It has been an honour and a pleasure to serve the people of Area C as your regional director for the past three years. I hope that my acclamation for the 2011-2014 term is a reflection of the hard work and consultation that I have undertaken in the past term.
Among my accomplishments in the past three years, perhaps the most important is the relationships I have forged with my fellow local Regional District of Central Kootenay directors, Mayor Ron Toyota and directors John Kettle and Garry Jackman. We have taken the view that to provide our constituents with the best value for their tax dollars, it is necessary to work as a team, making decisions for the betterment of the entire Creston Valley.
Co-operation is vital for Area C, the area with the lowest population. We maximize the value we get from local government when we team up — waste management, police and fire services, the airport, recreation, to name a few — to spread the costs throughout the Creston Valley.
One of my goals for the coming term is to see that West Creston gets adequate firefighting services. I believe that residents will benefit from increased security and lower insurance tax rates. We should be ready to go to referendum to get voter approval in the spring of 2012. Along with the other directors, I continue to work toward the creation of a regional policing pilot project that will put more RCMP officers into our rural areas, increasing the safety and security of our residents.
Along with my advisory planning committee, I will be working to create an official community plan for Area C, something we have not had in the past. I will be asking for input of all residents to ensure the plan meets the needs of Area C.
Larry Binks was acclaimed as director of Regional District of Central Kootenay Area C.
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The Advance asked each candidate for Creston town council and mayor, Regional District of Central Kootenay director and School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) trustee — as well as acclaimed directors Garry Jackman (Area A) and Larry Binks (Area C) — to submit about 300 words to describe their goals, background, qualifications, concerns — whatever mattered to them. Of the 27 candidates, only two, Jackman and Creston town council candidate Louis Mihaly, chose not to make a submission.