小蓝视频

Name:

Kevin Jewell

How many years have you lived in Squamish?

I have lived here for over 8 years with my family.

How many council or committee meetings have you attended since Sept. 1, 2017?

I frequently watch webcasts of council and committee meetings online (> 20 this year).

What do you love most about Squamish? (150 word limit)

I love the sense of community spirit, and level of engagement of the citizens.听 I also love being able to raise my family in such a beautiful area.

Are you endorsing a particular candidate for mayor? (question for councilor candidates)

No/Not at this time

What do you think is the biggest single issue facing Squamish? (150 words limit)

Honestly, there are many important issues facing council, including transportation and housing affordability.听 However, in my opinion, the most significant issue involves 鈥淧rioritizing Squamish鈥� which is about setting achievable goals for the community.听 Part of this means examining our existing operations, services, and facilities, and coming to realize new opportunities for community growth. In particular, Squamish needs to embrace diversification while maintaining the essential fabric of life here in the community.听 Specifically, job creation and economic development are high priorities for our community.

In the last term, what was council's single greatest accomplishment? What was council's biggest failure? (150 character limit)

听In my opinion, the most important accomplishment is the adoption of the Official Community Plan.听 Going forward, this document gives us the direction to support and realize our growth opportunities, while respecting the environment.听 In contrast, council has failed to recognize and develop a successful strategy to manage our infrastructure needs to effectively support our growth potential.听 Unfortunately, this issue directly impacts our ability to grow our community and attract diversified investment opportunities.

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Residents often complain about traffic (speeding, parking etc.) What would you do to improve traffic and parking in Squamish? (150 words limit)

Issues regarding traffic are a particular frustration to our community members.听 In order to improve this situation, the next council needs to adopt a plan to either aide in the traffic concerns by adding/expanding current capacity infrastructure, or alternatively to encourage a reduction in usage by supporting/increasing transportation accessibility and the installation of dedicated bike lanes.听 Unfortunately, both of these proposed solutions are expensive to implement and will require a dedicated budget, which will directly impact other funding initiatives and priorities.

Squamish has a housing affordability crisis. What would you do to improve affordability? (150 words limit)

I would strongly advocate for a two step solution to this problem by both providing negotiated incentives to developers to build a larger proportion of affordable housing units, as well as partnering with the 小蓝视频 government to establish funding for a renter rebate program that has been promised to assist families with housing affordability.

Do you support stronger regulation of AirBNB?

I believe that AirBNB cannot be blamed for our housing affordability issues here in Squamish, and that with proper regulation AirBNB can assist the tourism industry within our community to bring more people to visit, and even possibly help to grow Squamish.

How would you attract new businesses and employers to Squamish? (150 words limit)

By growing culture, you build community, which drives investment.听 This cycle is essential, and currently we are missing the most important part.听 It is up to all of us to come up with a consensus plan as to how we can best accommodate this growth and build on our already strong spirit. Specifically, job creation and economic diversification are high priorities for our community. Tourism and logging are an essential part of this process, yet imagine if we could build an information economy along the way that can help support and enhance the way of life here in Squamish. It is possible and we can make this a reality if we work together.

Do you have a strategy to implement regional transit? (150 word limit)

Establishing and fully implementing a comprehensive regional transit plan is a top priority of the next council, and I will be a strong advocate for this issue.听 In particular, I understand that the recent 小蓝视频 conference included an opportunity for Squamish officials to meet with minister of transportation and Infrastructure to discuss regional transit in the Sea to Sky corridor.听 I believe that our progress on this issue needs to be accelerated to ensure that the province fully comprehends the issue and is prepared to implement a transportation plan for our region within the next year.听 Ultimately, I would like to see a commuter train service similar to the West Coast Express to service the sea to sky corridor which would permit easy and inexpensive access to the region.

Given limited financial resources, what do you think is the single highest priority for Brennan Park? (150 word limit)

The Brennan Park recreation facility is in need of major upgrades to properly serve the community.听 I believe that this project needs to secure funding in part using the negotiated revenue from developers wishing to build in Squamish.听 In particular, the rink and fitness areas of the facility require a complete overhaul, and this upgrade should be funded via a public-private partnership agreement between the District of Squamish and developers.

Do you support cannabis retail shops in Squamish?

Despite the perceived economic benefit, I am hesitant to welcome this industry into our community.听 I believe that we need to seriously consider and weight all the potential benefits and impacts that this posses to our fabric of life, while respecting the personal choice of all residents.

Would you consider yourself pro-WLNG or anti-WLNG?

Somewhat opposed (4)

Are you supportive of the Garibaldi At Squamish project?

Somewhat opposed (4)

Do you support development of the Cheema Lands (Lot 509/510)?

Somewhat opposed (4)