Thorkelson calls for more public input into Community Plan

Prince Rupert city councilor Joy Thorkelson spoke out for the populace at council this week as she made another attempt at having the city provide for more consultation with its residents over the Official Community Plan.

The councilor said that it was her understanding that were only two public sessions planned for the public to have a look at the revised vision for the city’s future; sessions that require pre registration and an accounting of what you wish to talk about. So in effect you would be limited to input on just one item of interest and not the plan overall.

Thorkelson is of the opinion that councilors may only be hearing the words of their friends and acquaintances, rather than a wide cross section of the population at large. If indeed there are only two meetings planned and they are strictly controlled as to participation, then the concept of full and unfettered access to the process is suffering.

However, it would appear that she was a lone voice at council last week; her calls for her fellow councillors to rise to the challenge of community involvement did not appear to be received with any great enthusiasm.

This is rather unfortunate. For if memory serves correct, during the last election there was a determined effort of all the candidates at the time to be more accountable and accommodating to the public that they served.

Ms. Thorkelson is only reminding them of that long ago portion of the political debate. It might be wise of the remaining members of council to take note of her counsel.

The Tuesday Daily News provided further details on the Official Community Plan and Councillor Thorkelson’s concerns over the process at the moment.

PUBLIC NOT GETTING ENOUGH INPUT INTO THE OCP
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
Page one

City councilor Joy Thorkelson made one more impassioned plea to council to add more public meetings to the Official Community Plan (OCP) Review process, with no avail.

Speaking at city council, Thorkelson said that while councillors may know the opinions of their friends and acquaintances, they really haven’t engaged the public.

“There’s only going to be two public sessions, according to the plan we were presented with on how the OCP will happen. I am wondering if we can extend that if there’s public interest,” said Thorkelson. “I have a list of questions that I am very concerned I won’t get answers to, from the way the process is put together.

The city is expecting to receive a draft copy of its vision for the future - the Official Community Plan update – at its next council meeting May 7.

This includes the input collected from the Quality of Life survey done through focus groups and a telephone survey conducted by Jennifer Wilson Consulting, and technical information gathered by UMA Engineering.

Thorkelson noted there are only two public meetings scheduled for after the draft plan is presented and then the final public hearing before the bylaws are adopted.

“My understanding is… there will be two workshops. You have to pre-register for them and you have to state your interest when you get there. You go to a table and you discuss your interest, which means you only get to discuss one item,” said Thorkelson.”… It’s going to be addressing a plan that will have already come to council for us to comment on and I am having a hard time not having heard what anybody in the community thinks about anything.

Administrator Gord Howie said it is entirely up to council how many public input sessions are held as part of the process.

“Those meetings may not even involve the consultant,” said Howie.

He noted the meeting May 7 is not for council to endorse or reject the plan but simply to hear the information. Public meetings will be held several weeks later, after people have had time to review the document. The city can also accept comment during the regular committee of the whole meetings.

“And the public hearing process can be as long as it needs to be for people to make their comments,” said Howie.

However, no one else on council appeared to have an appetite to schedule any additional meetings.

“I really think that we need to engage people in this and that this can be the most exciting thing we will be able to do. Just to take a consultants’ report and throw rocks at it is not the process I envisioned,’ said Thorkelson.