Donald Couzens

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Section 1   (Motive, personal interests and potential conflicts of interest.)
Please tell us why you are running? What community clubs or organizations do you belong to/
or support? How have you been involved in the community? Do you think any of these could put
you in a conflict of interest position and how will you handle it? 

 

Response:

I have long been interested in playing a more active role in my community and now is
that time since I recently retired after almost 30 years of service in the Royal Canadian
Air Force. I’d like to be at the table when decisions affecting my family’s future here are
made. Although I am a relatively new arrival in town, I know QB well (father-in-law grew
up in Errington and in-laws have been in QB since 2000) and I plan to live and raise my
family here long-term. I have the energy, the time, and the desire to serve my community
and I believe that I have the right set of skills to do it well.
Since arriving in QB, I have become a member of the Legion, and of the 100 Fine
Gentlemen of Oceanside. I am currently coaching the KSS Junior Girls volleyball team
and I am also coaching with the Oceanside Volleyball Club as a coach and mentor to
encourage more community involvement with this sport.
At the moment I am not aware of any situations where there may be a COI related to my
involvement with these groups, although I certainly recognize that in a small community
such as Qualicum Beach the potential certainly exists. If such a situation were to arise
related to my role as a QB Councillor, I would discuss with my fellow council members to
assess their perspectives on the issue and, if necessary, recuse myself from any
discussion or voting related to the matter.

 

Section 2 (Skill set and preparedness)
What specific experience/skills do you bring to the role? How have you prepared yourself for
the role so that you can be effective from day one? How much time do you expect to devote to the role? If you are juggling family or job commitments, how will you manage those obligations?

 

Response:

During my career in the Royal Canadian Air Force, I have led organizations of hundreds,
managed million-dollar budgets, overseen billions in assets (buildings, aircraft, vehicles),
and represented Canada abroad as a Defence Attaché. Above all, I was always part of a
team working together to achieve our goals, whether it was planning and preparing for
deployment, procuring new equipment, or ensuring the personnel I managed had the
resources necessary to do their jobs. I believe that this proven teamwork capability will
make me a valuable member of the incoming town council.
As an engineer by education and occupation, I will use available data, and expert advice
to help guide my decision making and voting on council. I plan to listen, learn and then
lead, not the reverse.
My family will always be my first priority, and I will continue to be available for my spouse
and my daughters whenever they need me. I also highly value my coaching commitments as I believe in supporting opportunities for young athletes to learn and to lead in their community. But since retiring from the RCAF in 2025 I am no longer actively employed so technically I see serving on council as my next “full-time” job. I will devote the time needed to understand the issues facing Qualicum Beach, ask thoughtful questions, and ensure that each decision made is rooted in the best interests of this community.

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Section 3   (Financial acumen )

Do you feel you currently have sufficient financial understanding to provide meaningful input and assessment in the town's approximate $40 million dollar annual budget? If elected, what steps would you take to put the town in a firmer financial footing? What specific municipal spending areas would you reduce, maintain or increase? If the town received a $1 million dollar grant (without matching funds required) to use in any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why?

 

Response:
I have led organizations with budgets this size, and I am confident in my financial
understanding and my ability to meaningfully contribute to these discussions. I believe in
respecting the expertise of our financial office and I plan to work on building that
relationship from day one. But, I also want to see a greater focus on transparency when
it comes to town budgets, including project scopes, risks, and evaluation processes, If I
don’t see something as transparent, then the average resident of QB likely won’t either.

If elected, I commit to ensuring Operations and Maintenance of the town continues, as
we all want safe streets, clean water, and effective and efficient town services. I plan to
gain a better understanding of the town’s asset management plan so I can be confident
that we’re making smart choices about issues that need to be addressed now and are
not just kicking problems down the road for future generations.
On discretionary matters, I commit to always doing my homework on the background of
proposed projects, to being willing to ask the hard questions regarding risk assessments,
contingency budgets, and to understanding the impact on the town’s reserve funds. For
now, I would focus on using discretionary funding to either rebuild the reserve funds or to
proactively replace aging infrastructure that has been delayed (ie. Asbestos-Cement
pipes, public building roofs etc.). I would also ensure the town is maximizing benefits
from any Federal and Provincial programs, such as the Build Canada Strong Fund
because if you don’t ask, you can’t get.
If I had a million dollars, I’d buy a nice chesterfield or an ottoman… Actually, in all
seriousness, I have knocked on 50% of the doors in Qualicum Beach as of today, and
there are so many issues that people are passionate about that it would be very hard to
choose any single project. Some great ideas I’ve heard include neighborhood
playgrounds, updated senior center, start a youth center, improved accessibility, road
safety issues. If it were my pet project, and there were no restrictions, I would create an
QB endowment to be used for recognizing significant commitments and achievements
from local volunteers, that benefit Qualicum beach.

 

Section 4 ( Transparency)

In the past term we have seen many significant initiatives that were never on the town's 5 year strategic plan, all proceeding to fruition behind closed door meetings. Examples include the introduction of a tree protection bylaw, the renewal of the skateboard park, the commons proposal, the acquisition strategy of Eaglecrest, and donation to the hospital foundation. All significant events/expenses that came out of the blue and did not receive an opportunity for the public to hear council openly debate in public the costs, or where the project should be placed in terms of the town's priorities. What is your opinion and what would you change with respect to the process of new projects proceeding in closed meetings without debate in public view? When do you think the town should report to the public on decisions made in closed meetings?

Response:
The local Government Act states that by default town council meetings will be open. It
also identifies reasons a meeting MAY be closed, without saying it MUST be closed.
From my point of view, the council should err on the side of remaining open. If a meeting
must occur behind closed doors, I think the reason for closing the meeting should be
made public immediately and an announcement should follow to confirm that whatever
was discussed was resolved, agreed to, etc. with details to follow.
I believe that any decision involving millions in tax payer funds should be made in the
open, especially if it involves the reserves meant for future asset management plans.
The goals of the initiative should be well-defined, the risks and benefits clearly laid out,
and the definition of “success” determined ahead of time. Costs, contingencies and
decision points should also be defined and shared. Making such information public will
build trust within the community that the project has been well thought through, impacts
and risks identified, and concurrent opportunities considered. I’m not trying to say that I
believe we can get everyone in town to agree on a project, that’s just wishful thinking!
But I firmly believe that anytime a decision is made, regardless of whether I agree with
the outcome, I want to be able to look my neighbours in the eye and say that we
considered the options, explain the reasons for the decision, and confidently state that
the council made a rational choice for the benefit the community.

 

Section 5 ( FireSmart)
In your opinion, is the town providing sufficient resource allocation and direction with respect to
FireSmart activities on municipally owned land?

 

Response:
While I am aware that the fire department provides assessments on being FireSmart, I
am not currently aware of what resource allocation and direction has been given by the
town. This has not been a topic of discussion while knocking on doors as of yet. If
elected, I will work to become more knowledgeable on this topic.

 

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Section 6 (Public consultation and open dialogue with the public)

Would you be supportive of returning the availability of public feedback during council meetings, prior to decisions being made for items on council agendas? What are your thoughts on how letters to council from the public are currently handled and would you support posting letters received on the town's website?

 

Response:

I am generally supportive of public feedback during council meetings. I do, however,
believe that public feedback should be restricted to agenda items for the meeting in
question. I would like to see “pick your topic” feedback sessions take place from time to
time with the sole agenda item being public feedback.
I think it is essential that letters from the public are uploaded to the town’s website
regardless of what they say. However, to protect privacy, letters should be anonymized,
but only after the letter has been verified as coming from a resident of Qualicum Beach.

 

Section 7 (Discretionary community funding)
The town currently provides support by way of operating cash, fee for service agreements, below market rents, property tax exemptions and other incentives to the nonprofit sector. These include arts and culture, sports related, economic, tourism and environmentally focused groups. Do you think the current level of support is fairly distributed? Is it sufficient? Is it transparent? How do you see the town arriving at a predetermined quantifiable overall amount and achieving greater fairness in the distribution of the discretionary support funded by taxpayers?

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Response:

I can’t say that I currently know enough about how current support is distributed to say if
it is fair or not. I would like to learn more about how this support is determined and get a
better understanding of the benefits they provide to our residents. Non-profit
organizations of all kinds play a very important role within our community and there are
many important activities that would not occur without them. I agree with continuing this
support and believe that both these organizations and the town could benefit from
greater transparency in the relationship.
Other municipalities have annual application windows for organizations to request
support, and I do not believe QB has the same requirement, it is just re-approved
annually. Some municipalities have set their support funding limits based on a % of
municipal taxes (or specified $$ amount), and I believe Qualicum Beach should ensure
we are in-line with our neighboring municipalities, such as Courtney/Comox and
Parksville.

 

Section 8 (Development)
What are your views on the need for development within Qualicum Beach over the next 10
years? How can the town balance the need for growth with the desire to protect the community
character?  What type of development do you believe the community most needs now and why?

 

Response:

In QB, 80% of the population is over the age of 60, and 80% of the housing stock is
single detached dwellings. If individuals need to downsize (by choice, for medical
reasons etc.) there are not many options to choose from. Housing development should
focus on increasing options (patio homes, accessible apartments, condos,
assisted/independent living, etc.) as this would free up larger homes for younger families
to move into. This kind of change would shift QB toward the truly multi-generational
community our Official Community Plan says that we are...because at the moment we
aren’t! Before this can happen, we need to fully understand what kind of growth our
municipal utilities, particularly the water supply, can support without imposing restrictions
like all of our neighbors.
Any other development activities should be focused on community building, such as
public meeting rooms, activity centers for all ages, and supporting organizations that
already exist to grow.

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Section 9 (Eaglecrest development going forward)
If the revenue from the planned sale of Eaglecrest lands does not meet the current budget
expectations of $21,199,800, What would your plan B look like? What options would you
request staff to explore such as using long term debt, or up zoning further other Eaglecrest
lands?  Before executing a long term lease at the  Eaglecrest Golf Course, would you pursue an
analysis of the expected financial impact the now revamped Eaglecrest Golf Course  will have
on the cash flow of the existing town owned Memorial Golf Course and its ability to repay its
current loans to the town? 

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Response:

Before anything is decided, I would want to see the full revisioning plan, with
contingencies, expected timelines, forecasted budgets, from initial acquisition to
whatever version exists today, to understand how things have changed. I would expect
to see a forward-looking business plan with expected revenues from a fully used golf
course and clubhouse and then look at 70/80/90% use cases. From there, the town can
make decisions as to what type of rental payments, loan repayments should be
expected and then contracted. Additionally, I would want to understand if the next
council is handcuffed by commitments related to this purchase as this could impact
decisions. Finally, I do not believe rebuilding the reserve funds used for the purchase will
occur in a short period of time, and I predict future councils (not just the next one) will be
dealing with it for many years.

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Section 10  ( Governance) 
The town currently has 8 committees, commissions and boards set up to advise council. These
committees not only use council time and staff resources, but presumably reflect councils
priorities. If elected  would you continue with these same entities or are there other more critical
issues that you would encourage council to pursue via new committees? 

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Response:

Before making any decisions, I would like to be briefed on the work these committees,
commissions and boards have completed, understand their current direction, and review
their recent work. Additionally, I would like to see what past initiatives have benefitted
from the work of these committees to better understand the value they add to the town.

 

Section 11 ( Specific to Mayoral candidates only)
Historically the role of Mayor includes acting as a director in the RDN. What specific actions will
you undertake to ensure Qualicum Beach residents are made aware of the RDN issues that
affect them? How will you engage with Qualicum Beach residents to ensure your vote is in line
with their preferences? RDN taxation will soon exceed the municipal portion of our overall
property taxes. What RDN services and costs should be reviewed on a  value for money basis, as it applies to Qualicum Beach residents.

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Response:

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