canyon
October 15 - Strategic Planning – Session #2, Town Hall
October 23 – Interior Health Authority Board Chair Doug Cochrane, PGH
October 28 and 29 – Budget Sessions, Town Hall
 
Other Meetings
 
October 2 – Welcoming Dinner (School District Aboriginal Advisory Board), PSS Gym
October 16 – Pickleball User Group (*)
October 22 – Princeton Fall Fair AGM (conducted the Election of Officers) (*)
October 29 – Conservation Office Service, Town Hall
 
(* denotes meeting attended alone. All other meetings include members of Town Council and Staff).
 
Strategic Planning/Budgeting Sessions
 
For what is apparently the first time in recent history, Princeton Town Council and Staff started strategic planning sessions and financial budgeting in October. Last year it was in December. The sessions were long, involved and extensive. A full day of planning took place at RockRidge Canyon on October 11 where we took a look at what projects had been completed over the past year, which ones were yet to be completed and what projects we wanted to add into the budget for 2020.
 
The budgeting sessions were not nearly as long as the strategic planning dates were and we managed to complete a proposed financial plan by the evening of October 29. Highlights from the budget include a heavy chunk going towards various items that fall under the category of infrastructure. This includes equipment upgrades, new equipment for some departments and funding for ongoing projects.
 
One piece of equipment that will be a welcome addition is a line painting machine. This tool will permit the Town Crew to paint crosswalks and other road and parking lot features in spring annually. Currently these jobs are contracted out and Princeton ends up getting “fit in wherever there is time” and these lines don’t get done until later in the year. I think it is fair to say that the look of the current crosswalks downtown has disappointed all of us and it won’t likely happen again.
 
Another category that will see a lot of support in the 2020 budget is tourism and economic development. This will include a number of visual and marketing elements meant to promote the community and attract tourists. An extensive multi-layer approach will be used that will get the word out about the many year ‘round activities and attractions that can be found in this part of the Similkameen Valley.
 
Those are just a couple of key points I wanted to share with you about the direction of Town Council in 2020. More details will be announced in the coming weeks. 

September 2019 was a very interesting month for me. It started as usual with regular meetings and ended with a week-long conference in Vancouver. A lot of ground was covered throughout the month and I’ll try to give you a general idea of what all took place and the accomplishments made along the way.
 
Regular Public Meetings
 
My meeting schedule contained a total of 12 regular meetings for September. One ended up getting cancelled and two I missed due to scheduling conflicts. Here is the breakdown:
 
September 3 and 16 – Town Council
September 11 – Committee of the Whole
 
September 4 – Princeton Arts Council
September 17 – Princeton Exhibition Association (PXA) *
September 19 – Princeton Museum Society *
September 18 – Okanagan Regional Library, Kelowna *
 
September 12 – Community Health Centre Working Committee *
September 20 – SOS Division Family Practice, Penticton *
 
(* denotes meeting attended alone. All other meetings include members of Town Council and Staff).
 
Other Events
 
September 4 saw the massive wood archways go up spanning Vermilion Avenue and Bridge Street as the first part of a downtown beautification project. They look fantastic!
 
September 7 I attended the 2nd annual Bra and Toonie Auction at Princeton Golf Course Clubhouse. I was the auctioneer again and helped raise money for the Terry Fox Cancer Society.
 
UBCM – Union of British Columbia Municipalities
 
The annual ‘government convention’ hosted by the UBCM is always the last week of September. This year’s was in Vancouver and all of your town council, plus CAO, attended. There were several workshops, networking events and receptions planned for the five days of UBCM. Probably the most important part of the event for Princeton Town Council was the private meetings were had with provincial ministry officials. In total, we had four:
 
September 24 – Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions Staff
September 25 – Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure Staff
September 25 – Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Staff
September 26 – Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing – Minister Selina Robinson
 
Each meeting ranged in length from 15 to 30-minutes and was carefully timed. We had prepared presentations for each visit and were complimented more than once on how prepared we were. Detail on each meeting will be released at a later date.
 
Workshops Plus More
 
My first event at UBCM was on September 23 and was a workshop titled, “Parity: Breaking Down Barriers, Building Momentum.” It focused on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ (FCM) recently adopted national action to “remove barriers and support more women to run, win and stay in local elected office.” This was followed by a New Delegates Orientation Session. The day wrapped up with a reception hosted by FortisBC.
 
The rest of the week included the above-mentioned ministry meetings and additional workshops. I attended one titled, “Connected Communities BC: Enhancing Resiliency Through Connectivity” that centred on how small communities can benefit from better internet infrastructure. I listened to Mayors of small towns in BC explain their plight and describe how they believed that fibre internet would become “a game changer” in their town. It made me realize how far ahead Princeton really is on this particular subject.
 
Logging Truck Convoy
 
I have to admit that the members of Princeton Town Council had up-to-date information on the location and size of the logging truck convoy that was heading to downtown Vancouver on September 25. As a result, we were outside cheering them on with several of the record 2,000 delegates at UBCM as the convoy was heading to that event. They got to a block away from the event where traffic control directed them away from the immediate area. However, the estimated 400 logging trucks took two hours to pass the intersection of Canada Place and Burrard Street and we were down there with them.
 
BC Premier John Horgan acknowledged their efforts on the final day of UBCM with his closing address. He pointed out that urban BC has the infrastructure for rural BC to grow with while rural BC has the resources needed by urban BC and that both sides have to work in partnership in order to succeed. By the sound of many comments heard following the convoy, the loggers got their message across and left quite an impression on elected officials from many of the urban centres in the province. I was filled with pride when I saw local logging trucks pass me on Canada Way in front of the Vancouver Convention Centre. The one truck with a BC flag and a Town of Princeton flag on it caused me to step aside to gather my thoughts. It was an emotional sight to see.
 
The Take Aways
 
Aside from learning about some incredibly cool products that you may or may not see popping up in and around Princeton that were part of the UBCM Trade Show, I learned a great deal from conversations and observations. I think what I found most interesting is that regardless of the size of your community, we all share the same basic issues. Infrastructure and housing are usually the hot button issues and they also happen to be the focus of our efforts as well. In the coming month we will be attending Strategic Planning and Budget Sessions and I expect things learned from connections made at UBCM to provide some guidance.

​August 2019 has been the one month so far since my election to Town Council that has been the least active for me. There was one regular meeting of Town Council this month. The rest of my schedule was pretty light with just 12 events scheduled and two of those ended up getting cancelled. Here is a quick look at what my month was like:
 
Regular Public Meetings
 
Aside from the single Town Council meeting on Tuesday, August 6, I had just a handful of other meetings to attend related to the committees and boards I sit on.
 
Thursday, August 15 – Princeton Museum Society
Tuesday, August 20 – 3 PM – Princeton Health Care Steering Committee
Tuesday, August 20 – 7 PM – Princeton Exhibition Association
 
Other Meetings
 
There were a few additional meetings I attended that were outside of the regular ones I typically participate in.
 
Tuesday, August 6 – I had a meeting with members of SOHC (Support Our Health Care) to gain a better understanding of the Community Health Centre concept and how it fits into a Primary Care Network. This is related to a project I am assisting the Mayor on for next month’s UBCM. (*)
 
Tuesday, August 13 – PXA Site Inspection. This was a walkabout to observe issues that need to be remedied at the facility.
 
Wednesday, August 21 – Meeting with Bryan Safarik of BC Green. I attended this lunch meeting with staff and other members of Town Council to meet and speak with the company that is developing the large project at the Princeton Industrial Park.
 
(* denotes meeting attended alone. All other meetings include members of Town Council and Staff).
 
Out-Of-Town Meetings
 
My August did include two road trips for out-of-town meetings. Here are the details on what they were:
 
Thursday, August 8 – Meeting in Tonasket, Washington. I drove to Princeton’s Sister City to meet with City of Tonasket Councillor Jensen Sackman to discuss the Sister City relationship. I am in a rather interesting position for this as I was at the original meeting that put the Sister City plan in place back in 1987. Jensen and I have also known each other for the past several years so it was nice to meet with her in our official capacities to try to come up with a plan to help build the Sister City relationship between our communities. I also met with City of Tonasket Mayor Dennis Brown who was clearly supportive of Sackman and me working together on this project. Watch for more on this to come. (*)
 
Friday, August 16 – I was in Penticton for another follow up meeting to the Primary Care Community Workshop. One more is scheduled for September.
 
Other Activities
 
Tuesday, August 13 – As part of Heritage & Culture Week, leading up to the annual Traditional Music Festival, I was once again a ‘guest speaker.’ This is the fourth year I have done this and each time I put together a PowerPoint presentation that involves my wife, Brenda in giving me assistance. This year I made a presentation titled, “History of A Small Town Newspaper” and shared a brief history on the Similkameen News Leader. I also included several ‘secrets’ about the business that was enjoyed by all in attendance.
 
Next Month
 
September looks to be a hectic time for all of us on Town Council with all committee meetings back on track. The month will end with a week in Vancouver for UBCM (Union of British Columbia Municipalities) which will see elected officials from throughout the province in attendance for workshops, meetings and other activities. I’m looking forward to being there!