October Marks The Halfway Mark Of This Term

Although we all ended up going to the polls late in the month for a provincial election, October 2020 officially marks the halfway mark of the four-year term I was elected to in the local municipal election of 2018. It has been a very busy two years for Town Council and I have to admit it does not feel as if time has flown by. It feels about right that we are at the midway point of this term and that there is still a lot to be done. But for now, I will focus on what this month has been like for me. To be honest, it has been not what I would consider very busy for me, but it has been a steady month of activity. My ghostwriting work (my career) has been keeping me writing daily and my ongoing recovery program to build my heart up has filled my days. Fortunately, most of the meetings I attend as a member of the Town Council are in the evenings or during the day where I can work my writing or walking around the hours required.


Here is a look at my meeting schedule for October 2020. There were a total of 11 meetings on my calendar. I missed two of them due to technological issues. These were online meetings and for some reason, I could not get into either of them. 


Regular Meetings

Monday, October 19 - Town Council, Town Hall


It was at this meeting I was appointed as the alternate to Mayor Coyne on the Board of the Princeton & District Community Skills Centre. I had a role on this board several years ago representing the Chamber of Commerce (I seem to recall). It will be good to be actively involved with this group once again.


Also at this meeting Town Council granted permission for the annual Halloween Fireworks Display to take place on October 30 at the Princeton Airport. The actual motion read:


"That conditional approval be granted to the "Halloween Family Fun Night" planning committee to hold a fireworks display on Friday, October 30, 2020, at the Princeton Airport. The conditional approval is contingent on the compliance with the Kamloops Fire Centre's fire danger rating assessment for the Merritt Fire Zone, a site assessment by the Princeton Fire Department prior to the event, and the attendance of the Princeton Fire Department at the event."


Special Meetings

Wednesday, October 7 - Strategic Planning Meeting, Town Hall
Thursday, October 8 - Strategic Planning Meeting, Town Hall


Both of these all-day meetings focused primarily on working on plans to further the top town priorities of infrastructure (water/sewer) and housing. 


Wednesday, October 21 - Committee of the Whole, Riverside Theatre


This meeting was planned to permit delegations to make presentations to Town Council. With current COVID-19 protocols, regular meetings of Town Council are closed to the public. This prevents delegations from making presentations and a special meeting was determined to be a logical solution. We heard from three different groups - the Princeton Pickleball Players, the Glenview Park Committee, and Princeton Ground Search and Rescue.


Other Meetings

Thursday, October 15 - Princeton Museum Meeting, Princeton Museum *
Sunday, October 18 - Car/Truck Rally with BC Liberal Leader Andrew Wilkinson and Boundary-Similkameen BC Liberal Candidate Petra Veintimilla, Hillside Farms, Oliver *
Tuesday, October 20 - Princeton Healthcare Steering Committee Meeting, Zoom Meeting
Wednesday, October 21 - Princeton Arts Council, Riverside Centre *
Monday, October 26 - PXA Meeting, Riverside Centre *


* - denotes meetings attended alone. All others include other members of the Town Council and/or Town Staff.


In Conclusion

It is still pretty much "business as usual" for me on Town Council. There is not much movement to date on my kidney operation although I did speak with a urologist in Vancouver early in the month. While the tumour has grown slightly, he figures he can cut it out robotically and save the kidney. That won't happen until January or February now but it buys me time to keep strengthening my heart. I'll keep you posted as best I can on progress but for now, as my local doctor says, we're in a holding pattern. Thankfully, the work I am doing as part of the Town Council is not in a holding pattern.