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Kelly Fehr
Independent for Vernon Council
Businesses & Jobs
Business Permitting
Build on the launch of digital building permits by rolling out online development permitting across all application and rezoning streams to cut review times and eliminate paperwork bottlenecks.
Institutionalize a collaborative pre-application process that brings all relevant municipal departments to the table early, giving applicants clear, coordinated direction before formal submission.
Consolidate and Simplify Bylaws: Review, harmonize, and reduce overlapping municipal land-use policies, plans, and development guidelines to remove regulatory friction and simplify the approval process.
Economic Growth
Modernize the Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw and revise zoning rules to permit more flexible home-based businesses, cutting red tape for local entrepreneurs.
Implement the RDNO Employment Lands Action Plan to unlock underutilized industrial and commercial parcels, creating family-supporting local jobs.
Develop a comprehensive Public Market Strategy and attract commercial investment, including incentives for a new downtown hotel, to stimulate foot traffic in our city core.
Tourism
Complete the audit and modernization of Tourism Vernon’s co-op marketing policy and small accommodators policy to ensure business partners have equitable access to municipal promotional support.
Finalize the connectivity plan linking Vernon’s Cultural and Sport Districts directly to local hotels, transit, and active transportation networks.
Expand regional marketing and infrastructure investment for iconic outdoor corridors, including the Okanagan Rail Trail, the Grey Canal Trail, hilltop parks, and public lake-access sites along Okanagan Lake.
Deploy Tourism Vernon’s Sport Tourism Strategy to attract tournaments, corporate retreats, and athletic competitions to premier facilities and world-class destinations.
Update zoning rules and land-use policies to encourage and support enterprises that cater directly to visitors, such as bike and watercraft rentals, outdoor gear outfitters, and agri-tourism ventures.
Climate Change, Heat, Fires, & the Environment
Energy-Efficient Buildings
Leverage BC’s Community Charter and the Revitalization Tax Exemption Bylaw to provide tax relief and financial grants for commercial buildings undergoing energy-efficiency overhauls and facade revitalizations.
Prioritize the conversion and preservation of existing structural assets over demolition, removing municipal barriers to building relocation and adaptive reuse to eliminate unnecessary landfill waste.
Flooding
Building on the successful completion of the 43rd Street Bridge upgrade, execute the detailed design and construction of a new clear-span bridge at the Okanagan Landing Road crossing, targeted for 2027–2028.
Finalize and implement protective options for the Upper BX Creek crossing and dike.
Expand efforts to daylight and naturalize Vernon Creek and BX Creek, including advancing the multi-phase Polson Park Naturalization Project.
Maintain rigorous, ongoing sediment and vegetation management along local creeks and the BX Sediment Pond to prevent debris blockages during the spring freshet and heavy rain events.
Strictly uphold the 2022 Floodplain Management Bylaw and Development Permit Area (DPA) 5 guidelines.
Green Space
Execute the Park Acquisition Strategy using Development Cost Charges to secure dedicated, permanent public access points along Okanagan Lake.
Follow through on the community-driven Polson Park Revitalization Plan, building on the multi-phase Vernon Creek Naturalization Project to deliver renewed amenities.
Coordinate site grading and commence Phase 1 construction in Q2 2027 alongside the new Active Living Centre, turning the former track into a premier multi-use community park.
Meet our target of 2.0 to 3.0 hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents by prioritizing strategic purchases of hilltop parcels and waterfront properties along Okanagan Lake.
Require "net gain over no net loss" for developments impacting terrestrial (DPA 1) and aquatic (DPA 2) ecosystems.
Implement the Greater Vernon Trails and Natural Spaces Master Plan, securing linear parks along rights-of-way and completing regional trail connections.
Solidify and expand municipal park and recreation agreements for Department of National Defence (DND) grounds to preserve athletic fields and green spaces for future generations.
Private Vehicles & Parking
Implement a Comprehensive Curbside Management Strategy
Expand Curbside EV Charging
Invest in Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR)
Reinvest in Transportation Infrastructure
Urban Heat
Expand Reliable, Low-Barrier Cooling Refuges
Deploy the Urban Forestry Strategy & Tree Equity Targets
Integrate Heat-Friendly Park & Playground Infrastructure
Advance Climate Action Plan initiatives that foster neighbourhood-level check-in programs, helping residents identify and support vulnerable, isolated neighbours during extreme heat events.
Walking & Cycling
Prioritize multi-use active transportation corridors that connect neighbourhoods to major destinations, including the 43rd Avenue multi-use path to the Active Living Centre and the 20th Street corridor.
Develop a comprehensive Public Market Strategy and attract commercial investment, including incentives for a new downtown hotel, to stimulate foot traffic in our city core.
Zoning
Accelerate approvals and expand gentle infill options, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and single-stair egress apartments, to build the "missing middle" within the Urban Containment Boundary.
Enforce the Urban Containment Boundary
Offer Regulatory Flexibility for Community Priorities
Require Proven Public Benefit for Hillside Rezonings
Support Diverse Tenures & Flexible Housing Forms
Water Reclamation
Complete Phase 2 of the Goose Lake Connection
Deliver Critical Reclamation Infrastructure
Update the Liquid Waste Management Plan
Incentivize Greywater Recovery Systems
Protect Utility Operations from Incompatible Land Use
Wildfire
Enforce Development Permit Area (DPA) 4 wildfire hazard guidelines, mandating FireSmart landscaping and protective buffers along wildland-urban interface boundaries such as Predator Ridge.
Mandate Infrastructure Fire-Flow Verification
Execute Systematic Fuels Management on City Lands
Advocate for Landscape-Scale Perimeter Buffers
Modernize Landscaping & Tree Protection Bylaws
Implement the VFRS Strategic Plan & Emergency Modernization
Natural Assets
Implement Vernon’s Natural Asset Management Plan and continue stream naturalization along Vernon Creek and BX Creek to restore natural floodplains and stabilize local groundwater.
Require "net gain over no net loss" for development proposals impacting Terrestrial Ecosystems (DPA 1) and Aquatic Ecosystems (DPA 2), prioritizing the avoidance of sensitive habitats.
Restore and Naturalize Urban Riparian Corridors
Secure Waterfront and Creek Dedications
Defend Watersheds from Invasive Species
Community Centres, Libraries, Parks, and Other Public Spaces
Fitness & Sports Facilities
Deliver the phased Polson Park Revitalization Plan, featuring modern, universally accessible playground areas, upgraded sports courts, and enhanced green spaces.
Deliver & Open the Active Living Centre
Break Ground on Kin Park
Finalize Joint-Use Agreements with School District 22
Expand Neighbourhood Play & Pump Track Networks
Operationalize Tourism Vernon’s Sport Tourism Strategy, leveraging our modern athletic facilities and regional designation as the Trails Capital of BC.
Integrate universal accessibility into all sports and recreation infrastructure.
Green Space
Execute the Park Acquisition Strategy using Development Cost Charges to secure dedicated, permanent public access points along Okanagan Lake.
Follow through on the community-driven Polson Park Revitalization Plan, building on the multi-phase Vernon Creek Naturalization Project to deliver renewed amenities.
Coordinate site grading and commence Phase 1 construction in Q2 2027 alongside the new Active Living Centre, turning the former track into a premier multi-use community park.
Meet our target of 2.0 to 3.0 hectares of parkland per 1,000 residents by prioritizing strategic purchases of hilltop parcels and waterfront properties along Okanagan Lake.
Require "net gain over no net loss" for developments impacting terrestrial (DPA 1) and aquatic (DPA 2) ecosystems.
Implement the Greater Vernon Trails and Natural Spaces Master Plan, securing linear parks along rights-of-way and completing regional trail connections.
Solidify and expand municipal park and recreation agreements for Department of National Defence (DND) grounds to preserve athletic fields and green spaces for future generations.
Health Infrastructure
Operationalize the OCP’s Jubilee Hill Village Centre to support Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s operations and future campus expansions.
Encourage purpose-built one- and two-bedroom workforce housing for nurses, doctors, and allied medical staff within walking distance of VJH, alongside flexible accommodations.
Implement OCP Policy 4.5.2.5 to support basic medical clinics and healthcare services across all future land-use designations within the Urban Containment Boundary.
Leverage our Regional Hospital District board seat to partner with Interior Health & advocate to the Ministry of Health for expanded clinical capacity to divert non-emergency cases from the VJH emergency room.
Fast-Track Approvals & Waive Fees for Health Hubs
Public Washrooms
Expand the availability of clean, safe, and accessible public washrooms and shaded gathering spaces across Vernon’s urban core and active trail networks.
Sidewalks & Bike Paths
Expand separated, paved walking and cycling links such as the Kalamalka Lake Road to Pottery Road route to ensure seamless, safe connectivity for all ages and mobility devices.
Zoning
Accelerate approvals and expand gentle infill options, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and single-stair egress apartments, to build the "missing middle" within the Urban Containment Boundary.
Enforce the Urban Containment Boundary
Offer Regulatory Flexibility for Community Priorities
Require Proven Public Benefit for Hillside Rezonings
Support Diverse Tenures & Flexible Housing Forms
Culture & Events
Festivals & Events
Explore bundled transit and community event passes to expand equitable attendance at cultural festivals and civic facilities.
Implement universal accessibility policies across all civic venues so residents of all physical abilities can participate fully in local arts and recreational programming.
Create an affordable, streamlined permitting process and provide municipal "event activation kits" to encourage neighbourhood block parties, artisan markets, and cultural festivals.
Public Art
Reintroduce a Public Art Policy
Tourism
Complete the audit and modernization of Tourism Vernon’s co-op marketing policy and small accommodators policy to ensure business partners have equitable access to municipal promotional support.
Finalize the connectivity plan linking Vernon’s Cultural and Sport Districts directly to local hotels, transit, and active transportation networks.
Expand regional marketing and infrastructure investment for iconic outdoor corridors, including the Okanagan Rail Trail, the Grey Canal Trail, hilltop parks, and public lake-access sites along Okanagan Lake.
Deploy Tourism Vernon’s Sport Tourism Strategy to attract tournaments, corporate retreats, and athletic competitions to premier facilities and world-class destinations.
Update zoning rules and land-use policies to encourage and support enterprises that cater directly to visitors, such as bike and watercraft rentals, outdoor gear outfitters, and agri-tourism ventures.
Housing & Homelessness
Affordability
Leverage underutilized, surplus municipal land for cooperative, non-profit, and rental developments while maintaining balanced vacancy protections.
Fast-track permit processing and waive municipal Development Cost Charges (DCCs) for non-profit and attainable housing providers building subsidized and workforce homes.
Building Maintenance & Occupant Health
Promote envelope airtightness, mechanical ventilation with filtration (such as HRV/ERV systems), and ember-resistant, screened external venting to safeguard indoor air quality from smoke and wildfire hazards.
Implement the updated Building Asset Management Plan across municipal facilities to conduct regular upkeep, optimize digital HVAC systems, and prevent deferred maintenance deficits on public buildings.
Homelessness
Empower Frontline Non-Profit Housing Partners
Deploy Municipal Land for Homes
Champion Equitable, Service-Connected Locations
Lobby for Provincial Complex-Care & Treatment Beds
Strengthen Commercial Corridors & Neighbourhood Safety
Housing Accessibility
Enforce Universal Design & Adaptable Housing Standards
Incentivize Fully Accessible Units with Non-Profit Partners
Support Aging in Place Through Gentle Density
Implement the Age- and Dementia-Friendly Community Plan
Deploy Digital Infill Tools for Accessible Builds
Promote Ground-Floor Accessibility in Mixed-Use Developments
Indigenous-Led Housing
Fast-Track Approvals
Support Culturally Informed & Accessible Design
Advance Collaborative Regional Planning with OKIB
Property Taxes
Maximize Development Cost Charges (DCCs) and local area servicing tools to fund growth-related capital upgrades, preventing new developments from inflating the property tax base of existing residents.
Apply strict fiscal oversight to operational and capital budgets, eliminating administrative redundancies and focusing core revenues on frontline public services, community safety, and essential infrastructure.
Protect Vernon’s dedicated infrastructure levy to replace end-of-life pipes, roads, and facilities under the Organizational Asset Management Plan, preventing costly emergency repairs and sudden tax spikes.
Expand accessible, low-fee digital payment and pre-authorized installment programs for property taxes and utilities to make bill management easier and more flexible for households and local businesses.
Public & Assistive Housing
Build on successful precedents like Albert Place & Thunderbird Manor by maintaining & expanding Development Cost Charge (DCC) waivers and fee offsets for non-profit, subsidized, and assistive housing projects.
Utilize the City's land acquisition strategy and long-term lease frameworks to contribute underutilized public parcels to non-profit partners for subsidized family, senior, and assistive housing builds.
Prioritize and accelerate staff reviews and permit processing for non-market and assisted living developments, including expanding supportive housing capacity.
Provide zoning relief, including increased density and tailored parking reductions under housing agreements, for projects located along transit corridors and adjacent to essential daily amenities.
Advocate for Operational Health & Support Subsidies
Rent & Rental Stock
Restore a Balanced Rental Market (3% to 5% Vacancy)
Update the City’s Rental Housing Incentive Grant Program and Zoning Bylaw to provide targeted regulatory relief, such as parking reductions, additional height, and Development Cost Charge (DCC) grant offsets.
Fast-Track "Missing Middle" & Single-Stair Infill
Incentivize Diverse & Adaptable Rental Layouts
Zoning
Accelerate approvals and expand gentle infill options, including duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and single-stair egress apartments, to build the "missing middle" within the Urban Containment Boundary.
Enforce the Urban Containment Boundary
Offer Regulatory Flexibility for Community Priorities
Require Proven Public Benefit for Hillside Rezonings
Support Diverse Tenures & Flexible Housing Forms
Human Rights
Human Rights Abroad
Ensure Vernon remains a welcoming, resilient community for everyone by ensuring civic policies explicitly consider the needs of residents from all cultures and backgrounds.
Support the democratic right to peaceful, respectful assembly in Vernon’s public spaces, while coordinating with local RCMP and Bylaw teams to ensure our streets remain safe and free from discrimination.
Foster a culture of equity and respect within City Hall by supporting the ongoing implementation of the City’s Respectful Workplace and Anti-Discrimination Policy across all municipal operations and services.
Physical Accessibility
Apply universal design standards to all capital renewals, ensuring streets, civic buildings, and park spaces are fully barrier-free for seniors, families, and people with mobility challenges.
Upgrade Crossings, Sidewalks, & Traffic Calming
Prioritize Accessible Amenities in Parks & Streetscapes
Protect Dedicated Mobility Parking
Incentivize Adaptable & Accessible Housing
Public Washrooms
Expand the availability of clean, safe, and accessible public washrooms and shaded gathering spaces across Vernon’s urban core and active trail networks.
Recent Immigrants
Support innovative partnerships with stakeholders to help new immigrants navigate employment programs, successfully matching newcomers with local businesses to fill critical workforce gaps.
Apply an Inclusive Policy Lens
Actively encourage newcomers and equity-seeking groups to participate in municipal decision-making, ensuring diverse communities have a direct voice in shaping Vernon’s future.
Foster an environment of dignity, respect, and social inclusion across all facilities and services, celebrating diversity and challenging stereotypes to ensure every resident feels culturally safe and valued.
Sex Work
Continue to collaborate with the Social Planning Council and other community agencies to ensure individuals have safe, barrier-free access to health, poverty reduction, and social development services.
Align our community safety objectives to target violent offenders, human trafficking, and coercion, ensuring that the physical safety of vulnerable individuals remains the absolute top law enforcement priority.
Advocate for expanded mobile integrated crisis response teams so that individuals experiencing acute distress or trauma receive compassionate, clinical care rather than standard police dispatch.
Trans Rights & Access to Public Services
Deliver modern, inclusive, universal private single-stall change and washroom spaces in all major municipal investments and amenities, ensuring safety, privacy, and accessibility for all individuals.
Enforce Workplace & Public Anti-Discrimination Policies
Apply an Equity Lens to Municipal Planning
Protect Inclusive Community Programming
Deliver Respectful Frontline Civic Services
Information Access
Guarantee equitable citywide access to civic information, emergency readiness tools, and extreme heat relief centers regardless of socio-economic status.
Equity
Advocate for fair wages, equitable municipal procurement policies, and dignified support structures across civic operations and contracted partnerships.
Local Government, Planning, & Democracy
Budgeting
Protect taxpayer dollars with transparent budget oversight, keeping major capital investments like the Active Living Centre on time and on budget without accruing hidden infrastructure debt.
Scrutinize operational and capital budgets through continuous review, using data to eliminate redundancies and direct municipal funds to essential core services and community priorities.
Make Growth Pay for Growth
Maintain Vernon’s sustainable infrastructure funding strategy (dedicated infrastructure levy) to systematically replace aging infrastructure.
Factor Full Lifecycle Costs into Capital Spending
Good Governance
Uphold the Council Code of Responsible Conduct while modernizing digital engagement platforms so residents have direct input into civic decisions.
Commit to making decisions based on rigorous data, expert advice, and smart growth principles rather than reacting to short-term pressures or political slogans.
Transparent Public Engagement
Apply consistent principles across all municipal decisions to guarantee fairness, equal opportunity, and unbiased outcomes for all Vernon residents.
Long-Term Plan
Prioritize development within existing service footprints to curb costly suburban sprawl and eliminate the infrastructure deficits associated with unmanaged growth.
Implement the newly updated 20-year Official Community Plan across all civic operations, aligning zoning, capital spending, and neighbourhood development with its five core pillars.
Steward Vernon’s $2.6 Billion Asset Base
Align Infrastructure Master Plans with 20-Year Servicing
Public Engagement
Expand the "Let's Talk Vernon" Platform
Ensure Age-Friendly & Accessible Consultation
Apply an Equity Lens to Civic Participation
Youth Engagement
Operationalize the Youthful Vernon Strategy and uphold the Vernon Children’s Charter, embedding youth-informed perspectives directly into city planning, recreation delivery, and capital budgeting.
Support and enhance youth advisory mechanisms so young residents have an ongoing, meaningful seat at the table in reviewing City services, community safety initiatives, and policy updates.
Support Youth Climate Education & Green Careers
Prioritize youth activity hubs across public and private developments while finalizing joint-use facility agreements with School District 22 to maximize affordable access to fields, courts, and gyms.
Mental Health, Drugs, & Addiction
Mental Health Crisis Response
Partner with Interior Health and provincial ministries to advocate for increased local investments in complex care housing, detox beds, and specialized addiction treatment facilities.
Support collaborative civilian and peer-led crisis outreach models to ensure individuals experiencing acute mental health distress receive appropriate medical care rather than police intervention.
Address the root causes of community trauma through proactive municipal social development strategies and regional coordination across the North Okanagan.
Continue working with Interior Health on the development of a new psychiatric facility.
Overdoses & the Contaminated Drug Supply
Partner with Interior Health and provincial ministries to advocate for increased local investments in complex care housing, detox beds, and specialized addiction treatment facilities.
Support Life-Saving Harm Reduction Services
Fast-Track Supportive Healthcare Infrastructure
Expand Mobile Integrated Crisis Response
Foster a community culture that challenges the stigma surrounding addiction, ensuring that individuals facing these challenges are not deterred from seeking life-saving health services and support.
Treatment for Addiction
Partner with Interior Health and provincial ministries to advocate for increased local investments in complex care housing, detox beds, and specialized addiction treatment facilities.
Lobby for 24/7 Medical Detox & Stabilization
Fast-Track Approvals & Waive Fees for Treatment Infrastructure
Advocate for provincially funded treatment options that span every stage of recovery, from low-barrier stabilization and medical detox to long-term residential treatment and outpatient programs.
Facilitate Non-Profit Recovery Partnerships
Collaborate with Vernon Jubilee Hospital and local clinics to ensure seamless transitions from acute care into community-based recovery and stable housing.
Public Safety & Policing
Non-Police-Based Public Safety
Enhance downtown safety and property security through improved public lighting, crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED), and close coordination with downtown businesses.
Expand Clinical Mobile Crisis Response (Car 60)
Build upon the success of the Gun and Gang Violence Prevention Strategy, sustaining partnerships with the OKIB, CMHA and NOYFSS to provide mentorship, safe recreation, and early intervention for youth at risk.
Continue updating the role of Bylaw Officers with specialized mental health awareness training, ensuring street entrenchment and public space concerns are resolved collaboratively alongside outreach agencies.
Police Funding
Advance the completed Phase 1 RCMP Detachment Space Planning Study, drive Phase 2 expansion options & financing strategies to solve the RCMP's severe space crunch & meet operational needs for the next 20 years.
Sustain Upstream Gang Prevention
Advance municipal strategies to increase active participation in our RCMP and Community Safety volunteer programs.
Maintain fiscal discipline by strategically reserving funds for approved RCMP positions to navigate ongoing provincial recruitment delays.
Police Wrongdoing & Accountability
Utilize the City's Police Agreement & quarterly RCMP reporting to Council to track detachment performance, ensuring operations align with community priorities & municipal values of fairness and transparency.
Respect the statutory independence of police oversight by fully supporting the deferral of all investigations involving officer misconduct, serious harm, or death to the independent CRCC and the IIO of BC.
Reduce the likelihood of volatile police encounters by advocating for the expansion of mobile integrated crisis response teams (such as Car 60).
Upstream Causes of Crime
Apply Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) guidelines to all municipal developments.
Collaborate with non-profits & senior government to build affordable & supportive housing, closing the systemic safety-net gaps that push vulnerable individuals into street entrenchment & survival-driven crime.
Build upon the success of the Gun and Gang Violence Prevention Strategy, maintaining active collaboration with the OKIB, CMHA, NOYFSS to provide early mentorship and positive recreation for youth at risk.
Mobilize Clinical Crisis Response & Complex Care
Fire Rescue
Execute the Vernon Fire Rescue Services Strategic Plan 2025–2032 by modernizing apparatus, staffing frontline crews appropriately, and planning future emergency facilities near growing community nodes.
Fund dedicated municipal FireSmart personnel and neighbourhood programs to help residents systematically reduce home ignition risks.
Modernize Fleet & Apparatus Replacement
Target Strategic Firehall Staffing
Prioritize Firefighter Health & Responder Safety
Integrate Proactive Wildfire Mitigation & FireSmart
Strengthen Regional Aid & Emergency Management
Public Services
Health Infrastructure
Operationalize the OCP’s Jubilee Hill Village Centre to support Vernon Jubilee Hospital’s operations and future campus expansions.
Encourage purpose-built one- and two-bedroom workforce housing for nurses, doctors, and allied medical staff within walking distance of VJH, alongside flexible accommodations.
Implement OCP Policy 4.5.2.5 to support basic medical clinics and healthcare services across all future land-use designations within the Urban Containment Boundary.
Leverage our Regional Hospital District board seat to partner with Interior Health & advocate to the Ministry of Health for expanded clinical capacity to divert non-emergency cases from the VJH emergency room.
Fast-Track Approvals & Waive Fees for Health Hubs
Reconciliation & Indigenous Nations
Indigenous-Led Housing
Fast-Track Approvals
Support Culturally Informed & Accessible Design
Advance Collaborative Regional Planning with OKIB
Collaboration
Strengthen government-to-government collaboration with the Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB), aligning civic priorities with mutual respect and direct joint consultation.
Partner with the OKIB on regional emergency management protocols, coordinated wildfire evacuation corridors, and shared environmental monitoring of Okanagan Lake and local creeks.
Incorporate Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge into regional landscape standards, environmental preservation plans, and native watershed restoration efforts.
Roads, Transit, & Getting Around
Private Vehicles & Parking
Implement a Comprehensive Curbside Management Strategy
Expand Curbside EV Charging
Invest in Automated License Plate Recognition (ALPR)
Reinvest in Transportation Infrastructure
Sidewalks & Bike Paths
Expand separated, paved walking and cycling links such as the Kalamalka Lake Road to Pottery Road route to ensure seamless, safe connectivity for all ages and mobility devices.
Transit Projects
Complete the Downtown Vernon Transit Exchange upgrades and construct the planned pedestrian plaza on 31st Avenue to anchor downtown as a walkable, transit-oriented hub.
Walking & Cycling
Prioritize multi-use active transportation corridors that connect neighbourhoods to major destinations, including the 43rd Avenue multi-use path to the Active Living Centre and the 20th Street corridor.
Develop a comprehensive Public Market Strategy and attract commercial investment, including incentives for a new downtown hotel, to stimulate foot traffic in our city core.
Everything else
Biography
submitted by the candidate or their team
Seeking a third term on Vernon City Council on October 17, 2026. First elected in 2018, I am committed to evidence-based leadership, fiscal responsibility, housing diversity, and climate resilience. Let's keep moving Vernon forward!
Since being elected to Vernon City Council in 2018, my philosophy has been simple: local government works best when it focuses on practical, real-world solutions rather than political rhetoric. With a professional background spanning social services, housing development, and governance, I bring both a ledger-focused mindset and a deep commitment to our community to the Council table.
Representing a growing and evolving city means addressing diverse needs through evidence-based leadership and collaborative action. Here is the experience and perspective I bring to the job:
- Frontline Community Roots: In my day job as Executive Director of Operations for a large not-for-profit operating across the Okanagan, and from my experience serving on the Early Childhood Education and Seniors Action Networks, I understand the everyday realities facing working families, seniors, and vulnerable populations.
- Regional Bridge-Building: Over the past 8 years, I have served on the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) Board, the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee, and the Regional Hospital District. This multi-table experience allows me to navigate complex jurisdictional challenges, from advocating for expanded healthcare infrastructure to partnering directly with the Okanagan Indian Band on regional emergency management.
- Action on Housing: Through my work on the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, I’ve championed fast-tracking non-profit developments and waiving municipal fees to spur the construction of the "missing middle," ensuring Vernon remains accessible for every generation.
- Climate & Infrastructure Resilience: I am heavily involved in protecting our agricultural backbone and regional water supply. We are advancing critical projects like connecting the Water Reclamation Centre to the Goose Lake Reservoir for agricultural irrigation and implementing proactive, year-round FireSmart wildfire mitigation.
A plan is only as good as its execution. During my current term, Council successfully advanced nearly 88% of our Strategic Plan initiatives to completion or active progress, including keeping the new Active Living Centre on schedule for a November opening. I am running for a third term to finish the job, manage taxpayer dollars transparently, and ensure Vernon continues to thrive as a resilient, inclusive community.
Reason for running
submitted by the candidate or their team
I’m running for re-election to keep delivering practical solutions, not political rhetoric. Vernon needs steady leadership to manage growth responsibly, protect our regional water supply, and deliver essential civic infrastructure with strict fiscal discipline.
Serving on Vernon City Council for the past eight years has reinforced one clear truth: municipal government works best when it focuses on practical solutions, real accountability, and measurable results rather than political slogans. Since being elected in 2018, my work has been guided by three steady principles: fairness, fiscal discipline, and evidence-based decision-making.
Over the current term, Council has maintained that focus. Through disciplined collaboration, we brought nearly 88% of our 2023–2026 Strategic Plan initiatives to completion or active progress. We proved that our community can take major projects from the drawing board to reality on time, including delivering the new Active Living Centre on schedule for its November opening.
Planning is essential, but delivery is what matters. Local government is an ongoing journey; the job of stewarding a community is never truly finished. I am seeking a third term because Vernon is navigating a defining period of growth, and we need experienced, steady leadership to manage that evolution responsibly.
My decision to run again is rooted in several critical priorities:
- Protecting Regional Water Security & Food Systems: Facing our fifth consecutive multi-year drought and Stage 3 restrictions, environmental resilience is an immediate economic and public safety necessity. Through my roles on Council, the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) Board, and the Greater Vernon Advisory Committee, I am championing vital infrastructure links, such as connecting the Vernon Water Reclamation Centre’s reclaimed water with the Goose Lake Reservoir to supply dedicated irrigation to local tree fruit growers while preserving primary drinking reservoirs.
- Building Attainable Housing for Every Generation: As Vernon grows toward welcoming 20,000 more residents by 2045, we must ensure seniors can downsize, workers can afford rent, and young families can build a future. I will continue cutting development red tape, waiving municipal fees for non-profit builders, and expanding diverse "missing middle" infill inside our Urban Containment Boundary rather than approving costly suburban sprawl.
- Fiscal Accountability & Core Amenities: Taxpayers deserve maximum value for every dollar. I am committed to modernizing civic processes, preventing hidden infrastructure deficits, and following through on long-term recreational commitments, including the phased revitalization of Polson Park following the naturalization of Vernon Creek.
- Collaborative Regional Governance: The complex issues facing our community, from healthcare advocacy on the Regional Hospital District Board to emergency management and climate response alongside the Okanagan Indian Band, do not stop at municipal borders. We accomplish more when we build bridges across jurisdictions.
I am proud of the solid foundation we have built together over the last two terms. I am asking for your support on October 17th so we can keep our momentum going and continue delivering thoughtful, transparent, and resilient leadership for Vernon.
kellyfehr.org kellyfehr.org
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