“So what are you going to do now?”
This is the question I was recently asked by one of our residents who was clearly concerned about the state of affairs in our provincial legislature and how it affects Telkwa.
The answer is simple. We will continue to move forward. We recently received confirmation that we had been successful in lobbying for re-admission into the Clean Water and Wastewater Fund, which allows Telkwa to conduct the archaeological assessment and engineering for the Trobak Water Reservoir project at the 83 per cent funding level. We have already initiated that work.
We have also submitted an application into the 100 per cent grant funded UBCM Strategic Priorities Fund, and we will continue to remind our provincial representatives and the fund administrators that Telkwa residents pay disproportionately more than residents of most other communities while getting much less back. The fair thing to do is to level the playing field through the grant funding mechanism or more direct provincial funding. At this point, we still anticipate breaking ground for the water tower next summer, pending a successful grant funding agreement.
We will continue to advocate for a resource revenue sharing agreement between the Province and the Northwest B.C. Resource Benefits Alliance. There is precedent in other parts of the province, and we have a commitment to initiate negotiations this fall. Again, sharing some of the wealth generated in northwestern B.C. with the communities and residents of northwestern B.C. is the fair thing to do.
We are excited to promote growth through a new approach to economic development. We’ll be directly marketing the advantages our Village offers to entrepreneurs and residents who are struggling and being squeezed out of B.C.’s urban areas. We’re also reconvening our building committee to try and maximize value from our Hankin Corner building.
And finally, we will continue to engage residents in being part of the planning process for the Telkwa they want to see in the future. We are opening up our zoning bylaw and conducting our five-year Official Community Plan review, with an eye to providing maximum opportunity for businesses, residents and developers without destroying the rural character that drew so many of us to Telkwa in the first place. Residents’ ideas and suggestions are always welcome.
We certainly have our work cut out for us, but I know we will be successful because of Telkwa’s many natural and social advantages. We are a community of the future, and our future is bright.
Darcy Repen is mayor of Telkwa.