InfoCity

More on Water and Water Bottles

2011-08-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

I have received the following comment from Deb Youngest, in our Engineering Department:

"Interesting reading. On the point of the environmental impact that comes along with drinking from plastic bottles, it made me think of a photo series that drew my attention a few years ago. Chris Jordan. “Running the Numbers: An American Self-Portrait.” I’ve only seen the pictures on the internet; I imagine it is quite more impactful to see them life-size (on five-foot by ten-foot canvas):

http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/#plastic-bottles - “two million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every five minutes.” (if you use the Click to Zoom feature, you’ll see the image contains quite a few water bottles in amongst the pop and Gatorade detritus).
http://www.chrisjordan.com/gallery/rtn/#caps-seurat – “400,000 plastic bottle caps, equal to the average number of plastic bottles consumed in the United States every minute."

Maybe the numbers in Canada are lower but I think they would still be pretty high. Meanwhile, did you know that the average person in the Okanagan uses 675 litres of water each day? Wow is the expression that comes to mind. This is more than twice as much water than the average Canadian uses, which is 329 litres per day. Clearly the Okanagan average is high and needs to be addressed, especially when we have less water available to us than almost anywhere in Canada. Interestingly, the average resident in France uses 150 litres per day and, in water-stressed Israel, people use 135 litres per day.

The figure of 675 L/day is an annual average for all Okanagan residents. Our use in the summer is actually much higher than in the winter. Residents in the North Okanagan, where they receive more precipitation, use less water than South Okanagan residents who live in Canada's only pocket of desert.

Should I say more?

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Thinking Forward

2010-06-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

After being incorporated, the District of Lake Country has grown by leaps and bounds but also with pain. Today the District is ready to advance in all aspects of its business and services, and to take a more central role for its citizens.

In order to achieve the best for its citizens, the District needs to select and work on priorities and organize itself from a corporate perspective.

Council and staff met under the experienced guide of Gordon McIntosh, President and CEO of the Local Government Institute, and have identified many projects they wish to accomplish for the sake of the community. More important, they were able to select 5 immediate priorities and a number of subsequent tasks they need to work on before the end of this term.

The new strategy has been named "Thinking Forward" and the Annual Report contains a message from me to the community about the new approach to business our local government is taking.

The 5 priorities are:

the completion of the Water Master Plan
the creation of an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan
the creation of a Community Brand
the creation of an Active Transportation Plan
the development of the Town Centre

To complement the five main priorities, Council and staff have identified a number of other concurrent projects that need to be done as well. For instance, it is necessary to create a Corporate Business Plan reflecting the connection between the priorities, the budget, and the current and future levels of service. Another task is to work closely with our select and standing committees, such as the Access and Mobility Committee and the newly created Economic Planning and Development Committee, for instance, to make their input more valuable from a strategic and advisory perspective.

The good thing about all this, is that Council and staff have become more aware of each other and that they are prepared to collaborate on a positive culture change for Lake Country.

I believe our community is ready to embrace positive change and to move a step forward, to be more mature about the complexities of life and its quality for the benefit of all citizens. I also believe Lake Country is ready to be positioned in a more relevant way, not only in the Okanagan and BC, but also as a beacon of quality at the national and international levels.

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BUDGET DELIBERATIONS AND CITY SERVICES

2009-03-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

The new Council is working on the 2009 City Budget and the 5-Year Financial Plan (2009-2013). Although no specific direction has been approved yet, tough economic conditions in the City are providing an opportunity to set the City financial policy in such a way to obtain the following results:

Reduce the fiscal pressure on the City taxpayers;
Continue to provide a balanced set of services to the community that would guarantee a decent quality of life;
Stop the drainage of jobs and stimulate economic conditions locally; and
Have a sustainable budget.

The Law requires that all local governments balance their budget or in other words not carry any deficit. This requirement is a mandatory policy that is a priority over other policy considerations. Council is certainly looking at a fair mix of all these elements to provide a sound financial plan and busdget for the City.

The Finance Portfolio Chair, Councillor Barr, has met several times with staff to find ways to reduce spending and keep a viable, sustainable financial policy for the City. The Mayor and Council has met and will continue to meet with community leaders from different fields and professions to collect ideas and assist with their final budget deliberations.

The budget will have to be approved by May 15, as required by provincial legislation and a formal public consultation process will be announced as soon as a draft of the budget is finalized. Staff are also working on providing more information to the public about some consistent financial elements that are part of the budget process and will be published on this blog.

The other side of the coin is that, in order to accomplish the targets of the 2009 budget at a time of crisis, the City will have to focus on essential services and carefully distinguish critical from important. All jobs at City Hall are important, but when push comes to shove, the principle of sustainability becomes the driving factor. Some jobs will be lost as part of this whole exercise and one was already lost on Monday. It is sad to see somebody go, especially after so much hard work and dedication, but there are many people hurting in the community and the City just cannot afford further fiscal pressure on the taxpayers. There will be others, but we are certainly looking at mitigating the effects of the economy as much as we can to maintain services at an acceptable level, which means the layoffs will have to be strategically though out. Criteria such as essentiality of the position, interdependency at the organizational level, cost saving effect, workload redistribution, and many others are and will be applied in order to make these serious decisions.

WHERE IS WILLIAMS LAKE GOING?

2009-01-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

The 2008 municipal election brought Williams Lake a new Mayor and a new Council. There are 5 new faces around the Council Table with the most noticeable one being the Mayor's. Kerry Cook is our new Chief Elected Officer and there is an excited buzz about her all around town. She has a different style of business and she is a woman, qualities that will go a long way for her in her new venture and will likely benefit the City not only in the long term but also in the short one.

But there are some peculiarities about this Council that I find interesting to point out:

The majority of the Council members are women. This is quite unique for Williams Lake and speaks highly of a community that has been struggling to create a modern image trying to also keep fundamental elements of its traditional one, which we also market with some intensity;
Two of the Councillors are under 30. Kudos to younger generations for stepping up to the plate and recognizing the vision of long term planning. These two youngsters will provide diverse optics with a fresh preoccupation for looking at the perspective of who is going to be here 50 or 100 years from now.
There is a wide variety of interests represented around the table, including not only the bread and butter interest of economic necessities but also the heart of social and cultural needs, which cannot be separated from a wholistic approach to a reasonable level of life quality and enjoyment for a community this size and this type.

All of this became even more apparent when we had our Priority Setting session with the new Council in December. We worked hard for two days to identify those priorities and to set the sailing plan for the next three years.

These are the top 10 priorities (and a report is going to the Committee of the Whole Council tonight):

Develop and Implement a Community Safety Strategy;
Improve First Nation Relations;
Create Affordable Housing Opportunities;
Develop and Implement an Arts & Culture Plan;
Review the City Economic Development Strategy;
Support the Prosperity Mining Project;
Develop and Implement a Road Pavement Plan;
Develop and Implement an Integrated Community Sustainability Plan and Review the Official Community Plan;
Downtown Redevelopment;
Services Review.

Obviously, there are other things we are working and will be working on, but these are the 10 top goals.

You can see a copy of the report on line at:
http://williamslake.fileprosite.com/FileStorage/AC865A351BD740AA831F6740B71B02AC-January%2020%202009-A1.pdf

Williams Lake is not only 'Moving Forward' but is in fact 'A Step Ahead'.

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Budget Time for the City

2008-04-22T18:42:00.000-07:00

Tonight we had a public meeting on budget. The newspapers already reported some information. Let me try to explain the City budget for 2008.

THE LAW
The Province wants two basic things from the City with respect to Budget: 1) that we always balance our budget (in other words, we can't have a deficit, unlike the provincial and federal governments); and 2) that we forecast a long-term plan (they want us to forecast for 5 years).

THE REALITY
To accomplish #1 (a balanced budget) we need to spend no more than what we collect in various revenues, including taxes. Fair enough! So what happened in the last few years, we have held our taxes to no increase to support an economy in crisis. In the meantime all services have gone up and so our costs. On one side we lost our revenue power because we had to and on the other side we had to pay the bills without incurring in a deficit. Last year we had to raise taxes (in 2007 the tax increase accross the board was 3.98%) and we need to do the same this year and for the next few years. The sure thing is that the tax increase for 2008 is similar to last year and it has been set at 3.9%. The forecast for the next 5 years is just that: a forecast, and it establishes a 5% tax increase for the years from 2009 to 2012. This may and, in fact I hope, it's going to, change as we review the budget on an annual basis. In other words, we need a 3.9% tax increase to balance the budget in 2008 but we don't know yet what the budget will look like in 2009 and following.

WHERE IS THE MONEY GOING?
We have two budgets. The first one is the Operational Budget and it deals with the day-to-day services we provide the community. For instance, this budget includes parks and streets maintenance, buildings maintenance, operating the pool and the arenas, city beautification, mill and fill of roads, cost of staff providing the service, policing and fire protection, garbage, etc. The costs of these services have increased up to 40% in certain areas. Probably, you have seen increases in your cost of living in other areas too, such as gasoline, food, real estate and so on. The tax increase will assist covering for our cost increases without reducing the services we provide the community. Council decided that Williams Lake deserves the current level of services and so decided not to cut any, hence the need for a tax increase. In addition there is an inflation factor, which we calculate at a 2% annual rate.

The second budget is the Capital Budget, which contains infrastructure one-time construction costs, such as the new Fire Hall we are building, new roads or reconstruction of existing roads, sewer, water, and storm sewer management systems and infrastructure, etc. We don't have enough money to even scratch the surface of what needs to be done (the total infrastructure deficit, and we are not talking new infrastructure, is about $120 million). To do some of the things we need to do we also need to borrow money and beg for grants (and we have not been that lucky on grants in the last two years). Borrowing needs to be repaid and that affects the Operational Budget as well, hence the tax increase.

WHO DECIDES?
Council makes the decision of approving the budget policies and setting the tax rates. This Council has set the following policies:

No reduction in the current level of services provided to the community;
Provide for a sustainable budget to support the community in times of economic downturn;
Increase the tax base by fostering big box retail commercial, and development in general;
Set aside $1 million a year from General Revenue to pay for infrastructure costs;
Increase the Surplus/Contingency fund;
Replenish the Reserve for purchasing new Equipment to provide City Services;
Set self-borrowing as a priority rather than borrowing from financial institutions

WHAT ARE THE CAPITAL PROJECTS IN 2008?
We have 56 capital projects approved for 2008. The major ones are:

The construction of a new Fire Hall on South Lakeside Drive and Highway 20;
Phase 2 of the River Valley Storm Outfall (this is an environmental project mandated by the Ministry of Environment);
Realignment of Hodgson Road and widening of the South Lakeside/Hwy 20 Intersection;
Repaving of 7th Avenue;

The total cost for the 56 projects is divided as follows:

New Fire Hall: $6.1 million
Environmental (including Water & Sewer): $3.7 million
Roads and Transportation: $2.9 million
A variety of other expenses (including Airport improvements and Machinery & Equipment): $1.9 million

I hope I have not confused you more. Budget is not that simple as we may think. And I am the first one to admit it!

Till the next one,

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What's new at City Hall

2008-04-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

I know, I haven't written anything for the longest time. I apologize and hope to make amends and try to write at least weekly. It's not easy but there is enough daily to have a daily report for you.
Let's see if we can catch up a bit.

BUDGET
It's that time of the year again. We have been working on the budget in the last few months and we should be able to present it to Council, officially, on Tuesady, April 15, 2008. If all goes well, we will then present it to the public at the April 22 Committee of the Whole meeting and then to Council again for final approval on April 27.

It's not been an easy exercise, but I will give you the details at the public meeting.

WATER COMMITTEE
The Water Committee has met twice and continues to gather information. The June 2008 deadline for submission of recommendations to Council may not be attainable. They are already thinking to ask for an extension. We will know better in the next few weeks, once the Committee has had an opportunity to receive all the delegations, public input, and formulated a possible strategy.

WAL MART
There is a draft agreement between Wal Mart and Pioneer Log Homes for the building of Wal Mart on South Lakeside. MOT has agreed on the standard for the road enhancements on Highway 20, South Lakeside Intersection, Hodgson Road, and the first portion of South Lakeside. The City is working in partnership with MOT and ICBC to fund and manage the road improvements. Wal Mart wishes to start the land preparation this year and costruction in the winter for a targeted opening of Fall 2009.

NEW FIRE HALL
Tenders for the cosntruction of the new Fire Hall on the Skyline property will be received by April 15. Many construction companies have expressed interest. The construction will help with plans to expand services to fringe areas like Fox Mountain, Dog Creek and Esler. Very positive. In addition, this may also help us take over Auto Extrication from the CRD.

Well let's begin with this. I promise I will be back.

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Water Conservation Plan

2007-11-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

Tonight, the City is holding its first information meeting on our water needs. We have representatives from the Water Conservation Society, Ministry of Environment, the engineering firm ND Lea (now called MMM Group), which prepared the report on the status of water consumption in Williams Lake, EPCOR and City Staff. The Mayor and those councillors who are available will be there as well.

I think this is a great opportunity for people to understand a number of things:
1. We need to conserve our water for our future generations. We need to get out of our "selfish" box and think about our sons and daughters, our grandsons and granddaughters...and further. If we continue using our water, not only in Williams Lake, but everywhere else in the world, like there is no tomorrow, our future generations are in for a very bleak future.
2. The City is trying to find solutions. In order to find solutions, we need assistance. Community members can help, but it is not enough and we need experts as well.
3. We will never devolve our water system to any private enterprise. In fact, it is our responsibility to protect our water in a sensible and wise manner. Council is clear about that and no agreement will be signed without the people's approval.

Much more can be said. But I think of stories from my parents and in-laws of World War 2 in Italy. Water and food were, at minimum, scarce. Hunger and thirst were a reality. I wish nobody to go through that again. Canada has been blessed with wonderful natural resources and has never seen a situation when those resources were not readily available. I don't want to see that to happen. Not in my life, not in that of my posterity.

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Williams Lake Meetings at UBCM

2007-10-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

The City was able to meet with the following Ministers:

Premier Gordon Campbell
Hon. John Les, Solicitor General
Hon. Rich Coleman, Minister of Forest & Range and Minister for Housing
Hon. Murray Coell, Minister of Advanced Education
Hon. Ida Chong, Minister of Community Services
Hon. Pat Bell, Minister of Agriculture and Land
Hon. Kevin Falcon, Minister of Transportation

The topics discussed with the various ministers and the Premier were:

Funding for the construction of a Multi-Event Centre
Crime Reduction Assistance from the Province
Community Forest Proposal
Affordable Housing
Independent Power Production Plant in Williams Lake
Acquisition of Crown at the Airport
Ownership of Stampede Grounds
Thompson Rivers University and Advanced Education in Williams Lake
Infrastructure for Highways: MacKenzie Avenue and Highway 20
Phase 2 of River Valley Outfall Grant request
Dog Creek Road Water Infrastructure – Joint Project with CRD
Waste Reduction Plant – Proposal with CRD

Following is a summary of the discussion on the above-noted topics.

Multi-Events Centre:

The total cost would be in the order of $30M. The City requested the Premier and Ministers Coleman and Chong for $10M from the Province, being one third of the total cost of the project, based on two major components of the design: green building and use of enhanced pine beetle wood. The Province has requested that the City follow up closely with the Federal Government, which would be partner for another third, or $10M of the project, particularly with Minister Stockwell Day. Funding from the Province would have to come from a number of different sources yet to be identified specifically by some of the departments. Council will follow up with both the Federal and Provincial Government in short order and report back. In addition, it was pointed out to the Provincial Government that the construction of amenities such as the proposed Multi-event centre has been identified as critical in order to recruit and retain doctors and nurses to Williams Lake, which has now become an issue.

Crime Reduction:

The City listed all the initiatives taken in order to reduce crime in Williams Lake. Minister Les and his staff were impressed with Council’s action. We discussed and agreed that assistance is needed in the following areas:

Crime Reduction Pilot Program, which was granted to the City of Prince George. This would allocate resources, human and financial, to Williams Lake at no extra cost to the City.
Community Court, which would allow targeting efforts on repeat offenders.
Pressure on the Judicial System as it is not responding adequately to the needs of the community, especially when it comes to those offenders that return to the Courts over and over again.

The City informed the Minister of a meeting to be held on September 28 in order to find a common strategy and actions amongst service agencies to tackle issues of non-presence at the time crisis erupt. The Minister will send senior ministry staff to attend the meeting.

Independent Power Producers Proposals:

The City discussed with the Premier, and Minister of Forest and Range, the ability of the Province to respond to the pressing demand of cost realignment with BC Hydro in order to foster more investors’ interest and ability to build clean power plants in areas of the Province such as Williams Lake, where at least 4 companies are interested to locate a plant. The Province assured that discussion will take place with BC Hydro to facilitate these projects.

Acquisition of Crown Land at Airport:

This item was also brought up at the 2006 UBCM Convention. The intent is to acquire crown land surrounding the Airport in fee simple for the purpose to allocate industrial operations. We have the support of the Province and staff will work with City staff to accelerate the acquisition process.

Highway 20 and MacKenzie Avenue Corridor:

This is a comprehensive proposal to redesign the Hwy 20/MacKenzie Ave Corridor to:

Reduce accidents;
Increase viability;
Provide access to the RC Cotton Property and the Pioneer Family Land Commercial proposal

The Ministry is willing to work with the City on this matter.

Council touched base with Ministers on the following items as well:

Community Forest Proposal. Minister was given an update on the proposal to be submitted by the end of this year;
Affordable Housing. Minister was made aware of the no-vacancy issue we have in Williams Lake and was requested to assist with Affordable Housing.
Stampede Ground. Minister is aware that the Stampede Ground is a grant in fee simple to the City but the use is defined for recreation purposes.
TRU. Marketing was recognized as number one priority and the Ministry will assist and discuss this with TRU officials.
River Valley Outfall. Ministry will consider request for grant under the Green Infrastructure Program
Dog Creek. The request to fund a joint study of the Dog Creek area with the CRD was discussed and the Ministry of Community Services will consider the joint application.
Waste Reduction Plant. Joint project with CRD. It was brought up to the various ministers for information with a promise to follow up in the near future with them.

Finally, I wish to highlight the fact that Williams Lake was the focus of a successful partnership with a Chinese city, which was a discussion topic at a specific workshop organized by UBCM. Councillor Ed Mead was invited to sit on the panel and gave an excellent synopsis of the purpose, scope and report of the mission. The City of Powell River is interested in exploring a partnership with the City of Williams Lake to explore Chinese opportunities as well.

UBCM Convention in Vancouver

2007-09-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

The annual Union of BC Municipalities Conference (UBCM) is being held in Vancouver this week and it will close tomorrow. For those who are not familiar with this event, it provides three main objectives to its participants (mayors, councils and senios staff of municipalities and regional districts in BC):

Meetings with Provincial Ministers and the Premier to discuss issues and to lobby for funds and resources for critical projects and plans;
Plenary discussion and vote on resolutions from various municipalities and regional districts in order to lobby the Province for changes in legislation affecting local governments; and finally
Sessions and workshops on best practices and topical issues common to all local governments.

In addition, there are other things that happen at the Conference.

There is much networking at the political and administrative level to share ideas and to create possible partnerships and cooperations.
A UBCM Board is also elected. This is very important as these individuals represent all local governments in BC and act on their behalf in many discussions and lobbying efforts with the Provincial Government and, in some instances, the Federal Government.
Best Practices Awards are also given to local governments for a variety of reasons, which increases awareness of good governance at the local level in BC.
Many products and services, most of the time at the leading edge of technological innovation, are showcased in a two-day Trade Show.

This year, the City of Williams Lake was at the front and centre of the Conference in many respects. First of all, City Officials met with the Premier and other 6 Ministers, in 7 separate, individual meetings, to discuss various issues and solicit funding opportunities for important capital projects for the community. These meetings were well received and proved to be successful (as a separate entry on this Blog will tell).

Secondly, our Mayor was interviewed by the Vancouver Sun, the Province and other media on a number of issues affecting Williams Lake, which resulted in two articles in the Vancouver Sun and one in the Province newspapers but also in News reports on CBC, Global TV and CKNW, putting our community at the centre of attention in the Province.

Thirdly, the City had a booth at the Conference to showcase the community, which was extremely successful and was visited by hundreds of delegates with very positive comments.

Finally, the City won two prestigious awards in critical areas of sustainability. The first one was the Canadian Wood Association Community Recognition Award for the beautiful wood work at the Tourism Discovery Centre, and the second was for winning the "Turn It Off!" Challenge that BC Hydro issued to all municipalities in BC, having Williams Lake been the City that saved the most energy in its buildings and facilities in its category. This went very well with the general theme of the Conference about Climate Change and Energy Conservation.

I have experienced many UBCM Conventions, but this one was, by far, the best and most fruitful I have ever attended.

ADF

NCMOA Conference in Williams Lake a great success

2007-09-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

We hosted the Fall Conference of the North Central Municipal Officers Association (NCMOA). This was the second local government conference we held this year in Williams Lake. We, in fact, hosted the North Central Municipal Association in May, which was a great success.

The Fall NCMOA Conference was centred on a number of areas of interest for municipal practitioners, mainly creative partnerships, professional development, ideas sharing techniques, and communications. The delegates, who come from the Northern and Central BC, were able to also receive a legal municipal update, and an annual report from some of our municipal partners, such as CivicInfo (the web repository for municipal governments), LGMA, which is the provincial association of local government managers, and the Municipal Finance Authority, the AAA lending agency of municipal governments in BC.

In terms of partnerships, we took the delegates on a tour of the EPCOR Power Plant and discussed some of the partnering initiatives we have with that company - which is, by the way, owned by the City of Edmonton - in the areas of clean energy, water conservation and fire protection. The delegates also enjoyed a trip to Gibraltar Mines where they were informed about the award winning relationship with the CRD and the City for the landfill and waste disposal management.

The conference was organized jointly by the City of Williams Lake and the Cariboo Regional District, another successful initiative of two organizations that are trying to positively work together to strengthen common interests and initiatives.

For the first time, we had university student participation: 4 students with the UNBC Public Administration Certificate Program attended and were able to network with professionals in the field, trying to get a feeling of what local government administration may mean in terms of career targets and expectations.

All participants were extremely impressed with the City layout and beauty and astonished at the magnificence of our Tourism Discovery Centre, really, in their words, a unique building in the whole province.

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City Administration101: Introduction

2007-09-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

Many times, I am asked the question 'what do you do at City Hall?'. I have to admit there is no easy answer. I also realize that our school system does not provide sufficient education or training to equip our children with fundamental knowledge about political relations and government administration, which, I think, it is critical to their future lives. I also noticed that people become interested in City Hall only if it affects them negatively. Yet, there is so much that is decided and done by both City politicians and City staff that has a positive impact in the community that we give it for granted and people seem to not know or to have the wrong information. I guess it goes with the territory. It's a bit like the newspapers, the negative sells the positive doesn't. This is a societal distortion that we need to correct and as civic leaders, we at City Hall are trying our best to change it here in Williams Lake. Indeed, for the sake of our community's good future, we need to abandon some negative stereotypes and embrace positive change. I'll give you an example.

For instance, did you know that the City has been working very hard in the last three years to advance a plan to conserve our water? Why do we need such a thing? Well, mostly because we can't survive more than a few days (probably three or four) without water, which is a precious commodity second only to air. Also, because we want our children and all future generations to live better and not worse, including having access to the best water in the world. Finally, because water is a gift and we should respect it. Today, the residents and taxpayers are enjoying cheap acces to water (parcel water tax is only $40 a year in WL) but do they know that in order to repair and maintain our water systems and to conserve water for an acceptable length of time in the future we need more than that? If we focus on the immediate economic effect of the plan on our family and personal budgets without thinking of the long-term impact and benefits, then the usual reaction would be 'These Politicians: they always find a way to grab some more of our money.' But if we focus on the results and benefits of the plan, then our reaction may be 'I am willing to make an investment in our water and I will support our City to implement our plan.' I did not use the words City Plan, but 'our plan'. Because it is our plan after all and seeing it that way makes a world of difference. Now, I will certainly discuss the City's Water Conservation Plan another time but the point is, residents are not completely informed and it is mainly our fault (the City's), and so they tend to see what is communicated to them. And, if it is negative, then their level of trust in their City government just won't be very high.

So, the City Page, this blog and other pieces of information that the City provides are very important to make the community aware and, I hope, to make people interested in their government and to help them shake off their apathy and negativity towards City government.

I guess this can be a bit of an introduction to a much wider topic. So, next time, I will explain a little bit more how the City operates because, from what I hear, there is some sort of mystery on what we do. But, again, it really isn't a mystery, is it? We just need to explain. So enjoy your week-end and I hope you'll take the time to read this blog coming next week.

ADF

City Page

2007-08-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

As of Thursday, the City of Williams Lake will have a regular presence in the two local newspapers through its "City Page". We will use this section to provide information about the City, including ads that you would normally see in other sections of the paper.

This is not a new concept for local governments, although it's certainly the firts time we have done it in Williams Lake. The majority of the municipalities in Canada and the U.S. have a consolidated page in the newspapers to maximize legal advertising space and visibility, and to communicate with the taxpayers and residents on a regular basis.

The City Page will also remind people about this blog and invite the readers to provide direct comments to us.

As City Manager, I find that it makes our job easier and more exciting when we communicate with our customers -the public. In fact, I always look for ways I can tell my fellow citizens that, not only are we working hard at making Williams Lake the best place to live in BC, but also that we care about what you say and want and that we are trying more and more to work for and with the community. So be on the look-out for the City Page next Thursday, September 6 in the Tribune and the following Wednesday, September 12, in the Advisor. Let us know what you think.

ADF

Welcome to InfoCity

2007-08-30T16:11:00.001-07:00

As the City Manager of Williams Lake, I am often asked the following question by residents to whom I have the pleasure to talk to: 'What's happening in the City?' It's a simple question but with many answers. This blog is intended to provide some answers but especially to provide me with the time to think about what we do and how we do it and hopefully go back one day to this professional journey of mine and think that we've done well. I will try to address a number of issues and to assist by responding to comments and questions as they come. Again, I will try...I am cognisant of my shortcomings and limitations and I apologize in advance if I won't be able to make everybody happy. But I certainly hope most of you will find this blog informative and to the point and I am open to suggestions and topics for discussion. In the meantime, enjoy your reading as much as you can and I hope to hear from you.

Alberto S. De Feo, Ph.D.Law

Chief Administrative Officer