Tim Rhodes, municipal councillor for one term:
Even something that appears to be stand-alone, like the re-zoning of Lot 2 – should that not proceed, everything that goes with that gets unbundled: that is Snug Cove House, diversity of housing, a community centre: we need to keep the momentum moving. To provide these healthcare facilities we need to attract healthcare professionals to the island, they need housing, a diversity of housing, if they’re going to move here and live here.
Murray Skeels, retired project manager, local business owner, founder of the Bowen Bulletin:
My idea is to start very quickly on a whole bunch of things. The trick I believe is to start with small steps. We’ve been dancing for a long time – its time to take those first committed steps. Will we make mistakes? Sure. But we will learn from our mistakes, we will admit our mistakes. We will gain consensus as we move forward. And some projects will die. But some projects will come to life, and they will become our creation. I’m talking about the community hall, Snug Cove house, affordable housing, the firehall…
Stacy Beamer, artist, and Bowen’s first Public Works Manager:
Addressing large rural lot rezonings or development proposals:
I’m going to use Roger Curtis as an example. It was our choice to say 10 acre lots on Roger Curtis, not theirs, and I think the environment that led to that result still exists for large lots on the island, many of them are still zoned for 10 acre lots. I think the community can agree that 10 acre lots on Roger Curtis is a bit of a tragedy, and ideally we don’t do it again. That’s going to require us to be pro-active, not re-active. We often enter battles long after we have any hope of changing the outcome. At the end of the day, had we thought it through when we said 10 acre lots on Roger Curtis, we might have been able to ask ourselves, what does that actually look like and are we going to be happy with that?
Gary Ander, Bowen resident since 1970:
I look at council’s job in a two phase operation. One is the business of council: That’s the CEO and the board of directors, we look after the budgets and try to spend some money and we look after the committees, we deal with infrastructure – all the nuts and bolts stuff. The other part, and the most important part, is we look at what defines Bowen Island. Every decision that is made in council matters, we cannot be divisive… every decision that we make in council we have to keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is defined by the OCP. That’s what defines our island and where we want to go.
Michael Chapman, moved to Bowen in the 1970s as a 14 year old:
We need to be innovative. We send about 3 million dollars a year off-island for slow internet connectivity. Let’s build our own broadband network on the island. Keep that money here. One-hundred and thirty communities are doing that already in North America.
Sue Ellen Fast, nature interpreter and consultant, on docks:
I don’t think the current bylaw is adequate, because right now there are several other enormous docks being proposed for Bowen Island, some of them beside Bowen Bay – that includes a giant boat lift, it is not really clear what the impact on the beach users will be and it is not in the bylaw. My first thing would be to protect the beaches… and then, I kind of think we might need to go back to the first bylaw and put more things in it…
Marcus Freeman, running independently to represent open-anonymity of Bowen Residents:
I want council to focus on the large demographic of senior, fixed income residents; the disadvantaged, and just as importantly, your children and youth, who in their life find advanced education and employment elsewhere. Young families can envision a more inclusive and accessible island that makes ends meet.
Yvette Gabrielle, human resource specialist mother of three, on infrastructure:
When we want to make progress on something, then we’re going to have to look at what gains and losses we’re going to incur along the way. If we want a community centre or any sort of development, then we’re going to have to look at how we’re going to create that. I think that when I look at a problem then I look at the how, and all the possibilities around that… water and sewer are not a choice, there needs to be some upgrades, and we need to look at the whole picture before moving ahead
Michael Kaile, 35 years in the international hotel industry:
In our Cove, our front door where I’m told the welcome mat needs a good Cove and a clean, I think there are two issues. First of all there’s a parking issue. Now the only address to the parking issue is by very small, incremental improvements. As for ferry marshalling, I’m not sure how long we’ve been talking about ferry marshalling but I’m 66 so I guess it started when I was a boy. I’m more in fussed about of cleaning up the Cove and getting our parking improved to the rest of our ability, then slowly working our way through ferry marshalling.
Melanie Mason, GIS specialist and mother of young daughters
In response to a question on using Crippen Park Lands for parking and ferry marshalling:
I think we need to step back on this one a bit. There are discussions now about undertaking an integrated transportation plan and that’s where I’d like to start. There was a plan done in 1999… I’d like to have an overall look at what’s happening with our transportation. If we had maybe better bus service coming into the Cove coming from different parts of the island, would that take some of our pressure off?
Alison Morse, incumbent councillor and retired accountant:
A closed-door meeting is advertised and noticed, and when you’re talking about land, it is one of those situations that is allowed for a closed meeting. And thinking about it – do you want to tell a person who is making a proposal as to how much they might pay you for that land, what you’re willing to accept and how much you think it might cost up front – so that they can come in and know, rather than an open bidding process?
Maureen Nicholson, freelance editor and program co-ordiantor at Douglas College:
I think Bowen Island has quite a lot of unfinished business... so, if I were on council, I would like to do an audit of the unfinished business for Bowen Island – all the projects, all the great ideas that have fallen by the wayside for one reason or another, because I certainly don’t understand why they fell by the wayside. I think taking stock in such a way could be a very invigorating process for a new council to go through.
Peter Williamson, new Canadian, PhD in Economic Geography:
One of the things that is particularly of interest of me is environment, and development: I don’t want to play down the development side of it, I am very interested in the opportunities that it offers to Bowen Island. We have an Economic Development Committee, and I’d love to be able to work with them on getting Bowen’s economy vibrant and happening.
George ZawadzkI, creator of “Bowen TV”:
What do I define as affordable housing? That probably differs from many of you. I prefer the term affordable rental housing. I’m not in a position where I can own property or land so, for me, I would like to see more rental units… we need to give special consideration to development projects that come our way that have an affordable rental housing, low-market housing element in place. As long as it follows the OCP.
