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Local politician serves life sentence
By Dean McKerracher
Hello my friends! After 20 years as a politician there are many subjects I could write about. Most good and some not so good; did we always make the best decisions? Probably not but we did make some great ones.
How will I spend my pension? What pension? Although people believe municipal politicians retire with a great pension, we do not (there is no pension.) At least a prisoner would walk out of jail after 20 years with some cash in his pocket, not so as a municipal politician.
I’m left with a lot of pride and many fond memories.
When you take on a political career as a municipal politician you are doing it from your heart and for the good of the community; definitely not for the money. The pay for a municipal government is at best a quarter of the pay they should receive for the long hours of dedication and service to their community and the demands people throw at them.
A word of caution to the new politicians: Facebook is the worst enemy for anyone but in particular for a politician. It doesn’t matter how many times you try to explain an issue on Facebook, you will never win. Don’t use social media as your platform to communicate.
Those using social media to complain are the same people who will hide behind Facebook and won’t confront you in person. Enough rant from me, I will get to the real reason I started this column.
I want to thank the people of the District Elkford for allowing me to represent you for the last 20 years, first three years as a councillor and the past 17 years as your Mayor.
Although, I know I didn’t always have your support and there were always a few nonbelievers, I hope I converted you. I am very proud of the success and growth Elkford has had in the past 17 years. To list all of the projects would take too many pages so I will list only a few.
I’m proud of successfully negotiating the 20 year mine tax agreement with Teck that guarantees a firm commitment of taxes from the mines. These taxes allow us to operate our community and keep our residential taxes to a similar level of other municipalities, but supply a greater amount of services to our community.
After the flooding of 2013, it became apparent that flood control for Elkford was a priority. We commenced the rip rap project on Boivin Creek banks and along the Fording River bank to protect us from further flooding. Being able to coordinate with the highways department (Gordon Chudleigh) to obtain the rock removed on the Elko cuts, one of the most dangerous curves, saved the District of Elkford hundreds of thousands of dollars for the rock.
The purchase of the old elementary school and six acres of land from the Ministry of Education was a key event. After much negotiation with the ministry we purchased the old school building and land for $75,000. The school board wanted $2 million for the land that Fording River Mine donated to them for a dollar, and the new community centre became a reality.
The Elkford Community Conference Centre was built entirely with insurance and grant money and very few tax dollars. I’m proud of the gazebo, the new District Office, the lite sliding hill, and now the new bike park all located on this land today.
The rebuild of the ice plant in the arena occurred before we had a disaster. This project was managed by Darrel Hickman, again saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in management fees. The rebuild of the pool roof and renovations inside, were again managed internally and saved hundreds of thousands.
The walking, biking, and hiking trails around town are used by many in our community and are part of what makes Elkford a great place to live. As a council, thousands of dollars were committed to supporting Mountain Meadows Golf Course, Wapiti Ski Hill, the municipal campground, and many more projects to draw and attract new residents and visitors.
We are in the midst of a five-year commitment of repaving our 50 year old streets and redoing old water and sewer lines. I’ve recently experienced firsthand the need to upgrade our water and sewer services. Just so you know, my street is the last one to be redone.
We negotiated an agreement with the vacuum trucks to dump in our sewer lagoons. I know it has added a lot of smell but it’s added considerable revenue. A little smell can’t match the revenue it is bringing in to the district’s budget . (It’s the smell of MONEY.)
I’m proud to have sat on the Board of the Regional District of Kootenay and the Kootenay East Hospital District Board for 17 years.
I was honoured to be the Vice-Chair of the Hospital Board for three years and to have served as the Chair of the Hospital Board for the past seven years. I was able to assist in bringing health care into our region.
Some of the projects include the new ICU unit, the MRI, the new GAMMA CAMERA soon to be installed, the Oncology department move, the Dialysis department move and the brand new Oncology Unit on top of the ICU building . Also included is the soon-to-be Green Home expansion and the rebuild of the old section. The list goes on.
While in this role I made important connections and was always able to express my concern for health care in Elkford. I want to thank the Hospital Board for supporting me and showing confidence in me to lead us through some difficult times.
I also want to send a big thank you to the management team at the RDEK for all of your support, it was great working with all of you.
Thank you to all of the past and present councillors and senior management teams. My success was our success, we did it together as a team! It has been a great pleasure working and learning together. Thank you for your dedication to our beautiful little community that is finally starting to show some growth.
I want to truly congratulate the new Mayor Steve Fairbairn and his new council on your election! It has been a pleasure working with Mayor Fairbairn for the past 10 years, I know that your successes will be many.
I do have to mention my long-time friend and fellow councillor for the past 20 years for his dedication and commitment to Elkford. Councillor Craig Robinson didn’t always agree with council’s decisions but he would stand behind them. Who would have thought 20 years ago that we would still be working for the District of Elkford for free? Thank you my friend, for your service and support. For the most part it was fun! Good luck in your second retirement.
I want to thank my family, our daughters, granddaughters, and great-granddaughters for your support for the last 20 years. I could not have been as successful as I have been without your love and support.
Saving the best for last, thank you to my wonderful wife, companion, traveling partner, advisor, critic, manager of all of my affairs and scheduling, and most of all the LOVE of my life for the past 57 years. There aren’t enough words to cover what you mean to me and have done for me. Thank you for always standing beside me to make me the man I am today. Thank you, thank you!
Thank you Elkford and the East Kootenay region for your support!
In closing, Joanne and I would like to wish our wonderful community a very Merry Christmas and a very happy, healthy 2023!
Lead image: Dean and Joanne McKerracher. Ian Cobb/e-KNOW photos
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