Editor,
I wish to take this opportunity to thank the residents of the District of Hope for the honour of serving as mayor for the last four years. Since I as mayor only had one of seven votes, I wish to recognize the teamwork that council demonstrated over this term.
Council and I have been able to maintain 2 per cent per year annual budget increase while investing heavily in the community. Infrastructure upgrades such as a rebuilt pollution control center, numerous road repaving projects and even a bridge repair in Silver Creek were made possible with careful budgeting.
Many new businesses have moved or expanded in the district in the last fours years and we have a reputation of being welcoming to new employers. A large truck stop, a state of the art RV storage and service center and numerous other businesses have been given the green light and will create new employment for our district in the coming years.
Affordable housing has been embraced and tasteful upzoning to appropriately densify in central areas has been approved by council. Important projects such as the Silver Creek pedestrian and cycling pathway, the Othello Road upgrade and the way forward for the Station House project have been worked on as well as a district funded study on the 753 Water system. An asset management plan for our district will ensure we can stay on top of affordable and necessary upgrades to our roads, water and sewer systems.
Probably one of the most important parts of being mayor in the district is sitting at the Fraser Valley Regional District table and dealing with pressing regional issues such as Aboriginal relations, transit, solid waste and health care facilities and I wish to take this opportunity to recognize our municipal friends and neighbors at the FVRD. A special thank you goes out to directors Adamson and Raymond who are important partners in our Recreation Commission and have been great to work with.
One of the most important thank yous must go out to the numerous and important First Nations groups in and around the district. I have appreciated learning more about the Aboriginal history of our area and will cherish the friendships developed.
Two other hard workers who will not be returning to council include Donna Kropp and Gerry Dyble, and I wish to acknowledge their years of service to the community. Staff from the District of Hope and the Fraser Valley Regional District deserve a gold star for their great service to our community as well.
In closing, I would like to wish our new mayor and council the very best in their endeavours and look forward to seeing what they choose to do for our community.
Wilfried Vicktor
