Kristi Reich

After nearly a decade of living in Lake Country, I’ve spent a great deal of time listening to residents’ concerns, examining how our municipality currently operates, and developing creative, out-of-the-box solutions for some of the challenges we face.

By running for Winfield Councillor, I hope to inspire more residents to participate in our local democracy. We must remain current, reach younger voters, and make municipal government understandable and engaging.

Asked Biography/Why are you running?

I am an agenda free community member, a mother, a business owner and opinionated influencer. We need people in political arenas to bring power back to our people and give hope to Canadian’s futures.

I will speak out against one-size-fits-all housing mandates at the UBCM convention. It is time for municipalities to reclaim their voices and advocate for solutions that reflect local realities.

Asked Lake Country businesses often struggle to recruit and retain employees because of housing costs and availability. What actions would you support to increase attainable workforce housing?

Create actual affordable housing opportunities which would be under 500KMimic successful outside the box solutions that have worked elsewhere such as properties like; Deer Meadows, community housing initiatives, micro home-fronts, etc.

Asked What is the most important topic that needs to be dealt with in Lake Country and how would you go about dealing with it?

Reallocation of spending and creative accounting could uncover the funds we need for our much needed water treatment plant. With our current water situation, we should be prioritizing this at the top of the list.

Asked At the end of your four-year term, what measurable results should Lake Country businesses use to determine whether you successfully improved the local business environment?

Reduce taxes to a manageable place and redirect funds to our WATER solution we need now

Asked What is the most important topic that needs to be dealt with in Lake Country and how would you go about dealing with it?

The biggest problem we are facing is property taxes. Since homeowners here, carry the lions share of our tax base, we need to go through our budget with a fine tooth comb; eliminating expenses that do not serve our community.

Asked What is the most important topic that needs to be dealt with in Lake Country and how would you go about dealing with it?

We need a new council who are willing to vote down the proposed budget 100 times if that’s what it takes to bring costs down and someone who can loudly express “the why’s.”

Asked How would you control municipal spending and keep commercial property taxes, business-licensing costs and other municipal fees affordable?

What can we afford now, what are the future goals and what is absolutely necessary? Everything else needs to be put on hold until we are in a more stable place in the economy.

Asked How would you address traffic congestion, parking limitations and transportation challenges affecting employees, customers and commercial deliveries?

Stop approving development in spaces where it doesn't make sense such as Bond/Davidson townhomes, Berry/Newene Rd mini-mall, new industrial area etc. We cannot current;y support that kind of traffic growth in those areas.

Asked How would you address traffic congestion, parking limitations and transportation challenges affecting employees, customers and commercial deliveries?

Ensure that Developments such as Lakewood Mall are financially responsible for adding lights at Oceola/Pretty Rd due to the significant increase in traffic at their mall.

Asked How would you address traffic congestion, parking limitations and transportation challenges affecting employees, customers and commercial deliveries?

Motion to pass a bylaw preventing large vehicles from using Beaver Lake Road during peak traffic times encouraging Kelowna to open new roads to their increasingly busy Industrial Area.

Asked What are the three most important actions the District should take to support the growth and success of local businesses?

Improve our reputation so developers and business owners want to work with us; analyze and improve our in house processes, remove red tape and provide support and mentorship to businesses that assists them in succeeding quickly.

Asked What specific changes would you support to make building permits, development applications, inspections and business approvals faster and more predictable?

Hire our own competent staff to process Permit Applications (not outsource)Create an accountability timeline and check lists on processes such as inspections and final approvals

Asked What is your plan to attract new businesses and investment while also supporting established locally owned businesses?

Recruit franchises, local shops & industrial business to our new park using "Personal Invitation" and in person marketing methods and based on community input

Asked What steps would you support to improve public safety, cleanliness and security in Lake Country’s commercial areas?

Hire more police potentially. We only have 2-3 and when there's an emergency, they do not know how long it will take to get there and often we don't have 24/7 access in overnight emergencies.

Asked What steps would you support to improve public safety, cleanliness and security in Lake Country’s commercial areas?

Encourage community safety initiatives, such as Neighborhood Watch, get young people involved in detecting and identifying community issues and provide incentives for out-of-the-box solutions.

Asked How should the District work with the Lake Country Chamber of Commerce and local businesses when developing policies, budgets and long-term economic plans?

Create Crisis Management Initiatives so we have a solid plan in case of emergency

Residents do not want councillors who simply follow the direction of others. They want representatives who listen, lead, and stand firmly behind the needs of Lake Country.

Asked What steps would you support to improve public safety, cleanliness and security in Lake Country’s commercial areas?

Increase transparency in the community using various platforms and holding old fashioned town hall information sessionsListen to the community and act on what people are asking for reflecting that in public hearings and also considering when voting

Asked How would you ensure businesses receive adequate notice and meaningful consultation before roadwork, construction or other municipal projects disrupt access, parking or customer traffic?

Sine-age, social media, door knocking, mail, notice on door, arranging the work to be at less busy times, creating one easy source of communication for the community to tap into, large community announcement board, town hall meetings, encourage youth to share on social media.