Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Comments on the last all candidates' forum.

During the last forum Mr Hrabchuk repeatedly reassured the crowed that he was not a developer. I would give him the benefit of doubt. However, Google searching Dave Hrabchuk I got the information below (click here):

The definition of "developer" might be different for different people. You decide if Mr Hrabchuk was correct in his assertion.

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25 comments:

Anonymous said...

Didn't we just get rid of one council which was full of self interest individuals? We sure don't need another.

Anonymous said...

“The first time someone shows you who they are, believe them.”
― Maya Angelou

Anonymous said...

Whats wrong with development? Council is so hard up for money they are treating homeowners like developers. We need economic development and jobs to increase our tax base.

Coldstreamer said...

"They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not"

It is too bad that some people are so keen to condemn that they do not bother getting the full story and rely only on the venomous words of one individual.

The offer delivered to the people in question was to buy a small section (7500 square feet) of the property at a mutually agreed price and they were not requested ANY payment. However, the story is that they were asked to spend $300 thousand plus dollars of their own.

Check it out, I was delivering the offer, believe me!

Anonymous said...

The point here isn't whether Coldstream needs more "development" or not. Mr. Hrabchuk indicated that his family business was not about development, but were simply contractors. He either finds it politically inexpedient to deny what this webpage states or is very forgetful......you decide!

Anonymous said...

Development means many things to many people.

Time after time this community has energetically participated in "developing" a community plan which reflects our heart-felt wish to preserve the true wealth Coldstream: its unique natural and agricultural character.

I have the fair expectation that community leaders will faithfully adhere to the spirit of our community plan.

Development frequently means a reduction in the quality of life: increased pressure on finite health care resources, water, higher volumes of traffic, urban sprawl, reduction of road quality, air, noise and light pollution, destruction of view-scapes, loss of community identity and the bulldozing of green spaces and natural habitat.

The experience of many communities has shown that development seldom results in a tax windfall.

Not long ago CBC radio featured a story about the cost of development to Surrey taxpayers. The resulting pressure on existing infrastructure: schools, roads, sewers etc required expensive upgrades and additions, which of course, was paid for by the taxpayer. The developers pocketed the profits and and in many cases moved on to fresh fields. Literally.

Anonymous said...

more ranting by someone who has sucked the public teet dry for years

Anonymous said...

I wonder why it matters so much to the existing council and mayor as to Hrabchuk's profession. I guess it's an easy target in an anti-development jurisdiction.

It should be pointed out that Coldstream is NOT anti-development, just anti-development in the valley bottom/agri region. There seems to be plenty of development occurring in the western regions of Coldstream.

The real question to ask here is which candidate can better lead the community in these trying times. Personally, I believe a guy with civil construction experience and a degree in econ. might do better than a teacher.

Anonymous said...

I am very sure that a new comer totally unfamiliar with the issues of the community is much more equipped to resolved the issues of water, parks finances etc. than those dealing with it currently.

Anonymous said...

apparently anyone who wants to do a reno could be considered a contractor by the District. So I guess if you need a new roof or siding or want a new bathroom get your chequebook out. It's great having low taxes until you get blindsided by the District and are forced to "donate" land or pay for gutters and sidewalks. If they can do it to some they can do it to you too.

Coldstreamer said...

You should check your facts. Spreading misinformation is your right but it's unconscionable. It is easy to spread lies, it is more inconvenient to research and report facts.

Anonymous said...

are you saying that the district is not withholding anyone's building permits in exchange for paying wither DCC's or "selling" land to the district? You should be careful how this is being perceived and who you are calling a liar. I know you won't post this but who cares.

Anonymous said...

*sigh* Personally, I think I would be sniping at the council candidates that are running against me and leave Garlick to defend himself.

Why don't you tell us what you stand for and why we should vote for you instead of deflecting to a debate that doesn't involve you directly.

I, for one, would really like to know what the COUNCIL candidates are all about.

Coldstreamer said...

Why don't you ask them? I for one, would like to promote sensible water rates with user pay front and center, reasonable Master Water Plan, true user pay sewage rates, prevent the repeat of subsidies to developers at taxpayers expense, protection of water supplies, improving environmental stewardship, settling issues with Vernon's proposal of pulling out of water distribution, managing our own local parks, sticking with the OCP just to name a few. These are actual policies not just knocking the current Council without offering alternatives.

Anonymous said...

lol sounds like a lot of empty catch phrases... give the public what they want I guess... Ideally, you would have had a track record to rely on from the past 3 years... or at least one you could brag about

Anonymous said...

@ Anon 1:17 pm

"The real question to ask is which candidate can better lead the community in these trying times. [sic] Personally, I believe a guy with civil construction experience and a degree in econ. might do better than a teacher."
-----------------------------------
Response from this grey-haired life-long-learner:

A question mark is the proper punctuation after a question. Learned in grade 3.

"Personally I believe": My tough as nails grade six teacher was venoumous with respect to intellectually lazy writers who bore readers with declarative statements such as: I believe, I feel,I think, I know, I feel etc.

His sternly held rule was: "If you are stating something one already assumes it your opinion, you do not need to preface it with: it is my belief etc."

Although I cannot speak or find evidence of whatever service Mr. Hrabchuk has dedicated to our community, I can assume that you do not speak for him. As a degree holder, I must assume Mr. Hrabhuck takes great pride in his economics degree and holds the teachers who contributed to his success in high esteem.

Post Script: this election is not about some "guy" seeking power for the sake of power or privilege, but rather it is about the most important "P": preservation: preservation of a way of life.
Period.

("Period" oops! redundant).

Bill said...

I would rather see candidates talk about their stances, and I remember when you moved here, so

1. Given virtually every other municipality in BC has recognized the need for affordable housing and with the high mortgages people need the means to pay them, including Lumby, that Coldstream is one of the few to ban oppose them. So what is your position, for or against, and why, specifically?

Anonymous said...

It is pretty obvious when you attend the forums who knows more about this community and civic government.....the teacher! To stay with the education theme, an attempt to run as mayor without at least some civic government experience is like trying tp be school principal on the first day of your job as a teacher....arrogant to say the least, and doomed to failure!

Anonymous said...

What we are voting for in this election is wether or not we want to return to the Postill/Harvey modus operandi or stick with the more enlightened and transparent model.
Regarding water rates, the elephant in the room for the 40 years I have been here and apparently still is is the commercial rate, excluding agriculture. It takes the form of an inverted pyramid with the most economical users at the bottom point subsidizing all the heavier users up to the water guzzlers at the top who are being subsidized the most and pocketing the profits. All the water conservation propaganda is ludicrous and will be until politicians have the gumption to tackle this inequity.

Anonymous said...

...and just when the debate gets lively the grammar police show up...

knock yourself out ossifer

Anonymous said...

I know the current council is trying but I think they need some people with more negotiating and business skills to make Coldstream successful financially.Some of the stuff they have done just doesn't make good business sense.(I hope I spelt everything correctly)

Anonymous said...

Copied at the bottom of this comment is Mr. Hrabchuk's business profile posted on the Arlo website under "About Us".

"Dave...has learned the business from the ground up."

IF HIS CONSTRUCTION EXPERIENCE IS AS GLOBAL AS IS INDICATED IN HIS PROFILE, ONE COULD RIGHTLY ASSUME HE WAS NOT EXCLUDED FROM PARTICIPATING IN DEVELOPMENT PROPOSALS AND PROJECTS.
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Dave Hrabchuk, B.Admin., B.A.

Dave grew up in construction and has learned the business from the ground up. He has worked for various construction companies in Alberta and BC, and also has 5 years of experience working in the construction divisions of major manufacturing. He attended The University of Calgary and has a degree in Economics.

Anonymous said...

Response from this grey-haired life-long-learner:

Response from q quickly going grey professional:

Your generation has seen the death of the middle class. multiple wars, environmenal destruction....

Are you saying that you have a lot of valuable lessons to teach us youngsters?

Ill pass grandpa.

Penny said...

This person/s who continually refers to our mayor as " a teacher" in a demeaning, derogatory tone needs to whoa up. Just what do they mean by that? Were they a school leaver or perhaps expelled that they're down on educators?
There is no excuse for that kind of comment. I would suggest both persons degrees were well earned and valuable.

Anonymous said...

@ professional life-long learner if one does the math one could easily be a grandparent well before one's hair pigment is lost.
re my generation: when one presume's he makes an...

I think you might be amused by this account the "Grandpa" Rafe Mair emailed me:

RAFE HERE … I thought this might amuse all the old farts out there as it did this old fart.

In the queue at the store, the cashier told an older woman that she should
bring her own grocery bags because plastic bags weren't good for the
environment.

The woman apologized to him and explained, "We didn't have the green thing
back in my day."

The clerk responded, "That's our problem today. Your generation did not
care enough to save our environment."

He was right -- our generation didn't have the green thing in its day.

Back then, we returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the
store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized
and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they
really were recycled. But we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

We walked up stairs, because we didn't have an escalator in every store
and office building. We walked to the grocery store and didn't climb into
a 300-horsepower machine every time we had to go two blocks. But she was
right. We didn't have the green thing in our day.

Back then, we washed the baby's diapers because we didn't have the
throw-away kind. We dried clothes on a line, not in an energy gobbling
machine burning up 220 volts -- wind and solar power really did dry the clothes. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new clothing. But that old lady is right; we didn't have the green thing back in our day.

Back then, we had one TV, or radio, in the house -- not a TV in every
room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief (remember
them?), not a screen the size of the state of Montana . In the kitchen, we
blended and stirred by hand because we didn't have electric machines to do
everything for us. When we packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, we
used a wadded up old newspaper to cushion it, not Styrofoam or plastic
bubble wrap. Back then, we didn't fire up an engine and burn gasoline just
to cut the lawn. We used a push mower that ran on human power. We
exercised by working so we didn't need to go to a health club to run on
treadmills that operate on electricity. But she's right; we didn't have
the green thing back then.

We drank from a fountain when we were thirsty instead of using a cup or a
plastic bottle every time we had a drink of water. We refilled writing
pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and we replaced the razor
blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because
the blade got dull. But we didn't have the green thing back then.

Back then, people took the streetcar or a bus and kids rode their bikes to
school or walked instead of turning their moms into a 24-hour taxi
service. We had one electrical outlet in a room, not an entire bank of
sockets to power a dozen appliances. And we didn't need a computerized
gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space
in order to find the nearest pizza joint.

But isn't it sad the current generation laments how wasteful we old folks
were just because we didn't have the green thing back then?

Please forward this on to another selfish old person who needs a lesson in
conservation from a smartass young person.

Remember: Don't make old People mad.

We don't like being old in the first place, so it doesn't take much to
tick us off.

Coldstream Ratepayers News! All Coldstream residents are ratepayers!

The opinions expressed by "Coldstreamer" are strictly his own and do not represent the opinions of Coldstream Council!

Because I value your thoughtful opinions, I encourage you to add a comment to this discussion. Don't be offended if I edit your comments for clarity or to keep out questionable matters, however, and I may even delete off-topic comments.

Gyula Kiss
coldstreamer@shaw.ca;

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About Me

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I have been a resident of Coldstream since 1976. I have had 15 years of experience on Council, 3 years as Mayor. As a current Councillor I am working to achieve fair water and sewer rates and to ensure that taxpayers get fair treatment. The current direction regarding water supply is unsustainable and I am doing all I can to get the most cost effective water supply possible.