Eleven candidates seek votes for six Pitt Meadows council seats

The 11 people running for six Pitt Meadows city council seats met with voters at an all-candidates forum on Monday night, Oct. 5, at Pitt Meadows Heritage Hall. The Ridge Meadows Chamber of Commerce hosted the meeting, moderated by former Maple Ridge mayor Ernie Daykin. Candidates introduced themselves briefly before answering five questions about local issues.

On the North Lougheed Area Plan, which could bring up to 5,800 new residents and 3,300 new jobs, incumbent councillor Mike Manion said he was one of two councillors who opposed it. He said the decision would mean losing 125 acres of some of Canada’s best farmland, while the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) determined that traffic calming on Old Dewdney Trunk Road was sufficient for the loss. Manion said traffic is already heavy and he doubts that will be enough. Incumbent Bob Meachen supports the plan, calling it the city’s last chance to build more homes, commercial space and light industrial space. He said the city badly needs the development for its tax base. Incumbent Alison Evans said the new tax base would be an advantage, but the city must also meet infrastructure and public safety needs, mitigate traffic issues and ensure children have a safe way to reach schools south of Lougheed Highway. She said more work remains on the plan.

Candidates were also asked how to ease traffic and delays caused by trains. Incumbent Mike Hayes said the city should keep improving roads, intersections and connections while working with regional, provincial and federal partners. He said the transportation system should connect Pitt Meadows rather than divide it, and that regional growth must come with regional investment. Council candidate Ariane Jaschke outlined steps to take before an underpass is built at the Harris Road railway crossing: live cameras at key intersections, clear signs and up-to-the-minute reports so people can choose other routes, building on a new sign already in place. Candidate Mike Babor said a railway underpass should have been prioritized years ago. He said the price rose astronomically several years ago and that the project would cost $49 million. Babor said he worries there may now be no money for the trains because the city has to finance its new police department building over the next 30 years, describing the building as a “glorious, new, beautiful” palace and “Taj Mahal.”

On affordability for residents and businesses, candidate Julia Perrie said spending more than the city brings in is a problem. To provide more services, safety or other things people want, she said, the city needs to work on bringing in more money. Candidate Reet Singh called for responsible spending and using available funding from sources other than property taxes, including TransLink or the B.C. government, for projects. Candidate Don Bell criticized what he saw as the previous council’s poor priorities. He said the RCMP station carries a $23.5-million price tag, currently takes up 21 per cent of the annual budget, and locks the city into millions of dollars in debt and decades of maintenance costs. Bell said it may not have been the best fiscal decision and questioned whether Pitt Meadows needed its own police station when its crime rate is 40 per cent below the provincial average.

Candidate Owen Coomer proposed potential discounts for small businesses during their first couple of years to help them establish themselves, support local businesses and bring more money into the city. Incumbent Tracy Elke discussed inflation and its effect on local taxes. She said a council announcement of a zero tax increase should be a red flag: it amounts to saving now and paying later, followed by catching up. Costs rise every year, she said, so maintaining services without adding anything will still mean costs go up a little. The full forum video is available on the chamber’s website at ridgemeadowschamber.com.