Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain and City Councillor Blair Mirau provided parting words and reflection on the past eight years of city leadership at the council meeting on October 24.
As Brain and Mirau step away from council responsibilities to focus on their young families, a newly elected leadership will take the helm on Nov. 7.
Reflections of how young and green some council members were when voted onto council in 2014 were shared with accomplishments highlighted at Monday nights meeting.
“There is no way I can possibly summarize eight years and touch on everything,” Councillor Mirau said. “… It’s easy to forget some of the wins and the monotony of what this job can entail sometimes.”
“If I can rewind your memories back to 2014 … people placed their trust in a majority new council. [The mayor] was 29, and I was 24 years old. This was as green of a council as I think people could have elected.”
Mirau remembered how he sat in chambers and heard the departing mayor of the day explain that they would soon learn the “hellhole” of Watson Island and wondered what he had involved himself. He said he may have been a bit naive but was optimistic and ambitious to get things done. However, it was just two weeks in when he realized firsthand the mess and near bankruptcy of the city that had been inherited.
“Everything he had been saying about it being a hellhole was pretty darn accurate. It was a $ 90,000-a-month burn rate, multiple legal suits, multiple failed restarts and deals falling through. So, looking back on that time. It is kind of funny to think that we willingly signed up to do this job.”
The task of reinventing the identity and purpose of Watson island was a mammoth undertaking for the new council entrenched with learning necessities.
“We’ve got firsthand experience … in court systems, arbitration, provincial relations with BC Liberals and BC NDP expropriation, contaminated sites legislation, decommissioning, demolition, and then finally commercial negotiations to get Pembina out there,” Mirau said.
The departing city councillor said he couldn’t “prognosticate” what the legacy of the 2014-2022 council will be, but for him, the reinvention of Watson Island is one of his proudest accomplishments.
“I’ve been happy to be the smallest part of where we’ve transformed that island from the city’s biggest liability that could very likely have bankrupted … to now one of our greatest assets generating millions in tax and lease revenues and is actually now up for a national Brownfield Revitalization award.”
He said equally rewarding is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to be involved as a small part of not one but three major infrastructure projects.
“The water dam, what will hopefully be our last landfill cell and then solving the thorny issue of the RCMP station — each one of those projects is only going to need to be dealt with once every 50 to 100 years. So to be able to do all three of them within the last two terms is incredible in my mind. It’s just all speaks to how timing is everything.”
Mayor Lee Brain said it is “crazy” to think how far the city has come during his eight years in office.
“We came into six LNG facilities being proposed, plus Watson Island, plus essentially the town was going bankrupt fast. We had no choice but to dig the town out of the hole. That is, I would say, what we’ve done.”
“At the end of the day … there have been mayors before, and there have been councils. You do what you can while you’re there, and you do the job well,” Brain said. “I think that’s something I feel very proud of. I think we’ve managed to set a new foundation, dig the town out of a hole and lay out new ground for a new trajectory.
He said the need for change in the city was pretty much unanimous when 4,000 people came together to help with the Redesign Rupert process and the 2030 Vision.
“I think one thing — when you’re in a community that’s hit rock bottom, there’s only one way [to go], and that’s up. People wanted change, and I think we’re delivering that, and this next council is going to continue that process. You guys helped build the plan. And I know you know what needs to be done and I have confidence that you’re going to continue with the vision.”
Public service is a “tough business” to be in but people do it anyway because things need to get done, the outgoing mayor said, adding Prince Rupert has definitely moved forward.
“Our top priority has always been the water and clean water,” Brain explained, “That project is fully funded with the grants, we’re moving forward with the last phase … then the next stage after that, is going to be the water distribution system within the actual town site, which is also another 100-year-old system.”
Brain referred to the recently completed McBride St. dig-up that cost just less than $1 million to replace the century-old infrastructure and reminded residents that every single road in the city needs to be ripped up.
“The infrastructure challenges that this community is facing are beyond what I think people fully understand. We will need federal and provincial help to get it taken care of — because if we don’t, we could be facing a crisis long term.”
The “massive undertakings” that have been completed, such as the Woodworth dam, Watson Island and the water supply, are out of the community’s view, Brain said, adding needs other than infrastructure require attention.
“So now here we are at the end of our term, which is really just the beginning for this community’s next stages,” he said, outlining projects that are underway, such as the gateway into the city, downtown development, marina district development, the $30 million CN station revitalization leading the way into the Rupert Landing and waterfront development.
“And then, of course, most likely about 12 to 15 housing projects are going to be coming together here over the next two to three years because the community needs 3,000 to 5,000 new housing units to come online by 2027. So the reality is we need 300-something units per year.”
“We need a mass mobilized effort. This is going to require the Port Authority and all the port industries and the federal government, the provincial government, First Nations communities, the city and everybody coming together, full steam ahead with a very laser-like focus to get it done.”
The community is not being left without direction. The mayor referring to the Rupert 2030 plan, said it lays out the process and timeline of infrastructure and investment.
“As long as the spirit of that is out there, I think this community is going to get the results it needs. So, for me signing off today, it’s a little bit bittersweet …”
“The truth is, I couldn’t have been a good mayor without your guys’ support. You have been 100 per cent behind me and trusted me to do what needs to be done.”
“At the end of the day, when a council fails, a community fails and we have not been like that … And I think it’s because we’re focused, and we have a direction. When you’re motivated like that, you can move forward,” the mayor said in his final meeting address words.