ATHABASCA – Voters got to hear from all the candidates for Athabasca town council for the first time last week with the nine candidates competing for six councillor seats, along with the two candidates vying for mayor and more than 60 other organizers and spectators crowding into a virtual room for a little over an hour to help decide where their votes will go in the Oct. 18 municipal election.
The Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce hosted the event via ZOOM Sept. 29, giving council hopefuls Michael Borody, Ida Edwards, Sara Graling, Jon LeMessurier, Roger Morrill, Dave Pacholok, Loretta Prosser, Edith Yuill and Rena Zatorski 90 seconds each to introduce themselves and another two minutes to answer one unique question, pre-selected by organizers. Candidates were given a list of questions earlier in the day, but just one was chosen for them to answer.
Chamber vice-president Carol Alberts moderated the forum, with support from other chamber members in the background to help everything run smoothly.
Mayoral candidates Rob Balay and Rob Woito had two minutes to introduce themselves and were given the same three questions and three minutes each to respond for the voters in attendance.
Mayor question #1: The mayor is the team leader. What experience do you have leading a team with participants that have diverse views and backgrounds?
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Rob Balay mentioned his experience as president of the Rotary Club of Athabasca, and sitting on the Athabasca University board of governors, both of which included working with members with diverse opinions and backgrounds. “You have to find your way to be heard and you have to learn to work collaboratively. Part of my leadership style is that I will listen, and I believe that in working collaboratively and together that you can do great things, and I have a lot of experience in doing that."
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Rob Woito noted his time as president of the Athabasca Recreational Trails Association, where he worked not only with other members of that group, but other local community groups as well to secure funding for the Athabasca Landing Trail, the Peace River Trail and Redwater Bridge project. “The key to being a leader of any group is to identify the strengths of all your team members and allow them to do what they do best and let them be. and every once in a while, if you need to step in to give them direction or assist them, then you do so.”
Mayor question #2: As mayor, how will you support the economic stability and growth of our town?
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Rob Woito said, “The unfortunate thing is a lot of people in community groups and councils and stuff, they like to sit down and have meetings and talk about what can be done and that, but nothing really gets done.” He would like to see the downtown core revitalized to help attract visitors. “The key to Athabasca is we're within an hour of a million people, and we have the ability to take advantage of that. We have the farmers market, but the core, the downtown core, two blocks there that I believe should be developed into a theme based on Athabasca's past history, and then we need to look at developing the town so that people want to move here and not leave.”
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Rob Balay said one of the first things he would do is consult with the business community to see what direction they want to go in. Increasing access to quality broadband services would be another tactic. And another would be hiring a consultant, or “a well-connected individual or company that can bring businesses that are unique to our area that would be located where there's rail, where there's infrastructure, where there's major highways, and see if we could attract business that way.” Balay would also like to see a promotional video made for the region to attract not only tourists but could help attract and retain professionals to work in the community.
Mayor question #3: What is your view on amalgamation?
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Rob Balay noted that an amalgamation must include two willing partners. “I am open to those discussions if indeed both partners are willing to have an amalgamation. If they’re not, then there really can't be an amalgamation because it has to be voluntary.” And as far as dissolution goes: “That happens when a municipality can no longer support itself and the Town of Athabasca has over $4 million in reserves, so that's really not a viable thing.” Additionally, he said, if that were ever to come to pass, he would make sure every resident has a say in a referendum. “That's not something that the elected council should decide on their own, every individual in our community should get a say in that.”
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Rob Woito reminded everyone that amalgamation was a large part of his 2017 and something he still believes in, saying town and county councillors making decisions on the same issues is inefficient and costly. “To me that's, that's a waste of taxpayers’ dollars, and it's not an efficient way to operate, it's a cost all around. Albertans are about less government, not more government.” A larger population would also result in increased government funding, he said, but added that a referendum would definitely be in order if the situation ever presented itself.
Question for Dave Pacholok: Given the type of budget this council will be working with, what is your top priority for capital projects and why?
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Pacholok mentioned there is currently a 10-year capital plan in place with large projects like replacing water and sewer lines on the East Hill and in the west end and replacing the road surface on Wood Heights Road. “Now, because we had a delay because of COVID we had our funding cut back. I still do believe the sewer lines are on the agenda this year as well as the roadway to Wood Heights. I think it would be up to the new council to decide which is the more serious going forward, but those would be the two that I would say would be the next two on the agenda.”
Question for Ida Edwards: What is your position on amalgamation and why?
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Edwards said she wasn’t decided and went over a few of the pros and cons that have come to her mind on the topic, noting the many partnerships the town and county are already a part of together —regional water, regional waste, the Multiplex, TED, FCSS and more. “I understand that the diversity of the county and the wide area it covers has different needs than a small town located on some of the hilliest area you've ever been involved with, and if we did go for amalgamation, I think the discussion of our diversity would have to be on the forefront, and the needs that go with water distribution, waste management and sewer lines will actually be a deterrent to the county wanting to have us join them, but it sure would be nice for us.”
Question for Roger Morrill: What is your strategy to attract new business and industry to Athabasca?
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Morrill said it was a comprehensive question, but that he would try to be brief. The first thing he would do is consult with the business community, and other organizations in the community, he said. “I'd like to know how they think this town can develop and grow and what complementary businesses do they see coming into our area, so that we can accentuate what we have and guarantee their prosperity.” It must also be cost-effective to do business in Athabasca. “We have to provide an environment that is as reasonable as possible, as we can for these new businesses … There's so many different approaches that we can utilize … We don't need to reinvent the wheel, but there's a lot of things I think we need to do. I'm very concerned about what's happening with our business sector right now, very concerned.”
Question for Rena Zatorski: How would you encourage AU staff to stay in Athabasca?
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Zatorski said it was important for people and communities to diversify. “AU has provided a great home for a lot of people in this community for a lot of years and that we can be very, very grateful for … What I would do to encourage people to stay here, is give them a reason to stay, create jobs where there might not be jobs before, create a home, a safe environment where people might want to raise their kids, and be comfortable raising children in a safe environment, instead of what might be perhaps an environment to live a wealthy life. Just work on our infrastructure. Simply give people a reason to want to live here.”
Question for Jon LeMessurier: What is your strategy to build tourism and economic development?
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LeMessurier responded collaboration between municipal partners and different organizations was important to gather ideas and utilize what was already available to us, using the examples of the Muskeg Creek Trails and the Athabasca River. “Those trails, I’m still surprised when people say they've never heard of them before because it's something that we're so lucky to have. And the river, how can we utilize that beautiful river that we have? We're so fortunate that Athabasca is located in such a great location where so many people are coming through town … So how are we able to market our community and different tourism opportunities so that people from out of town as they're driving through will be able to see what our community has to offer?
Question for Sara Graling: What is your stance in dealing with homelessness in Athabasca?
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Graling replied, “It's well-identified that the No. 1 purpose of addressing homelessness should be preventing homelessness in the first place and that starts through strong agencies that can serve the social needs of our community and economic concerns.” She pointed to the need to complete a needs assessment, as Slave Lake recently did, to learn about what the populations distinct issues. “I think the resources available through the Rural Development Network can really give us a jumping place to start forming a community strategy … I would definitely follow the model that Slave Lake has done by completing a needs assessment as a starting point and go from there.”
Question for Edith Yuill: What is your strategy for keeping Athabasca University in Athabasca?
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Yuill noted she attended both sessions the Keep Athabasca in Athabasca University ad-hoc group offered to candidates in the two days before the forum. “I believe we need to get locals back on the board of governors, so this community would have a say on what the president, executive and staff have permission to do. It is outrageous that three of the executives live out of this province, let alone out of this municipality … I have heard gossip that Athabasca University senior staff believe the university does not have any responsibility providing jobs to the people located in this area. That is absurd and part of the reason why I am joining the letter, e-mail and phone campaign suggested by the committee.”
Question for Michael Borody: How would you improve the downtown business core?
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Borody said he would be interested in looking into some of the bylaws that refer to the downtown core. “Specifically, there are multiple businesses and buildings that are in disrepair, and I would like to identify those problem locations and find ways to work with the landowners to find solutions to make our town look more beautiful.” He also noted that continuing to budget for the flowers downtown is a great strategy that in and of itself draws people from out of town. “People want to come downtown; they want to go somewhere that's beautiful and having a place that is beautiful, will bring people to that place, and then continuing to have events and such that utilize the space in the future.”
Question for Loretta Prosser: How would you deal with the crime situation in town?
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Prosser said she had been researching the subject and was disappointed to find most of the recommendations, like installing more lighting, or less breakable windows, fell on the people and businesses who were most often the victims of crime. “And when I actually looked into what the Government of Alberta and their strategic plan was, it is incomplete. So, we are doing this by ourselves. And that is going to be a really hard thing to navigate through because it’s mental illness that we are working against right now … and trying to navigate through what we as a town want to do, because these are people, and we do need to treat them as people.” She also said developing some of the harder hit areas would also provide more eyes in certain locations.
NOTE: Candidates’ full responses can be found on the recorded video of the forum available on the Athabasca District Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
