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Candidate profile: Jill Spearn

Jill Spearn is running for re-election on Rossland city council.

As I seek election for a third term, I consider the next 3 years representing the citizens of Rossland and this special community in rural BC.

If elected I see that having 6 years of experience on Rossland City Council will stand the community in good stead, in that I’m familiar with the history of the issues we face and the goals we intend to accomplish.

Thus far, I have been an active participant on the Visions for Small Schools/Neighbourhood of Learning Committee as the city liason for Education reporting to both the committee and the City. I see that this is an important role as this accomplishes a number of goals in the sustainability plan (Visions to Action) to maintain k-12 in Rossland so that we retain a full service city.

Likewise, I am the liason between the Chamber of Commerce and the City and sit on the Board of Directors but do not vote. I have learned a lot from the business community and have listened to great thinking about how to keep businesses afloat in a small municipality.

The Columbia/Washington Streets infrastructure project is on the minds of all those who are business owners in the downtown core. I think we have started an open and communicative process with the ISL design scheme.  Now that we have some costs and an edited design scheme, it is now essential to give the  public the opportunity for questions to be answered or clarified.

I am also a supporter of the Sustainability Commission and the four Task Forces that work to complete essential parts of our Visions to Action Plan. This visionary plan and the OCP guide us as we set the course for the future of our City including the need to have an Energy Plan, make changes that allow for a variety of housing stocks that are affordable, and learn to use less water which ultimately puts less stress on all infrastructure thereby saving in the long run.

I advocate for the trail system, organize and run the Pitch-In campaign in the spring at the school level, support Bear Aware, the arts, culture, heritage and sports.  I would like to see the Emcon lot modernized starting with a skatepark which fits in well with the repurposing of RSS.

I also hope to see our tourism sector grow and flourish in all seasons, so that the economy is healthy, productive and sustainable. Lastly, I am passionate about  the natural environment, am an ambassador for Rossland in many regards and hope to be back at the table with your vote.