Councillor to depart with a sense of accomplishment

City councillor Florence Roberts says she will not seek a third term on city council in October.

City councillor Florence Roberts says she will not seek a third term on city council in October.

Roberts told the Star this week she had planned from the beginning when she first ran for office in 2006 to serve out two terms, or enough time to get things done.

As she enters her sixth and final year in municipal politics, the elder councillor says she’s happy with how things have gone.

“I am getting up there, you know, I’m pushing 70,” Roberts said. “Two terms was long enough.

“And I think we have accomplished an awful lot. It has taken time, and some of the things I wanted to see completed are going to be left unfinished like the (residential) infill development.”

Roberts said she has, however, no regrets or disappointments.

“There have been a few things I have voted against, but that is democracy and then you have to come out and support those things, even if you voted against them.”

Municipal politics are not for the uncommitted, Roberts suggested, emphasizing the time and dedication required to do the job.

Those thinking about running for council in the Oct. 18 territorial municipal elections should do their homework, she recommended.

Roberts said potential candidates should know the policies and procedures guiding the city and members of council, before they put their name forward.

Of the six other members of council asked about their intentions this fall, three are undecided, two said they will run, and one was a “most likely.”

Councillor Ranj Pillai said he will seek another three-year term, as will Kirk Cameron, who was elected in last December’s byelection

Coun. Dave Stockdale, with 29 years on council, said he has maintained all along that if he’s healthy, he’ll run again.

Mayor Bev Buckway and councillors Dave Austin and Betty Irwin have not finalized their plans.

Roberts said the job is fulfilling.

In the last five years, she said, the city has moved on infrastructure improvements downtown, and has developed a meaningful process to gather public consultation.

It’s revamped the transit system. It has also removed the amount of chemicals required to treat the fresh water supply by eliminating the use of surface water from Schwatka Lake and going with a supply entirely from an improved well system, she said.

And with the continuing work to identify and protect areas of importance for the ground water supply in Riverdale, the day is coming when city hall can move forward with more
neighbourhood infill initiatives, she said.

Council, Roberts said, has solidified the planning for the development of the south end of downtown.

“It took me five years to get MacPherson Road BSTed again,” she said. “It was supposed to happen last year, but it will be done this year.”

At long last, with many thanks to the federal government, she pointed out, reconstruction of the Marwell industrial area is going ahead.

Roberts said the Porter Creek D subdivision proposal and the road connection across McIntyre Creek is on track.

But she does agree if there’s nothing of a concrete decision by council on the proposal before the October election, Porter Creek D could become a hot political potato on voting day.

The job, while rewarding, is a job, said Roberts.

She said more often than not, it’s 40 hours a week of meetings, reading material and researching issues.

The councillor was, for example, going over the mammoth proposal for reconstruction of the Hillcrest neighbourhood when the phone rang Thursday morning, she pointed out.

“I have a stack of papers in front of me for the snowmobile bylaw that’s an inch and a half thick,” she said. “It’s like reading a novel.

“How long does it take you to read a novel?”

Roberts said she reads every piece of correspondence she receives by email or otherwise, along with the input she gets during the many street-side meetings with residents concerned about specific issues.

She doesn’t respond to every correspondence, as there are times that’s best left to the office of city manager Dennis Shewfelt, but she does read everything.

The job, Roberts insisted, doesn’t start and end with Monday night meetings or the regular lunch-hour meetings with senior management.

She said if anyone’s thinking about running – particularly parents with young families – they need to understand the time required.

“When my friends ask me to come over or go out, I tell them I have to check my calender, because the city owns me, but that is the commitment I made,” Roberts said.

“I do not have any disappointments,” said the councillor. “I think the council I have worked with, and the staff, have just been wonderful.

“The administration has acted on what we have asked them to do and we could not have asked for a better staff.

“I hope one of the things I will be remembered for is I am just an ordinary human being, and I had the opportunity to run for council, and I hope I brought something concrete to it.”