Members of the public were given the opportunity to hear from the candidates running for mayor and town council at the all candidates forum held at the Multi-Purpose Room Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. Gerry St.
Members of the public were given the opportunity to hear from the candidates running for mayor and town council at the all candidates forum held at the Multi-Purpose Room Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
Gerry St. Pierre
Six years on town council learning the protocols and procedures necessary and related to municipal government. The better part of 40 years working with the democratically structured business very similar to that of municipal government.
I bring strong financial management skills acquired from several business turnarounds including the Barrhead Co-Op, and 12 years on the board of directors of one of the largest and most successful, defined contribution pension plans in Canada.
I have worked with many community groups and organizations, most often presiding at meetings where my role was to stimulate and inspire open and constructive deliberation in order to arrive at the best possible decision for all concerned, and that is the role of a mayor.
The mayor is the official spokesperson for the town. He must be able to communicate clearly and effectively to individuals, small groups and audiences. He must be prepared for impromptu interviews by the press and other media. I have a lot of practice with this, especially the past two years with the 55 Plus Summer Games.
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Mark Vriend
Barrhead has been good to me and my family. I have proven leadership abilities, and would like to capitalize on the current momentum that we have going.
I'm a strong believer in our community, and an innovative and progressive thinker. I have a heart for people, and a mind for business.
A change is happening. We need strong, committed leadership for a safe and caring community. With a potential for sound fiscal growth, that means a better future for us all.
I am ready and willing to do my part, and I ask you for your support.
Mark Vriend
Currently opportunity is knocking and we haven't been able to take advantage of it because we do not have commercial highway opportunities. We don't have a place we can talk about economic development, but if a company is coming here and we don't have a chunk of land for them to park their business on it doesn't work that well.
I would like to see us find out as a council why our development never got finished here, it's a private development, and see if we can assist somehow in getting it done.
The other real need I see in our community is housing opportunities between Beaverbrook and apartments. We also don't have a sub-division that a regular wage earner can build a house on. These two things go hand in hand. I think people have a heck of a time finding a home in this town. We've all heard the stories, and we're losing people because we can't put them up.
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Gerry St. Pierre
The greatest need between the Town and the County is of course an improved relationship betwene the two. We've done great things together, namely the fire department, the water commission, the landfill, and our most recent example was the 55 Plus Summer Games.
We can accomplish a lot when we work together, however the 27 years I've lived in this town there has always been a source of tension. Ten thousand people, which is roughly the population of the Town and County, can accomplish so much more than 4,000 pulling one direction and 6,000 pulling another.
My goal for the next four years is to improve that working relationship.
Mickey Fitzgerald
The biggest thing I have to offer is time. As of Dec. 31 I'm going to become retired, and it will give me an opportunity to give more time to serve you as a councillor. I also bring 40 years of business management. Most of the years were in the agricultural industry, but I did take and run my own business for 15 years.
I also have a background with municipal administration. I worked for the County of Lac Ste. Anne for 40 years in my younger years.
I spent 23 years with the Barrhead Rotary Club. I have experience with the Knights of Columbus in Barrhead, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Paddle River Golf and Country Club.
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Shelley Oswald
I was first elected to council in 2004, and I have enjoyed working for you and serving our community. I have learned a lot in those terms sitting at the council table, attending meetings, hearing administrators speak, attending conventions, getting involved in community events and projects, and most importantly listening to you.
This term I've had the privilege of being a committee member of the Barrhead Public Library, the Yellowhead Regional Library, the Municipal Planning Commission, and the Barrhead-Westlock 55 Plus Summer Games.
I am dedicated to serving all of you and your concerns. I am approachable, I am involved in community events, I'm a board member, I'm a volunteer, and I'm willing to give time to the boards I serve.
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Leslie Penny
I was privileged to be given a very significant reward from this community; I was the first recipient of the Rosemary Empey Award when it was created for volunteerism.
I have been on a number of the boards associated with council. I was on the Ag Board for a while. I have been on the Blue Heron board, and the FCSS board. I understand how important it is to be part of the organizations that make a community so very vital and make the community work.
I believe I can bring, in working with others, a sense of vision. We have to be able to look at not just now. We have to look into the future.
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Don Smith
My greatest asset I would bring to the table would be the 12 years of experience I have on council. This time on council has allowed me the opportunity to grow on a personal level and as a member of council.
I am not a one-issue person. Yes the new pool is very important to our communities, but there are many other things that are very important for our town to grow.
As a member of council, I will continue to learn and to listen to your issues, and make the best decision for our town. I believe that every one of us here want the best for this town, and to see it grow and prosper.
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Roy Ulmer
I would like to play a key role in helping to shape our community for the future of my grandchildren. I believe that by extensive experience in business, my 11 years in municipal government as a councillor, and more importantly as a lifetime volunteer in many of our great community organizations.
These experiences have taught me that it is important to be dynamic and open-minded. It has also taught me to be respectful of all people, regardless of where they come from.
The key skills I will bring to this council table is my ability to listen to people, my sound understanding of municipal operations such as public works, recreation, landfill, FCSS, and budgeting to name a few.
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Ryan Warehime
Born and raised in Barrhead, I was very active in the sports and recreation throughout town and still hold true at that. I volunteer coach both hockey and baseball here in town.
My upbringing after high school I went to Mel Royal University in Calgary to pursue a degree in marketing, communications and public relations. From there I went to gain some valuable work experience at Blue Heron Support Services, then later at the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission where I reported to the solicitor general, as well as Hemisphere GPS.
As a councillor, I truly believe my strengths lie in my personal skills. If you ask anybody that knows me well, they'll tell you that I'm energetic, creative, and committed to making Barrhead a better place for you, your family, and mine.
Leslie Penny
It is really important to have a vision. One of the things I think we have got to realize is we can no longer as individual municipalities do it by ourselves, and just for our own well being. We are in a society now where cooperation and collaboration are the words that we use. Certainly the 55 Plus Games showed what we can do when we work together. We don't want to lose our independence as municipalities, but I think we need to be looking first of all at the cooperation between Town and County.
I think we need to see what we can do when we're talking about funds. When we're talking about the ability to lobby government, voices matter. We need to put our voices together, and we have to figure out how we can cooperate.
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Roy Ulmer
The Town's biggest need over the next four years is to develop a clear and concise vision that lays the groundwork for a sustainable community. A vision that incorporates the use of open and transparent consultation. That embraces the heritage of our past, while creating a solid foundation from which we can grow our community.
This vision will focus on building strategic partnerships, supporting existing businesses through effective and progressive policies and/or bylaws, and even entering into joint business ventures with private businesses to help kick-start economic activity in our community.
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Don Smith
One of our biggest need in this is to lobby provincial and federal governments for sustainable funding. As you all know in our community our tax base is very small. We don't have a lot of industry in our community, and the projects continue to grow. Our needs continue to grow. Without that sustainable funding, it's going to be tough for us to get all those projects done.
As an incumbent, did I accomplish the goals I set out three years ago? I would have to say no. We would love to see more economic development in the community, but it's a challenge. We switched gears a couple of years ago. We decided to take on the 55 Plus Summer Games, and we wanted to make this community beautiful for all the visitors so we put a lot of dollars into that area.
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Ryan Warehime
I think our largest need would be seniors housing. Right now we're pushing the limits of our seniors housing as is. I've been up to Hillcrest and other lodges around town, and I know there is a wait-list in every one of them. With the baby boomer population only getting older and looking to use those facilities, I think both money-wise and the need for it would be huge.
I know it's not an easy thing to do. There's not always funding for those things, but it's something us as the Town we have to work towards. We have to partner with the provincial government, try to make sure that we are at the table when the funding gets handed out, and that we have long-term plans to take care of that baby boomer population that will be needing that housing sooner rather than later.
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Shelley Oswald
I was asked the same question in 2010, and did I meet all those goals? Absolutely not. The most important thing we must remember is always move forward. Move forward in thinking to find ways to do things. We know our funds are limited, so we must move forward.
As a municipal leader, it is my job to promote the Town of Barrhead. I must be positive, I must put my best foot forward, and I must showcase my community at all times. I must represent you well. I think we did that very well when we hosted the 55 Plus Summer Games. We worked well together with three other municipalities, and that's what working together does. We create new things and we do a better job.
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Mickey Fitzgerald
The biggest need for our Town and County is economic development. We need to see growth in the Town. We've seen a lot of backward-going with losing jobs etc. We need those businesses back in town to help promote, and give an opportunity for young families who want to grow and stay in town.
Economic development is a tough situation. We've got to come up with innovative ways of inviting people into the town, setting up their businesses and becoming part of this town. I do bring a little bit of experience, I did do planning back at the County of Lac Ste. Anne in the 1970's. I can bring some of those skills together here, and I hope to use those skills to help create economic development and growth in the years to come.
