BARRHEAD-There will be at least one familiar name on the County of Barrhead council ballot come Oct. 18.
Coun. Walter Preugschas has thrown his hat into the ring for re-election for Division 6.
This is his first term on council, running unopposed in 2017.
Preugschas decided to enter into municipal politics after retiring from a 40-year career in the hog industry, farming and genetics.
"I was still interested in contributing to something," he said. "Being on the council fit into my history and experience with working on boards to develop things."
Preugschas said the council is more structured than with boards in the private sector, but the experience is similar.
"You have to work with people and collaborate with people. It is not just about pushing your idea," he said.
Preugschas said one of the things he has enjoyed the most being on council is being part of various committees.
Councillors decide which committees they will sit on annually at the organizational meeting in October. Currently, Preugschas serves on the Agricultural Services Board (ASB), GROWTH Alberta, and the Economic Development and the Barrhead Physician Attraction (ARC) and Retention committees. Something he has done for multiple years.
One of the things most if not all the committees have in common is that they spawn economic development.
"I believe economic development is a regional affair and that we have to work together with other municipalities and regions and that is what GROWTH offers," he said.
GROWTH Alberta is one of nine REDAs. Its purpose is to create economic growth through marketing. It currently has 10 members, the County of Barrhead, Lac Ste. Anne County, Woodlands County, Swan Hills, Mayerthorpe, both Westlock municipalities, Clyde, Alberta Beach and the Village of Wabamun.
"Specifically, what we've been working on is improving tourism," he said, adding one of the things he has been advocating for is that the organization create a separate tourism branch. Presently, GROWTH's tourism initiatives are through its tourism brand, WILDAlberta.
Preugschas added that they are well on their way, noting they have selected the committee members that will create the terms of reference for the new branch.
He said tourism underutilized resources that can have benefits beyond the immediate.
Preugschas used the example of Open Farm Days, which he is a big proponent of. The county started promoting an Open Farm Days tour three years ago.
Open Farm Days is a provincial initiative that began nine years ago to serve as an incubator for agri-tourism and rural sustainability.
"Not only do initiatives bring in tourism dollars, but it helps bring attention of our county to the urban areas. It is a long-term project, but the more people visit our area, the more comfortable they will be to work here and it potentially could attract industry as well," he said, adding the same can be said of ARC and attracting medical professionals.
He said he also been part of the county's effort to create economic growth and opportunities for area farmers through the attraction of secondary agricultural industry to the county's Kiel Industrial Park.
"We've been investigating and getting connections in the plant protein and hemp industries because we think they would especially be a good fit for Kiel," Preugschas said.
Preugschas noted that he enjoyed serving on the ASB committee but added the ASB is under increasing pressure to do more with less, as the province cut funding to agricultural service boards, in the 2020 provincial budget by $3,193,000. The result is that the local ASB will receive $123,907 annually down from $168,359 as part of a five-year contract.
He noted that is one of the reasons why the county sent out a survey to residents asking about what the priorities of the ASB should be.
Continuing challenges
Preugschas said the chief challenge is to find ways to offset the difficulty in funding the services residents need and expect due to rising costs, i.e. the downloading of policing costs by the province to rural municipalities, difficulty in collecting tax revenue, mostly from energy companies and the reduction of MSI grant by 25 per cent over the next three years.
"[On a positive note] the province is really promoting rural tourism, so there may be funding available for projects, especially if it is done in collaboration with other communities," he said.
An example of a tourism project, he hopes to get other communities to collaborate on through GROWTH, is the Klondike Trail.
"The [Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation] and the [Alexander First Nations] are eager to work with us," he said.
However, more importantly, Preugschas said, he hopes the voters will allow him to be able to continue to work with them and deal with issues as they arise.
