ROTHENBURGER – City’s Heritage Commission ignored out of existence
Communication between City Hall and heritage commission has been off track for years. (Image: Mel Rothenburger)
KAMLOOPS CITY COUNCIL could learn a thing or two from the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. Within hours of the devastating blaze that destroyed a large part of one of the world’s most famous and revered man-made structure, hundreds of millions of dollars had been pledged to restore it. They care about heritage there.
In contrast, in Kamloops, City Hall has been waging a war of neglect and attrition against heritage for years or, perhaps more accurately, against the Kamloops Heritage Commission. It seems to have regarded the hard-working commission as a pain in the ass, and has disrespected it right out of existence.
The war was started under Peter Milobar’s watch and completed under Ken Christian’s.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops, former school board chair, former editor of The Kamloops Daily News, and a current director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He was awarded the Jack Webster Foundation’s lifetime achievement award in 2011. His editorials are published Monday through Thursdays, and Saturdays on CFJC Today, CFJC Midday and CFJC Evening News. Contact him at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Having an appointed chair and fixed number of meetings is always problematic. Who is the chair beholding to? Will the chair go to bat for the committee members or a “higher voice”? There should be a minimum number of fixed meetings not a max. Sounds dictatorial.
Heritage? One has to look at that totally heritage Allan Block wall the City recently commissioned at Stuart Wood to realize the “war” has been won by the forces of “neglect”…but there are more example of bad choices. What’s happening with the unnecessary cladding at the parkade on Lansdowne BTW?