Richard Rolke sees an improvement in Communications at the City

Attending the open house on the new ice sheet alternatives last night I had a chance to speak with Mr Rolke about among other things the new Strategic Communications Plan at COV. Richard told me that during the last six months since the hiring of the new communications person he has seen a great improvement in the timing and the quality of the information going to the media from City Hall. Mr Rolke's opinion carries a lot of weight with this blogger  because he has been covering city politics for a long time. He is correct that was a great need for improvement.
 In another life when I received the assignment to represent the then Mayor Lippert at the official opening of the redesigned intersections at Polson Park and Highway 97; a very formal and important occasion. All the appropriate officials were present but no reporter from the Morning Star. Someone driving by noticed the TV van and told Richard something of import was going on. This type of thing should not have happened. I can still recall how hot Richard was when he arrived late. This was a breakdown in communications  not be soon to be repeated if Mr Rolke's more recent experiences with the flow of information from City Hall prove consistent over time.
Nevertheless I still believe that we will  need to exercise caution with the adjectives.(for there lies the spin) We need to remember that this present council has recently reduced the potential for feedback and input by greatly reducing the number of committees made up of informed volunteers from the community that it will support. Communication is a two way process and in Vernon we risk seeing it become increasingly one sided.
Cheers Shawn Lee a Vernon Taxpayer