Mayor Leonard Krog began his presentation by acknowledging that we were meeting on Snuneymuxw traditional territory and followed with the recent announcement that Jake Rudolph, interim Chief Administrative Officer, has agreed to a contract through to the end of 2019. It was received as positive news by staff and council as it provides some stability and consistency through a time that has seen a lot of change.

Mayor Krog then framed the vision for Nanaimo as a collective vision of council, not just his. He stated that the residents of Nanaimo have elected a good council whose members have a diversity of views and are able to productively discuss a wide range of issues, vote on the issue and then move on. There is a sense of optimism within council and the broader community. They have begun meetings with many organizations, different levels of government and other stakeholders about the future of Nanaimo.

Nanaimo is one of the last undeveloped cities on Canada’s coast that has diverse transportation options and is in an advantageous geographic location. Council feels that Nanaimo has the potential for much growth and opportunity. They aim to channel densification downtown and support downtown businesses. He indicated that Nanaimo has a historic core of poverty and we need supportive housing to address the present issues. All levels of government need to be involved in the solution.

They are working on a strategic plan to move the city forward. Their vision is to make Nanaimo a place where you can be born, go to school, find a job and raise a family generation after generation. Mayor Krog indicated that he is thankful that he has had the opportunity for his family – his children are now raising their families in Nanaimo.

Mayor Krog opened up the floor to questions. Concern was raised about shrinking access to green spaces. He acknowledged that green spaces are important for the future and are on their radar.

When asked about the return to committees, he replied that the committee structure was going to be discussed in the coming week. They want to ensure that they are moving forward with a structure that works but also want to ensure that they don’t want to lose the enthusiasm of those who were interested in giving their time to participate.

The Mayor was asked about the land that was occupied by tent city and the Wilcox track line. Due to regulations / guidelines for land acquisition and disposition, he was unable to comment on that query. When asked about retaining the character of heritage neighbourhoods, Mayor Krog indicated that they aim to balance the many needs of different community members but that it is important.

When asked about what he brings to the table as mayor, he indicated that he brings a number of positives including experience and knowledge of how various levels of government operate, experience with budgets, he has a reasonable expectation of what is possible to implement and has the ability to work well with others.

He was asked about the boarded up building downtown and the vacant lot / hole in the ground on the opposite corner. He acknowledged that there are things that city governments can do and that is something they will be looking into. He indicated that the murals, although not a solution, have improved that building in the interim.

He addressed a question about property tax relief for seniors and indicated that reducing those taxes is not realistic and was not something they would be looking at as there were other items that would have greater impact and were a higher priority. It would also be complicated to determine what is fair and figure out who would qualify and on what grounds.

There was concern voiced about the departure of many senior staffers at the City and Mayor Krog indicated that finding qualified senior staff across all sectors is difficult as there is a small pool from which to draw and Nanaimo hasn’t had a reputation as a good place to work for a while so that is something they are working on rebuilding.

Concern was raised about propane rail cars going through town. He was unable to address the concern as he didn’t have enough information to comment. He indicated he would find out more and get back to the individual if they sent him an email about it.

He revisited public housing and indicated that the City has no legal or jurisdictional obligation to provide housing as it is a provincial responsibility but they want to be involved.

Preservation of local agricultural land was raised (somewhat lightheartedly) and he replied that it is important as the percentage of food now imported to the island was extremely high compared to what it used to be and that island residents are very reliant on food being transported to the island.

That concluded the Q&A and the speaker presentation.