Today’s Poll

City stacks its plate high as it tackles major issues and projects at unprecedented level

Timothy Schafer
By Timothy Schafer
June 2nd, 2017

The work of a municipal government never stops, but at this time in the City of Nelson’s history it is arguably the busiest it has ever been.

The city is currently grappling with 10 major issues, any one of which would be enough to significantly occupy a municipal government’s time and energy.

All 10 are in varying degrees of development and implementation, including marijuana legislation, the Downtown Parking Strategy, the Urban Design Strategy, the Railtown plan, the redesign of Cottonwood Market, phase two of the Hall Street project (Stores to Shores), panhandling legislation and its inherent problems, water and sewer infrastructure renewal, the development of the recreation master plan, and dealing with the waterfront land around old transfer station.

It was not as if the city was looking to stack its plate as high as it could, said Mayor Deb Kozak, the present workload is the culmination of many years of planning and addressing the growing issues in the Heritage city.

The City of Nelson has always been pro-actively pursuing projects, Kozak said, most notably the water and sewer infrastructure renewal that went into full gear about 12 years ago. 

The last 10 years have also seen many planning processes that have helped to develop a roadmap for our future, said Kozak.

“At this time in our history, this council is implementing many of the planning pieces that have been completed,” she said.

“I would agree that there is an increase in activity. Council is also in the position of addressing social and other legislative issues that are not the full responsibility of local governments. We are not unique in this, many other cities are grappling with the same issues.

Armed with a hard-working council and a “small but mighty staff,” the city has managed to keep pace with its workload, said Kozak.

But not without some cost, she admitted.

“This isn’t to say that we’ve been 100 per cent in keeping everyone informed,” Kozak said. “We are actively working on improvements to communication both internally and externally.”

However, the challenging part of completing the long list of council priorities is further complicated by having to still address emerging issues. 

“A good example is how we managed the short term accommodation bylaw alongside our other planning processes last year,” Kozak pointed out.

“If we hadn’t put that in place, our already tight housing market would have been further impacted leaving residents with even fewer options. This meant that a couple of council priorities were delayed, but they are moving forward.”

The city initiatives have arisen from various aspects of governance, with previous planning and implementation of plans moving forward, emerging issues, and the availability of grants from senior levels of government all playing a factor to create the current workload.

“Whenever we are able to partner and achieve more, we do,” said Kozak.

“Some of the projects are really planning guidelines that we are developing, others need decisions,” said Coun. Michael Dailly. “Reporting out of projects happens one day a month but staff and council are meeting, considering and researching all month long.” 

There is a hierarchy amongst the projects, said Kozak. Some, like Hall Street phase two, have timelines driven by obligations to the grants the city has received, others, like the Railtown project, are longer term and will depend on investments into the area. 

A third category is emerging issues, Kozak explained. 

“It is important to distinguish that planning, like the Urban Design Strategy and Railtown, are guidance documents for the future,” she said. “These are essential in the successful application for grants as they become available, and to the creation of a sustainable and cohesive community.”

Some things need immediate attention, Dailly added, usually determined by the nature of the issue. 

“We don’t always control timelines, as in the case of (medical marijuana) dispensaries,” he said. “Sometimes delay saves money and sometimes delay can mean more expense; we need to know the consequences of delay and act in the best interest of residents and taxpayers.

“Hall Street began before this current term of council and I’m sure the next council will complete projects that we have initiated. Doing it right is more important than a deadline. We can and do take time when it is needed.”

The Path to 2040 outlines the city’s vision nicely: healthy neighbourhoods; prosperity; resiliency; robust ecosystems; cultural strength under four pillars, said Kozak.

“We are building for the future and for the people who love this community,” she said.

Dailly agreed.

“Hopefully, if council has done a good job of listening and making decisions then we have implemented a shared vision of the majority of our residents,” he said. “This shared vision must include consideration of the needs of all community members. There is no end; just doing our best every day.”

Nelsonites are seeing change on many levels, some guided by community planning and other change that is not designed, but as a result of other pressures, said Kozak.

“Council is staying the course in building a sustainable city for the future through good and effective planning,” she said. “Change can be difficult, but it is necessary in building resiliency.”

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