Name: Janis Elkerton
Age: 55
Occupation: commercial business owner/manager of Coquitlam commercial building
Facebook: Janis Elkerton
Q1. What have you personally achieved, or what initiative have you personally led in recent years that qualifies you to be elected or re-elected as a Pitt Meadows councillor?
1. For 20 years, I have built connections with all levels of government and business, regardless of political affiliation. Pitt Meadows deserves its fair share of revenue from senior levels of government and the private sector. I previously proposed a resolution to support the Gateway program with priority given to the replacement of the Pitt River Bridge. I also lobbied for and the city received $1.5 million for diking upgrades when threatened with flooding due to a high freshet. As a member of GVRD Parks, I encouraged regional government funding for purchase of Codd Island Wetlands and land acquisition for the Pitt River Greenway.
Q2. How would you act on your top priorities as Pitt Meadows councillor?
2. Budgeting meetings are already scheduled. My first priority would be to review the proposed budget and ask for priority projects that have matching grants from senior levels of government. I’d also request a comparison of mill rates for all classes to consider shifting the taxation burden from the residential class. Transportation projects must be a priority. The intersection at Lougheed Highway and Harris Road is congested and failing. Ministry of Transportation guidelines state intersection improvements are required now. Pressure needs to be placed on the provincial government to correct this gridlock at Harris and Lougheed, according to their own guidelines. The city needs to reduce regulation and support the farmers, not just protect the ALR. Focus should be on attracting business development so we can live, work and play in our community. Council needs to ensure TransLink satisfactorily resolves noise mitigation and drainage deficiencies in relation to construction projects of the Golden Ears Bridge.
Q3. What is your position on the construction of the North Lougheed Connector and what kind of development should it serve?
3. While I support a mixed development opportunity that provides jobs and diversification of our agricultural industry, with the land already excluded from the ALR, I do not support further road development that divides the agricultural community. That creates land speculation and pressure for further incursion into farmland. One only has to look at Lougheed Highway to realize that a road does not provide a hard boundary between farming and development. A short-term solution is to place stop signs at crucial intersections along Dewdney Trunk Road.