Upgrading Storm Sewer Near Linwood Park

Storm sewers are what route runoff from buildings, streets, and parks into watercourses. Newer storm sewers will have passive systems that reduce suspended sediment and oils, though whatever goes into a storm drain eventually ends up in a river.

The current storm sewer around Linwood Park is undersized for today’s storm events and needs upgrading. During some storm events, the current system cannot handle the flows.

The following map shows the proposed upgrade.

Map of Storm Sewer Improvement Project around Linwood Park. Select the map to enlarge.

Last Monday, Council approved issuing a tender to Blackline Site Works Ltd. for $789,329.13 for this project, and ISL Engineering and Land Services Ltd. for $49,768.00 to provide construction management services for the project. Council also approved an $85,000.00 contingency, as we are an old community, and even with the best planning, surprises can arise when replacing underground infrastructure.

This project is scheduled to start this summer and finish up in the fall. This project was approved in the 2025 Langley City budget.

The costs do not include GST.

2025 Council Remuneration & Expenses and Other Annual Disclosures

Every year, all public sector organizations need to produce their Statement of Financial Information. This reporting includes year-end financial statements, the total compensation of elected (or appointed) representatives, the names, salaries, and expenses of employees who earn over $75,000 per year, and the names and amounts of supplies with an annual value over $25,000.

Langley City procured $83.3 million in goods and services in 2025. The City had $18.0 million in employee salaries and expenses in 2025. Total compensation for Langley City Council was $648,915 in 2025, as shown in the following table.

Elected Official	Remuneration	Expenses	Benefits	Total
Pachal, Nathan J.	$155,841	$5,737	$36	$161,614
Albrecht, Paul E.	$75,063	$7,423	$5,154	$87,640
James, Teri L.	$70,388	$53	$5,141	$75,582
Mack, Delaney	$75,323	$4,813	$4,577	$84,713
Solyom, Michael	$70,128	$517	$36	$70,681
Wallace, Rosemary H.M.	$72,725	$7,749	$5,154	$85,628
White, Leith	$72,725	$5,165	$5,154	$83,044

When looking at Council compensation, it is important to note that we rotate the Deputy Mayor role among Councillors on a two-month cycle. You will notice slight discrepancies in the remuneration of some Council members because of when their Deputy Mayor service falls. Some members of the Council may choose not to receive health or dental benefits because they are covered under a family plan with their spouse or another employer.

Expenses will also vary for Council members. Council members can attend the Lower Mainland Local Government Association AGM and Convention, the Union of BC Municipalities Convention, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Convention. Not all members of Council attend all conferences. Councillors Albrecht, Wallace, White, and I also went to Ottawa last fall on an advocacy mission to the federal government. You can learn more about this mission in a previous post.

The New Langley Innovation District Brand

As I posted about previously, Langley City adopted an economic development plan in late 2024. One of the pillars of the economic development plan is supporting food technology businesses, which aligns with existing businesses in our community and with programs at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Langley City campus. Expanding food technology is a priority for the federal government as well, with its focus on Canadian food sovereignty. This essentially means that, as a nation, we can produce, process, package, and deliver food without relying on other nations. A delegation of Langley City Council went to Ottawa last fall to meet with federal politicians and federal government staff about food technology and the role that Langley City can play. You can read more about this in a previous post that I wrote.

Langley City Council also recently adopted the Glover Road Innovation District Plan, which outlines what the City needs to do to support our economic development plan, with a focus on land use, including zoning, transportation, and business incubator facilities. I posted about this plan, which Council adopted last month.

To help promote food technology and the innovation district, the City has developed the Langley Innovation District brand with its own logo.

The brand’s mission is captured by the half-moon design.

The half-moon represents innovation in motion. It is not a finished circle, but a form in transition, signalling growth, experimentation, and continuous evolution. The shape subtly references the natural cycles that underpin food systems while also evoking a contemporary architectural dome or lid - ideas incubating, energy building, transformation underway. It reflects the fusion of agriculture and technology, science and craft, soil and software. The half-moon is both horizon and shelter: a mark of emergence and a symbol of a district designed to cultivate what comes next.

Last fall, the City, in partnership with KPU and the Greater Langley Chamber of Commerce, held its first food technology forum. With the Innovation District plan complete, the City will be hosting its second forum this fall to continue to centre Langley City as a food technology hub that will attract jobs to our community.

Langley City Council Calls for Expanded Affordable BC Bus Pass Program

While Langley City is one of the most affordable places to live by Metro Vancouver standards, I know that the cost of housing, transportation, and food is a challenge for many people. A Metro Vancouver report noted that for most people, transportation expenses are about the same as housing expenses. Many households have two or more vehicles. Investing in high-quality, fast, and frequent transit supports lowering transportation costs as people can then have the option of reducing the number of vehicles they own and operate.

Transit is also linked to better social well-being and health outcomes, providing access to essential services and reducing social inequities.

TransLink has a reduced-fare program that applies to seniors and younger people. The provincial government has the BC Bus Pass Program, a low-cost transit pass limited to low-income seniors and people receiving disability assistance from the Province of British Columbia.

Metro Vancouver is one of the few major regions in Canada without a low-income transit pass for all ages and abilities—Halifax, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Edmonton, and Calgary each offer reduced-fare transit passes.

Many people who would qualify for BC Housing-funded or below-market rental housing would not qualify for the BC Bus Pass Program. Expanding this program would allow more people in Metro Vancouver access to opportunity, boost the regional economy, improve equity, and reduce fare evasion and its associated enforcement costs.

I’m happy to say that Langley City Council unanimously passed the following motion at its meeting last night.

THAT Council direct the Mayor to write a letter to the Provincial Minister of Transportation and Transit, requesting that the Province of British Columbia expand the eligibility requirements for the BC Bus Pass Program to include low-income households in Metro Vancouver.