Where were critics of the downtown core last night?

KAMLOOPS — I went to the annual general meeting of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association last night. I didn’t see Coun. Denis Walsh there. Or Nelly Dever.

I mention this because they’re two people who seem to know what’s best for the downtown. Walsh has been on the BIA’s case this past week over the supposed need for new blood and new ideas. Dever, you’ll recall, led the fight to kill the performing arts centre.

So if they have better ideas, last night’s meeting would have been a good place to bring them.

Granted, Walsh was obligated to attend a budget-input session the same night, but Councillors Ken Christian and Arjun Singh attended the BIA meeting for an hour before the City’s budget meeting started.

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Walsh missed another opportunity yesterday afternoon when the KCBIA’s budget came up for formal approval at a council meeting, but he didn’t speak then either.

Anyone looking for thunder and lightning at the AGM would have been disappointed. The 50 people there got a lot of good information about what’s going on, though.

KCBIA president Mike Popoff conceded the downtown is in a time of transition but he said it’s “positive” transition. He reported that investment is up, and increasing densification will continue the trend. The Royal Inland Hospital project will be a significant driver for more investment downtown as the need for office space goes up.

And, said Popoff, stay tuned for some major announcements.

Sure, there’s a certain amount of marketing involved in all this energy and optimism but it’s a legitimate counterpoint to the negative media generated since some minor shifting of retail tenants hit the headlines.

As I indicated here last week, I’m a fan of the downtown mosaic, and unless we want to buy everything at shopping-mall chain stores, we need to support it.

But, hey, everything can be made better — I’m sure all good ideas from folks like Walsh and Dever — and any other critics — would be most welcome.