Harrison's Memorial Hall saw a large crowd as villagers gathered to hear council and mayoral candidates address the public's questions during the all-candidates meeting on Thursday, Sept. 5.
There are three candidates for mayor – ex-councillor John Allen, Greg Dykstra and Fred Talen – and four candidates for the vacant council seat – Teresa Omelus, Mark Schweinbenz, Gary Webster and ex-mayor Ed Wood.
Harrison-Agassiz Chamber of Commerce director Rob Hole acted as moderator for the meeting, and after a song from Sts'ailes First Nation representatives and statements from the candidates, they moved on to the first question.
Hole said the public submitted about 80 questions prior to the all-candidates meeting. A committee narrowed the questions down to a select few.
"How will you ensure transparency and accountability in governance practices, particularly in managing public resources like contracts, property sales, and public meetings?"
Schweinbenz said transparency was one of the three pillars of his campaign, aiming for a "tone of collaboration, teamwork, and positivity" between council, village staff, and the public.
"We need to make sure things are open and transparent," he added. "I'm a firm believer that council meetings should be in a space where we can all fit, if required, and if it can't be in (Memorial Hall), perhaps the school, or perhaps we reschedule. I don't believe Zoom is a real way to participate effectively."
Wood condemned the current council for the number of closed meetings they held.
"When a closed meeting occurs, every member that is in that meeting cannot talk about it to any member of the public or any other individual at any time in their lifetime," Wood said. "It seals the conversation, makes it very, very difficult to have to go into closed-door meetings, and when a member of the public has a question, you can't honestly answer the question because the conversation happened in closed meetings."
Wood said he has been "striving to bring the debate to the council meetings."
Webster said the various steps of the contracting process should be publicly posted, including who placed the bids and for how much.
"We should all be able to see what is going on, and it should be right on the website," he said. "We need to know what's going on, and I think that's a great place to put it."
Talen echoed Schweinbenz's call for keeping council meetings in the largest spaces possible to allow the most residents to attend.
"I've been on the wait list to get in (to the village office chambers). I've managed to get in, but not everyone gets in," he said. "I think a space that's large enough for the council to meet and have an appropriate number of residents who want to attend— I think that's a first, really important step in transparency."
Dykstra said he is confident in the village's current ability to release what it can, when it can.
"A lot of that is not up to council, and staff will warn us when we cannot release that information," Dykstra said. "Land, legal...there's no possibility some of that information can be released. There's probably room for more transparency when it comes to open houses, and that sort of thing where communication and education could definitely alleviate some of this concern."
Allen said the village refused to provide him with information about work to be done to the Harrison Lake lagoon and a building at the boat launch ramp, saying they allegedly refused a Freedom of Information Act request after 30 days, and he had to go to Victoria to find the information he requested.
"I think that's ridiculous," Allen said. "As your mayor, I will insist all our public contracts be opened in public under my supervision as chief executive officer. I will insist that there's full disclosure that the village is signing on your behalf, and we haven't had that up to this point."
Omelus said she had no conflicts of interest or hidden assets in running for office.
"When you're making decisions for the good of the community, those decisions have to be made for the good of the community and not your own personal interests," she said. "I am running for Harrison. I am not running for my own personal interests."
"What qualifications and experiences make you a strong candidate for council/mayor, and how do they align with your vision for the future governance and stability of Harrison Hot Springs?"
Wood said he could not give a good answer to this question, again citing the number of closed meetings during his time as mayor and blaming the current council for his inability to speak to his experience.
Webster said while council is new to him, he plans to work hard toward what needs to get done.
"I just feel there's so much Harrison has to offer," he said. "People care in Harrison, and I know we can make it work, and I can make it work."
Talen said his decades of negotiation experience will help him if elected.
"We have to be workable," he said. "It's looking at issues with multiple perspectives and framing challenges of the day so that other people can maybe listen and hear and see what may be an obvious issue through new eyes."
Dykstra said his entire professional life has been based on service.
"I think my years of service have given me good qualifications in understanding people," he said. "My time with the RCMP serving my country and my community has given me an understanding of what service means to your community, and that's why I'm running to serve as mayor of Harrison Hot Springs. It's not something I take lightly."
Allen said he bases his businesses and professional career on trust and honesty.
"I'm very intolerant of people who lie to me, deceive me, or work behind my back, and I think that's what we need to establish in our government in the village of Harrison," he said. Allen further pointed out he was the only candidate who has done this job before.
Omelus said her diverse professional life will equip her well for working on council.
"I'm a very quick learner, I adapt quickly, and I am flexible," she said. "I won't promise what I can't deliver."
Schweinbenz said his surgical equipment sales experience prior to coming to Harrison allowed him to search for solutions to problems, find common ground, and develop leadership skills.
"I would think my strength is in teamwork and building rapport and relationships," he said. He added he would go door-to-door to learn about proposals and ideas among residents and report them back to council, if elected.
"How do you plan to balance the needs of tourism with those of local residents, ensuring that the natural environment is preserved while supporting economic growth in Harrison Hot Springs?"
Webster encouraged more tourism through the winter season.
"I know a lot of people don't want the extra traffic through the village, but I think we do need it," he added. "Our businesses need it through the winter. That's why I would like to see a hot springs out here, for everybody. I think that would be a good draw."
Talen said that balance requires careful consideration of all proposals.
"This is a huge question, and I think it requires a lot of consideration and debate and a council that's willing to roll up their sleeves and have some hard conversations about priorities and where to put efforts," he added.
Dykstra said residents are not feeling heard for what they need, but rather it's been more about what the tourists need.
"I don't think that's an unfair comment," he said. "I think that's the thing: finding out through communication and interacting with our residents to find out what they want to see."
Allen seemed to agree with Webster in building up off-season events, saying events like the sand-sculpting competition should make a comeback.
"We need to start thinking more deeply about what it is that makes Harrison successful," Allen said. "We depend a lot on the success of our business community to pay a big chunk of our taxes so the residents can enjoy a lower tax rate, and that needs to continue."
Omelus also advocated for making tourism in the off-season more accessible, parking passes for village residents, and being more welcoming of new businesses throughout Agassiz-Harrison.
"We need to work to build more businesses in Harrison of different varieties, and it shouldn't be up to the local businesses to decide who comes and who doesn't come." It should be a fair process."
Schweinbenz said officials need to engage better with Tourism Harrison and the local businesses.
"This place should be the gateway to the massive lake and the massive wilderness around here," he said. "If we don't have a long-term plan, there will be nothing coherent. We need to re-engage with the whole town to help them invest."
Wood acknowledged the residents have always felt separate from the tourism sector, and as such they feel they've been left behind.
"The provincial government keeps 51 weeks worth of what we collect in hotel tax, and they spend it on general revenue," Wood said. "I could go on; there's a great deal that needs to be discussed on this."
"What are your top three priorities for improving the quality of life for Harrison Hot Springs residents?"
Talen said maintaining the village's natural beauty and charm, sustainability, and ways to enhance tourism without compromising the quality of life of residents are his top three priorities.
Dykstra went back to his platform to illustrate his priorities: sustainability, resilience, and safety.
"Sustainable should mean that what we do today is good enough for those who come behind us," he said. "We want to make sure we live in a community that can bounce back from serious events such as fires or floods. From a safety perspective, we want to feel we are living in a safe community. It's not one thing you can do; it's looking at the big picture."
Allen said parking passes for residents during pay parking season are a must.
"I also think we should make better use of our boat launch, and we should welcome our residents to use the boat launch at some kind of discount, and I also think we should have more organization toward recreational activities," he said. "We used to have a recreational commission that had this hall jumping three nights a week with kids, seniors, and other people."
Omelus said restoring trust between voters and the elected, "bringing a stable and creative voice to council," and increasing mental health and addiction awareness support in the village are most important to her.
"To go in with the attitude that I'm going to be one person to solve all the residents' problems is foolhardy, and it's a recipe for disaster," she added.
Schweinbenz said caring for the environment in and around the village, creating more long-term plans, and repairing relations among council and between the council and the public.
"Wouldn't it be great to have a town hall where we can all join here in two to three months so we can get your ideas? We don't have all the answers," he said.
Wood agreed that environmental protection is vitally important. His other priorities include improving infrastructure and improving mental health services.
"We have a lot of issues," he added. "If we can't deal with the most basic fundamentals of life, we have a problem."
Webster said he would like to see the Block Watch program expanded throughout the village, institute Citizens on Patrol, and improve the village's infrastructure.
"How will you engage stakeholders before making decisions that could impact businesses or events in Harrison?"
Dykstra said engaging with residents on what's going on in the village—besides using email, Facebook, and other electronic means—is vitally important.
"Once we have an engaged community because they know what's going on, a lot of problems are going to solve themselves," he said.
Allen said the village's current public hearing bylaw is inadequate in engaging residents in the area of major developments.
"We need to expand the notification area to at least 1,000 feet," he said. "I believe the whole consultation of the public on developments in particular needs to be expanded and enhanced, and people need to be encouraged to have their input."
Omelus, if elected, plans to lobby the Union of British Columbia Municipalites for harsher penalties for those who defame character and start smear campaigns on social media platforms.
"There needs to be professional and personal boundaries between email communications," she said. "If I'm a councillor, feel free to reach me at my personal email, but don't start attacking me on Facebook and direct messaging me and sending me swears and all sorts of other stuff. That's unacceptable."
Schweinbenz applauded Tourism Harrison's engagement with his business and the village's business community in general and hopes to see that engagement continue.
"I think council and the village need to do their part also to make sure that different decisions, such as parking and sidewalks that impact our businesses that they have a chance to speak up and talk about that," he added.
Wood called for more time for officials and the public alike to review the meeting agenda ahead of council meetings. He called for question periods both at the beginning and end of council meetings.
"There's no sense in hearing what you have to say after we've made our decision," Wood added. "The importance is for people to come to the council meetings and ask questions. I love questions. You need to get involved."
Webster agreed with Wood that having a pre-meeting question period would be prudent.
"I would rather have people say to me what their concerns were, what their issues were, on the agenda so it can be addressed," he added. "You never know. You could change a councillor's mind."
Talen said the mayor and council should be asking hard questions when faced with proposals.
"The hard questions are, 'What do the residents think? What do the experts think? What about this? What about that?'" he said. "We need to do everything we can do to make informed decisions as council."
"How will you ensure that local voices are represented in key advisory roles, such as on the Advisory Planning Commission (APC)?"
Allen said all members of the APC should be full-time residents of the village.
"That is not the rule at the moment," he added. "The APC can be a very valuable tool, but it can only work effectively if it's open, it's effective, and if it has good communication."
Omelus wants to encourage residents to step up to these key roles and to come together.
"I'm up here. You can be up here. You can be up here," she said, gesturing to the crowd. "We need to reduce the barriers and make people more courageous and not afraid."
Schweinbenz said Harrison is home to some world-class talents.
"Since the pandemic, it's been difficult to engage," he said. "People are reluctant to get involved, but that ends today. I think people can step up. This can be an even better community. Even if you don't improve what you're trying to do, you can at least meet some new friends."
Wood and Webster said there needs to be more communication between the council and the APC and other committees.
Talen said there's a time and place for outside advice from committees like the APC.
"I think the author of the question is presuming there's a problem," Talen said. "There's lots of different advisory roles the council needs to adhere to. I think I really want to understand the responsibilities and goals of these agencies. Sometimes, it may be entirely appropriate to get some expert, outside advice, and other times, when they're matters concerning or directly impacting Harrison residents or the businesses here, we need a voice. I don't think it has to be all or nothing."
Dykstra said village officials have to ensure not only that these committees are listened to but that they're equipped to properly run their meetings.
"We can't be on national TV, being embarrassed, because nobody wants to volunteer or give their time to an organization where they don't even want to admit they live," he said. "We need to re-engage our public and do the things we have to do to get this community on track."
"What steps will you take to ensure council operations adhere to the rules of order, legal procedures, and the Community Charter and bylaws?"
Omelus said it's important officials to do their own research and brush up on the appropriate regulations.
Schweinbenz said village officials need to stay focused on the issues rather than any animosity that exists among members.
"There has to be healthy debate. There's rules in place to ensure things run smoothly, but if (mayor and councillors) aren't getting along and there's not respectful debate, then the rules won't matter," he added. "We do have to rebuild the trust that the public has in the system."
Wood acknowledged there have been many disrupted council meetings and that there are complexities in following local and provincial procedures when it comes to said meetings.
"We've had nasty, dirty politics played here, and it must stop," he added. "And how do we stop it? Fairy dust."
Webster said respect gets respect and that staff can be relied upon to keep the meetings on track.
Talen said he would honour the oath of office and the code of conduct.
"There's lots of rules, that's true, but it's not magic to conduct a meeting," Talen said, referring to Wood's 'fairy dust' comment. "It's discipline. If someone maybe goes a little too far, gentle reminders. Stay focused on the issues and be gentle on people. That's what I would do."
Dykstra said it would not be his responsibility to judge what is rule of law if he is elected mayor.
"We've got to make sure we are following the law the way it is written for the benefit of everybody, not to benefit me as the mayor," he added. "For us as a municipality, it's saving us from liablity and getting into contracts we shouldn't be getting into."
Allen said his experience in chairing meetings in various capacities will help him ensure order, if he is elected. He said the current procedural bylaw is out of date.
"If we're going to use (Robert's Rule of Order), we've got to use the current version," he said, as an example.
Advance voting day is Wednesday, Sept. 11, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Memorial Hall (290 Esplanade Avenue). General voting day is set for Saturday, Sept. 21, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Memorial Hall. Official election results will be declared on Tuesday, Sept. 24.
