IN THE PITT MEADOWS COUNCILLOR RACE: Brad Perrie

Brad Perrie

Retired deputy fire chief, age 62

Resident Pitt Meadows for 33 years

Brad Perrie has called Pitt Meadows home for the past 33 years.

In December 2021 he retired from the Pitt Meadows Fire Rescue Service as deputy fire chief.

He is very proud of the department’s charitable involvement with the Friends in Need Food Bank and Muscular Dystrophy Canada that raised thousands of dollars through the years.

Brad says Pitt Meadows has that livable feel that draws people here.

As a community some growth is necessary to keep taxes as low as possible. The challenge is to manage that growth and ensure it make sense for Pitt Meadows.

He sees significant challenges coming before our city and feels he has the knowledge and experience to help Pitt Meadows thrive.

Issues; public safety, economic development, transportation.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/bradperrieforcouncil

Phone: 604-834-0450

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Have you held office in past? If so, please specify: No.

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CLICK TO CHECK OUT OUR FULL ELECTION GUIDE ONLINE

Questions:

(These answers are presented as the candidates submitted them)

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1. Should the City switch from a volunteer-based (paid-on-call) fire department to a full-time model?

Yes; the current composite fire model is in crisis.

It has a small career component staffing the firehall daytime only, seven days a week, then relies on volunteer paid-on-call (POC) firefighters from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.

In 2022 alone the department lost 16 volunteer POC members to larger Metro Vancouver fire departments. This constant turnover has a huge impact on experience.

Of the 33 POC firefighters in the department, 24 have less than two years service.

This impacts leadership during the overnight period.

Many of these POC firefighters do not have the training to allow them to be truck officers or even drive the apparatus, and this puts the city at risk.

If you compare response times, there is a significant difference from the career, day side averaging six minutes, to the variable POC evening response time averaging 12 to 15 minutes.

I feel the city needs a plan to improve staffing levels that will eventually have one apparatus staffed 24/7 with career firefighters supported by a compliment of paid-on-call firefighters that can be called in when needed.

We must start to invest in our fire service to ensure Pitt Meadows has the safety and service it needs and deserves.

2. Should Pitt Meadows take more direct action to combat the local opioid crisis?

Yes. More and more Canadians are dying from the opioid overdose crisis. Cities and local first responders are on the front lines dealing with crisis on a regular basis. The City could do more by sharing strategies that already exist to the public. These strategies include providing information on the dangers of illegal opioid use, where to get free Naloxone kits and ensure they are available in the community. This information could be on its website or provided at public events. The city needs to work with other stake holders, Provincial and Federal Governments to address the root causes of addiction.

3. Do you support the construction of the Harris Road underpass?

Yes. I believe the Harris road underpass is wanted by the citizens and will improve traffic flow in and out of the City.

4. Should the City set targets for the creation of more low-income and seniors rental spaces, social housing units, and/or co-op development to improve home security?

Yes, a healthy community should have a mixed inventory of housing units available to fit the needs of the citizens. If we provide more housing choices family orientated units, seniors housing, low-income rentals they would provide more opportunity for people to remain in neighbourhoods they know or grew up in and for employees that work in the city to be able to live and work closer to home.

5. Do you support the proposal for the new CP Rail logistics yard?

No. City Council remains unanimous and remains in opposition of the expansion of the Intermodal Facility. I strongly agree with this position based on;

• Insufficient emergency response capabilities

• Extensive risk to the community with storage of Fuels, Grain.

• Negative impact on the environment; Air pollution, Noise pollution, water pollution due to drainage impacts

• Increased traffic and number of large trucks

• Changes to the livability of Pitt Meadows

6. Should the City be offering more tax breaks, rebates, and other incentives to entice new businesses to town?

No; we need to continue promoting Pitt Meadows and what it has to offer through tourism to attract new businesses to the community and keep the ones we have. The Onni Industrial site has provided the space to attract large business operations to Pitt Meadows and this is good for the City’s tax base, but we need to ensure we have an adequate supply of smaller spaces available to attract small businesses to our city. I have talked to small retail business owners and the message is clear, there are not enough spaces that offer them the size they need to grow and the affordability they desire to stay in Pitt Meadows. As opportunities arise for development we need to look at this.

7. Do you think residential property taxes are too high in Pitt Meadows?

No. Pitt Meadows taxes compared to other Metro Vancouver Cities are the second lowest as per 2021 Metro Vancouver combined property tax graph. As a tax payer in the City of Pitt Meadows no one likes to see property taxes increase, especially when interest rates and supply chain issues are driving up the cost of living. This is why as a city we need some growth in all areas to help offset the rising costs and provide services and amenities the public wants and deserves.

8. Does Pitt Meadows need an indoor swimming pool?

Yes. An indoor pool has been a subject of discussion by previous councils for many years. Unfortunately a decision regarding this project has never moved forward. The new Parks and Recreation Master Plan provides a roadmap to guide services delivery for the next 15+ years though not carved in stone. In this plan a pool is identified as a long term project up to 10 years if viable. The plan recommends given the significant development and operations costs associated with aquatics the city should undertake a feasibility study within the next 4 years. Then if feasible development within 10 years, I cannot promise the pool will be constructed but I can ensure if elected this project will be carefully considered.

9. Do you support the City creating a separate RCMP detachment, exclusively serving Pitt Meadows?

Don’t Know. As a former public safety professional, I do support public safety. Having our own Pitt Meadows detachment will in theory put more dedicated officers in our community and potentially improve public safety. The concern I have is can we deliver the autonomous detachment for the same cost we pay for the current joint detachment? I would need to be confident that this can be accomplished.

10. Should Pitt Meadows parks and nature areas be protected at the cost of future development opportunities?

Yes. Pitt Meadows should protect its parks and nature areas to keep the livable feel that we all know and love.

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EDITOR’S NOTE:

How the questions were presented to each candidate

Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows news readers have told us how much they value this important, straight-forward reference guide that helps orient them with the range of choices on the ballots – both at the council and school board levels.

Towards that end, we have attempted to make this package available (along with the following instructions) to each of the candidates in a timely fashion ahead of the Oct. 15 election.

Please read carefully before you start to fill this out.

To help voters in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows make their choices on election day, The News is asking local candidates 10 issue-based questions.

You must provide a ‘yes,’ a ‘no,’ or a ‘don’t know’ (Y, N, D) response to EACH of these questions.

Each question MUST be answered with yes (Y), no (N), or Don’t Know (D). This will be published in a grid in the Oct. 6 edition. Any questions not answered will be LEFT BLANK.

Candidates may also expand on ANY OR ALL of these questions (to a maximum of 200 words each). Please note any responses longer than that will be cut off at the 201-word mark.

Due to space limitations, we can only guarantee to run one of these answers in The News print edition ahead of the election. You must CLEARLY indicate which expanded answer you want to see published in print. If you do not specify, we will choose. Any and all expanded answers provided will be published online at www.mapleridgenews.com.

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