February 24, 2009 Standing Finance Committee Unmeeting

Guest Editor Commentary

The “Workshop” Fiasco

The latest Finance committee meeting began with an explanation, kindly presented by Mr. Bakken. Regarding the difference between a meeting- to which the public would be granted access to, unless meeting strict rules of exceptions (none of which this finance committee meetings would pertain to) and a “workshop” or “Social Gathering”- to which the Mayor and his committee could decide who was given permission to attend. To be considered a “Workshop” it must meet some criteria, it is informal, with no recommendations made and no decisions made by committee members. After everyone was made clear the differences, Mayor Green gave a recommendation of having a private “workshop” and clarified with Bakken that they could hold this “workshop” and speak informally. Green then explained to the committee that they would have this “workshop” then meet again once more having a formal committee meeting on March 3rd, just prier to (that same day) their recommendations being presented to council. They would then formally vote on their recommendations allowing for the report to be finalized.

Now I am just a Langley Township citizen and have no council experience, but even to me something does not add up. How could the committee have a “workshop” where no recommendations where made and no decisions were made, that allowed the committee to then only require a short meeting to formalize things by a vote? From what I could see they were in need of a lot of recommendations and had a lot of decisions to be made. In fact, Counsellor Richter asked for Mr. Bakken to attend. To assist in all those decisions? maybe make a few recommendations? To which Mr. Bakken responded, he would be “cautious” of that. Adding: “ My fear is if staff is present for a protracted time it may appear we are doing business”

Committee member George Luciani reiterated the need for some help in the matter and in not so many words, added the need for someone who knows what they are doing. How does a committee go from that, to being prepared to submit their recommendations to council? All from a “workshop” where no recommendations were made and no decisions. Seems a little suspicious to me!

I sympathize with the committee, and would certainly not want to be in their shoes. There is no arguing they need a “ roll up your sleeves meeting” but the point is, to gain any head way, it would have to come in the form of a meeting, not a “workshop”. And it is clear the public and media should be allowed to be there to witness it. Why hide behind closed doors? What is the secret?

Read Al Irwin's Account of today's meeting here and last Saturday here.

The Full Statement Delivered Today By Councillor Steve Ferguson Read to the committee before excusing himself from today's unmeeting

Submission to the Mayor's Standing Committee on Finance

Over the last few months and approximate 9 meetings we, the finance committee as a group, have had the opportunity to view the Township of Langley's 2009 budget and beyond. There have been submissions from the staff at the Township of Langley from various departments by means of hard copy (printed materials), overhead/video presentations, and general dialogue.

We have also had one presentation from Mr. Bruce Maitland regarding a Land Trust Fund, and Community Amenities Contributions. Out of that presentation brought many questions about including a Cost of Growth Study, and how a Land Trust (endowment) Fund could be established.

We have followed a structured meeting schedule, minutes were taken, and a time line of logistical next steps for proceeding were followed. We have been told by Council that they wish an initial presentation on the recommendations of the committee at a joint Finance Committee/Council Priorities meeting on Tuesday March 03, 2009.

An array of questions have been asked, and supplemental information has been requested of staff and consequently received at other meetings. Staff have made themselves available either by telephone (which I have taken advantage of) or by email to answer any questions or queries that committee members may have had during our meetings.

Committee members have been asked to provide input/thoughts and or recommendations (as I have done) that can indeed be forwarded to Township Council for review. These suggestions will form part of the general discussions that Township Council can consider when discussing the entire budget for 2009 and beyond.

Members of the community and media have attended our finance committee meetings. Many of them have respectfully, outside of meeting times, asked questions regarding both process and information presented during the meetings.

The public has been made aware of some of the discussion by means of the local media. The minutes and reports presented during the meetings are available upon request from the clerks office.

I am more than prepared to continue meeting with the Mayor's Standing Committee of Finance under the same format that we have used during the last 9 meetings, however, I am NOT prepared to meet behind closed doors where the public is not invited.

The Township of Langley Budget process has always had an OPEN door environment. Those that were interested or were concerned about the way items are budgeted and accounted for in the Township have attended the meetings. The media has always kept the public aware of our findings and for the most part kept up accountable.

I believe in Open and Transparent government. This makes me accountable to the very people that elected me, the Taxpayers of the Township of Langley. I do not support Closed door meetings where the public is kept in the dark as to what is being discussed.

I am more than prepared to meet and discuss recommendations during our regularly scheduled meetings of the Finance committee, however, as stated above, I will not attend any closed door meetings that do not include the public.

Respectfully Submitted,

Steve Ferguson
Councillor - Township of Langley

Note to Township of Langley 3:15pm - The Slate Likes Closed Meetings

At 3:15 PM ToL Administrator Mark Bakken presented the rules for a "workshop". They include "informal discussions with no decisions being made". Listen to the recording from the other day and tell us that in preparing a report for council this committee will not funnel things down and make decisions on what will be sent to ToL Council? The committee gets 9 weeks to chew on the budget and what can be done and ToL Council only get 3 weeks and they are the only ones that can make final budget decisions? What's wroing with that picture?

The great thing is, the entire Township of Langley now knows that Councillor Kim Richter and her slate sidekick Mayor Green totally favours closed-door meetings. It was fully evident in her motion today to take the Standing Finance Committee meeting into a closed meeting and a vote that included support from Mayor Green, with ONLY Councillor Ferguson opposed to a closed door meeting.

Our Guest Editor is preparing an article on this meeting and we are going to wait and let the other blog spew their spin first. I can assure you that our guest is far more articulate and bright than the wannabe editor of that other blog ever will be.

Langley Advance Editor Offers Strong Rebuke to Mayor Green

In today's Opinion column entitled QUIT SQUABBLING, Langley Advance Editor Bob Groeneveld put's the blame for Saturday's Finance Committee fiasco "squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Rick Green".

"While the two councillors involved in this latest bout of bickering need to stand in the corner and think about how they might have handled the situation differently, the chief responsibility for this one falls squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Rick Green.

The newbie mayor has had three months to start to get his act together. He should be trying to find ways to work with all his councillors, to make his council work. That's his prime job as mayor - not to drive wedges. He gets no extra points for his citizens' finance think tank, if all it does is stir the council pot further.

He did unseat the previous mayor, but seven of his eight councillors were re-elected last fall, most of them on campaigns that did not include rhetoric locking them into 0-0-0 tax increases at any cost. And he, himself, did not campaign on promises of secretive meetings - quite the contrary."

As was predicted, with the slate reeling from their latest big blunder, they mobilized a couple of slate recruits that included Sonya Paterson, to write some letters. You will recall that Paterson ran unsuccessfully for council in the last election, and lost to incumbent Councillor Grant Ward. She was also endored by the Green-Richter Slate blog, so the response is predictable. It is amazing that these people who were not present for the meeting appear to know it all. A couple of writters clearly got their instructions from the slate, as both focused on Ferguson's Blackberry. What these uniformed pawns do not comprehend is that the Township has an official message alert system that advises mayor and councillor on their Blackberry devices of ANY changes to meetings and locations. Ferguson was making reference to this message system and protocol in the audio below. 

As the Advance Editor points out, now is not the time for the mayor to drive wedges between his slate and council members. The economy is in the toilet and this man ran on a plateform of ZERO tax increases over the next 3 years. Time to get over his ego

The Scoop on Municipal Meetings

The Editorial Board of the Langley Record has now called and visited with a large core group of mayors, former mayors and some municipal lawyers to get the scoop for you on meetings. This was sparked by the Green & Richter slate's attempt to shut the public and two councillors out of a meeting that was originally schedule to be at the mayor's private residence and was switched to the Township Facility after an e-mail error.

The core group of elected officials, former elected officials and lawyers with much experience say that although "workshops" are rare for a committee, most municipalities allow for public observers. The normally vote in open meetings to go into a closed meeting ONLY when legal/litigation, land or labour issues are involved and they admit they never discuss such sensitive issues with non-sworn members of the public for obvious reasons. Most of the core group listened to the recording presented here on Saturday and all commented that the mayor switched from "private committee meeting", to "workshop of the committee", and back to meeting when Green adjourned "the meeting".

The core group all said without exception or coaching that rookie Mayor Rick Green does not understand process and was not very politically wise. A few admit that early on in their terms they mistakenly called some closed meetings. One former mayor admitted that a particular councillor had leaked in camera information to the media about a meeting with staff in one instance. The reaction? That mayor simply called for that meeting to move to a larger room and declared an open meeting with an appology. There was no intent to shut the public out this mayor admits.

This brings us to the two keys that caused a major failure this past Saturday. The first failure was caused by the intent of the slate to hold a closed meeting. Had an email not mistakenly been copied to Councillor Steve Ferguson, the slate would have been successful with a closed meeting on the mayor's private property. That was the original intent and the slate can deny all they wish,and threaten all they want on their blog. It is all but a smokescreen. They have been caught red-handed, plain and simple and they had better hope that Councillor Ferguson doesn't go public with the shameful documents that clearly prove the intent. No notice to the clerk two weeks prior, no notes on the mayor's calendar, no vote in public to bring the meeting in camera and no public notice of specifics why the meeting needed to be closed. All required by Bylaws or the Community Charter.

The second failure was a total lack of political wisdom. Mayor Green should have fessed up to the fiasco and called for the meeting to move over to the presentation theater with the public and the press present. All of the well-qualified people we spoke with said this was very poor political wisdom on the part of Mayor Green, and all agreed they would not have handled this meeting in that manner.

What is so secret that the Green-Richter slate must keep so hush, hush? An overwhelming consensus of the politically-savvy we spoke with all agree that Mayor Green will have to raise property taxes or plunder Township reserves. He will do so under the guise of a downturn in the economy. If this is attempted by the Green-Richter slate, the public better really research the facts, because this is FAR from the truth. The Township operated in a lean manner, there was no fraud or waste and there were more than adequate reserves left for this mayor and his slate. The slate had access to all kinds of information prior to and during the campaign, yet they hyped a zero-based budget to win the election.

We hear that the slate will take the previously schedule Tuesday public meeting of the Finance Committee for February 24th and bring this meeting in camera. Again, what is being discussed that is so secret?

If you have trouble with this meeting situation and agree that meetings should not be held in secret, then call Councillor Richter and Mayor Green and let them know that you don't appreciate secret meetings in OUR Township.

You can also e-mail them manually at: mayorandcouncil@tol.bc.ca
Sorry, but sometimes Blogger does not do what you want it to, like open e-mail links!

Address Mayor Green and Councillor Richter in your opening. But using this address will also allow the other councillors to see you message to these two slate members. Don't take excuses from them and don't allow them to intimidate you. After The Langley Advance photo was taken Mayor Green moved even closer to Councillor Ferguson in a typical Green attempt to intimidate the councillor. Don't let him bully you!

Sunday Update on Green-Richter Slate Secret Meeting

Make certain you hear the shameful audio of the mayor below as he tries to run damage control after the slate got their hands caught in the cookie jar!

More disturbing details have emerged regarding this secret meeting that should cause the public GREAT concern...

Informed sources have confirmed with the editors of the Langley Record that yesterday's Standing Finance Committee secret meeting had first been intended to be held at the home of Mayor Rick Green, and without the notification or knowledge of Councillor Steve Ferguson. Obviously meetings at the mayor's home would also preclude public and media involvement. 

The slate's secret plot fell apart, when during an e-mail exchange between the slate and the committee, a member of the slate inadvertently copied Councillor Ferguson on an e-mail. The slate then scrambled to run damage control, quickly changing the venue to a Township Civic Facility meeting room. A very poor attempt to legitimize the meeting and cover their tracks. It all makes sense now, as one will hear Councillor Steve Ferguson in the audio recording tell Mayor Green that he has e-mails and such that prove the Green - Richter slate tried to keep Ferguson out of this meeting. They did everything they could to keep him away.  

It is very shameful and disturbing that Mayor Green and his slate publically appear to enspouse openess and transparency, while behind closed doors they plot secret meetings and exclude the public. On Saturday, February 21, 2009, twenty-six members of the public and the press were denied access to a meeting and information that we as taxpayers have paid for. All because this mayor believes he rules the Township with an iron fist and his fellow slate members back him up, instead of objecting on behalf of the public. The "transparency" is 100% optics and is nothing but a sham. 

MEETING NOTES *** UPDATE ***  

• No council meetings this week
• Tuesday, February 24, 2009 - Finance Committee Meeting - 3:15pm - 5:15pm Salmon River Committee Meeting Room Although this meeting does not appearing on the ToL online calendar. Is this meeting at Rick's home or Kim's place?
• No other details on any other secret meetings of slate insiders.

Public Shut Out of Meeting - Mayor Declares Meeting Adjourned

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

*** Update II *** Langley Advance article and picture here.

*** Update III *** Hear the action - Audio File

24 Members of the Township public and two members of the press were denied access to the Finance Committee meeting by Mayor Green. A meeting that should have been an advertised public meeting from the start.

Mayor Rick Green declared a meeting of his Standing Finance Committee today to be adjourned after Councillor Ferguson and Ward presented evidence that the meeting violated Township Bylaw, Community Charter and the Terms of Reference for this committee. The mayor had words with the two councillors before storming out of the meeting.

Twenty Township Fire Fighters, three civilians, a Langley Advance reported, a photographer and Councillor Ward had hoped to find an open meeting, despite the various Bylaws and procedures being ignored when the Green Richter slate established this meeting. While Councillor Richter was not present and had advised members she would be late to this meeting, informed sources report that Richter was instrumental in the establishment of this meeting and its agenda.

At NO time were civilian members of the Standing Finance Committee attacked or spoken to during this attempt at open meeting access that is reflective in a transparent government. The electorate will recall that Green's slate ran on an openess, accountability and transparency platform and accused former mayor Kurt Alberts of running the Township with a "top down management style". Who is the real top down manager?

*** Update IV ***

Councillor Grant Ward was in the committee room today and files this report...

Guest Column By Councillor Grant Ward

Further to Matthew Claxton's Langley Advance article, I have the following comments

Today Mayor Rick Green attempted to hold a secret and a closed Standing Committee of Finance meeting, contrary to the Rules of Procedures Bylaw 3694, the Terms of Reference (TOR) of the General Council Standing Committees Policy (that mayor and council endorsed a month ago, and the Community Charter Section 90 to 92.

The Terms of Reference allows for the public and council members (TOR para. 2.2) the ability to attend all such meetings as observers only and 'the committee must conduct their business in accordance with the authority approved to them and the terms therein.

'Under TOR 13.3, ' All changes to meeting dates, times, location must be reported to the Township Clerk a minimum of two weeks prior to the effective date so the necessarey notifications can be issued.'

The TOR 14.1 states "All meetings are open to the public, unless excluded in accordance with Section 90 of the Community Charter" (basically items of Land, Labour or Litigation). If these items were to be discussed, would the entire meeting be required to be in camera? Also, The Community Charter requires in camera meetings to be approved by resolution by council in a public meeting, just as we do with our weekly special closed meetings of council.

There is no reference to any so-called legal 'closed workshop' styled meetings. This meeting, although stated to be a 'workshop meeting', is nontheless 'a meeting' that the public is entitled to attend, especially any elected official. Further, the two civilian members of this committee are not sworn public officials and therefore would have no cause to discuss privileged information (land, labour or litigation) with Mayor Green, as they should not be privy to such things. This meeting being called on short notice (this week) and was likely designed to leave the rest of council without any 'preemptive assessment' of what was to be forthcoming from this committee, for whatever reason deemed by the mayor.

Mayor Green's statement about today's occurrence, 'that it's about Rick Green. It'ss about fighting the last election', is purely a red herring. He erred with this hasty call to meeting and he knows it was a mistake. Conversely, he could have stood his ground (based on his statements) and carried on with his meeting, had he been on solid legal ground in his mind. In summary, this is all about doing the right thing within bounds of accepted protocols, principles and policy. The mayor is not above the rules, policies or Bylaws. That is NOT open and transparent. The public has the right to attend municipal meetings, and most especially when our decisions impact their daily lives in any significant way such as taxation.

Vancouver Wises Up - Langley Township Gets Dumb?

In the City of Vancouver, councillors are wising up to the fact that it may not be good for the city to be in the real estate business. Fortress Investments is not going to restructure the loan on the Olympic Village and the city will now assume the full burden of that loan, in the hope that these condominiums will product a healthy profit after the Olympics. It has also been reported that what was to be one of Vancouver's largest social housing program will be cut, as the City of Vancouver does not have the funds available to finance all that.

Frances Bula reports on a council discussion with staff here. 

"But as you can read in the last line of Rod’s story, the city’s manager of business planning, Ken Bayne, made the fatal error of saying the following about the city’s use of $400 million of its current working capital reserves as a loan for the Fortress project:

“In fact, it may actually benefit our operating budget, because of a higher return than we normally get on our investment projects.”

Councillor Kerry Jang rose to reprimand him. “That’s a pretty dangerous point,” he said. “We have to make sure we are not into real-estate speculation. I don’t think we as a city are into real-estate speculation.”

Ken then had to apologize, I’m sorry if I appeared to be making light of the situation blah blah blah. Very squirm inducing."

Our very own Township of Langley real estate consultant Mr. Bruce Maitland is also mentioned on this Frances Bula blog:

"As former real-estate division head Bruce Maitland (now retired) told me recently, that was the policy the division pursued as a way of continuing to grow the city’s assets. The city didn’t want to get into development itself. But by acquiring strategic pieces of land and then doing the preparatory rezoning work itself, it got to capture some of the profits as the land gained in value. Now other cities are seeking his advice on setting up property endowment funds so they can do the same thing."

As you may know, Bruce Maitland just delivered a presentation on a Vancouver-style Property Endowment Fund (PEF) to a joint meeting of Township Council of Priorities and Standing Finance Committee meeting just last week. After this same meeting, Councillor Kim Richter was overheard saying to Standing Finance Committee member Ken Baker, "Do you see the mentality of this council?" This after several council members asked Maitland some very direct questions pertaining to the operation of such a PEF in the ToL in a market such as the one we find ourselves in. Council members also expressed concerns that upzoning might work in Vancouver, but would be certain to outrage Township residents.

"Do you see the mentality of this council?"

-- Councillor Kim Richter

We see other municipalities taking a very cautious approach to creative funding like PEF's, and the City of Vancouver having to eat a major loan with $319.5M in City of Vancouver money now going into this project.  One has to wonder why the Green-Richter slate is ramming this PEF down the throats of Township taxpayers and council. Maybe its because there was no signs of fraud or waste discovered by the Standing Finance Committee? Maybe its because the Standing Finance Committee has discovered that in order to have a zero-based budget for 2009 they will have to steal from reserves and cut services in a municipality that already has one of the lowest tax rates and service levels that are adequate, but not over the top? Maybe its because maintaining the status quo (keep things as they are), they will have a shortfall of $1,675,745 in 2009 that will balloon to an $8,681,599 shortfall in 2011 that will then require a 15% increase in ToL Property Taxes to resolve, unless major cuts are made now. Bruce Maitland said that in order for the PEF to work, the municipality must take on risks and invest in servicing lands to be sold to developers. How will we have a zero-based budget, adequate services, and take on risks to make money on lands in a time of serious economic decline? Do you see the mentality of this slate?

Another Shameful Slate Sideshow

************ UPDATED FEB 17, 2009 *************

Tonight's meeting televised to the masses on cable TV was a shameful display of disdain and hatred that the Green/Richter slate have for this current council. Councillor Charlie Fox had received a huge pile (24"/2 feet high - see below) of budget and related materials that the Mayor's Standing Finance Committee had either received or requested from staff as research. With this huge pile of materials and no idea where the committee is going with conclusions and recommendations, Coun. Fox put forth a Motion to get the committee to issue an interium report.

Councillor Richter was the first to take exception to the Fox motion as she accused the councillor of discrediting the three civilian volunteers on this Mayor's Standing Finance Committee. Councillor Fox NEVER attacked any volunteers in his motion or discussions about it. Next, Councillor Steve Ferguson made it clear to mayor and council that this committee had private meetings in the mayor's office (after the official meeting) and never invited him. Mayor Green said he took exception to that comment and suggested that Coun. Ferguson was always invited to every meeting. Ferguson disagreed with the mayor on that point.

Mayor Green also went into a big defence regarding his finance committee and their credentials. Again, there were unsolicited comments because no one attacked the committee's credentials. The Editorial Board was speaking with a well-seasoned investigator who opined that generally guilty people end up defending things that have never been questioned in the first instance. It is a basic rule of structured interview/ interrogation and investigation. Looks like The Slate has been caught red-handed. Secret meetings and a grossly unqualified committee.

It is interesting to note that standard committee volunteers in the Township have always submitted full resumes and have the been interviewed by mayor and council. Members of this Standing Finance Committee are insiders and campaign supporters - individuals hand-picked by Mayor Green himself. No extensive resumes, no interviews, nothing. Our Editorial Board has been doing some research and we have serious questions about the credentials of the majority of Finance Committee members.

To add insult to injury, Mayor Green said for the second time that perhaps the people on this committee have more budget experience than some members of council. What a slap in the face to his fellow council members! How arrogant! The man does not understand that he must work WITH council and not just with his slate. What Once again he was seen huffing and puffing each and every time a council member disagreed with his viewpoint. The body language is very clear with this mayor - he and his insiders know everything and this council is just plain stupid.

The Editorial Board took a telephone poll of a large cross-section of people we know who had been watching the meeting on TV. Our council monitors were also present for the meeting. All agree that the bully was back in the playground and the slate are clearly running damage control BEFORE anyone has struck out against their committee (with questionable qualifications). But it will soon be time to Roll Up The Rim and then we will see how the slate tries to turn this committee's findings into ammunition against the remainder of council. But tonight was nothing short of a slate Gong Show for sure. Meeting process has now been thrown out the window and the sideshow is in full swing. Stay tuned and watch the moves of this slate!

*** FOX MOTION & NOTICE OF MOTION***

Motion #1

Whereas the Mayor’s Standing Finance Committee has now been meeting one day short of 7 weeks, and there 13 weeks left prior to final date for approving this years budget, and for 3 of those weeks Council does not meet, and

Whereas to date Council has received only Notes, Minutes and comments made in the local press without a report or recommendations from the Committee, and

Whereas most, of not all, neighbouring communities have gone to third reading on their budget and in some cases completed the public consultation which we in the Township have yet to formally begin,

Be it resolved that a preliminary report from the finance committee be presented to Council in the afternoon meeting on Monday, March 2nd, and this outline the progress made to date and updates on any recommendations forthcoming to Council for consideration.

Final approval by amendment– Tuesday, March 3rd


Notice of Motion

Whereas Mr. Maitland made a presentation to the joint Finance and Council Priorities Committee meeting on the background and basic tenants of the Property Endowment Fund as it works in the City of Vancouver which is governed by the Vancouver Charter,

Be it resolved that Mr. Maitland be contracted to review the Township Land inventory of non ‘DCC’ lands and prepare a report to Council recommending which lands would be available for re-sale purposes, and

Be it resolved that Mr. Maitland review the Township policies and processes as to land holdings and disposition and recommend amendments to the Township's current bylaws, policies and procedures to make the necessary recommendations to transform the Township's Land Reserve fund to a Township Property Endowment Fund,

And Further, that once the regulatory framework is known, that Staff and Council schedule a workshop to review the recommendations and the Possible Surplus Properties that could be developed in accordance with such a Fund.

THE TOWNSHIP POOP PILE

Councillor Richter used to proport to be the finance & budget watchdog on council. Now it appears that watchdogism has been abandoned with the new Green/Richter Slate and left to The Langley Record.

HOW MUCH STAFF OVERTIME DID ALL THIS WORK COST THE TOL TAXPAYER?

A big thanks to Councillor Charlie Fox for exposing this waste, and providing a photo of the pile of poop to all of the media.

Upcoming Monday ToL Council Meeting

The following meeting Agendas and Reports are provided for reader information and participation at the February 16, 2009 Township of Langley Council Meetings.

Special Meeting - 3:00pm

Agenda

Previous Minutes

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Doc 2

Doc 3

Doc 4

Doc 5

Doc 6

Doc 7

Doc 8

Doc 9

Doc 10

Regular Council Meeting - 7:00pm 

Agenda

Previous Minutes

Previous Minutes - Public Hearing

Previous Minutes - Public Input - Mufford/64th Ave Overpass

Doc 1

Doc 2

Doc 3

Doc 4

Doc 5

Doc 6

Doc 7

You Be The Judge

From: Kenneth Baker
To: Rick Green; Jordan Bateman; Bev Dornan; Steve Ferguson; Charlie Fox; Mel Kositsky ; Bob Long; Kim Richter;
Grant Ward (Councillor)
Sent: Wed Feb 11 22:35:47 2009
Subject: Mufford Diversion

Dear Mayor Green and Members of Council:

We do not in disagree that an overpass could be used to bridge the ever growing train traffic through Langley. We are, however, absolutely against the current proposal to have the traffic wind around to a termination point at the intersection of 216 and 64th. We see no sense in this design and fail to find any redeeming qualities, other than it offers a grade separation to the train traffic. It is our view that the traffic problems created by dumping this increased traffic volume onto a rural road will do nothing but move the restriction point. Further, it will create dangerous traffic conditions for the local residents and farmers.

At present one can drive on a four lane road from Delta to Costco in Langley. This plan simply moves that termination point to 216th and 64th. Who cares where they are stuck in traffic? Does it matter whether you are stuck behind a train or in an bottle neck created by too much traffic being funneled onto deficient roads. How long will it be before 216th street, 64th avenue and 232nd street are widened to four lanes? There is no way that they are currently capable of handling the increased traffic volume caused by the proposed overpass. The only plan that makes any sense is to take traffic over the tracks and route it onto an expanded (4 lane) Glover Road. With the proposed plan that is where it is ultimately going to end up via 216th street and 232nd street anyway. This highway (Glover Road) presently exists so why would it not be used?

To date, we have not received one answer from staff that would lead us to believe that this is not the best option. The current proposal has not been well thought out. It is a knee jerk reaction to an existing problem and does nothing to address the long term traffic flow problem. In addition it destroys some of the best farm land in the Fraser Valley ( the old Hudson Bay farm). Good farm land is a dwindling resource which should be preserved for future generations.

We understand that our Provincial Minister of Transportation has threatened to withdraw funding for this project if it does not go ahead as planned. We say let him go ahead and pull the funding. A bad plan is a bad plan no matter who is paying for it. Would council support a nuclear power plant in the township if it was being partially funded by the provincial government? We think not. The design of this project has been done as quietly as possible, so as to not attract the attention of the public. As evidenced by the turnouts and opinions expressed at both the open houses and public hearing there is overwhelming opposition to the current proposal. Council should listen to what is being said and go back to the drawing board and develop an alternative plan that will better serve the interests of the citizens of both the city and the township. We would go so far as to suggest that council address the real issue and the root of the problem and that is eliminating heavy rail traffic through Langley.

With the expansion of Roberts Bank the problem is only going to get worse and there are other options to route the heavy rail traffic to Roberts Bank without having trains travel through Langley The current proposed overpass is the first in a series of overpasses that will have to be constructed to keep vehicular traffic flowing. What will the total cost be considering that the budget for this one exceeds $50M? We would like to see a study done on the economics of rerouting heavy rail out of Langley as opposed to constructing multiple overpasses. We are also concerned that the environmental issues have not been properly considered and would like that matter revisited.

In short, we believe the current overpass plan is not in the best interests of the citizens of the Langleys and should be rejected. We believe that the whole issue of having heavy rail traffic routed through Langley should be reconsidered with a few to finding an alternative route. We will be watching with great interest to see how council lines up on this issue and you can be assured that those councilors who support the current proposal will not be receiving our support in the next election.

Yours truly,

Ken & (***edited spouse name***) Baker

LR EDITORIAL BOARD COMMENTS:

We have published this communique that is public and was transmitted over a public network for three primary reasons:

To present the other side of this overpass issue.

1. To provide insight into one of the three civilian members of the mayor's new Finance Committee, who is now a public official
2. For you to see first-hand the threats that council members must deal with from the mayor's insiders and supporters.

While it is perfectly acceptable for residents of the Township to voice their opinions on various issues and discussions in the Township, the province, and the nation, public officials should not make threats to other public officials.

BC Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon issued a letter to the ToL regarding the Mufford/64th Avenue Overpass Project and frankly stated the facts. The facts included a statement that should the Township not proceed with this overpass, the province will earmark those funds to other priorities. This was simply a fact and not a threat. However, the overpass opponents and the mayor have decided that this is a threat and accuse Falcon of being a bully. How is that?

Opinion

Our Editorial Board was very disappointed to see Mr. Baker's letter. Out of the three civilian members of the Finance Committee, we viewed Mr. Baker as the most qualified (despite having little to no municipal accounting expertise) to sit on this committee and had looked forward to his budget recommendations. Now we question whether Mr. Baker has the capacity to make non-partisan commentary and recommendations on the single most important issue in our Township. That paramount issue is today is the Township's budget for 2009-2011.

It appears to us that there are a core group (150 people??) of Green & Richter slate supporters that all have their own private back yard issues and special agendas. These special interests (back yard issues) appear to take precedents over OUR Township and the greater good of a community of 105,000 people. Again, it is OK to respectfully debate and disagree on the issues in our community. BUT, is it OK to ignore the higher good of our greater community, or hijack the whole progressive agenda of our Township?

Here are some other views of the project to balance things off HERE - HERE - HERE and HERE

So readers of the Langley Record, you be the judge. We have presented both sides of this issue, and now give you Mr. Baker's letter to mayor and council. What do you think?

Outrage! News Circulates in Langley Township

********** HOT Newswire **********

The Editorial Board of the Langley Record received numerous phone calls and information last night from very outraged Township of Langley residents. Apparently some VERY disturbing communication was distributed by a member of our community. This communique was very unexpected, as this person had been enjoying increased credibility.

The LR Board is still gathering details and specifics and will have a complete report to you by the end of this weekend. Stay tuned.

Scoop on the Poop - PAC Attendee and Eyewitness

******** BREAKING NEWS [Imagine That] **************

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT FROM SOMEONE PRESENT AT THE ALDERGROVE PAC MEETING LAST NIGHT -

From Guest Editorial Board Monitor

Strange sighting indeed, at about 7:10 pm last night my wife witnessed [Blog Name Censored] "Editor", Bob Richter strutting across the ACSS parking lot with video camera and tripod in hand. His facial expression one of disgust and the look in his eyes one of a defeated man. I was inside and saw the saga unfold.

Earlier The Follower had entered the 'Town Hall' meeting hosted by the four PAC's of the local Aldergrove schools. It was clear that the event organizers had made a decision prior to the meeting that the press were welcome to take still photos and notes as they saw fit but the PAC EXECUTIVES had mandated there would be no video or audio recordings of the meeting. Speakers were encouraged by moderator, Howie Vickberg, (who did a fine job as expected) to leave a copy of their speeches for the record with the time keepers.

It was observed by two local school officials that this gentleman was setting up his video camera. They went over to him and respectfully requested he cease setting up as the decision had been made by the organizers that video taping was not allowed. Explaining he was with 'the press' as "editor" of [Blog Name Censored], the two individuals were no more impressed and suggested he could stay and take notes or leave.

A brief verbal exchange occurred which, my humble opinion,was very disrespectful to the organizers and their earlier decision as communicated by the two interventionists.

Yes, there were other press there, in fact several, but they respected the request of the organizers and stayed for the whole meeting to hear the presentations. The [Blog Name Censored] videographer, did not have the decency or respect for the Aldergrove community to stay and at least listen to the many varied and well presented speeches. I guess without his trustee (no pun intended) video camera he can't really be much of a 'press' member.

The speeches, and there were some 27 of them were excellent. Parents, PAC members, community members, students all spoke in a very respectful manner.. They were passionate about the previous decision and unanimous in their support of Betty Gilbert transitioning to a middle school in September 2009. Many spoke directly to Trustee Bech and Cody and clearly indicated their distrust with the decision reversal and their lack of credibility with the Aldergrove Community.

Several spoke to the motion put forth by the absent trustee Johnson and the fact that most of the points in her motion had to so with residual issues form the HD Stafford decision and had NOTHING TO DO WITH THE ALDERGROVE COMMUNITY'S support and desire to move in to a middle school model. Families have moved houses, moved schools, changed jobs, daycares have moved, this has been a full two year consultative process which Aldergrove has bought in to BY THEIR OWN CHOICE! Why then do they get dragged in to the Stafford mess and be reluctant (in fact frustrated) recipients of a decision made in a completely different part of the District. "We are unique", "We are a different community than the Stafford community" rang through many of the speeches.

The Follower was not there to report but in fact the level of decorum, respect and sensitivity was unbelievable and certainly shone well above the decorum of many if not all the meetings held by the HD Stafford parents/community.

Kudos to the Aldergrove Community and a message to the new Mayor and others, the over 200 Aldergrove folks can work as a team and be passionate, just give them an issue. Hopefully the message got through and the two flip/flop trustees, (Cody and Bech), who have alot to be accountable for, and new Trustee McFarlane, who has no idea of the culture and ethos of the Aldergrove Community, will do what's best for Aldergrove, be open and transperant, have listened to the community as they promised to do and reverse the parts of this motion that clearly or not well founded and holding a community and over 2,100 students in a lurch.
Lastly, maybe the [Blog Name Censored] will get a well-credentialed reporter and not rely on the man with the video camera and nothing else in his tool kit. At least he could have stayed long enough to be able to report accurately on the meeting and it's content and reported such on his ill-informed blog! Substance is a BIG part of journalism.

PS - apparently Trustee Cody was absolutely furious after the meeting at being singled out by the speakers - what does she expect! -Bob this was NOT YOUR MEETING! It's not about YOU.

Aldergrove PAC Sends Wannabe Packing

The newswire is buzzing with activity this morning as The Follower or "editor" of another blog was asked to shut off his camera in a meeting last night held under private rules determined by the group. One account is provided on that blog, but the Langley Record has the inside scoop that paints a very different picture of this scene. 

A respected member of the Langley Record Editorial Board was present for the fiasco and will provide a written report later today. It's amazing that this wannabe editor really thinks he is actually an official member of the press! Sorry, but wannabe editors just don't count, and now you know. 

The rumour mill is buzzing with word that this incident has seriously impacted the credibility of a certain politician and her significant other in a tremendous way. Stay tuned for a breaking update.

Lynn Whitehouse & Langley Chamber - Heros in Our Community

With a room full of Rick Green insiders who took over town hall last night, Lynn Whitehouse and several brave giants in our community dared to speak out in favour of the Preliminary Design for the Mufford/64 Ave Overpass. Lynn is the executive director of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce and a long-time Township of Langley resident. Lynn Whitehouse has served as a leader in our comunity - a giant - in the Langleys.

We are very thankful and appareciate of Lynn Whitehouse and our Chamber of Commerce for making the case for an east-west connection here in Langley. Our community is a better place because of quality folks such as this.

While many other speakers resorted to name-calling and threatening of public officials, Lynn Whitehouse showed the class and respectfulness of a true leader as she took the floor and elequently stated her case and that of the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce. At the point before Lynn spoke, several of us Langley Record board members had lost all hope that this public meeting would be respectful and be a quality representation befitting of Langley Township. Hope was restored thanks to Lynn, our Chamber, and the few others with the courage to speak up.

There were 160 people present out of a Township population of about 105,000 people. A very SMALL fraction of our community and for the most part, a poor representation of a decent and respectful Langley. While its fine to debate and disagree, one can do so with respect and decency. There wasn't a whole lot of that last night unfortunately.

Let's hope the poll of the broader community provides rays of hope to us all who desire an east-west connection and options. Thank you Lynn Whitehouse and the Chamber of Commerce!

Monday ToL Council For February 9, 2009

On Monday, February 9, 2009 the Township Council will have a somewhat unusual meeting schedule as follows:

Special Meeting - 3:00pm
Agenda here
Last Minutes here
Doc 1
Doc 2
Doc 3
Doc 4
Doc 5
Doc 6
Doc 7
Doc 8
Doc 9
Doc 10

TERMINATE

Special Meeting - Public Hearing and Bylaws - 7:00pm
Agenda here
Doc 1

TERMINATE

Special Meeting for Public Input on Mufford Crescent/64th Ave Overpass - 7:00pm (following Public Hearing above)

Agenda here

TERMINATE

Reliable Rumour

************ UPDATE February 9, 2009 ***************

The community volunteers report that over the weekend a couple of them received emails from a certain councillor stating that the comments were from a reader (doubtful) and that they were "fair" comments. Not sure what is so "fair" about slandering a large group of people because you have an ax to grind against an individual that happens to be a member of that group, but was clearly not acting in that capacity when he is out and about. The "editor" there did remove the offending comment.

One thing is certain and that is that several board members and people that did not write in are influential people in our community and have good memory skills. It goes far beyond any individual when you are a public official and you allow your propaganda site to rub dirt in the faces of Langley's volunteers.

Falcon Tells Township to Consider Mufford Overpass or Lose Funding

The "other" blog editor will be sleeping on the couch tonight perhas because he disagrees with his Councillor wife. Or will Councillor Kim Richter do a Green flip-flop act and change her mind when the love fest crowd fills a couple hundred seats next Monday evening at her proposed public meeting.

You will recall during the civic debate that Coun. Richter said that we should not turn the money down for the overpass and we must be very careful. The slate's vocal Milner resident supporters (instigated by Valtac) put the squeeze on Mayor Green to force the ToL staff to place their "J" design up on billboards and hijacked the two public information sessions. Mayor Green would like nothing better than to have the issue go away by partners scrapping a project they have been working on since 2004, with everyone just accepting the "J". This "J" will be three times the length of the preliminary design (read 3x the cost to taxpayers), cross 3 red streams (read 3 salmon streams), and is not supported by the City of Langley, where most of it will be, nor any other partners to support it.

So, we see that Councillor Richter's blog supports the very possible contamination of salmon-bearing waterways and higher taxpayer expenses (perhaps 6 times with re-design costs) for the sake of a special interest group that is really preserving their financial future. Of course that blog also accuses Councillor Jordan Bateman of working with the BC Liberlas on this, even though Coun. Bateman has little regular contact with Minister Falcon. Of course it is yet another attempt by desperate people to try and discredit the man that garnered more votes than all those guys. Smokescreen for their pathetic desperation folks. If anyone has a "conflict of interest" it should be the Green slate. According to the Oath of Office we heard, at least Mayor Green (if not Green and Richter) should have excused themselves from all these overpass discussions. Again, the news you will not read on the "other" blog.

Bullies In Blog Land

The "other blog" representing the slate is apparently angry again because we present the other side of the story and infuriate them. Their slate cohorts post comments that back them up, pat their backs and egos. They continue to do their best to put The Langley Record in the same bucket as the "4th blog" that is posting outright libel and prophanity. Obviously we are not in that ballgame and have simply present the facts, based on our people being physically present at these various meetings.

It is doubtful that even a fraction of the commentors to that other blog even attend the public meetings, yet they are able to read a particular Langley newspaper (who's editor supported the Green slate) and tell us that we are wrong in our reporting.

The mayor's support for the Valtac group is very clear. He insisted that Valtac's "J" alignment (that benefits insiders) be posted at the ToL funded (read taxpayer-funded) open house. If we are wrong about the Valtac group shamelessly hijacking the taxpayer's public open house for their personal evangelism campaign, then why does this picture appear in the Langley Advance? The slate is trying very hard to shape public opinion about this blog, who is behind it, and the facts that we present.  Their efforts are futile, as only an idiot will not look at the other half of the story when both are being  presented to them. Connecting this blog to those they hate only satisfies their desire to discredit and mask the facts that we report to you. This smear attampt all flows from a single individual that believes he is a "political strategist". Howver, over the years he has failed miserably to deliver any political prize, other than a council seat. 

You know you have struck a nerve with the slate when they try to discredit you, call you names that are unfounded. One can see from the picture above, this unfounded name-calling just goes hand-in-hand with bullying. You will also note that Horny Toad, et al don't post here anymore, or at least don't put their names to the posts. Apparently the slate was threatened by the arguements (based on fact) and snuffed out free speech by telling these supports know they shouldn't post here. That;'s fine with us as we have better things to do with our time than to keep responding to requests for more information or details that they don't listen to anyway!

Regardless of who does or does not post comments here, The Langley Record will continue to have monitors at various public meetings and we will continue to post the facts. If you want one sided news, then feel free to read and post your comments to the single other blog that is 100% supporting a candidate and who hides the real editor's name so they can post things they accuse others of. Whether or not you post here, we will continue to publish the facts. We see from the third-party blog stats that we are being read daily by a significant number of people that spend more than 4 minutes on this blog, which indicates that people are coming here and actually reading things.  

Again, if we are being libelous, then there people should either file for litigation now or just keep quiet. Huffing and puffing with threats does not make this Editorial Board shake and quiver in the least. The sheer fact that they flap the jaw on threats of legal action only solidifies the fact that they have no real professional legal advice behind their blog. Lawyers write a letter and commence action. It's all a house of cards on their part and another ploy of the "master mind that wasn't". The slate has been exposed and they are very angry. But they are angry folks to begin with. The slate boat will rip apart when the honeymoon ends and one will throw the other under the bus before long. Keep watching and remember that freedom of speech is a basic human right and you shouldn't allow bullies to rule your life.

ToL Council Votes Not to Meddle with RCMP

Opinion
On Monday evening Coun. Kim Richter's motion to ask the RCMP to look at a matter brought forth by a citizen that had property seized was voted up. It was defeated with only Coun. Richter and Kositsky in favour. The other blog had made a big deal out of this and again paints Richter as the Don Quixote of Langley.

In hearing the presentation and speaking with council members it is clear that this issue is very civil in nature. The RCMP have absolutely NO jurisdiction in civil matters. This citizen met with Superintendent Janice Armstrong of the Langley RCMP the day of his ToL council delegation. While she agreed to be present in council chambers when the citizen made his delegation, it's not like the RCMP has to wait for a motion of council to do their job. They have reviewed the file and obviously decided they had no powers or rights to act on this matter.

Again, for council to meddle in police affairs just opens one big can of stinking worms. As Councillor Ferguson pionted out, people sometimes get tickets from the police for various driving infractions and would council now be asking the RCMP to re-evaluate them? Coun. Bob Long also made intelligent statements about not messing in RCMP business. What the other blog conveniently failed to mention is that apparently Mayor Green had his reservations with regards to meddling with the RCMP and did not support this Richter motion.

The other blog paints this story as the whole world falling down on this long-time resident of the Township and council standing by to watch. While this man may or may not have good reason to plead with council for help and may have legitimate concerns, the case was adjudicated by a court or a bailiff acted upon a contract, as is obvious from his delegation and what was discussed. We did not try to request access to the documents presented, but decisions to cease property don't just happen and the RCMP heard the delegation and still did nothing more with this matter. Council is wise to let the police be the police and for council to be council.

Green Friends, Supporters and Insiders Hijack ToL

If you didn't attend the Township of Langley's two Public Open House sessions regarding the Mufford Cresent/64th Avenue overpass, consider yourself to be very fortunate. The first session took place on Saturday, January 31st at the Milner Chapel. Our correspondent for that day reported a very noisy session with Mayor Rick Green's friends, campaign supporters and other insiders ignoring the briefings from competent ToL, City of Langley, TransLink and other technical staff, and getting their voices to bellow above the crowd. Our correspondent who is elderly stated that one could not make sense of anything for some time and that you had to push your way through the arrogant crowd in order to view any of the information panels. It was next to impossible to get to any of the staff to get answers to your questions, as these insiders blocked the way. But, our correspondent says that the rookie Mayor's insiders were happy to tell you how it is (the overpass according to them).

Last night another open house took place in the lobby of Township Council Chambers. Our council monitor tried unsucessfully for over 30 minutes to criculate around the room to view all of the story boards in the area. Once again it was reported to the Editorial Board of this blog that a large crowd of Rick Green insiders gathered in front of these story boards and did their best to evangelize the general public who really gathered to hear from the experts. Our monitor was not interested in hearing from these love-fest wanna-bee traffic engineers, but there was no option available as they behaved like members of a door to door cult in order to convert the masses. Indeed our monitor could not escape being "questioned", and in some cases interrogated by these Green insiders. Our monitor did not see any need to explain to these people a personal opinion on this project, but the crowd behaved much like their bully mayor.

If this is how public open houses and public "engagement" is going to be so transparent under this rookie mayor, then don't waste your time coming out to these open house events. You will only be met by attempts at intimidation from the love fest crowd who, like Mayor Green, believe it is their way or the highway. We are appalled that this disorder is allowed in our public meetings, but then again the rookie mayor himself does not understand how to properly chair a meeting of council, so why should we expect his insiders to do any better?

These "adults" should really be ashamed of themselves for forcing their views and trying to convert (and subvert) the public like some members of a cult. Shame on you people for turning a public open house into a circus while your mayor dearest allowed this nonsense to go on, as he was acting as MC to greet the love fest crowd once again to Township Hall. The bullies have found a place to roost and you know what they say about birds of a feather, don't you?

Township Council Agenda for Monday With Commentary

"It's OK Rick we need to get to council now.
Mr. Bakken will help you chair the meeting." --Kim

Here are the agendas for TOL Council for Monday, February 2, 2009

3:00pm Special Meeting

Last Minutes - Doc 1

Doc 2

Doc 3

Doc 4

Doc 5

Doc 6

Doc 7

Doc 8

Doc 9

Doc 10

7:00pm Regular Meeting

Last Minutes - Doc 1

Doc 2

Doc 3

Doc 4

Commentary From The Langley Record Editors

You will note in the list of motions below that Councillor Kim Richter once again is trying to meddle in RCMP/Police business. This is at least the third time in a few months that Coun. Richter ihas tried to interfere with our justice system, as if the Langley RCMP don’t know how to do their jobs.

In late 2008 there was a delegate to TOL Council who wanted council to instruct the RCMP to investigate a matter that the RCMP had previously reviewed and determined it to be unfounded. During this delegation a TOL Bylaws Officer was asked to stand by in council chambers, in case of incident, as there were some safety concerns. Later councilors told us that they had intended to listen to the delegate, but as the RCMP had already offered their professional opinion, council felt it inappropriate to tell the RCMP how to do their job. Councillor Richter ignored the safety of her fellow councilors and broke from rank to offer a motion, which was not seconded. Fortunately the delegate left council chambers without incident due to the Bylaws office being present.

It is NOT appropriate for politicians to TELL the RCMP how to do their jobs. We are at a total loss to explain why this councillor thinks it is OK for politicians to control the police. It is a VERY slippery slope and this is NOT a good precedent. Would Coun. Richter be OK with the RCMP coming in to a council meeting and telling them what to do? This is BAD politics folks, and politicians have no business telling police professionals how to do their jobs. This is why the TOL Charter and other such charters prohibit a police board.

INTERESTING MOTIONS IN THE 7:00PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING

Q.

OTHER BUSINESS At the January 19, 2009 Regular Meeting of Council Councillor Richter provided the following Notice of Motions:

			1. Paul Houweling That Council refer Mr. Houweling’s delegation request to the RCMP to address his concerns as best as they can.
			2. Brown's Pit Whereas opening the Brown’s Pit for gravel extraction will create considerable difficulties in the surrounding neighbourhood and could significantly and adversely impact water quality and quantity in the Hopington aquifer; therefore Be it resolved that the material from the Brown’s Pit delegations of January 19, 2009 be referred to staff for a report and a recommended action plan to stop the re-opening of this pit for gravel extraction. At the January 19, 2009 Regular Meeting of Council Councillor Kositsky provided the following Notice of Motions:
			3. Metro Vancouver Board of Directors Whereas representation on the Metro Vancouver (Greater Vancouver Regional District) Board of Directors increases when a community passes the 100,000 mark in population; and Whereas UBCM now lists the Township of Langley as having a population of 100,575 people calculated using population estimates (December 2007 release) provided by BC STATS, the central statistical agency of the Province of British Columbia; Be it resolved that the Township of Langley formally apply to the regional district to increase its representation on the Board of Directors.
			4. Emergency Response Whereas members of Council expressed concern at the January 12, 2009 Council meetings regarding the service provided by our emergency personnel during the snow and flood period of December 13, 2008 to January 12, 2009; and Whereas there were no representatives in the Council Chamber to respond to remarks and questions; Be it resolved that Township of Langley Council direct staff to write to the heads of police, fire and ambulance services in the Township of Langley requesting a written report from each party and asking for comments on: • Any emergency incidents which occurred during this period; • What challenges were experienced due to road conditions; • What suggestions they can offer for improvements and coordination between public works and emergency services.