Lou Hall will continue as Westlock County reeve following the municipality’s organizational meeting in October.
Lou Hall will lead Westlock County council into what may prove to be a very formative year for the municipality.
Hall was acclaimed to the position for the third year in a row after Coun. Brian Coleman and Coun. Isaac Skuban declined the nomination at council’s Oct. 22 organizational meeting. Coleman was also acclaimed to the position of deputy reeve after Skuban and Coun. Jared Stitsen declined their nominations.
“It is my honour to be the reeve of Westlock County,” said Hall. “We are heading into year three of our four-year term and despite some challenges, we are moving forward trying to keep the interests of all of the county in mind while being fiscally responsible. The last two years have been filled with learning and doing what we can with the information we have and within the legislation. We thank those of you who were there for us, encouraging us and complimenting us in our efforts.”
Hall, the first female reeve of the county in the municipality’s 75-year history, was first elected in October 2017, in an election that saw all but one councillor, Dennis Primeau, ousted from their seat and replaced. In September of 2019, Div. 5 residents voted Skuban into the seat to replace Darrell Osmond who resigned earlier in the year.
Hall recalled when she first started in the role of reeve and the new councillors were faced with a list of recommendations coming out of the Municipal Inspection Report of 2016. The majority of those recommendations were fulfilled in the first year and Municipal Affairs has since signed off on how the county is operated.
She pointed to council’s development of a strategic plan, the Tawatinaw Valley Ski Hill agreement, the county road assessment, the waterline to Fawcett, cooperation with neighbours and the many bylaws and policies reviewed and passed by council as a few of their accomplishments.
Hall also noted council’s goal of implementing better communications policies. After undergoing the scrutiny of the public in a recent survey to gauge its communications practices, the county has since hired a part-time communication specialist/community liaison assistant, Adrienne Finnegan, and are exploring their options going forward using a newsletter and social media to reach out.
Come February, the second council meeting of each month will also be starting at 4:30 p.m. to better accommodate residents who may work during the day and are unable to attend morning meetings, she said.
Next week, council will begin deliberations on the 2020 budget, which will be a challenge in and of itself, said Hall. On top of that some other high up priorities include finishing the intermunicipal cooperation plans with neighbours and trying to solve the flood plain conundrum along the Pembina River.
Roads of course will be right at the top of the budget. Hall noted 57 per cent of the county’s budget goes towards roads and gravel. There are 2,200 km of roads and 206 bridges in the county and they have to work within capital budget (grants) every year to finance road maintenance, which also at the mercy of weather and human factors.
“(The budget is) going to be very difficult because we’re still just getting our numbers together from the 2019 budget and we’re supposed to be planning for 2020. Then if we have to start paying for policing, where do we get that money from?
“This upcoming year is going to be a difficult one. We have to have the ICFs and IDPs done by the end of the spring, we want the floodplain committee to report to us by the end of March. All these things that have come up that we have to move forward with.”
She said she has a good group to work with and that her fellow councillor bring a diversity of skills to the table. She also gave specific accolades to CAO Leo Ludwig and his administrative team
“It takes a lot of time and research to prepare items for our council meetings despite the numerous interruptions. They are all very knowledgeable in their areas of expertise and perform their tasks amazingly. They make council look good and we appreciate all they do for us and for our community,” she said.
Going forward, Hall encourages residents to stay informed and invites residents to attend a council meeting to see how they arrive at their decisions.
“It is not always easy,” said Hall, noting the budget open house being held in council chambers on Nov. 26.
“We have a lot of work to do, but we are moving ahead each day to accomplish those things that are best for our county.”
