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Improved relations with county highlights 2020 for mayor

Ralph Leriger says he’s still undecided on whether he’ll run again in 2021
ralph leriger 2
Town of Westlock mayor Ralph Leriger said the highlight of 2020 was an improved working relation with Westlock County and the Village of Clyde.

WESTLOCK – While COVID-19 was the story of 2020, it wasn’t the only one to dominate headlines for the Town of Westlock.

Mayor Ralph Leriger said the year began with concerns about the local economy and a focus on economic development, business attraction and job creation. He also noted that they were anxious to see the results of the work they had done on organizational culture at the town, or what he refers to as “a culture of accountability.”

Then the world came to a sudden stop in March.

“COVID-19 hit and there were closures and lockdowns and we got to see our team in action alright, but with a different focus. So we as a municipality choose to inform and enable, versus enforce and to promote safety in the workplace …  not only in our workplace, but especially in the retail sector to try and preserve our local economy,” said Leriger, applauding the chamber of commerce for its role in helping the town implement COVID-19 measures like the mask bylaw which was passed unanimously in October.

“I’m really proud of our team and council is very supportive of our CAO Simone Wiley. We believe our focus on organizational culture had supported us very well in an event like this. It’s been an extremely challenging year and there’s been a huge amount of extra work managing COVID and following provincial guidelines.”

Municipal collaboration

And while the pandemic was the top story, Leriger says a new, more amicable relationship with Westlock County and the Village of Clyde is one of the true highlights that will pay dividends in the years to come. Over the closing months of 2020 the three municipalities have been coming together in ways never seen previously, he said.

“To me the most notable is the improved working relationship and the results that we’re producing with our county and village partners. I mean that sincerely,” Leriger said.

“We’ve completed and signed our intermunicipal collaborative framework and many regions didn’t get that work done due to COVID. This was no small feat for us. We completed it on time and it’s an agreement that I believe that will serve our citizens very well for years to come. It addresses several key areas, but it finally address a much-needed recreation cost-sharing agreement.

“And we’ve signed an extension to the airport agreement and we’ve had a really promising discussion with the airport committee about their future involvement in the operations. We’ve signed a utilities service contract with the county and Village of Clyde to operate the regional water system. We’ve signed a mutual peace officer agreement with Westlock County. We established the Westlock and Area Crime Coalition and we’ve jointly applied for an ACP grant with the county and village for the development of a regional economic development strategy.

“We’ve accomplished a significant amount of work in the last half of the year and I’m really looking forward to continued progress with the county in 2021.”

Staff, take a bow

Internally at the town, Leriger recited a list of a number of accomplishments, but made it clear that the staff is due all the praise. New directors were hired for the development and community services departments, while the town also hired a communications and marketing coordinator.

He also gave kudos to the emergency services department and chief Stuart Koflick, who received a Governor General’s Fire Services Exemplary Service Medal for his 30 years as a firefighter, as well as bylaw officer Randy Burgess who was tasked with the enforcement of the town’s mask bylaw — “We’re really proud of what Randy does for this community,” said Leriger.

“Our FCSS department they had a really strong year and found a way to safely deliver that critical support to the community. And community services has a new director in Gerry Murphy and our rec facilities had huge challenges, stopping and then restarting and having to have a high standard of safety protocols in place,” he said.

“In public works, they increased some service levels and the one I’ve heard the most about is the alley conditioner and the implementation of an alley maintenance program. Our graveled back alleys have never looked better.

“Finance … could there have been a more challenging year than this one for a finance department? Yet Julia (Seppola) and her team have managed year after year to improve in every one of the meaningful metrics that apply in their world. I’m looking forward to our auditor’s report again and let’s be honest, not every elected official can say that they’re looking forward to their auditor’s report.”

On the capital side, crews were busy on the 113th Ave extension into the east business park, as well as improvements along that service corridor.

“Those truck pull-outs and the improvements we made there with local contractors are really designed to protect the integrity of that road. And we intend to continue that work in 2021 with another pull-out on the west side of Independent (and finally put some pedestrian sidewalk and crosswalks along that development. I’m really looking forward to seeing that project continue,” he said.

The road ahead

Looking ahead Leriger says he’s hopeful as with the COVID-19 vaccine being rolled out there is light at the end of the tunnel.

“My hope is that the stress and anxiety that people are feeling is going to be relieved when we achieve herd immunity by vaccination. And I expect that our community will show its economic resilience as we beat this thing, not only for Westlock but for the entire Westlock region,” said Leriger, noting council’s December decision to freeze property taxes in 2021 was meant to alleviate some of the economic stress residents and businesses are facing.

This coming year also marks the end of council’s four-year mandate. Leriger says there may be a few on council who won’t be coming back and as for whether he’ll run again, he’s still trying to decide. Leriger was unchallenged for the mayor’s seat in 2017 and won his first term in 2013 following a three-man race.

“I’m not sure, I really have to think about it. I think that there’s still work to do,” said Leriger.

“Certainly we’ve made some great progress on many fronts, sometimes not as fast as I’d like since I’m a bit of an impatient fellow, but overall I’ve really enjoyed it.”

George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com

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