Spinning faster!
Hope you got to go to the annual UBC Apple Fest this weekend -- we love it but no time this year (was in VSun Listings, Thursday).
Unusual ACM Lightning session at our Library....
News later but this issue was delayed by the shocking discovery I made Friday afternoon -- public input being restricted! I'll ask the five mayoralty candidates their views in this enews, and the candidates for cclr in the next enews. Stay tuned.
Wed is a disaster -- doppelgangers needed.
Shall also try to find out why the new Art Museum Adv Cmte is scheduled to start at the same time as the ACM at KMC!!!
Think this calls for communication, consultation, and co-operation, not to mention common sense keeping residents and voters in mind!
Was told some candidates are manning a table at the SAC, so will enquire at least as to when if not who.
First, info re mtgs, then a bit of news...... and Street Trees at the end....
> MONDAY
ALL-CANDIDATE MTG (AN EVENING OF DIALOGUE ABOUT SPORT) – ...
West Vancouver Football Club and West Vancouver Field Hockey Club invite you to meet, learn, and ask questions of the candidates running in the general local election.
{ FYI: Cclr candidates and then for Mayor, ending ~8:30 -- let's go downstairs and hv a drink after! :-) }
> TUESDAY
HERITAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
~ 3 to 5pm ~ Main Floor Conference Room (MFCR), M Hall
AGENDA:
This is the first mtg so besides some background, ToRef, etc, here are some items:
6. Sample HRA Projects (4:00-4:20)
6.1 Vinson House
6.2 Sykes House
6.3 HAC commentary on development projects
7. Next Steps (4:20-4:50)
7.1 Summary 7.2.....
Then comes this bombshell:
PUBLIC QUESTIONS
Members of the public may ask questions regarding process or disposition of a recommendation to Council or motion passed by the Committee which is the result of the meeting in progress. All other questions or comments by the public must be submitted in writing to the committee clerk, before or after the meeting, who will refer them to the Chair or staff representative for disposition. (Council’s General Council Committees Policy sections 22.3 and 22.4) {Emphasis added}
8. Public Questions (2 minutes per speaker) (4:50 – 5:00)
{To recap:
Questions allowed, suddenly curtailed, later resumed with the restriction of being only wrt process or disposition. Then, as you wd know if you've been to any cmte or WG mtgs, that was totally ignored replaced by the perfectly rational and practical practice that public to speak about an item just before the vote (IOW, not involved in the debate/discussion), and at the end of the mtg. Has been working well. All happy as far as I cd see/tell, and I've attended many mtgs -- questions/comments relevant, informative, polite. B/c, as I said at the ccl mtg, these restrictions were "ignored in the breach", presume no one thought it shd be made clear and changed/amended immediately.
I checked agendas on the website and this restriction does not appear on previous agendas -- nor has it ever been brought up at a mtg I've attended, and now it's on the coming agendas!
Of course a chair always has the right to refer a resident to staff or declare someone out of order if going on too long or being objectionable. (I've never noted a rude resident or staff mbr or cclr but naturally that cd be done.)
As Editor of West Van Matters (began 1995, a website even before DWV's), I have always fought for providing information and encouraging public input (sometimes referred to as resident's rights) -- openness and inclusion. We've come so far. To see this restriction suddenly reappear after having been replaced by sensible procedures gave me, shall I say euphemistically, a conniption.
Pls let me know if you support my promotion of reasonable public input during mtgs.
Pls tell the candidates too.
I have written to all five mayoralty candidates to send me their views on this and will put them in the next issue.
I have also contacted the candidates for councillor, already received some replies (and some agree!), and will put them in the issue after that.
Public input is so critically important, IMVHO having a written commitment is essential for residents to know before choosing those they want to represent them.
This truly was a shock -- Ccl was seen as going forward and had even appointed a staff mbr to a new position (I'd recommended such as an ombudsman for citizens) filled/working v well.
Let's go forward together.
Amicably!
> WEDNESDAY -- OMG!
1pm
ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING – GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION
~ 1 to 3pm ~ Seniors' Activity Centre ... Hosted by the SAC Adv Bd Board
5:30pm
LIBRARY BOARD MEETING
{NB: the agenda is not yet up.}
6pm
ART MUSEUM ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING
{ FYI: YAY! now having mtgs posted on the calendar, agenda however is cryptic and
BOO! not only on at the same time as an ACM, it has public limited to process and disposition! }
6pm
ALL-CANDIDATES MEETING – GENERAL LOCAL ELECTION
~ 6 to 9:30pm ~ Kay Meek Centre
Hosted by the WV Chamber of Commerce, join us for an all-candidates meeting for the general local election. This session will focus on business issues affecting our local business community. https://westvanchamber.com/
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☆ NEWSbits
v briefly:
+ ADVANCE Voters: 240 Thursday, 294 on Friday.
Don’t underestimate street trees! They make summers bearable with shade and make your city healthier with more oxygen – one study even shows that street trees are associated with a lower prevalence of early childhood asthma.
Check out the video above: Dave Amos of the City Beautiful YouTube channel walks you through the benefits in his home of Sacramento.
{Thx, Tyee! and my mantra is the view is through the trees or framed by the trees....}