Tundra Baird for City Council 2022

 

My last 11 years serving the citizens of Enderby sitting on council have been extremely rewarding. Knowing I can contribute to making positive changes, shaping our communities direction, as well as seeing the projects I have been championing completed, are my biggest drivers to have another 4 years in local govt.

 Growing up in Enderby, raising our daughters, alongside my husband, as well as having a local business, has truly kept me rooted in my vision for making Enderby an amazing community to live, work, and play in.

During my time on Enderby City Council, I have had the opportunity to sit on many boards, and truly learn how our region co-operates.  Currently, I am on The Regional Library Board, Okanagan Rail Trail Advisory Board,  Enderby and Area F Recreation Services,  Shuswap Watershed Council, and Enderby and District Museum. These are invaluable learning opportunities, and I feel I have lots of tools in my tool kit to continue to place Enderby at the forefront of decisions made locally and regionally.  

Enderby is a growing community and we need to plan accordingly. The new housing developments we have coming to our community are great and welcome, so we need to continue to plan for water and sewer treatment plant upgrades. Putting money into reserves for upgrades to our Arena and Curling Club is always front of mind. The pool will be another positive win for Enderby. It was a long process to ensure we were successful in getting the grant funding to build it, but we persevered and succeeded.

 I feel the relationships that we have fostered with Interior Health will result in a doctor for Enderby sooner than later. Hopefully, our work will ensure Enderby is recognized as needing a Whole Health Network, this would encompass Mental Health and Addictions as well.

  Splatsin, being our neighbor has been in many of these conversations as well, and we want to ensure that continues, as it benefits us all. This includes engaging with the Ministry of Highways to improve our traffic corridor, the safety factor of both our communities is at stake.

 I believe Council should be open and listen to the wants and needs of the community. I know we have heard the need for an additional ball diamond, as well as the appetite for more community events. With our new Event Coordinator position in place, I am excited to see events that showcase and enhance our community continues to develop. 

 I think our current staff, Mayor, and City Council have done an amazing job over the past term. COViD-19 challenged the City to constantly adapt to the changing rules and regulations, and balance our communities' needs with health guidelines. I want to thank and acknowledge our outgoing City Councillors, Brad Case and Raquel Knust who have chosen not to run in this election. They both brought so much knowledge, compassion, and strength to our City Council table, they truly are community champions and I hope to see them back at the table again one day.

Best,

Tundra Baird

Making Enderby the best it can be

Wow, where did the last 4 years go?!  Time flies when you are having fun and getting things done. 

It is incredible the accomplishments that this current council has achieved. We are truly a team of hard-working, like-minded community members who truly love our little city. Your current council has been working hard to ensure our tax dollars are spent thoughtfully and responsibly. 

The past 4 years Enderby has had some fairly amazing things happen! I am proud to say I have been a contributing part of them. 

Our amazing new Cliff Ave, a new Spray park, extensive ball diamond field re-hab, Belvedere hand launch, Friday Night Lights, and those are just the "fun" ones.

Our infrastructure investments have been a huge undertaking, and we continue to invest in improvements for water, sewer, and roads. 

 The completion of Salmon Arm drive, Vernon St,  extensive rebuild of storm sewer system and Regent lift station, are just some of the infrastructure works undertaken this term.

On the social front, this council has worked hard with the various agencies to clean up derelict properties, provide support and assistance to the Food Bank, Harvest Hut, Community Clean Up, reimplement Citizens on Patrol, and provide office space to Community Futures to assist businesses to grow and prosper. City staff and Council supported Memorial Terrace phase 2, and we are excited to see the doors open and welcoming new residents.

There is so much more left to do!

A new Cemetary land use plan, the second phase of the spray park is on the horizon, a 5th ball diamond planned, Brickyard Rd industrial area development, Riverwalk extension, and advocacy for ride sharing. These are just a few items that our council is excited to get working on.

We know there are challenges ahead, with the new Marijuana laws coming into place, lack of policing, the downloading of social services from the federal and provincial governments, and the ongoing infrastructure updates.  We have some serious issues that need a strong united front that will face them head-on.

 Our current council has built great relationships with neighboring communities, as well as Splatsin. We are a strong voice together when we bring our communities concerns to provincial leaders. The Rail Trail is a prime example of this. I can't wait to be able to bike to Sicamous! The Rail Trail will be an amazing economic opportunity for Enderby, as well as a great recreational asset.

In closing, I want to say a huge thank-you to the people of Enderby. Your trust in me for the past 7 years, advocating for you and your families concerns has been a true privilege. 

I look forward to 4 more years working alongside our Mayor, fellow Councilors, and City staff, who have become great friends. We have pulled up our sleeves and put in more volunteer hours than can ever be counted. Decorating Cliff Ave for Christmas, planning Canada Day, moving barricades and doing traffic control for Friday Night Lights, hauling food for the Food Bank, making Christmas breakfast for 600 children, we do this because we love our community. Enderby is made up of people that give back beyond measure.

 We can do wonderful things together, I hope you give me the opportunity to make Enderby the best we can be.

Sincerely,

Tundra Baird

Baird for a Better Enderby

After being on Enderby city council for the past three years I have a new appreciation for Enderby citizens and my peers on council. As well as the staff behind the scenes at city hall.  Prior to being elected, I had a vague idea of what it would take to make small changes happen in our city. Three years later, I realize the immense amount of time and effort that goes into making even one small change happen.  One small change for the better though is worth all that time and effort! 

A quick example- Bathrooms at Barnes park open May-October, not just when the pool is open. This was one of my concerns running for council 3 years ago. Seemed easy enough, first make the motion, have it seconded. All in favor? Good.  Direct staff to look into costs. City employee hours vs time locks? Vandalism opportunities vs public needs? Cleaning cost's? Additional water and sewer flow? Operating hours?

Then bring all the information back to the council to vote again, if bathrooms open at Barnes park are worth the cost?  If so, then proceed with implementing the operating plan to open Bathrooms May-October.  I'm happy to say the council was in favor of this happening. As you can see, a small change takes time, research and effort on all fronts.  That's why I love small town politics, you identify a problem and a solution can be found and implemented. You can be the solution!

Currently, I have been working on improving the river access behind the Chamber of Commerce. We are done the preliminary process and are awaiting the go-ahead from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Enderby's relationship with Splatsin has grown into a working partnership over the past three years.  I hope to continue working towards economic and social development with Splatsin.

We have some rather large issues that the city council has had to tackle in the past three years. Infrastructure deficits,  water and sewer demand, doctor shortage, decrepit buildings,  enticing business and tourism to our town.  The list really goes on, and on….. 

I believe though we have made great strides in the past three years on infrastructure, a plan for water (rates to be determined) and sewer. We have a new doctor in town, and decrepit buildings are coming down as we speak.  Enderby having the lowest development cost charges for commercial builders in the region speaks volumes as Enderby is open for business.  As well as open for fun!

A true testament to our wonderful city and it's citizens is the success of SOAR 2014. Thank-you letters are still being received at city hall from around the world. The Accordion Festival, Gold Panner Days, and various other events are now choosing to call Enderby their home base. These events are a huge boon to our local economy. Hopefully, we can attract many more environmentally friendly events. Cliff Crunch? Highland games? Canoe races……. the possibilities are endless. 

I'm always open to your concerns as citizens of Enderby, please contact me with concerns and possible solutions or just simply a great idea! Together we can all make Enderby a better place to live. 

tundrabaird@gmail.com or 250 838 0882