Nelson Municipal Election 2011: Paula Kiss takes next step in community involvement
By Nelson Daily Editor
Nelson was the perfect fit for Paula Kiss when she began her search for a new home five years ago.
Raised on a farm just outside Paradise Hill, Sask., she was looking for her piece of paradise where she could become an active and contributing member of society.
She found it in Nelson as it fully met her list of ideal community traits: vibrant downtown; walkable; beautiful; strong economy; sense of community; less than 10,000 people; relatively remote; near a lake or ocean; public transit; car co-op; near outdoor recreation; beach; and public parks near water.
Now firmly entrenched as the face of The Building Tree — Nelson’s green building centre — and an active volunteer, Kiss has taken the ultimate step towards contribution to her adopted ideal home: running for City council.
“I love this community and want to be a part of what keeps it vibrant, and take it successfully into the future through intelligent planning,” she said about her reason for stepping onto the political stage.
With her background in engineering, Kiss quickly became interested in the city’s municipal planning when she arrived in 2007, spring boarding her onto various City commissions and committees.
“Municipal planning has and continues to impact Nelson’s uniqueness and community well-being,” she said.
As a result, Kiss became directly involved in many of the more significant city planning initiatives in the last couple years with carbon reduction planning, sustainability planning, active transportation planning and the Downtown Waterfront Masterplan.
A self proclaimed “serial” volunteer, Kiss has been on more committees, commissions and societies than a city of 9,200 could conceivably contain, including co-founder of the local branch of the Cascadia Green Building Council and Transition Nelson.
She also has current membership (or recently served) with the West Kootenay Eco-Society, City of Nelson Advisory Planning Commission, Rotary Daybreak, City of Nelson Community Heritage Commission, Nelson Business Association, Social Planning Action Network, Grizzlies Rugby and the Nelson and Area Economic Development Partnership.
Armed with the knowledge of several City committees and commissions, her experience in construction and education as an engineer, Kiss felt she could be a strong contributor to the next municipal government council.
“Being a councilor is a job and one needs to continually be aware of issues, do one’s homework, and then be willing to make decisions based on information shared,” she said. “A politician must be willing to lead and that means understanding the needs of the community and being willing to act in the manner most beneficial to our community.”
Issues (question and answer)
What one issue has really been ignored in the last years (or years) in Nelson?
- Housing affordability. Young people (even professionals) and young parents are often not able to live here due to the cost of housing. Our resident population is becoming skewed and this leaves us vulnerable.
What do you see as one of the biggest problems Nelson has to deal with next?
- Housing affordability, transit and local employment.
Do you see Nelson as a special case in terms of community, or are we dealing with the same issues as everyone else in B.C.?
- We’re starting at a stronger position for intelligent planning — it’s easier to enhance a place like Nelson which is already relatively well laid out and compact, beautiful and diverse. We also have our own utility which is an amazing asset.
What is one thing you would change in the city or at City Hall?
- I don’t have a single goal but many goals that would increase the connectedness and vitality of the community. My biggest goal is to better understand changing community needs and then use my position as a municipal leader to bring about smart changes.
Any other issues you see happening in the city, or at City Hall, that need to be addressed?
- Peripheral development and planning (or lack thereof). Regional changes impact City services (one small example: development above Mountain Station causing potential erosion, flooding and over taxing Nelson storm water systems, also traffic problems). Closer planning with the RDCK is needed for such issues.
City views
What is your view on:
The City having its own police force?
- I need more information on costs versus benefits for an informed opinion.
Sunday bus service?
- Sunday service is necessary but we will need to change the routes (obviously) to make every day service more viable and more frequently used. The answer is not to remove Sunday service, but increase ridership overall.
Waterfront development?
- Our waterfront is limited and must remain a publicly accessible community asset. Development in this sensitive zone needs to happen with great care and intelligence.
Development in general?
- Smaller dwelling units (therefore more affordable) need to be encouraged. We can’t all live in spacious luxury, nor do we all want to. More mixed-use areas would also allow a closer live/work situation which is healthy for every neighbourhood.
The Civic Centre and its (lack of) theatre?
- Find a reason as to why there is no tenant. This is a commercial space — we must find a commercial tenant.
Allowing dogs on Baker Street?
- I need more information as to why this bylaw was introduced in the first place: what was the problem? What is a fair solution?
Making Nelson more of a tourist destination?
- Proceed with caution on this. Our economy needs diversity and balance first or we are vulnerable to changes in the exchange rate and global economic health.
Water rates for downtown business?
- Downtown businesses often use the least but end up carrying those who use the most because we have no system to assess use. This is not sustainable or equitable. Water meters are an inevitability — if we plan intelligently, we should be able to bring meters on line with minimal cost and pain.
Eliminating parking on Baker Street?
- I am in support of reducing parking and traffic on Baker Street, not total elimination. I would like to see traffic/parking limited to those with permits, delivery companies and buses (during peak hours).
The Canucks’ chance of getting back to the Stanley Cup final?
- 42 per cent.
