About Wayne … Election 2014
I first arrived in Killiney Beach as a summer resident in 1958 at 5 yrs. of age when my parents bought Lot#183 on the waterfront just past the north end of Killiney Beach Park. At this time the paved road and BC Hydro ended at the band office at the north end of Westside Road. The next year Killiney Beach Resorts Ltd. started selling lots for Phase I and the Carson family built a summer cabin. Our water system was a 2” above ground gravity fed plastic hose that ran from Norris Creek reservoir in the Winchester Road area down to the lakefront lots. Power was limited to three lakefront lots and came from the old generator still at Hodges and Kilkenny Road. Every summer from that point on was spent in the Okanagan Valley mainly in the Killiney Beach / Fintry Area on and around Okanagan Lake. In 1981 I bought the retirement home my parents had replaced our summer cabin with and moved here permanently from Vancouver in 1986, where I had been managing hotels and bars.
In 1992 I joined the North Westside Fire/Rescue and was a firefighter, officer then chief officer very quickly helping to fill the management void existing at the time. In 1993 I went to my first of five Forestry Boot Camps to train as a Class A Fire Warden for the BC Forest Service. I spent 17 years as a Fire Warden which provided me with invaluable insight to an Interface Community such as ours. After many years of intensive training and on the job experience with both agencies I, with the help and assistance of many officers, firefighters and residents from the local community formed a fire advisory committee. The committee developed an inclusive and all-encompassing strategic plan for the delivery of fire service, equipment replacement, first medical response to the home, auto extrication, slope rescue, smoke and fire by-law enforcement, wildfire structural protection and sufficient fire flows through out the protection area. This was to mitigate the risks to this rural and somewhat isolated community. These programs were implemented only with the support and cooperation of the fire department, the residents of the area, a supportive and proactive regional director and the regional district management. This critical level of cooperation from our elected official has been lacking for quite some time on many issues.
I have spent the last twenty years dealing with the different levels of government while building the fire service in the North Westside Area and believe that my experience will be invaluable as a Regional Director. With the community’s input and voice it is my intention to develop and administer policy while providing direction to the RDCO Management team in regards to the functions and services provided by the District. Administratively, as fire chief I was responsible for preparing, delivering, maintaining and managing budgets and capital priorities for the North Westside Fire/Rescue. In my tenure as fire chief I was able to retire all capital debt, pass a funding initiative referendum, assist the community in building an addition four bay fire hall, replace the timed out engines and water tenders with new apparatus, expand and update the original hall, establish a Wildfire Structural Protection System, and bring the Mobile Water Supply (boat) into service all without incurring any capital debt. Aside from the administrative issues I responded operationally to hundreds of incidents within and around the protection district twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, fifty-two weeks a year.
As well, I served for 12 years as a director on the North Westside Communities Association Board of Directors. (formerly known as the Killiney Beach Community Association) It was during those years that community and firefighter volunteer work parties achieved great results for the community such as maintaining the community hall and annex, construction of the Shorts Creek Fire Hall, Community Notice Boards, Westshores Children’s Park development, the extended boat launch, Killiney Beach Park toilets, road surfacing and many more projects. It was also during this period I worked full-time for over seven years with an armoured car company. As an armed guard / custodian I was responsible for and entrusted with the secure delivery of millions of dollars in cash throughout the province on a daily basis.
My wife Michelle moved to the community in 1991 and we were married in 1996. She can be seen on her daily walk through the roads of Killiney Beach regardless of the weather. Michelle is currently the vice-president of the North Westside Communities Association and has been responsible for organizing the Easter Egg Hunt, Halloween Party and Santa’s visit for the children. Michelle also initiated the soccer league started at the new Westshores Park/Sports field which is now coached by volunteers from the community.
Thank you for your support (70.6%) in electing me to the position of Central Okanagan West Electoral Area Director. This is an important position to the many small communities that make up Central Okanagan West. I will be the voice of the taxpayers and residents of these areas for the next four years in administering policy and direction to R.D.C.O. Management.