Why me?

I've had a few questions concerning the amount of time I will be able to commit to a position on City Council, and thought it best that I address that here. To someone on the outside looking in I am sure my life already seems very busy. I have four young boys, co-own a business, and am active on the school council at Hillside School. I also have a part time job at a jewellery store in the mall. I am not too busy!

For the last 8 and a half years Ive been a stay at home mom, and have loved every minute of it. Now that 3 of my 4 kids are in school I feel that it is time for me to go back to work. I have great support in my husband, who works an 8-5 job, he does just as much with the kids as I do. Our parents also play a very large role in our children's lives. I have been able to go to council meetings, a few committee meetings, downtown association and school council meetings, work a part time job and still get out to talk to people and have some social time. Ive attended some great events over the past few months and look forward to many more. There is no reason a young mother can't be on council.

Why me? Why not.

*apostrophies have been resurrected.*:)

"vision"

There has been a lot of talk about vision lately, a vision for the future of our city. With the process of branding, the upcomming election and the building and demolition of some key places in Grande Prairie a lot is going to change. So what does the city look like a few years from now? I'll start with downtown, it is a great place to do business, unique shops and walkability make it a place for people of all ages, families feel comfortable spending time there. Not far from downtown you are connected to the trails system and muskgoseepi park. On hot days families can come down to the park and enjoy the spray deck, the playground and walking trails for free! The pavillion has been equipped with solar pannels showing our city's committment to the environment! From here the college isnt far, and the new hospital is just beyond that, all connected to the trail system. One thing that has stayed the same is the people here. Grande Prairie is a place where people come together, whether it is to celebrate at the Canada day parade or to help out when a family is left with nothing after a fire. Intelligent, talented, friendly people are what really make this city Grande!

Whats in a Name?

Grande Prairie may be one of the last places where the term "Alderman" is used, but not for long. City council will be voting shortly to change it to councillor, just like everyone else. It doesnt really make a difference, its not about the name of the position but the work that is done. Not many people know where the term "Alderman" came from.

I was having coffee one night with a very old dear friend and mentioned that I was going to run for Alderman. He asked me if I knew where the term came from, to which I said "No". Council memebers used to meet around the fire to discuss community issues. Each member brought a log, as long as their log burned they were allowed to talk, as soon as their log went out they were done. Council members started to bring Alder logs because Alder wood burns longer than others. That is where the term "Alderman" comes from.

So now, even though it seems the term will no longer be used, you know the story behind the name!

Dog bites

Its difficult when we talk of children getting hurt not to have an emotional response. Hearing about a 3 year old girl getting bitten by a rottweiller and having surgery to reconstruct her nose definitely tugs at ones heart strings. One city alderman would like for there to be a bylaw that if your dog bites and draws blood then it is put down, but I dont think a blanket bylaw like that is the answer. Dog bites must be handled on a case by case basis, and handled by a non bias third party. We already have by-laws about dogs being on leashes and where a dog can and cant be. The province has a process in place to handle requests that a dog be put down, and we have rules for animals deemed vicious. I do believe what we already have in place is sufficent.

Another question that Ive heard a lot of talk about is whether we should ban dogs from being at a park like the bear creek ball diamonds. For me, its not about where a dog should or shouldnt be, its about the supervision that is being provided. If you bring your dog into a public area you must be prepared to care for that dog the entire time you are out. I dont know much of the details of the specific case that happend recently, but I am a firm believer that if you are watching your children or pets that accidents, like a dog bite, can be avoided.

Dredging the Reservoir

Lets face it, sometimes, the reservoir stinks! It would be nice to have in dredged and turned into a lake. I could see a nice beach to go along with rotary campground, and more canoeing and kayaking. Surely the city could find it in the budget to make these improvements, after all dredging isn't that difficult right? There are a few problems I do have, one is how we would keep it clean enough to swim in. The creek runs into the reservoir from bear lake, which isn't a lake Id swim in either, and also collects water from farm run off. Another issue would be where will the wildlife go? There are many different birds and animals that use the reservoir, it is an important part of our eco-system. I would like to see more recreational use of this area, its still fine to canoe on and there is already a canoe rental place. The smell is definitely a deterrent, but I don't think ultimately dredging it is the answer. We have a lake close by that, with a little more attention, would be a fine place to spend the day (that being Saskatoon Park)! I think the moeny could be better spent elsewhere.

Teacher Attraction and Retention

Last night I participated in a "teacher attraction and retention" project as part of parent council for Hillside Community School. All of the Parent Councils from the school district were invited to the library at Hillside and representatives from a few other schools were there. We were told by the consultant that there will be a spike in children starting school in the next 3-5 years and attracting and retaining new teachers will be even more important than it currently is. We started by choosing a photo out of several that the consultant set out on the table, the photo that best described what teachers meant to us. Then we listed the positive and negative aspects of the profession, finally we talked about how we could solve the problem.

What can we do to attract teachers to Grande Prairie and keep them here? More importantly- and what I find to be the real issue- how do we attract more people to the profession? I suggested that if education were properly funded more kids would consider a career in teaching. Its one of the toughest jobs and we constantly ask them to do more with less. We need to support education and make it a top priority.

If you've never participated in this kind of project and ever have the opportunity I highly recommend it. Was it a success in the sense that the consultant got the answers he required? I dont know, but it made us think about our teachers and what we can do as parents to support them.

Traffic Circles

My initial reaction to the plan to put two roundabouts in the downtown area of Grande Prairie was a negative one. I dont have the confidence that the general public is going to take to this change well. I think quite a few people will be confused, the change from one way to two way alone is going to take a real adjustment period. But the more information I get about this plan the better it sounds and I admit, Im starting to warm up to the idea.

There is a difference between traffic circles and roundabouts, though we tend to use both words to describe one thing. You dont see many true traffic circles here and I suspect that when comments about other countries taking traffic circles out are made the roundabouts that are planned for Grande Prairie are not what is being talked about. Roundabouts are a lot less confusing and depending on the details of this plan, they could work really well.

This is a matter I will be paying close attention to, especially as a downtown business owner. The general public needs more information about this plan, and I am on a quest for knowledge:)