Downtown Langley Business Owner, Young Entrepreneur, Lifelong Citizen Join Langley City First Team

Langley City First is proud to announce three new endorsed candidates joining Mayor Nathan Pachal, Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace on the team.

From Left to Right: Mike Solyom, Rosemary Wallace, Shawn Caldera, Nathan Pachal, Jeff Jacobs, Heather Jenkins, Paul Albrecht

“I’m extremely excited that Heather Jenkins has agreed to be part of the team,” said Rhianna Reddekopp, who founded Langley City First. “She is the amazing business owner of 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market, a Downtown Langley institution.”

“I’ve served with her on the Downtown Langley Business Association Board and know that Heather has a solid understanding of business, governance, and working as a team player in making our city a better place.”

Over the last 28 years, she has won many awards, including Business of the Year, Environmental Hero, and 25 years of Langley Readers’ Choice.

Langley City First is also proud to have Shawn Caldera join the team. After building his successful business, Shawn started helping others create economic development strategies for the digital economy. He currently works for a large digital content creation firm.

“Shawn puts people first and is about building community. I see him regularly out and about in Langley City as he leads local residents in recreational events,” said Reddekopp.

Jeff Jacobs has agreed to be part of the Langley City First Team. Jeff is a lifelong resident of Langley City. He is a long-time municipal worker and labour movement leader, has volunteered on Langley City’s Crime Prevention Committee for many years, and has run for a council seat in the 2022 civic election, narrowly missing out.

“We are proud to have Jeff on the Langley City First Team to bring his experience and expertise to Langley City Council in this upcoming election,” said Reddekopp.

“I’ve watched our city grow into a thriving community over the years,” said Jacobs, “I want to ensure that Langley City becomes a hub for interactive, innovative, and sustainable activities for everyone who lives and visits.”

As a registered Elector Organization, Langley City First has a united team in this fall's civic elections that is committed to defending and advancing the following values:

• Building A City for the Future
• Enhancing Green Space
• Investing in Safety and Livability
• Fostering Community Connection
• Creating a Resilient Community with Appropriate Infrastructure and Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
• Supporting a Team Where Independent Voices Work as a Cohesive Team

Langley City First believes in our community, its people, its businesses, and its potential, and we are committed to moving the city forward through collaborative leadership, safe communities, and responsible growth for today and future generations.

I wanted to reshare this post from Langley City First. To learn more about the team and its values, please check out the Langley City First website.

May 11 Council Notes: FIFA Viewing Parties, Zero Waste, Community Safety Awareness Committee

The BC government is providing grants to local governments throughout the province to host FIFA World Cup viewing parties. Langley City received a $40,000 grant from the province, and the City must provide $10,000 as a condition of the grant. Council approved holding 4 viewing parties outside Timms Community Centre. These will be family-friendly parties with food, music, hands-on activities, and community partners that celebrate and showcase the diversity of our community. A Team Canada game and the final game will be two of the dates.

It is event season in Langley City, and one of the action items is to improve how we handle waste at these events. If you've been to previous Community Day events, you might have seen some waste-sorting stations as demonstrations, run by volunteers.

Council adopted a new Zero Waste strategy, which could see this waste-sorting approach rolled out to all community events over time. This year will focus on Community Day and three outdoor movie night events. Based on the learning from these events, the next phase will apply to large events on City land, such as the Arts Alive Festival or Bard in the Valley, potentially in 2027. Future phases could see this rolled out to all outdoor community events based on what we learn in earlier phases.

Me with Volunteers at a Waste Sorting Station at Community Day.

Council also approved an update to the terms of reference for the Crime Prevention Committee, which includes renaming it the Community Safety Awareness Committee to align with the recommendation from the Citizens’ Assembly on Community Safety. The Committee's new mandate includes:

• Advancing knowledge sharing around community safety initiatives and resident engagement
• Participating in the Resilient Neighbourhood Networks program
• Contributing to the Social Streets Program and Village Cafés Series to learn and share information with community members
• Continuing to partner with the RCMP, business community, and residents to promote safety programs such as Block Watch and Business Walks

The committee has also been given a $2,500 annual budget to support their work; any further funding would require council approval.

Council also adopted the 2026 Tax Rate Bylaw. You can learn more about this in a previous post.

Pleasantdale Creek Salmon Sign

I grew up in the Okanagan, and I remember one of the things I learned at an early age was about the salmon lifecycle. I remember going on field trips to see salmon spawning on the Adams River salmon run and to see some of the work being done back in the day to restore creeks for salmon in and around Vernon. Salmon are a keystone species for our ecosystem. Happy Salmon means a healthy environment.

Many people know that the Nicomekl River and its tributaries are salmon-bearing. I’ve seen salmon making their way up creeks and through culverts, including near the 196th Street overpass.

I also remember, as a kid, painting salmon logos on storm drains because whatever drains from a road or driveway ends up in a creek and eventually into the Nicomekl River.

Sign that will be installed along Pleasantdale Creek. Select the image to enlarge.

About a year ago, Council received a request from the Nicomekl Enhancement Society to install signage indicating where they release salmon. Council referred this work to its Environmental Sustainability Committee. Last night, Council approved getting a sign installed at Pleasantdale Creek.

The sign will be located just south of the 49A Avenue trailhead.

Metro Vancouver’s Water Supply for This Summer

As you know, Metro Vancouver is in stage 2 water restrictions, which means you cannot water lawns, top up or fill decorative water features (such as a fountain), or use your personal pressure washer or garden hose to wash impermeable surfaces, such as a concrete patio. The current lawn water restriction does not apply to municipal public spaces, such as sports fields. This is to ensure the water supply lasts throughout this summer.

According to the Regional District, there are a few reasons for these year's restrictions. One is that snowpack is at 44% of its historic average as of the beginning of this month. The second is that the Stanley Park Water Supply Tunnel project means one of the main water supply connections will be out of service this summer. The third is that Environment Canada is predicting a hot, dry summer.

Graph of Capilano Watershed, Average Snow Water Equivalent. Select to enlarge.

The good news is that water reservoirs and the alpine lakes, Palisade, Burwell, and Loch Lomond, will be full by the end of spring.

With a hot summer predicted, the region will likely enter stage 3 restriction sometime in early June.

For more information on water restriction stages and impacts, please visit Metro Vancouver’s website.