Mayor makes case for change
Penticton’s mayor struck an optimistic chord Wednesday in his first-ever State of the City address.
Speaking to a breakfast crowd of about 50 people at Okanagan College, Julius Bloomfield hammered home his council’s four strategic priorities and made the case for embracing the changes that will be required to see them through.
“We all come across the folks who say, ‘We don’t want any change. We liked Penticton the way it was in the 70s.’ And that’s great, but the population of Penticton in the 70s was half of what it is now. The population of B.C. was half of what it is now. The global population was half of what it is now,” said Bloomfield.
“So, Penticton moves with global demographics. It moves with B.C. demographics. And as the world’s population keeps growing, B.C.’s population keeps growing, so will Penticton’s — one way or another.”
That, continued the mayor, is why it’s so critical to ensure things are done right the first time, starting with increasing the supply of all types of housing.
Bloomfield said there are currently 520 residential units under construction, more than 1,000 approved to start construction, and another 650 in the planning stages.
“So, there is quite a bit of growth going on, but demand is high… and we need to do more,” said Bloomfield, pointing to measures like a new task force that will make recommendations to amend the Official Community Plan to encourage more housing and a pending report from city staff regarding municipal land that could be given over for housing.
On the safety front, Bloomfield pointed to another new task force that will start putting together a community safety plan based on recommendations from a consultant’s review last year.
The plan is expected to foster closer ties between first responders and service agencies.
“It might not sound that exciting, but by bringing the people on the front lines together, I think we can achieve our goals. Our job, primarily, is to organize the services that are here and already working in the city,” said Bloomfield.
The mayor also touched on council’s priority to inject more vibrancy into Penticton to make it more welcoming to residents and visitors alike.
“Vibrancy is a difficult thing to really nail down because it’s something that you feel… but you know it when you feel it and we all felt it last summer when things were returning back to normal and there was a buzz in the city. Things were feeling pretty good and we want build on that,” said Bloomfield.
“Making Penticton a vibrant place to live is economic development.”
Finally, he mentioned the need to build stronger relationships both within the region and in Victoria, where a delegation from Penticton is heading later this month to make its case for “innovative partnerships” on housing and public safety.
“We’ve got be in their face, basically, in a nice way. We’re going with a pot of honey, not a pot of vinegar,” said Bloomfield. “It’s about building relationships.”
The mayor’s presentation was organized by the Penticton & Wine Country Chamber of Commerce.
“Next year when we do this again – hopefully – I want to be able to list our accomplishments and also details of what our next goals are going to be and how we’re going to get there,” said Bloomfield.
“It won’t be easy. We’re not going to flip a switch and get everything figured out… and there will be times when we disagree. There will be times when council will make a decision and you’ll be going, ‘What was that all about?’ But be assured that we’ve got seven engaged individuals discussing, debating, contemplating all of these issues and coming up with the best answers that represent the diversity of the city of Penticton.”