Council Candidate Fred Romano, in his own words
By Contributor
I have been married to Lynn (Dimock) for 40 years. We have three children Adam (Kim) and Hannah, Leah, Laura (Jason) and Jayci Halifax.
I graduated from BCIT in Business Administration and returned to Trail to work for West Kootenay Power in their accounting department.
Seven years later I went to work for Cominco (Teck) in various accounting jobs and retired after 30 years.
Over those years I took on leadership roles in our community.
I was president of the Trail commercial softball league for twelve year.
I was president of Trail Little League for fifteen years. I travelled with the team to Williamsport with the 5 time Canadian champions in 1990.
I was a former City councillor for six terms. During that time on council, I was appointed by the Mayor to Chair Parks and Recreation, and Chair Finance and Personnel. I was appointed by council as Director on the Regional District and Director on the Hospital Board.
I am running for a councillor’s seat to give the citizens another choice on the ballot. I feel that I can be an asset to the new council moving forward. I have the experience, knowledge and a common sense approach to represent the citizens of Trail.
I was a member of the two councillor team that negotiated the first five year recreation inter- municipal agreements with Beaver Valley and Warfield.
We have to improve the regional relationships in the Greater Trail communities. We have to start by getting a negotiated agreement on recreation.
My five step plan to resolve the recreation agreement is as follows:
· East End committee (Rossland, Warfield, Trail, Montrose, Fruitvale, Area A and Area B) have to identify the true regional facilities.
· Include those facilities in the regional district recreation budget
· Negotiate a cost sharing agreement
· Agree to a governance model
· Approve the budget
With an agreement there were will be NO MORE DUAL RATES.
Reach a mitigated agreement for the Area A Expansion with Beaver Valley. Arrive to an agreement which is a win/win for both parties.
I support the all-wheel park for our youth. They have waited long enough.
My vision of Trail for the next four years is Condo’s on the City owned land overlooking the river. People want to live downtown Trail close to all the amenities. With more people living in downtown and increased foot traffic it will attract more developers to invest in downtown.
We need to fill the empty stores and office spaces downtown. I have been told by a new engineering firm just opening a downtown office that other businesses want to relocate downtown.
They have identified what they feel is a restrictive bylaw that is not attractive to getting new businesses to re-locate to downtown.
We have to review our bylaws on how much businesses have to pay for rezoning.
The other issue is there is a waiting list for monthly parking spots.
We need to contact ESSO the owner of the lot on Victoria street to get an agreement to use it for short term monthly parking. It has been vacant for four years.
We need a new subdivision within the boundaries of the City of Trail. A local businessman has a subdivision plan that includes 60 lots. Council has to get involved and see what we can do to move it forward.
The City already has an esplanade improvement plan in their files that includes the second phase of rock work and railing from the bridge to the Fortis building.
The plan also includes new sidewalks, meeting places and lighting. The first phase opened the view of the river and included the pier overlooking the river at the entrance of the white gardens.
Retaining the Regional Hospital in Trail is a top priority. The City has already purchased a house needed to make room for that secondary road. The second access will create additional parking, provide a service road and a much needed second access to the hospital.
I did a survey of downtown stores and identified 195 spaces. There are 28 empty spaces and 5 empty lots. Council has to be part of the solution to attract investors to our community to fill those stores.
Council also needs an economic development officer that is City driven.
That will give Council in-house expertise to be part of the team to turn our City down the path to success.
City Council should not conduct its most important business in the afternoon at a committee level.
The process inhibits the ability of the public to understand the issues and to hear Councillor’s opinions and ultimately the reasoning behind Council’s decisions at the regular council meetings in front of the camera.
The region has to be united and move forward together. We have a common goal to make Greater Trail a better place to live for new families, our children and our grand-children.
Strong leadership is needed in the next four years to ensure Trail remains healthy financially and a cornerstone of the Great Trail region.
It is important our community and region moves forward in a unified manner. Progress is essential to maintain the quality of life we all enjoy in Greater Trail. I will work tirelessly to ensure action is taken and sound decisions are made that not only benefit Trail and its residents, but also strengthen the relationship we have with neighbouring communities.
The City of Trail is the economic engine of Greater Trail and it is not working on all cylinders.
You now have the choice to support the candidates that you think are capable of getting the job done
I ask for your support on November 15th. I will not let you or the City of Trail down.
Comments