Karel Roessingh
Facebook: Karel for Highlands Council
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
Yes. 33 Years.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
Musician, Composer, Producer 52 years
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience. (80-100 words)
Served on the Highlands District Community Assn. - vice chair (1992 - 1993)
Served 5 terms as councillor (1993 - 1996/2008 - 2011/2011 - 2014/ 2014 - 2018/2018 - 2022) and 2 terms as mayor (1999 - 2002/2002 - 2005)
currently serve on:
• CREST board - vice chair/past finance chair
• Capital Regional Arts Commission - past chair
• GVPL - past chair
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
I’m running to maintain the rural character of the Highlands and to assert it in the region, to ensure our assets, including our infrastructure, water and natural assets, are maintained and enhanced sustainably, to complete our secondary housing policy, to continue to carry out and enhance our groundwater monitoring program, to encourage community building activities, and to implement our Climate Leadership Plan.
What are your top three issues?
We have demonstrated over many years that we are financially responsible & sustainable, that we can maintain and enhance our reserves to take care of our infrastructure. We now need to follow the recommendations of our climate leadership plan to control emissions and be prepared for extremes such as drought and interface fire, to adopt our secondary housing policy (which is nearly complete), and to do everything we can to maintain our rural character.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
The Highlands will remain a safe, beautiful, rural, sustainable community in which to live, with adaptations in place for climate change. Any commercial or industrial activity will also be sustainable, with zero carbon or negative carbon emissions. Groundwater will be carefully monitored and protected, and there will be enthusiastic community engagement in council surveys and initiatives and in social events.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community?
We are facing a climate emergency, with long periods of hot, dry weather causing lowered water tables and extreme fire hazard conditions. We must do all possible to lower carbon emissions and to prepare for such emergencies. We have begun with a climate leadership plan and a groundwater monitoring program. We can encourage and engage the community to help in carrying out these plans to make sure they are supported and realized.
