Providing access to downtown Westlock for residents of Whissellville and economic development were the topic subjects of debate among the three mayoral candidates at the all-candidates forum at Westlock Memorial Hall last Wednesday.
Robin Brett, Marjorie Sterling Miller and Ralph Leriger each delivered a short introduction and answered two questions from the crowd of more than 300 people packed into the hall. In his introduction, Brett said he was raised on a farm north of town and returned to Westlock after going to college. He and his wife have two children together.
“It’s been a great journey for me as a business-owner in Westlock serving the community as a town councillor these past nine years,” he said. “This is where we have taken root and made many dear friends.”
If elected mayor, Brett said he will bring new energy and enthusiasm to the position while promising to be more visible and accessible.
“I want to be accessible to every person in Westlock in the way that fits how they feel the most comfortable communicating,” he said, noting that may involve connecting with some residents over the phone and others through a simple e-mail.
He also stated he would like to be more visible at other events. “I want to represent the town at school events and lead class trips. I want to be there at recognition and graduation events letting kids know we bless them as they leave for college and we’ll be here when they get back.”
Brett said he wanted to start initiatives like putting a “mayor’s speech” on the radio each week. “You need to be aware of what town council is working on and we need to hear from you,” he said.
He also stressed the need to promote strong businesses in town, noting they have two major highways and a railroad running through Westlock.
Brett said he would like to start things off by asking the community what they want in town “that we don’t have yet.”
He then said they should connect with those businesses and “ask them what they want” in terms of land allocation, downtown frontage, highway access and so on.
He also highlighted the need to connect with youth and ask them what they would like to see upon returning to the community.
He took a subtle jab at his fellow candidates by adding, “Speaking from experience, sometimes a younger person prefers someone closer to a peer than a parent.”
When asked about other ideas for the town, Brett floated the idea of reviving the welcome wagon program and introducing “positive policing” where law enforcement hands out cash or some other incentives to youth who are seen doing something positive, like riding a bike with their helmet on.
He was unable to answer a question relating to the town’s current debt excluding assets, noting he did not want to provide a wrong estimate.
However, he indicated he would post the answer at his website (RobinBrettformayor.ca).
Sterling Miller said she had been in Westlock for approximately 40 years, adding that she had been in business for 34 years and been a councillor for 18.
“We have a community that supports families through education, recreation and health care. We have a great daycare,” she said. “I’m very proud of our town.”
She launched immediately into sharing her thoughts on “safety and accessibility,” beginning with providing safe access to the rest of the town for the residents of Whissellville who are isolated by the railway tracks.
“We need to look at safe options for our friends across the tracks to get across the tracks and find solutions, like a pedestrian bridge or bus route.”
She mentioned the possibility of forming a partnership with the Pembina Hills school division, Westlock Terminals and maybe CN Rail to this end.
She stressed the need for more partnerships like the Westlock Regional Water Commission, GROWTH Alberta and the Waste Management Commission, stating those partnerships help the town “leverage tax dollars.”
“When we do this, we save taxpayer dollars, and those can be used to help us grow,” she said, noting the town ends up duplicating the services of other nearby municipalities when it doesn’t form partnerships.
She said local seniors also need transit options like the Westlock and District Seniors & Disabled Bus, a service she said was “vital.”
As mayor, Sterling Miller said she would like to hear more from the community about their concerns, noting that open communication “will help improve our town.”
“I want to thank everyone who was out there who shared their thoughts and concerns when I was out there campaigning,” she said.
Sterling Miller was first asked about her comments made at the previous mayor’s forum about a 25 per cent tax cut she would like to implement.
She clarified that she was asked what measures she would implement if money was not a factor and the town had no problems financially.
Another resident asked what changes she would make if elected mayor, noting she had been on council for many years. “The first thing we have to do is start caring for our residents. That is going to be No. 1 on my list,” she said.
Sterling Miller said the town needed to look at its budget and do some major cutting in order to put some money away. “We need to run very tight for the next year or two and we need to put some money into reserves.”
Sterling Miller stressed the need to look after local seniors, noting Westlock has the Pembina Lodge, Smithfield Lodge and Continuing Care Centre in town.
Leriger began his introduction by discussing the qualities he felt were important in a mayor: experience, leadership and accountability
He noted that in his 35-year career with TransAlta, he has been directly accountable for community relations and community investment, as well as crisis communications and stakeholder relations.
He served as a town councillor in Athabasca and a member of the Edwin Parr Composite School parent council, was part of the Morinville recreation board and community services board, and sat on the Heritage Agricultural Society’s board of directors while in Spruce Grove and Stony Plain.
Provincially, he said he has served on the provincial board of the Alberta Fish and Game association as a director and environment chair, and was a member of the Alberta Habitat Trust Fund for many years.
Leriger noted he sits on the economic development committee for Parkland County and has led the community relations portions of “many large mega-projects” in Alberta, such as the Keephills-3 CO2 capture project.
“I am a strong leader and I have a strong vision for Westlock,” he said. “I believe I have the qualities that are important for a mayor.”
When asked about the town’s role in economic development, he stated the municipality’s role is very clear.
“It starts with proper land-use planning. You need developable land to attract businesses,” he said.
Secondly, the town must set appropriate levels of taxation, noting that businesses “will need to understand their all-in costs if you want to have any hope of attracting them here.”
Lastly, the town needs “crisp and clean” development processes.
“We need to be open for businesses. Delays in approvals are delays in jobs, and this town cannot afford to cost itself any jobs at all,” he said.
Leriger took a jab at Brett’s earlier comments about talking to businesses in order to bring them here, stating that this is not what a municipality should be doing to encourage economic development.
“What economic development is NOT for a municipality, in all due respect, is lobbying people about what kind of businesses they want and going out and trying to convince them to come here,” he said. “Hope is not a strategy.”
On the subject of accessing the downtown by the subjects of Whissellville, Leriger said this is a problem that has existed for some time, noting his wife recalls her grandmother ducking under train cars.
“I don’t believe ticketing people is the answer to it at all, but I really do believe in public safety.”
Leriger said he did go see staff at the Westlock Terminals about their planned expansion, which will double the number of cars they load each day and “exacerbate the problem.”
He said he was shown plans for an overhead structure to load grain cars and asked about the possibility of installing an additional overhead walkway for residents.
He noted he had no idea what the costs of such a walkway would be, but it was worth investigating.
Leriger took note of the large turnout at the forum as evidence this is an important election for Westlock.
“I ask you to make an informed decision on Oct. 21, and choose a strong mayor and a strong council,” he said.
