An all candidates’ forum held last Tuesday evening at Clearwater Secondary School closed with a face-to-face confrontation between incumbent Mayor John Harwood and challenger Bert Walker.
Walker led off by noting that, five years ago, it would not have been possible to hold such an event because Clearwater was not a municipality and did not have a mayor and council.
“This is really big,” he said. “I’m glad the community now has a say and is not reliant on politicians in Kamloops.”
Walker said he was not happy with how the forum was set up, pointing to an ad in the Times that read “John Harwood vs. Bert Walker” and articles that describe him as challenging Harwood.
He thought the approach was too adversarial when in fact he worked well with the mayor, he said.
Walker said, however, that he did not shy away from differences.
He pointed to the forest fuel management programs recently completed as an example of where he had pushed for a bigger initiative from the District.
He felt it healthy sometimes to have questions asked in council.
Items that he had opposed the majority while he was a councilor included pay raises for the mayor and council, a bylaw to restrict the use of shipping containers, and what he described as “harassment” of local owners of logging trucks and loaders.
Walker noted that he acted as project manager for the Rotary Sports Park, saving the District about $30,000.
The District needs to work with other municipalities and others to get the government’s attention regarding local forests.
“It’s our wood, along with the Simpcw,” Walker said.
“It’s always about the team, and fiscal responsibility,” said John Harwood in his remarks.
He noted that the new municipality has brought in over $6 million in government grants over the last four years.
The District has $1.8 million in reserves and $1.3 million in its contingency funds, he reported.
Accomplishments include updates to the sewer lagoons, forest fuel management, seniors housing, Rotary Sports Park, bus shelters, improvements to Dutch Lake beach and the Sportsplex, and keeping Clearwater Employment Services in Clearwater.
Critical issues for Harwood included doctor recruitment and improving the Highway 5 corridor.
Other future priorities should include combining the District’s labor contracts into one, upgrading the water system, more electrical power for the Valley, a road inventory, completing the eco-depot with the TNRD, sewer upgrades, a mini-hydro plant, and improvements to the Sportsplex, Dutch Lake beach and the ball fields.
Harwood disagreed with a proposal from Walker to set up citizens’ committees to take on tasks such as the cemetery.
“I agree with having committees for particular functions and with specific things to accomplish,” he said.
Harwood announced that the provincial government had approved doing an update on the Master Plan for Wells Gray Park, something the District has been pushing for.
He also announced the District had received a grant application for up to $20,000 for trail construction.