Photo: Aimee Grice

Castanet News has distributed a questionnaire to each candidate running for local council in the South Okanagan.

All competing candidates have been given the same questions, and answers have been edited for clarity and brevity when needed. An interactive database of Okanagan candidates, including previous questionnaire stories, is available here and is being updated daily.

Election day is Oct. 15.

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Aimee Grice: Incumbent Oliver councillor

Why would you make an effective town councillor?

I offer a good mix of experience without being “old school”. Things have changed and many responsibilities have been downloaded onto municipalities from upper levels of government. I use this challenge as an opportunity to address the social concerns of the residents of our town.

In your view, what is the number one issue facing Oliver today, and how would you deal with it, knowing Town Hall only has so much power?

So many of our social issues are interlinked. The affordable housing crisis is always at the top of mind for me. It contributes to other problems in our community such as the critical lack of Doctors. Our community needs to continue working toward increasing our housing stock to attract young working professionals, including Doctors.

How would you make Oliver more affordable?

Increasing density with density bonuses for developers. An OCP review next term - where can we up-zone? Review our building permit turnaround time and streamline, automate, move online where we can. Ensure we have a “yes we can” attitude for development, both council and staff. I would suggest an affordable housing requirement for multi-family builds of a certain size.

What is one example of a time you agreed with Oliver council over the past term, and one where you disagreed?

As an incumbent this is a bit tricky to answer. There were definitely times when I lost the vote at the council table, but once a decision is made we own it as a council.

If you had $1 million to spend on anything for Oliver, how would you spend it?

I would definitely answer this differently than four years ago! Even in a small municipality like Oliver, $1 million does not go that far. Due to supply issues, shortages of workers, natural disasters etc, we have seen the cost of our infrastructure projects increase, a lot. I would inject the $1 million into our capital plan to play catch up.

Picture Oliver 20 years from now. What are the key aspects that are making it thrive?

Affordability! Multi-family builds, mixed-use lots, the completion of the station street plaza as a gathering place for residents with food trucks, buskers, live art, and small businesses. An increase in foot traffic driving locals and tourists back up to Main Street which has been revitalized by people who can afford to work and live in Oliver.