Current Town of Westlock Coun. Clem Fagnan will let his name stand yet again in next month’s municipal election.
The 72-year-old life-long Westlock resident, who counts chair of the Westlock Regional Water Commission as part of his current council portfolio, says he decided to run again to focus on the municipality’s finances.
“We’re (the town) not in bad shape financially at the moment, but we are really going to have watch our spending very closely over the next three to four years,” said Fagnan, adding the change to a four-year term versus the previous three-year term was a bit of a concern, but not enough to dissuade him from running.
“I also would like to create a commercial industrial group or committee to attract that kind of meaningful business to our area. That’s the key to keeping our community vibrant.”
Amalgamation is sure to be one of the hot topics leading up to the Oct. 21 vote for both town and county hopefuls, and Fagnan said he’s willing to listen, but he wants the facts before saying “yes” or “no”.
“Certainly I would like to see a review or report from Alberta Municipal Affairs. I think people will need to realize that amalgamation probably won’t change the taxes that much, or save us or the county a pile of money,” he said.
“But what I do see it doing is putting all of us — town and county — into more of a community-first mode that would see more co-operation that will create efficiencies and hopefully spark more businesses to be attracted to this area.”
First elected to town council from 1983 to 1989, then again from 2001 to 2004, and most recently in 2010, Fagnan is firm believer in Westlock and its youth.
“It always bothers me when I hear there’s nothing for young people here. I have two daughters and a son who have stayed and made Westlock their home. And I’m fortunate to have 10 grandchildren who I get to spend time with who are involved in everything from hockey, to dance, to school sports … really everything is here.”
