1. How long have you lived here?
Nine years.
2. What is your occupation?
I am a partner with Pacific Substrate Ltd. We make mushroom compost just outside of town.
3. Have you done any volunteer work here?
I help fundraise for the Ashcroft 4 H Club and also am on the Cache Creek Landfill Advisory Committee.
4. Have you served on a town council before?
No, but I ran for Cache Creek council in last election.
5. Which issues are most important to you?
Job Creation; Traffic calming; and Community Spirit.
6. How would you address them?
In the last nine years I have not seen one new business relocate or start up here - only the shut down and reduction of existing operations. This will be a major challenge for all of us to change but I believe the time is right to beat this challenge. The mine being developed near 16 mile has potential but I feel will have many challenging years ahead before any realization of jobs the only other significant opportunity I see near is the Ashcroft inland port proposal. However again, I don’t see it soon. These two project have the greatest prospect for large scale employment and we need to make sure any opportunity can be identified and acted upon. I feel a more realistic approach is to attract smaller sized proposals - something that we can supply the infrastructure and labor to support their operation.
We need to develop more industrial land available for new development. The current industrial base is all privately owned and may or may not be available.
I feel we need a dedicated business development officer to promote and search out any potential opportunity, who understands what we want and have to offer and can give answers on a “sooner than later” approach any day of the week.
Hwy 1 through town needs to calm down with speed and noise. As well, the north entrance needs “beautification” of its own. It seems to have stopped at the school crossing and yet the majority of visitors stop and eat lunch on the north side. If we can consult with the current business owners and work together I am sure we can achieve this with minimal cost.
7. Additional comments
I am glad to see we have a full slate of candidates this election. This to me is a sign of change. Some fresh ideas and approach will re-ignite the passion that we all have, regardless of who is elected.
To make this work however we all need to exercise our right to vote. Make your concerns clear. Show that we care about our future and want to make it work.
Jim Lambert