Advance Notice - Important Council Meeting This Monday

District Heating

Last year Councillor Jordan Bateman moved a motion to have staff investigate the provision of District Heating in new neighbourhoods. This innovative and green energy solution to use such things as geothermal sources to heat large areas of homes has been looked at and staff have now issued The Potential for District Heating in New Neighbourhoods report.

There is now a recommendation that council receive this report and approve a pre-feasibility study to identify potential opportunities and energy cources available to operate heating systems within the TOL. This could lead to much cheaper heating for residents and some potential cash generation for the Township. If devleopers are required to install these systems as part of the development process and the TOL created a public utility, there is the potential for profit. This discussion will take place in the 4:00pm Special Council Meeting. You can read the full staff report here.

Roundabouts

Also during the Special Council Meeting at 4:00pm, staff will be making a presentation on roundabouts. This should be interesting and we assume that staff will be supporting this traffic calming tool where strategic.

Brown's Pit

The Province of BC plans to use Brown's Pit for gravel extraction and was a vone of contention during last year's municipal election in the TOL. But the Township is a creation of the provincial government and can do little to halt this plan by the province. During this week's regular council meeting on Monday, January 19, 2009 at 7:00pm, several deletions will be speaking about the Brown Pit plan.

Mufford Cresent Overpass

Another big election topic centered around the long-proposed Mufford overpass project with many residents claiming that no prior public consultations took place. We previously outlined the process and clearly there was some consultations. People simply miss them at times and then blame others for their mistakes. At the end of this Monday's council meeting under Other Business there are two motions related to the Mufford overpass.

Notice of Motion By Councillor Kim Richter at the January 12, 2009 Regular Meeting of Council:

Mufford Crescent / Glover Road
Whereas the Mufford/Glover Overpass is a significant development and financial project, and all of Council should hear from the public on this matter; therefore

Be it resolved that a public hearing style of Council meeting be held following the open houses so that all members of Council can hear from the residents.

LR Editor's Note: Not bad...short and to the point!

Councillor Kositsky presented the following Notice of Motion within the deadlines according to Council’s Policy:

Mufford Crescent / Glover Road
Whereas a lot of time, energy and money has been spent on trying to address the traffic safety issues surrounding the T-intersection at Mufford Crescent and Highway 10; and

Whereas Langley Township has been preparing various options to take to the public for consideration and review, including presentations to Council from citizen groups and individuals; and

Whereas all of those options involve using farmland and sensitive environmental areas; and

Whereas the Township of Langley will be facing critical financial challenges due to the global economic downturn - and the federal and provincial governments are talking about looming deficits, forcing local governments to carefully evaluate their priorities; and

Whereas the majority of the traffic safety problems and congestion at the T-intersection are caused by having two railway crossings too close together;

Be it resolved that Langley Township Council direct staff for safety purposes to close the T-intersection at Mufford Crescent, such as putting up proper fencing along the tracks and/or cement blocks to impede traffic; and

That Mufford Crescent become a local traffic only road, making it safer for existing businesses to operate, with a cul-de-sac created (as necessary) west of the train tracks and an alternate route be explored with Langley City to allow traffic to flow back to the Highway 10 Bypass through 62nd Avenue; and

That any Township of Langley funds currently set aside for the proposed Mufford overpass and new road project be directed to improvements to 208th Street from the 62nd Avenue border with the City to 96th Avenue, where there will be connections with the Golden Ears Bridge; and

That the 208th Street upgrade also include completing the 208th Street Highway One overpass to full interchange status, expanding it to four lanes and creating on and off ramps, as it was designed for; and

That the Township of Langley apply for funding to both the Gateway project, Translink and any federal government infrastructure grants for the improvements to 208th Street and highway interchange.

LR Editor's Note: OK, so Councillor Richter is no the only one to write long motions, but in this case we should all agree it was warranted based on the description required.

The Langley Record Continues

Some haters over at the unnamed slanted blog continue to speak about us, even though they promised not to do so because we were deemed irrelevant. People just can't stop talking about something that bothers the hell out of them, and so we let them rant on.

Although the slanted blog "editor" has remained completely anonymous for the couple of years they have been around, they have this itch that needs to be scratched by trying to guess who we are. Like we said before, if they come out with their blog slate and stop hiding behind the BS "editor" screen, then we will be happy to do the same. By remaining anonymous, they just seek to protect and cushion their site owner, Councillor Kim Richter, from the outrageous comments and border-line slanderous statements that they constantly post. At the same time they have the gall to accuse us of all that! We are not protecting any candidates or providing them with a level of deniability as they do. 

We gather if our comments were directed negatively towards a certain young councillor or other members of the previous council that Richter cannot get along at all with, then that would make our posts OK. Yet another double standard, but not surprising for Councillor Richter. Has that blog ever posted ANYTHING at all positive about Councillor Bateman or the others they dislike? No. That is because their blog is totally unbalanced and crosses the hate line frequently. But they fail to realize that only their fan club can overlook the hate. Intelligent people see right through it all and understand how this same behaviour carries over to interactions with our Township Council meetings and shamefully decisions that impact on our residents. At least Councillor Bateman has the integrity and guts to report the facts on council and often in a non-partisan way. This is another sign that Councillor Richter's inaugurial statements about working together was very disengenuous to say the least. The Langley Record will post the positive and the negative for sure. 

We didn't want to speak about it, but we want to make a few things very clear

1. We have no plans to fold this blog and start another. We post when we have things to post and we don't post to hear ourselves talk like other sometimes do.
2. They can call it a "major lie", but we did clearify our post on snow removal. The fact is that in the January 12th council meeting Councillor Richter was very negative in her comments related to snow removal. Regardless of how you slice it and dice it, you cannot divorce staff from the job and road conditions regardless of how much you talk about policy. Let's see what Councillor Richter does in the budget hearings to pay for this very expensive service, shall we? 
3. Our council correspondent does us a favour by providing us with an audio file of the various meetings. The Editorial Board then reviews the audio comments and create a blog posts.  We know exactly what was said, and in time perhaps we will post the audio files for you to hear it for yourself. This is how we plan to destroy their accusations each and every time.

We did not create this blog to attacked Mayor Green, Councillor Richter or anyone else. But we will post our observations that we are entitled to and as these people are public officials, we have a freedom of the press to print our observations as long as we don't personally attack them with accusations that are false. We will also hold them accountable and this is the real crux of their disagreement with us. As far as nick names and such, the other blog has put labels on various politicians, and certainly singles out one in particular all the time. The tables have turned and they are now very upset and accusatory. Again, we want to make it clear that we are not intimidated and are here to stay. 

Councillor Richter gave a long disertation during the inaugurial meeting about council working together. If she meant that and did not simply grandstand to the large audience, then she should practice this in her council interactions and blog posts. There is a saying...if you want to have friends then you have to show yourself friendly. Many times in life you earn respect by first showing respect to others without expecting anything in return. We would welcome Councillor Richter moving in a direction of cooperation and respect with her fellow councillors. 

We would also like to say that while the snow removal plan did leave many residents snowbound because of where they live, the managers of that program presented the snow removal plan to council during the last meeting in December 2008. We can report that there were NO objections to the plan as presented, not even from Councillor Kim Richter. This same plan was then advertised several times on the Township newspaper page and posted to the TOL website. No public comments were posted in the local papers after the plan was posted. These storms were the worst in 50 years and they are not something we can expect every year. While it would be nice to plow every street, it is an unrealistic expectation for almost 1,000 KM of TOL roadways. It seems better to us to have plows available for the clearing of emergency vehicle runs, with a call centre to sort out resident requests for plowing to facilitate their work attendance or medical challenges. TOL staff is expected to report back on the possibilities and then we can look at the costs for the various options. We don't see anything unreasonable about a sober look at things. As this storm did not result in Mayor Green declaring an official State of Emergency, discussions regarding relief after 72 hours is irrelevant.

Finally, Mayor Green acted much more professionally in the last council meeting, and we commended him for containing his viable anger with regards to Councillor Kositsky's questions and comments directed at the new finance committee and the hiring of a consultant. We will continue to report the good and the bad. Again, we hope this move by the mayor will be a permanent one, bringing mayor and council to a new level of working cooperation.

The good and the bad. Read it here and we will continue to exist. Don't listen to haters!

January 12, 2009 Council Meeting and Beyond

Mayor's Report

We are pleased to report that the Mayor's Report was tame last evening and this was refreshing news. We trust that future reports will highlight the various activities happening in our community and which are attended by mayor and council backups.

Hiring Committees and a Consultant

Councillor Mel Kositsky did take Mayor Green to task regarding the launch of the new Finance Committee and said basically without advertising and process, this was a slap in the face to volunteers in our community. Kositsky also repeated his questions related to the hiring of real estate consultant Bruce Maitland (and Green campaign confidant) . Although Councillor Kositsky asked many times for the price tag for this consultancy, we only know that the initial consultation will be 20-40 hours and therefore does not need council approval. But HOW MUCH??

Council spent a good amount of time in the special meeting discussing snow removal and storm policy. In the end they refered the issue to staff to research options and costs. In the evening session Councillor Kim Richter put forth a motion that would require the Township to clear all roads within 72 hours, among other provisions. This without any indication from staff of the costs. She was the only council member who's comments were overwhelmingly negative and with little thanks to public works staff for sacrifices over the holidays. Councillor Richter made a reference to having money for an events centre and therefore having enough for snow removal. A basic business lesson was given to Councillor Richter by fellow councillors who pointed out that the events centre was capital costs and snow removal is operational costs. The motion was defeated while a report from staff on snow removal options is pending.

Although visibly upset at times during the discussions related to committees and such, our council reporter says that Mayor Green did a fairly good job of containing anger and seemed to treat the councillors with a higher degree of respect. This is all good and we applaud the mayor for moving in this new direction.

Charlie Fox On The Mend

One final item of note from last evening. Council moved to grant Councillor Charlie Fox an indefinate leave of absence with pay, so that he can recover from his recent kidney transplant and focus on healing along with his family.  Councillor Richter tried to offer an amendment to the motion to limit Charlie's leave of absence to 6 months only. We will resist the urge to comment further on this one. 

Snow Removal

One of our loyal reads sent us this possible cost-effective snow removal solution for Councillor Richter to consider. With all of her..."interesting" motions this one may win her heart over. We know an unemployed guy who kicks around the TOL who may want to apply for this and do something constructive for once. That is unless our mayor has a few more friends who might be interested in the job. 

Blogger In The Fog

We hear that another blog writer is ranting and raving again over our anonymity. This is really hilareous given the fact that no individual on that blog takes credit or responsibility for their posts, and everyone is in denial as to who the real "editor" is (as if none of us already know!) He's got a bee in his bonnet now and intends to take everyone to task. He's also planning on logging the entire internet on the advice of some underemployed apparent legal student/intern that can't find a real legal job. Canada is a free country and enjoys freedom of the press. Of course this person and the elected official that owns the site is restrictive as to who gets the freedom and liberty. All we can say is log on buddy. Log on. We aren't scared of you and we  don't come anywhere close to feeling intimidated. Log on.

Thoughts For Tonight's Township Council Meeting

One of our Editorial Board member's offered these thoughts/questions for tonight's council meeting:

What will Raging Bull rage against in his mayor's report tonight?

• Will it be another undisguised political attack on his council?
  
• Will he rage against staff and council for snow removal that he applauded at the last council meeting after hearing the full snow plan from staff?
  
• Will he rage against council and staff for the Mufford overpass, which his political buddies, the Muffords and VALTAC, don't want?
• The Langley Times article on the Events Centre?
  
• Will he rage against his only friend, Kim Richter, for her broadcast emails slagging the Township's snow removal?

The mayor had some harsh words for e-mails being sent regarding fire fighters and sport. But now it appears that Councillor Kim Richter carried out her own e-mail campaign regarding snow removal. If the mayor is going to rage against others, perhaps he will now have to put Richter in her place for her latest e-mail campaign? Stay tuned tonight and we will post the Mayor's Report as soon as it becomes available.

Some of our Editorial Board members were in Langley City last night for coffee and some other politically-savvy city residents we know were talking about Mayor Green's letter regarding the LEC. These city residents feel that Township politics has become very negative since Green took over.

They viewed the mayor's letter as a direct and inappropriate assault on Councillor Jordan Bateman (whom most know only socially) and said that Bateman's response letter was viewed as very civil and non-confrontational. They commented that he did not take unfair snipes at the mayor, even though his letter was very much a snipe.

Now before we get 10 angry messages from Horny Toad let me point out that these later comments were not made by our Editorial Board and came from Langley City residents with no allegiances to Green nor Bateman.

Campaign Friend and Insides Selected for Unadvertised Committee Posts - Consultant Hired Without Council Approval

Today's Langley Times published this article on Mayor Rick Green's new finance committee. You will note that Mayor Green ran on a platform of open and accountable government, while engaging the public for input. This new advisory committee has already met last Wednesday with Mayor Green.

Unlike all other TOL committee appointments in the past, this one was never advertised on the Township Page in local newspapers nor the Township's website. Traditionally formal written applications are received from members of the general public that show an interest in serving a two year term on the various committees and commissions. These applicants are then screened by staff and undergo an interview with mayor and members of council before any final selection is made. In December of 2008 e-mails were sent to those Township residents serving on current committees advising them that the list of committees was being reviewed and changes could be made. Also prior to that e-mail message, the Township advertised on the Township Page in local newspapers for various committee and commission appointments. Those applicants have not been contacted by the Township since the process was placed on hold in late 2008.

A review of the list of finance advisory members (and as reported in the Langley Times), includes Rick Green a close campaign friend and insiders. Although these committee members may hold some professional qualifications such as lawyer or accountant, the normal open and accountable committee selection process was scrapped and a committee appears to have already been appointed. You will note in our previous post today that the terms of reference for this advisory committee will not be officially reviwed by council until the Monday, January 12, 2009 council meeting. Yet Mayor Green has seen fit to already appoint and meet with this committee ahead of any council discussion and without any public consultation or advertising for qualified potential candidates.

A Langley Record Editorial Board member had been awaiting advertising for this finance advisory committee. This person has 29 years of experience as a chartered accountant and has served in senior executive finance positions for several Canadian and US public companies.

Green said the Township is currently compiling an inventory of municipal-owned lands, and Bruce Maitland, a former director of real estate services for the City of Vancouver, will be working as a consultant to the Township to recommend ways the property can alleviate the tax burden here.

Maitland, Green said, will make a presentation to the advisory committee, and to council, on the workings of a property trust fund in the next three or four weeks.

What is even more disturbing to this Editorial Board and should raise the eyebrows of each and every Township taxpayer is that Mayor Green tells us at the end of this article that Mr. Bruce Maitland will be working as a consultant for the Township. You will recall that Mayor Green mentioned this consultant's name numerous times during his campaign and had also e-mailed some TOL residents with a reference letter from Mr. Maitland on behalf of then mayoral candidate Rick Green.

Apparently Mr. Maitland has been hired using taxpaer's money and without any consultation or approval of Township Council. Another insider hired directly by the mayor without any council process or arm's distance from the consulting engagement process. Does this sound like open and accoutable government to you?

Monday TOL Council Meetings For January 12, 2009

Agenda for Special Council Meeting here (4:00pm)

Agenda for Regular Council Meeting here (7:00pm)

This week's Council Reports/Agenda Item Background info:

1. 2009 Council Standing Committees - Terms of Reference

2. Rezoning Application # 1

3. Rezoning Application and Provincial ALR Application # 2

Fluff

The Editorial Board is sitting here around the coffee table pondering Councillor Kim Richter's inaugural speech. On it's own, Kim's comments on each councillor and their strengths was very good and positive. Afterward several people asked me what I thought of her speech. I said that although I did not want to be pessimistic, I had my doubts of the sincerity of her address. There was a large crowd there that night, including politicians from other areas. It was an opportunity to look good and appear to be the peacemaker.

Public hearings, delegations, inaugural meetings, etc. will always see passionate Richter rhetoric and lots of motions to pander to the masses. Why bother? Before the very first (business) council meeting there was a council priorities meeting and shortly thereafter, even Mayor Green was thrown under the bus by Councillor Richter.

In our opinion, Richter has a long way to go to earn the trust and respect of her fellow council. The trust issue is even greater than the respect portion. We chatted this morning about what council would look like if:

• Mayor Green released a reasonable and detailed plan that outlines how he will deliver on his promises, finance the Township for 0-0-0, and still maintain a decent level of service to the taxpayers.

• Councillor Richter worked on the trust issues and became more cooperative. And no, we are not asking her to throw away what she professes to believe in, nor give up asking questions of costs and accountability.

• Mayor Green did as former mayor Kurt Alberts and tried to bring all council members together for a concensus, while not relying on private meetings, positioning, and strategies for his own benefit.

We could all do without the fluff. Flowery, meaningless speeches will get us nowhere. The PM is talking about "years" of economic concern and hardship for the country. Our experience tells us that these are generally 5 year cycles and who knows with this big crisis how long before a recovery is at hand.

By putting away personal agenda, pride and a constant need to align one self for next election, Mayor Green and this council could actually accomplish many things for the benefit of the Township taxpayer.

In The News - Bateman Addresses Raging Bull - Bull Responds With Smear Campaign

Township Councillor Jordan Bateman's letter to the editor of The Langley Advance provides a rational reply to comments made in the same newspaper earlier this week by Mayor Raging Bull, as part of his ongoing bullying of certain council members that he and his slate feel threatened by.

"Indeed, the lack of federal funding is disappointing, but council decided to move forward, because the majority of the funds were sourced outside of the Township, and taxpayers were protected from cost overruns by a fixed-price, design-build agreement.

Further, council has fully disclosed all information related to the budget, construction, and the partners involved in the project."

- TOL Councillor Jordan Bateman

The immediate reaction from the Raging Bull fan club was this assault on Bateman in typical fashion for this slate. Of course this letter contains baseless accusations that Bateman is inexperienced, when in fact Councillor Bateman enjoys the strong respect of senior politicians and veteran ministers, one of which Mayor Raging Bull tried to create a fallacy of endorsement from by crashing this minister's BBQ uninvited this past summer. We have it on good sources that this slate greatly resents the respect that Bateman enjoys from seasoned and popular politicians, and they are seen attacking him often for it. The Bull's latest attack is yet another MAJOR sign of a mayor running scared. Maybe you can term it a "running of the bulls"? When the running of the bulls is in full swing, the thought process of the bulls simply switch off and they do some wild and unpredictable things. Some term their behaviour as "madness".

Of course Bateman is singled out and the rest of council (including Kim Richter) are all ignored. We are certain this letter writer and Mayor Raging Bull are keenly aware of these election results from the November 15, 2008 election, but we will remind them that the "mandate" is very clear.

BATEMAN, Jordan - 9273 votes
FOX, Charlie - 7956 votes
RICHTER, Kim - 7906
GREEN, Rick - 7842

One will note that BATEMAN, FOX and RICHTER all received more votes than the mayor. Mayor Raging Bull and his slate are now VERY scared of Bateman and it shows in their letters and blog posts. The opposition is coming together very strongly, and in good numbers. Smart people are seeing the game and lack of detailed public plans from this slate. They are coming on board to voice their opposition in ways that one particular councillor has never seen. One of our Editorial Board members overhead her being dressed down by a significant community leader, despite her attemtps to pander to him.

These Raging Bull tactics will only backfire on the Bull and his slate. In fact, it has already started. People don't take kindly to bullies these days. Times have changed old man. Better update the photo so the people can see the real you.

So Where Is Our Advocate Mayor Rick Green

We keep presenting facts here from statements and articles and people keep accusing us of attacking Mayor Rick Green or Councillor Kim Richter. So this time we will show the various sources and quote them word for word without our commentary and then allow the reader to draw their own conclusions. Rick Green promised to be there for us to fight on our behalf. That includes "intense farming" and going after the provincial government for the Right to Farm legislation, the federal government over heavy train traffic and money for the Langley Events Centre.

It now appears that Mayor Green has performed another of his now famous flip-flops. See for yourself.

Mayor Rick Green's Inaugural Address INAUGURAL ADDRESS by Mayor William R. (Rick) Green Township of Langley - December 1, 2008

"The citizens have voted, it is now time to put that behind us, and get down to work for the benefit of the taxpayer, and I truly believe all of us at this table are committed to deliver just that."

"I want to make it very clear that we will continue to work closely with our senior levels of government. It is my intent to establish regular meetings with all three of our representatives Mr. Mark Warawa, our Federal MP, the Honourable Rich Coleman, MLA for Fort Langley-Aldergrove, and with the Honourable Mary Polak, MLA for Langley. These meetings will ensure that our lines of communication are open at all times."

"It has always been my belief that our relationship with our senior levels of government must be solid, open, and cooperative, however, it must also be stated that we will ensure the needs of Township citizens and their interests come first. That applies to quality of life, family, transportation, agriculture, environment, as well as health issues among others."

"You have our commitment that we will carry your wishes with us in our deliberations and discussions with the province, the federal government, and at the Region Board table. We will negotiate and fight on your behalf."

Langley Advance - Tuesday, January 6, 2008 Letter From Mayor Rick Green

"The failure of federal funding to materialize is significant to the Township taxpayer. While there is a significant record of communication between the Township and the federal government, I cannot find an official application for funding. One would have to agree, it would take more than a few letters to MPs and cabinet ministers to support an application for $5 million, even from the federal government."

So did Mayor Green meet with MP Warawa to "negotiate and fight on our behalf"? Councillor Jordan Bateman put up a good fight and also provided documentation to refute the MP. What about Green?

Raging Bull At It Again

Township Alert - The bully is back in his playground...

As we previously reported here, Al Irwin of the Langley Times published an opinion that impacted Mayor Green and Councillor Richter. You cannot access the link to Mr. Irwin's article because it has bee removed and replaced with this pro-Green/Richter article by Frank Bucholtz, Editor of the Langley Times and a supporter of Mayor Green. Rather than speculate whether Green called his editor-in-pocket or not, we will leave the readers to draw their own conclusions and understand that the work of a bully is evident once again.

The second evidence of bully-work appears here in a letter from Mayor Green to the Langley Advance. While it would have been totally appropriate for the mayor to offer his view on the Events Centre, and to address an article written by an Advance reporter, these comments about Councillor Bateman's age should cause TOL residents some serious concern. They are seriously inappropriate for a mayor, and further prove a total lack of diplomacy and a spirit of cooperation. Diplomacy is a requirement for the job of mayor, and it is not evident here in the TOL thus far. We can only hope it will change.

"Councillor Jordan Bateman has said that I just don't understand the process. For the record, I have spent many more years than his age being very involved in successfully managing and owning business of significant size."

--Mayor Rick Green

Age really has nothing to do with it and in fact, being long in the tooth can at times stifle progress. We will reserve further comment as the evidence speaks for itself. Councillor Bateman's comments were respectful and accomodating to Mayor Green. Additionally, this all serves as a smokescreen so that Green can avoid releasing detailed information on how he intends to finance the Township over the next 3 years in order to avoid property tax increases. But read this..

"The $5 million shortfall in federal funding equates to an eight per cent tax increase, if it was to be paid for through property tax rolls. That won't be the case, but it shows the impact of this type of decision."

--Mayor Rick Green

The $5M for the Events Centre was not coming from a proerty tax increase, it is coming from a reserve fund for these purposes. So why is the mayor appearing to twist facts here?

When will Raging Bull get some emotional control and professionalism? Lack of plans and focus, not on speaking terms with councillors, holding grudges from the campaign, attacking their age and credibility, etc. etc. etc. If age amounts to a hill of beans in the big scheme of things, then perhaps it is high time for the good mayor to start acting his. Raging Bull is at it again. Stand clear.

Al Irwin - Keeping It In The Public Domain

The Langley Times may have censored veteran reporter Al Irwin by removing his excellent Opinion piece, so let's re-post it here to keep it in the public domain and accessible to the public.

From The Langley Times - Dated January 3, 2009.

2009 promises to be an interesting year in local Township politics. With the arrival of Mayor Rick Green, Councillor Kim Richter now has one member on council who sees at least some things her way. Both are outspoken in opposition to Kurt Alberts, who, time will tell, was one of the best mayors the Township has had.

Green, in his campaign, adopted many issues championed by Richter, most notably property tax increases, increases primarily necessitated to cover increasing wages (wages are 61 per cent of the operating budget) and new, full-time fire fighting staff, which Richter also championed, and which Green has promised to continue to implement. As one correspondent to Richter's own website noted, that's like ordering from the menu, and refusing to pay the bill. Richter and Green also take issue with airport lease rates, though Richter voted against lease hikes in 2001.

Green's concerns aren't restricted to taxes, and in his election campaign he condemned poor management of major projects, the water management plan, property deals (and there were some very astute ones for the Township's future), fiscal responsibility, commuter rail and the Robert's Bank heavy rail corridor.

Lengthy freight-train traffic through Langley Township is not likely to disappear anytime soon, and if the recent kerfuffle over the Langley Events Centre illustrates anything, it is how hard it is to get funds from the federal government.

Yet extensive work over the past four years by the previous council has secured funding of some $51 million from various partners including Ottawa, for a rail-overpass solution to the safety concerns (particularly for emergency vehicles) at the Mufford/Glover intersection.

That overpass, and its funding, could be in jeopardy since Green and some of his supporters are questioning the route through the ALR lands of Milner. However, the majority on council, those Green refers to in his campaign literature as "the silent slate" (a nod to Richter's website) and Richter chides on her website as the "good old boys," were all returned in the election. These councillors would dispute that they comprise a slate. And when you consider that one of them, Grant Ward, originally ran (unsuccessfully) on the same slate as Richter, the Langley Citizen's Coalition, and another, Jordan Bateman, also first ran unsuccessfully, on the Coalition's arch-foe and raison d'etre, the Langley Leadership Team, and Mel Kositsky served with aplomb and dignity as an independent throughout the Langley Leadership era, the "silent slate" label is at best spurious.

However, as Richter so plaintively pointed out in her inaugural speech, no one on council should be ostracized, though reliable sources say Richter herself has not spoken to some council members, including her one-time Citizens Coalition running mate, Ward, for several years, and her incessant barrage of website vitriol against the "good old boys" may have fostered more enmity than amity.

--Al Irwin

Langley Relay for Life Raises $460.000 in 2008

Thanks to the hard work for former Township Councillor Howie Vickberg and his dedicated volunteers, The Langley Relay for Life raised $460K for cancer research and treatment in 2008 and they plan to up the goal in 2009. The Langley Advance has been re-posting events of 2008 and this was one of them.

Our Editorial Board already misses seeing Howie at the council table. Howie Vickberg is always positive, respectful and community minded. His love for Langley is evident in all that he does and you've got to like a councillor that can even so a decent job of singing!

More than $460K in 2009? Go get 'em Howie and crew!

The Langley Times Confirms The Green-Richter Slate

Thank God for honest men that will call a spade a spade. Veteran journalist and long-time TOL Council reporter Al Irwin published some POWERFUL words of wisdom here in Saturday's Langley Times. A newspaper by the way who's editor firmly supports Mayor Rick Green. Listen to this from a man who sits in council week after week watching, listening and is privy to the inside scoop...

"With the arrival of Mayor Rick Green, Councillor Kim Richter now has one member on council who sees at least some things her way. Both are outspoken in opposition to Kurt Alberts, who, time will tell, was one of the best mayors the Township has had."

LR Editor - That's right Mr. Irwin, because these two are very much birds of a feather and they ran a slate together. But this slate, with constant self-professions of immense business accumen have yet to greatly detail what they will do differently than that of former Mayor Kurt Alberts and his council.

"Yet extensive work over the past four years by the previous council has secured funding of some $51 million from various partners including Ottawa, for a rail-overpass solution to the safety concerns (particularly for emergency vehicles) at the Mufford/Glover intersection."

"That overpass, and its funding, could be in jeopardy since Green and some of his supporters are questioning the route through the ALR lands of Milner. However, the majority on council, those Green refers to in his campaign literature as “the silent slate” (a nod to Richter’s website) and Richter chides on her website as the “good old boys,” were all returned in the election. These councillors would dispute that they comprise a slate. And when you consider that one of them, Grant Ward, originally ran (unsuccessfully) on the same slate as Richter, the Langley Citizen’s Coalition, and another, Jordan Bateman, also first ran unsuccessfully, on the Coalition’s arch-foe and raison d’etre, the Langley Leadership Team, and Mel Kositsky served with aplomb and dignity as an independent throughout the Langley Leadership era, the “silent slate” label is at best spurious."

LR Editor - Right again Mr. Irwin. For the sake of some staunch Rick Green supporters this Township may lose a whole lot of money and this very important infrastructure. All in the name of helping some good old friends of Mayor Rick Green. The good mayor pointed his finger at former Mayor Alberts and a dynamic council team. Accusing them of doing something that he (Green) and Richter did themselves, and that was to run a slate. Alberts published no newspaper ads in 2008 that indicated he had any slate. He did run ordinary people picture ads of those that supported him. It was Richter's website that encouraged people to "plum the ballot" and then provided a listing of the slate on election day.

"Green, in his campaign, adopted many issues championed by Richter, most notably property tax increases, increases primarily necessitated to cover increasing wages (wages are 61 per cent of the operating budget) and new, full-time fire fighting staff, which Richter also championed, and which Green has promised to continue to implement. As one correspondent to Richter’s own website noted, that’s like ordering from the menu, and refusing to pay the bill. Richter and Green also take issue with airport lease rates, though Richter voted against lease hikes in 2001."

LR Editor - We totalled 87% of the budget for wages based on the Council Priorities meeting notes and collective agreements. Councillor Richter has ordered from the TOL menu many times before without paying the bill so to speak.

You will recall during the 2008 debates Richter said (over and over again), "Ribbon-cutting ceremonies cost the taxpayers money". But the good councillor went on to attend many ribbon cuttings, (at least long enough to get up front and be part of the photo op). Take Jackman Park in Aldergrove as a perfect example. Once the photographer snapped the picture, Councillor Richter was seen making a quick V-line to her chariot. No doubt the permanent smile will be front and centre for the Langley Events Centre ribbon-cutting.

"However, as Richter so plaintively pointed out in her inaugural speech, no one on council should be ostracized, though reliable sources say Richter herself has not spoken to some council members, including her one-time Citizens Coalition running mate, Ward, for several years, and her incessant barrage of website vitriol against the “good old boys” may have fostered more enmity than amity."

LR Editor - We also have it on very good sources that the Green side of the Green-Richter not-so-silent slate is also not on speaking terms with Councillor Grant Ward, and communication with other council members and some staff are strained at best with Mayor Green at his making. How does one be accountable to the taxpayers when this slate is busy holding grudges against other council members and even some of the electorate that opposed them? This is extremly childish and is certain not to go unoticed by the electorate, and The Langley Record will make certain of that.

We find it very interesting that we had been doing our research for days to confirm facts for our Saturday post and had no knowledge of Al Irwin's article and that it would be published the same day. It just goes to show you that this slate is VERY obvious to those who watch and listen. We can't speak more highly of Al Irwin's knowledgeable and astute observations. The man certainly has brains and guts and is a fine journalist in our community. Great work Mr. Irwin!

The Truth About Slates - Green - Richter Slate Leads TOL

For years we have heard Township of Langley Councillor Kim Richter claim her independence and being "your voice at the council table". Her blog and website have attacked what she terms the "The Good 'Ol Boys" and the Kurt Alberts slate. But a recent investigation by the Editorial Board of the Langley Record has revealed some interesting facts that all Township residents should be very aware of regarding a Green/Richter Slate in full operation within the TOL.

This chart appeared on Councillor Kim Richter's website this past election day. Not only did Richter run a clear slate for TOL council, but it included School Board Trustees as well. While her website attacks others for endoring School Board candidates, the pot is calling the kettle black here for sure. See for yourself.

From www.kimrichter.com

Kim Richter Slate Facts For All Township Taxpayers to Be Aware Of

1. Her claims to be "truly independent" are truly outrageous.
2. She is the ONLY currently sitting councillor to be elected on a SLATE. In 1999 she was elected under her Langley Citizens Coalition (LCC).
3. Kim Richter is the ONLY candidate in the history of the Township of Langley to run on 3 different SLATES: The uber-leftwing REAL (Regional Electors of Aldergrove & Langley) SLATE in 1996, the LCC SLATE in 1999, and the Green-Richter SLATE in 2008. Check out the chart above for proof of the later.
4. Kim Richter's slate-bouncing is not surprising when you consider that she was previously a provincial and federal NDPer in 1996 when she lost badly to Lynn Stephens. Richter then ran as a federal Liberal in 2004 and lost badly to MP Mark Warawa. She then pretended to be a BC Liberal in 2008 by turning up at Rich Coleman's fundraiser. But then her website has called for MLA Rich Coleman to resign. Perhaps she was just planning her next provincial run?
5. As is clear by the chart above, Councillor Kim Richter was the ONLY candidate in the Township race to publicly endorse a SLATE in 2008.
6. Richter has no SLATE coattails as only 4 of her 10 Green-Richter SLATE members were elected in 2008 (Green, Richter, Bech & Johnson). Richter was the only successful TOL council candidate in 2008, as Tomblin, Paterson, Jones, and Dhami lost. Maybe they should turn down her offer of support in the 2011 election? Something to think about boys.
7. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck then it is clearly a duck.
   

Councillor Kim Richter - very much a NON-independent SLATE politician.

Quack! Quack! Quack!

Promises, Promises....The Band Plays On

It is a new year with a new mayor. There were many, many promises during his campaign, so now what is Mayor Green going to do to deliver on these many promises? Our Mayor's Report has been turned into a partisan, post-election reiteration of election promises posted here on a revised Township webpage. (Why are we using this 10 year old Rick Green photo by the way? Is there something wrong with aging? It is natural man.) The new year has brought no plans from the mayor on how he will delivery (or even a plan to deliver) on the promises. The local media have not interviewed him to get him on the record, but that is no surprise given the "editor in pocket" comments that have been flying around and overheard.

A HUGE bone of contention for Mayor Rick Green was the Redwoods Golf Course and Bedford House Restaurant purchases by the TOL. Councillor Kim Richter also harped on this all of last year. So, where is Richter's motion to sell off these Township assets and Mayor Green's wagging head to this plan? You hold the keys to these properties so to speak Mr. Mayor, so what are you going to do now? Councillor Richter has been seen walking in step with the mayor, so where is her verbose Notice of Motion on this topic? Maybe we can help her out with this?

Whereas:

1. The Township of Langley is in dire straights because it is politically expedient to tout this line or, "the sky is falling down".
2. That a three year zero-based budget was always a pipe dream and the good mayor failed to do his homework during his long campaign
3. The mayor and I speak in tandem and he borrowed my platform and foiled my bid for mayor in the 2008 campaign
4. I'm going to use my phone to dial for dollars to mount a 2011 mayoral campaign after backing down 3 times
5. The mayor needs me to file motions to promote our agenda
6. All of our collective business wisdom hasn't resulted in any tangible and detailed plans and nor actions
7. (enter weekly shopping list and CBC News Headlines here to make this more verbose and me to get more air time)
   

Now therefore be it resolved that:

1. We not acknowledge the wisdom of former mayor and the other councillors, but we act quietly.
2. That the Township sell off this golf course and restaurant forthwith, forever snuffing out the possibilities of a Rick Green Invitational Golf Tournament and Prime Rib dinner with Yorkshire Pudding to follow.
3. That we use the proceeds of this sale to create the Ricky Zero Based Budget Bail Out Fund.
4. That we then credit the Finance Committee of the Chosen with saving the Township from all manners of harm, tax increases, alternating closed TOL facilities and banishment of toilet tissue from all TOL flush facilities.

Do I have a seconder?

Sasquatch After Mormons - TOL May Be Next On Hit List?

The Langley Times recently published this article about two Mormon missionaries in Burns Lake that found what is believed to be Sasquatch footprints outside their home. The prints were found very close to their wood shed.

Although not verified by the HBCC UFO research people, The Langley Record received credible reports that the sasquatch may be heading to the Township of Langley in time for the January 12, 2009 council meeting in order to greet the mayor and one councillor in particular.

Following his previous protocols, the sasquatch may confront the pair in the vacinity of a soon to be constructed wood shed. This wood shed was planned after recent fulltime fire fighter and Langley Events Centre shaninigans. A wood shed near town hall would sure be handy right about now, and just in time for the budget considerations. Wonder if NORAD will track this one?

How to Lose Votes and Be a Bad Influence on People

The Editorial Board received word last night that a certain Township councillor and quite possibly another at the top have burned some major bridges with their Langley Events Centre reconsideration stunt. To make matters worse, a blog published by this councillor recently threatened to "investigate" the use of some mailing lists.

Apparently the parties concerned have added some serious insult to injury, now impacting the community at large. As in the business world, companies who fail to provide excellent customer service will soon find themselves out of business. The principle behind it all is that when you burn one person they spread the word to 30-50 other people. Well, one person that has been put out in a serious way has a high degree of respect with some 4,500 families in Langley. Not only that, but when this person is not volunteering, he is a senior level finance executive for a major corporation. It is the type of person that should be appointed to a finance committee to bail the Township out of a mess of promises, but it appears that friends and campaign pals will fit the bill. But that is the top dog's problem.

But clearly this certain councillor (and possibly the top dog) now runs the risk of losing over 8,000 direct votes, not to mention all of the negative word-of-mouth that is circulating. The person that sent this information to us is highly reliable and we would put our life on the validity of the information received. This person made a very good point that public officials in Langley would be wise to consider. This person pointed out that volunteers are very valuable gems in our community and as they work for free, one should respect and not trash them. Perhaps this person phrased it better by saying, "Langley is a community of parent volunteers. I won't question the integrity of a volunteer."

So What's The Plan?

Today's Langley Advance published a letter by Dan Sheel. Dan is a switched on Township resident, parks & recreation volunteer and sports coach for many years. He is also a Surrey Fire Fighter. Dan Sheel asks the question that all Township residents should be asking. What is Mayor Green's plan to produce zero percent tax increases over the next 3 years and not bankrupt the TOL?

Dan rightly points out that the full facts of the Township finances have been known and public for some time. Despite being aware of these facts, Green promised a zero-zero-zero tax increase pedge over the next 3 years and said that he would repeal the 5% increase slated for 2009. Mayor Green was in the Town Hall directly after the election and has therefore been working fulltime for a month and a half. So what's the plan? It is only fair to TOL taxpayers that we know the full plan that Mayor Green intends to enter into budget talks with and we need to know up front so that he can't put the blame on any members of council. Over the past month we have seen considerable back-peddling by Mayor Green and he uses the art of maintaining a level of deniability to sneak away and attempt to lay blame on others.

You can demand that Mayor Green release his budget and tax plans to the public by emailing Mayor Green and council at mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca . Emailing both will ensure that the mayor is held accountable and your message will be seen by all. Request that the mayor reveal to all TOL residents his budget and tax plans for 2009-2011 now so that we have time to review them BEFORE the budget meetings. At the very least he should have an action plan ready for 2009.

You Can Talk the Talk or You Can Walk the Walk

For the past little bit we Township folks have heard much hot air from politicians that are purporting to have extensive business experience and credentials. This same minority then try to use this so-called experience and credentials to sell their "watchdog" approach to civic politics and the fiscal accountability line. Our Editorial Board is full of successful men and women. We all agree that most academics that we have come into contact with in the business world have lots of theories and book knowledge, but couldn't manage a small summer lemonade stand if their lives depended on it. This is why most young people these days begin their "education" the day they start their first real job. It is also why Bill Gates decided to drop out and do something with his mind and skills sooner rather than later. Not a good testament to educators eh? It is not something we recommend, but with the state of academics today, one has to wonder.

It is very easy to claim things during an election locally, as no one has the time or money to check. But after the election if the candidate is successful, you can look at their voting records, what they say and what they do as a signal of whether their expertise is a fantasy of their minds. One of the most fascinating bit of business advice this editor received many years ago was a simple statement. "How you do anything is how you do everything". What you do and how you do it impacts everything you do. I you constantly cry wolf in business or politics, people will soon tune you out. If you pander to those vocal elements in the community you will soon get shunned by the mainstream. If you propose fool-hearty motions you will soon be ignored by your colleagues and enjoy very little respect among them.

If you profess to be pillar of financial accountability and watchdog-ism, then how you do anything is how you do everything, right? Well, examine these expense reports from various TOL council members. Not that it would explain such a high amount, but how many on this list have full-time jobs and how many actually attend many meetings because they are retired and can? If you have a fulltime job, wouldn't you be expected to spend less taxpayer dollars? Wouldn't you at least be expected to spend less than that of a fulltime mayor?

You be the judge. But just remember this wise saying... How you do anything is how you do everything. Don't by fooled by politicians masquerading as watchdogs.

2006

Mel Kositsky $11,386
Kim Richter $9,001
Grant Ward $6,388
Bob Long $5,786
Steve Ferguson $5,119
Kurt Alberts $3,577
Howie Vickberg $818
Jordan Bateman $240
Charlie Fox $0

2007

Bob Long $8,007
Grant Ward $7,615
Kim Richter $6,641
Mel Kositsky $6,547
Steve Ferguson $4,936
Kurt Alberts $2,419
Jordan Bateman $1,137
Howie Vickberg $562
Charlie Fox $238

Taxes and Downloading

Today's The Province newspaper carries an an editorial on property tax increases mainly in Vancouver. Vancouver says the 6-13% tax hikes over the next year are due to an expected drop in revenues as the economy declines, annual wage increases for city workers, 96 new police officers and 22 civilian staff for the VPD as well.

The article also mentions the downloading of costs from the provincial and federal orders down to municipal governments. Township Councillor Mel Kositsky often reminds us that only 8% or 8 cents of every federal tax dollar makes its way to municipalities.

In the Township we are not getting 96 new police officers, but police, fire and public safety in general account for about 48% of our TOL budget. If you add in wage increases required by collective bargaining agreements, salaries account for somewhere in the neighbourhood of 87% of the TOL budget. This means that apart from wages and benefits, the Towsnhip is actually pretty lean and we are not the big spenders that a very small number of people would like us to believe.

The Towsnhip was slated to have a 5% increase in property taxes. The value of many homes in the TOL have been impacted downward by the economic meltdown. In fact, the Provincial government recently announced that they will use the 2007 BC Assessment values for collection of property taxes in 2008.

Mayor Green has stated several times that he would scrap the Township's approved plan to increase taxes by 5%. Latest discussions center around cuts in programs and increases in user fees. But aren't increases in user fees much the same as the tax increase? You might say that increases in user fees collect the cash from the people using various services, but aren't these Towsnhip services to be enjoyed by all? Many of us have no children in school yet we help pay for them. It's a slippery slope if you want to divide services and the dedicated responsibility to pay for them.

Now that Mayor Green has had over a month to examine the budget and receive consultation from senior staff it will be interesting to see where the TOL budget process goes in 2009. While none of us like paying more taxes, a 5% increase based on the amount and quality of what we receive is reasonable in our opinion. Perhaps Mayor Green will see the wisdom in this conservative proposal.

Green Makes A Move in the Right Direction

Over coffee this morning the Editorial Board of The Langley Record unanimously supported Mayor Rick Green's taking of the high road in this Langley Advance article. Our discussion turned to what Green could do in 2009 to bring more harmony to the Township and actually get some much needed work done. Here are some of the things we kicked around:

Public Input and Participation - Green promised during his campaign that there would be more public input. His first official move on this will be his new finance committee. But it is no surprise that instead of Green tapping into some significant business and finance experts, we hear he is leaning towards a committee comprised of his campaign supporters.The final committee list is not final yet, so we will not publish any names here. I guess you could consider these people to fit the bill of "public input", but Green runs the risk of having a bunch of YES men advising him. This is the mayor's decision and unlike Obama, Mayor Green seems to hold grudges with those that have oppose him and perhaps age causes him not to reach across the isle and built bridges to help his administration. If his New Year Resolutions include work in these areas, we agree that it would be a very good thing for him and the Township at large.

Town Hall Forums - Green announced last week that in the New Year he would launch separate monthly meetings where citizens can address their concerns to mayor and council. While this appears to be a good idea on the surface, it could turn very ugly and cause further division in the TOL. The current council process already allows citizens (and groups) to address mayor and council with concerns or announcements in the form of a DELEGATION. In our opinion the Delegation system works well, in that people need to state their case within a 5 minute time period. Over the years, mayor and council have been very generous with this time rule, but it still gets abused far too often. Imagine a separate public gripe session without solid time limits? If not managed properly, the public will grow tired of time-wasting and simply not attend these meetings. As it is, the Township public fail to attend most council and other public meetings.

Our suggestion to Mayor Green is to dedicate one regular council meeting per month to include a one hour gripe session that would include not only mayor and council, but would see senior staff or managers on hand that can speak to public concerns about Police, Fire, Waste Removal, Parks & Rec., Engineering & Traffic, Planning, and a host of Township services. Enforce a clear 5 minute rule and allow these people to present their more lengthy submissions in writing to council for further consideration. This would truly be a valuable meeting and experience for Township residents. If you can't state your case in 5 minutes, then you are just wasting public and council time.

Council Priorities Meetings - Mayor Green could really build some bridges in this Township with the advertising of Council Priorities Meetings and the opening of them to the public. It would be made clear that the public cannot comment at these meetings (just as they can't with current TOL committee meetings). This would help prevent the public from thinking that various issues just come out of thin air, leaving the public felt left out of the process. It would provide greater insight into the council process and help all of us to understand the issues of most importance to the TOL.

Consensus Building - 2009 Would be a great time for Mayor Green to put aside the issues of the recent past and begin to conduct in-camera and council meetings with an atmosphere of building consensus. There is one councillor that opposes these type of meetings because it doesn't leave much room for public grandstanding and pandering. The remainder of council are reasonable people and would embrace such a move by Mayor Green.

Abundance and Not Scarcity - Many Township residents are successful and some could be considered affluent. People that have achieved success in life know the value of prudent governance, but reject the notion of a scarcity mentality. While the world economic situation is a sobering reminder that we need to manage our finances, it is not fair to residents to paint a picture of doom and crisis because you promoted a way to finance the Township budget, while keeping property taxes at current levels. Township residents are not unreasonable people, but we do expect community amenities like parks and trails, recreation facilities and programs, etc. If you promote density development and increase the numbers of people that dwell on an acre of land (a huge shift in living arranagements for many people), then you must provide the community with quality amenities that allow people to get away from their small patch of land and enjoy some wide open space and first-rate facilities that accommodate their work, life and leisure schedules and activities.

Bridging Urban and Rural Residents - Over the course of this past civic election a huge spike seems to have been driven between the urban and rural residents of the Township. This is not healthy and both types of land use are extremely important to the health and vitality of this Township. While sewer, water and other public services should be provided to the rural residents whenever possible and practical, we must also respect the fact that many rural residents do not desire these services because of the connection and other fees that must be paid by them. Previously council has been flooded with complaints of this type and residents wanting exclusion from various area upgrades. Many of us older folks don't have kids in school, but we help finance the education system anyway. It is not fair that South and Central Langley folks complain to the urban residents about supporting community assets and amenities. Mayor Green could help bridge this divide and work to show both rural and urban residents the value of community assets.

There are tons of other recommendations, but the Board will leave those for a later time. Ponder these thoughts and feel free to voice your opinions.

Investigation Must Be Fair and Equal

Since this story broke this morning, The Langley Record has been very busy checking and re-checking some facts related to this case. Our interest as an Editorial Board of Township taxpayers is to ensure that a fair investigation take place. Late today, as diligent citizens, we presented Langley RCMP Superintendent Janice Armstrong with some materials which we view as very pertient evidence that will aid the RCMP in conducting a full investigation of the facts.

What is an Elector Organization or a Campaign Organizer? Who must register and why? Well, if you care to read the whole legal framework, you can do so by downloading and reading this PDF. We believe the spirit of this law was to prevent a person or group of people from taking public or private monies and using those funds to run or endorse a candidate or candidates, without full disclosure to the public. This could involve an individual, a group or charity or a BC Society.

Earlier this year some members of our Editorial Board received e-mails from a Township candidate that clearly linked this person to a registered BC Society. It was apparent as the messages progressed over the next month that this person was very much controlling what was to be a non-profit society, as well as running for office at the same time. Resources that are believed to be owned or leased by this Society was used at least once during the campaign for this candidate. If this is correct, then under the Act, this candidate, the Board of Directors of the Society, and the Society itself had an obligation to register as Campaign Organizers and as an Elector Organization. We are leaving this in the capable hands of the Langley RCMP to find out if this was done.

Also during our local Langley elections this website appeared and is clearly still linked to a PAYPAL account. When one visits this website even today, it is clear that this individual or group have endorsed candidates and collected donated funds to do so. Are they registered under the legislation as well? Again, we have provided information to the RCMP for them to make enquiries. A WHOIS search of this website's domain registration indicates the person or persons that registered the domain selected a private registry and therefore only the agent used for registration is listed and not the individual.

As well, BCTF signs also appeared in Langley during the civic election and may add another dimension to this RCMP file. What is clear is that ALL potential violations should be investigated for the sake of Township taxpayers and to establish a level playing field. We are confident that the Langley RCMP are competent to investigate these cases and draw rational conclusions for us.

In our humble opinion we find it difficult to believe our two MLA's who have always been people who display nothing short of honesty and integrity could be challenged with this act if indeed they did not pay for the advertising in question. What's more shocking is that the complaintant alleges that a Township councillor has somehow done something wrong by calling voters. In fact, many municiple candidates in Langley had phone banks operating and we fail to see how these lists and phone banks are a violation of any laws.

The Editorial Board of The Langley Record looks forward to the findings of the RCMP and we wish any innocent parties will be vindicated in the process.

Mayor Rick Green Not So Green?

The Aldergrove Star published a shocking article yesterday that should make Langley residents stand up and take notice. Apparently Aldergrove residents are not happy that a new sewer pumping station may be built in Phillip Jackman Park! This park was dedicate to Mr. Jackman just one month ago. Mr. Jackman was a dedicated pioneer who worked as a Royal Engineer and helped survey many areas of British Columbia. A huge crowd of residents attended this important dedication.

While the existing sewer trunk line to JAMES is undersized and threatens the environment, you would think that a public park that was recently dedicated to one of our pioneer families that remain in Aldergrove, would be off limits. Mayor Rick Green seems to favour avoiding these parklands. However, the shocker is this quote from the article...

“The environment can always regenerate itself.”

-- Mayor Rick Green

Update - Mayor Green Did Not Disclose In-Camera Info

Councillor Jordan Bateman announced today that his remarks to The Langley Advance were interrupted incorrectly. He says that the point he was trying to make was that this issue of the Events Centre and the P3 negotiations should have been discussed in a format that allowed all councillors to discuss and comment. Instead Mayor Green chose to use the Mayor's Report for this release of information, not allowing for open council discussion.

Our Editorial Board is relieved to hear that confidential information has not been released and further, that the taxpayers of the Township did not suffer loss from any release of in-camera negotiations.

It is a real shame that another blog has chosen to basically not accept Bateman's post and public appology for any confusion that may have come from this newspaper article. But of course it is par for the course with them, Isn't it?

It Gets Worse

Full time fire and Langley Events Centre was business brought on the table by new mayor and council as we previously reported. The Editorial Board of The Langley Record was hopeful that with this old business behind them, the Township through the new mayor would be able to move on. Our hope was that Mayor Green would now chilling out and grow into his role diplomatically.

As disturbing as the last meeting was with Mayor Green hijacking the Mayor's Report for political purposes as we reported, apparently it gets worse. It is alleged now that Mayor Green seriously compromised the Township by dragging the Langley Events Centre P3 information into the public meeting. It was an in-camera issue and therefore that requires a council vote to bring forth to the public. These negotiations may now be seriously damaged.

What is more disturbing is that if these serious allegations are true, this represents a somewhat systemic problem with Green. During the campaign Green took a position against the Township and in favour of a land owner that was fighting the greenest urban village that the Township has seen. Green attacked with developer and his expensive project that will bring jobs and affordable apartments to Township residents. As mayor, the Township is now vulnerable because of Green's campaign statements. This land owner could bring Green and his statements into court in support of his legal case. While this one was not an in-camera issue, it is representative of Green's loose canon style of politics.

Towards the end of his campaign, Rick Green attached himself to the Mufford rail overpass issue. Again he took up a postion against Township staff recommendations and said that he would give the federal and provincial monies back to those other orders of government. At the last council meeting he back-peddled by saying in effect that it was never really about giving money back more than it was about finding an acceptable solution. But Green also promised that he was going to get heavy rail OUT of Langley.

There are several other examples of Mayor Green's flip-flops and loose canon politics that will go unmentioned for now. All very disturbing for Township taxpayers. This not to mention the zero-based budget smokescreen that surrounds Green today. He promised a Land Trust to solve all our financial worries. He promised a zero-based budget funded by this Land Trust. He arrogantly said he would overthrow the planned modest 5% property tax increase that would fund increases in salaries (won through collective bargaining). Now he paints a picture of financial crisis and wants Township residents to shoulder massive cuts to services and possible user-fee increases that will be revealed in the New Year. He blames all this on the previous administration.

In just one month, Mayor Rick Green has managed to divide our community and turn a professional council into a circus. Our Editorial Board discussed the matter this morning over coffee and several members made an interesting statement. They said that despite Councillor Kim Richter's "oppose everything" style and occassional out of order, long-winded preambles to her motions, Councillor Kim Richter has done so with a degree of order. In other words Richter has objected for the most part with a degree of dignity for the process. A professional trait that Mayor Green appears to be sorely lacking in his handling of Township affairs. Somewhere along the line there must be a respect for council and more so, a view of our community as something almost sacred.

After Sleeping On It

Well, many folks on our Editorial Board are very disappointed with the way the past two Township council meetings have been chaired and how years of civil Mayor's Reports have now turned ugly. Add to this the blame game over the Langley Events Centre and the mayor's continued promotion of a false impression of a Township that is rotten to the core, it really drags on the souls of those that truly love and care about Langley as a community. It used to be a source of community pride to live in Langley Township, but lately it is depressing to live here. Nasty politics, negative campaigns, the twisting of issues and more have made it so.

Councillor Jordan Bateman presented a balanced report on last night's meeting on his blog today and our Board agrees that one must give him credit. He truly wrote what we would have wrote on this topic and it was done in a very civil manner. One of our blog members sent Councillor Bateman some questions as she wanted a rational reply regarding the events centre and fulltime fire fighters. He was good enough to write her back with a very detailed outline of the issues and facts. Our Editorial Board wanted to explain to the public the negotiation process that culminates to the formulation of a P3 and the fact that many projects, even larger ones than this (for example the Evergreen Line) are called a P3 with an agreement in principle and the details worked out as partnerships are solidified and true costs and final project build-out is know. We have queried a major law firm that are specialists regarding P3's and have requested a Guest Post from one of their lawyers on this matter.

After sleeping on this very disturbing meeting and the bullying that was witnessed, our Editorial Board has concluded that apart from fighting a political battles of his own making, Mayor Green simply lacks the experience and diplomacy required for this job of mayor of the Township of Langley. Our community is being ripped apart and we can only hope that Mayor Green will now focus his full attention on delivering his promised Land Trust that would require NO tax increases, while preserving the programs and integrity of this Township. It is our sincere hope that Mayor Green will also apply the balance of his time to learning his new job and how to execute his duties in a professional and diplomatic manner that will bring our community of communities together, not apart.

NEWS BULLETIN: Richter Motion Defeated - Mayor Green Turns Bully

One of our stringers just called the Editorial Board with the results of tonight's Township of Langley Council Meeting. It was an unusual night to say the least. Our stringer reports that the mayor threatening the democratic process, along with Councillor Richter once again getting no one to second an irrational motion.

Mayor Green kicked off a one-sided debate by inappropriately using the Mayor's Report portion of this council meeting to spout off about his election platform and how he will get his way. During the mayor's report he is really meant to list the various event dates and a listing of functions he attended. No one can recall a mayor using this time to promote himself and his agenda, but Mayor Green did just that!

After emphasizing his 12-14 hour work days, he got into a very disjointed rant about people sending mass e-mails and accused the public of spreading false rumours. He did much the same a week prior with the whole firefighter issue. Just as he did with fire fighters, he was able to back peddle by sounding like a promoter of the Langley Events Centre. He claims that no P3 (public-private partnership) is in place and it is simply a construction contract. The man ran on a platform of open government and then gets upset with people and tries to bully them around. He stated at least twice that if the public had any problems with issues they should call or e-mail him. But does he understand that we live in a democracy where people have the right to free speech and they also have the right to engage in discussions with all of council as many councillors are approachable and not bullies? Does he fathom that his actions and people issues are leading to the public avoiding him? People are not attracted to bullies Rick!

Our Editorial Board heard that this bullying by Mayor Green very evident as he served as the Chair of the last two council meetings. During the last meeting he cut Councillor Kositsky off as the man was making a calm point of order and when his verbal bullying wasn't working, he turned Kositsky's microphone off! This week he kept trying to rush and interrupt Councillor Charlie Fox from speaking. Later, Green allowed Councillor Richter to give a long preamble (more like a dissertation) to her motion. Never putting her in line until several councillors objected to the long-winded rant.

Many sports enthusiasts from the Township were present for this meeting and were very angry at the political stunts of Green and Richter. Our stringer overheard one man refuse Councillor Richter's request for a meeting with him to discuss the "complexities" of this matter. He said that he had seen and heard enough of her tonight. We also documented that for several days now, mayor and council have been bombarded with e-mails from many, many sports-minded residents that object to the Langley Events Centre being used as a political pawn. We have heard that at least one resident experienced a bully e-mail exchange with the mayor when she protested tonight's agenda. I'm sure Mayor Green and Cllr. Richter are unaware of the many supports of this particular resident, nor the votes the two have just lost with tonight's gong show.

Richter's motion did not get seconded and we are pleased to report that Councillor Bev Dornan (who voted against full-time fire fighters last week) obviously did not touch this hot potato this week.

The council chambers had an unusual number of Rick Green supporters present. It was a reminiscent of the inaugural Green love-fest, only attended this time by a faithful handful. Another bully attempt by the good mayor? It appears that anyone who dares to disagree with Mayor Green will have to deal with police-state tactics. Is this any way to run an "open and accountable government" Mayor Green?

Councillor Richter Moving Against Sports in Township

She did it when Township considered upgrades to McLeod Park and now Councillor Kim Richter is once again slapping sports tourism and families involved in sports here in the face. Here's the poop from the Editorial Board:

The Township of Langley engaged several partners including the Federal and Provincial governments and the school district to help fund the new Langley Events Centre. The build-out required finishing and furnishings that then places this facility within a standard that larger organizations look for when renting a facility of this type. Without these furnishings and amenities, groups at this level will discount the renting of an events centre. The Township staff, former mayor and council were all 99% certain that the federal government would honour a commitment. Contrary to what the pundits on another blog say, Mark Warawa doesn't come over to the mayor's office with a pen to sign an IOU. This is grant money and there are rules to follow and hoops to jump through.

Former mayor and council in their wisdom and experience created a contingency fund that could be used to complete the events centre, should something like federal funding fall through. The bottom line is that while there was never a firm federal commitment, there were many positive indicators and encouragement along the way. Approval of the appropriation of these contingency funds happened in the council's in-camera meeting last week, with Councillor Kim Richter absent. Here is the report of this in-camera meeting in next week's council agenda document.
Councillor Richter returned from her holidays and was apparently content to bring this simple appropriation back on the table to waste more of mayor, council and staff time, as is typical. Here is the motion she will present next Monday.
Her blog is spinning this as a "cost overrun". I'm sure by the truth reported here and in the news you can clearly see that this is NOT a cost overrun, but the result of a partner backing out of the commitment and grant money. Along with Rick Green, Richter is trying to promote an atmosphere of "financial crisis" in the Township and this $5M appropriation would get Green off the hook for the Land Trust promises that were to pay the bills. For Richter, it represents a cynical opportunity to distract voters from her flip-flop on hiring full time firefighters in Walnut Grove.

Does this waste of council and staff time make you angry? Can you see what Councillor Richter is doing here to play politics with your recreation and community events centre? Do your kids play sports or does your team intend to use these facilities? If so, e-mail Mayor and Council here to voice your opposition to Councillor Richter's Notice of Motion. You should also plan to be in council chambers on Monday evening at 7:00pm with your teams, kids and organizations to visually show your anger and opposition to Councillor Richter's politics as usual that is always disguised as fiscal accountability.

Be Careful When You Grandstand

The good people of the Township love their parks and trails. If one visits the Township website the list of parks and facilities are VERY impressive. We've heard that over the years some Township staff dedicated their lives to help gather these lands and see the amenities built out for the community. Planner Terry Lister developed the Arbour Ribbon strategy to create a buffer between the rural and the urban lands. Mayor Kurt Alberts put legs to the Arbour Ribbon and David Leavers, his staff and many volunteers at Parks & Rec really go the extra mile for Township taxpayers in building and operating QUALITY park, trails, and recreation facilities.

While most of council understand the Arbour Ribbon concept and the exceptional Sports Tourism model that the Township has worked, one member of council fails to respect the good people of the Township of Langley. This council member fails to see the huge numbers of sports enthusiasts that frequent our hotels and restaurants on weekends in Walnut Grove, Murrayville, and beyond.

This particular councillor lives in South Langley and we believe that this person doesn't get around the whole community much to see what is going on. Public comments made by this councillor concerning reducing the speed limit on 200th Street, in addition to blog posts speaking of "the grandstand" ( a reference to McLeod Athletic Park) and "the white elephant" (the new Langley Events Centre) abound. These statements show ignorance and is evidence of a failure to practice "management by walking around". After all, you can't see many of these things from your acreage in rural. Now there is certainly nothing wrong with living in rural Langley nor having acreage that you enjoy. But there is something wrong when an elected official fails to see the rest of our community of communities, dramatically failing to comprehend what benefits the Township residents and visitors derive in their lives from from these various public facilities.

Did you know that McLeod Athletic Park has facilities for:

• ball hockey
• baseball diamond
• resident caretaker
• change rooms
• drinking water
• horseshoe pitch
• jogging track
• lighted fields
• picnic facilities and shelter
• playground
• restrooms
• playing fields
• tennis courts
• treed nature walk

How many Township residents do you suppose use these facilities? How many sports enthusiasts from outside our community rely on these services and spend their money in Langley before and after their events? I don't know about you, but every time I pass McLeod the parking lot is full of cars and people are out and about.

What will the new Langley Events Centre offer the citizens and visitors of Langley Township? Well, to name a few:

• Willoughby Recreation Centre (with fitness and multipurpose rooms)
  
• Triple Gymnasium (with 2,000s seats)
• Arena Bowl (seating from 3,000-5,000)
• Indoor walking concourse
• Exhibition & Banquet Centre (seating up to 500 people)
• New home of the Langley Gymnastics Foundation
• Leased commercial retail & office space
• Community Park (playing fields, water park & picnic areas)

Why do you suppose all these groups have partnered on this project?

Our parks, trails, community centres and public amenities exist because they are an integral part of the Township of Langley. Many people live and visit the Township for these amenities. When you promote your personal political agenda by calling these community assets a "grandstand" or "white elephant", you show great contempt and disrespect for the good citizens of this Township. You slap the staff and partners of these venues in the face through your ridicule and mockery. Do you enjoy the Township's parks, trails and rec centres? If so, take our new poll!

Turmoil in the Langley Toy Box

This morning our Editorial Board alerted me to posts on an area political blog that will go unmentioned. The posts and comments from their editor and visitors accuse this blog of being affiliated in some way with a member of Township Council. They also suggest we are posting inappropriate comments and trying to post opinions and promote ourselves on their blog. We can tell you that all of these accusations are FALSE and baseless. We have no interest in this other blog and do not wish to be affiliated with it in any way. We have posted what we feel to be worthy links on our page and it seems that this other blog was left out for obvious reasons, mainly their lack of professionalism. Now they have sour grapes.

The Langley Record is receiving FACTS from various independent sources, and reporting these facts on this blog. Everything is vetted by our Editorial Board and yes, our solicitor. We live in a democracy and we have the right to publish the facts. We can do so even when these facts clash with the spin and slanted opinion of others. We have no interest in personal attacks on mayor and council, but we do plan to keep a running Report Card. We will take to task voting record and any obvious promotion of personal agenda that impact negatively on Township taxpayers. Enough said. Time to focus on the issues.

Council on Fire

Last week Township of Langley Council held a Council Priorities Meeting and reviewed the workings of a Modified Zero-Based Budget and what that might look like. Mayor Green asked all department heads to think outside of the box and present ideas on how their budgets can be cut. Mayor Green had made several public statements that indicate the Township is in a financial crisis and we have to take an ax to everything.

While the world is seeing the impact of a prolonged financial crisis brought about by the US markets, the Township is operating in the black. A scheduled tax increase of 5% was to keep things moving in the right direction. But Green ran on a zero-based budget and no property tax increase platform and now he feels the need to create a crisis to set himself up as the superhero that will bail the Township out. Fire Chief Doug Wade did as instructed and produced a plan to lengthen the full-time fire fighter expansions in Walnut Grove and elsewhere to a 6 year window. Green, Richter and newcomer Bev Dornan bought into it. We will have a new Golden Ears Bridge soon, a new highway there and the potential for greater truck and hazardous materials traffic, not to mention on-call staffing challenges in Fort Langley. We can't afford to fiddle while Rome burns (literally), or wait for someone to get killed out there before we act.

Green also ran on a platform of open and accountable government. Councillor Kim Richter did much the same as she borrowed a few lines of Green during the campaign. But if they really believed in open and accountable government, then why didn't Green and Richter advertise this council priorities meeting and make it public?

Several councillors had wanted this issue in front of the public and on the table. The Langley Record Editor heard several versions of who brought this forward in public, but the last word was that in fact Mayor Green did place it on the revised agenda for last night.

Council chambers filled with firefighters, family members, and fire fighter supporters as the meeting began. Soon after a public hearing on land developments was closed and the regular council agenda began, Councillor Jordan Bateman led the good fight to scrap the new fire study proposal and continue with already-approved plans to staff Walnut Grove as of January 1, 2009. Councillors Fox, Ward, Ferguson and Kositsky all stuck together to make this happen. Green didn't raise his hand, so he silently supported the motion. Councillors Dornan and Long were opposed. I believe that Long's vote was more about studying the chief's ideas more than nixing full time fire fighters. Later Green gave a little song and dance about his support for full time fire. I wish I had my hip boots with me, as the bullshit was piling high as the good mayor spoke.

There is no crisis in the Township. The Township has contractual obligations that they honour pay increases and such. Mayor Green promoted a land trust to solve all our budget challenges. Now he wants to create an atmosphere of crisis to get the heat off him and in effect blame former Mayor Alberts and council for the mess Green created himself.

Last night's fire fight was just the beginning my friends. Mayor Green will be doing much more back-peddling in future meetings for sure. His promises seem to be getting very hollow and the blame game has begun. Don't let Mayor Green off the hook for all the hot air expelled during the campaign.