By Lyonel Doherty

Oliver Chronicle

A Willowbrook resident known for his outspokenness on many issues is running for Area C director in the Oct. 20 election.

Rick Knodel said the plight of the small farmer is his main concern going into the election.

“That is the backbone of this area. If we don’t support our agriculture the economy is going to fold.”

Knodel stated he doesn’t agree with the push to turn the area into a resort-based economy, which is not sustainable.

Looking back on the road that led him here, Knodel said he was very surprised when Area C director Terry Schafer asked him to be his alternate. (Knodel was Schafer’s opponent in the previous election.)

Knodel said the erosion of agricultural land is very concerning to him.

“Our farms are paramount to our existence, so we have to give our farmers as much protection as possible.”

Knodel said local infrastructure needs enhancing to address annual flooding issues, and the hike and bike trail requires upgrading and maintenance to address a safety risk.

Knodel admitted that he is quite outspoken on issues, more so than Schafer was during his tenure.

“I’m a big boy. I don’t need the title; I make lots of noise on my own,” he chuckled.

Knodel said Schafer was more of a diplomat while he was more of the populous.

“I think that’s why we worked well together. We actually accomplished a great deal . . . he didn’t have to be the bad guy (because) I could be.”

He likened it to a tag team, where Schafer was the calm face of the storm while he was the noise in the background.

“If they (organizations) aren’t doing their job, they’ll hear from me,” said Knodel. “I was a manager most of my life. Seems to me that you do your job or at least be called on it.”

Knodel said the regional district has a habit of patting itself on the back and everyone remains quiet because they need the services.

The Area C candidate is a well-known opponent of the proposed national park reserve. When asked if this stance would create a conflict in the role as director, he said it shouldn’t.

“Pretty much all the other regional directors that border on the national park have a negative stance on it.”

Knodel was asked how, as regional director, he could make rural Oliver a better place for people to live and work.

He said he really wants to have the proper infrastructure in place to prevent annual flooding. He also wants to look at the tax issue that is forcing some people to live “close to the wire.”

“We should be able to live a fairly good life here but property is becoming very expensive.”

Knodel said he would like to see changes in the electrical energy system, possibly the inclusion of alternate power sources in residential buildings.

He also agrees that hard-shell cannabis production facilities have no place on agricultural land.

“Once it’s paved over, it has no opportunity to ever come back to agriculture, so that venue is much better suited to commercially zoned land.”

Another issue that Knodel feels strongly about is crime prevention and public safety.

He would like to see a campaign to push the federal government to enact stiffer penalties for property crime.

“We’re really skating on thin ice here. It’s just a matter of time before innocent citizens start getting injured.”

He cited a case where a farmer was injured interrupting a crime in progress.

Knodel believes that prolific offenders should get additional time for every subsequent offence.

“It seems like the more prolific they are, the shorter the sentence.”

Knodel was asked: If you had a million dollars to spend in Area C, where would you put it? He said the most pressing need at the moment is fixing the Gallagher Lake irrigation siphon.

“If we lose that siphon in the middle of a growing season, the results would be catastrophic for our econony.”

Turning to Willowbrook, Knodel acknowledged there is some discontent there over taxation, particularly for fire services. He said one regional district official told residents earlier in the year that the fire tax increase would be $200-$300. But a number of homeowners were facing $2,000-$3,000 increases, Knodel said.

“There’s a lot of discontent coming out of the Willowbrook area because there’s a number of these stories that they’ve been told, to just find out four months later that it’s going to be many times more money.”

Like renters, homeowners need protection, too, Knodel said. “That’s something I hope to be taking to the provincial government’s doorstep on a fairly regular basis.”

The candidate said a lot of people sit around the coffee table talking about how badly things are done. But at some point in your life you have to stand up or remain silent, he pointed out.

“It’s my turn to stand up and say ‘here’s my go at it’ and see if I can make a difference.”