Two new contenders have declared their intent to run for Athabasca town councillor positions in the Oct. 21 municipal election.
Nichole Adams has lived in the community for eight years and thinks she can make a difference.
“I have seen some things that I would like changed,” she said. “I have some ideas on how to improve our community.”
Adams wants to work hard and make things better for people who live in Athabasca — something she has already striven for as the vice-president of the Athabasca Ratepayers’ Association.
“There have been a lot of complaints about high taxes. People don’t feel listened to, and I would really listen to the people who came to council,” she said. “If it is a resident’s concern, it should be council’s concern.”
Adams said she wants to represent the people.
“I really believe elected officials should be public servants,” she said.
She wants to look hard at the budget.
“And cut as much red tape as possible,” she said. “I really want to encourage (local businesses) to evolve organically.”
Adams announced she wants to eliminate business licenses and the business registry.
“I believe it is unenforceable,” Adams said. “Online and out-of-town businesses come to town, and we can’t enforce the business license bylaw when they do that.
“It is nothing but red tape,” she said. “It is a fee for permission. I don’t believe businesses need permission to conduct e-commerce locally.”
Adams knows that being a councillor will take a lot of hard work.
“I want to sit down, look at the numbers, crunch numbers and figure out better policies so that everyone can feel they are getting taken care of,” she said.
Shelly Gurba has lived and worked in the area for the last 27 years, and spent six of them sitting on a summer village council.
“I really enjoy politics, especially on the municipal level,” she said. “You get to do more one-on-one (interactions) with people.”
Gurba has some concerns about the Athabasca Regional Multiplex and the transparency of the society that governs it. She is concerned that the last minutes available from the society are from April.
“I would like to see better relations with the county. I know that has been an issue,” she said. “I want to see the idea of more business development.
“You are not going to be bringing in the big box stores, nor do we need them,” she said. “I think we need to start developing the industrial area and bring in more of the businesses, which will bring more people, which will begin churning the economy.”
She also stated she wants to see the library stay downtown.
She said she is a to-the-point person.
“I don’t mess around with saying a lot of words,” she said. “I like to get things done, and done right, and done on time. I see a lot of things that are taking longer than I think they need to be.”
