Close to 300 people gathered in the Westlock Memorial Hall to hear what the candidates to be the next Westlock town councillors had to say.
All told, 11 of the 13 men and women vying for a seat on council were in attendance; Wayne Lannon and Doug Pearson were absent.
The candidates were given five minutes to both introduce themselves and wrap up their pitch, as well as at least one minute to answer questions posed by the audience. Although the candidates were seated alphabetically by last name, the order of speaking alternated from the outside of the table inward.
Garth Bancroft started off the evening by talking about the three parts of Westlock he hopes to improve if he’s elected: recreation, industrial and commercial.
While the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre is a good facility, he said it could be better utilized through different functions in order to bring more people into the building.
In terms of industrial and commercial growth, Bancroft said he wants to see more businesses brought into town. He said it’s important the community sell the benefits of setting up shop in Westlock in order to bring in those new businesses.
However, Bancroft said that hoped-for growth must be managed carefully, citing the fact if the town’s population goes above 5,000, it could be on the hook for policing costs that could total in excess of $500,000.
Up next was incumbent Coun. David Truckey, who spoke about how the town’s underground infrastructure is in such good shape that it’s time to focus on roads and other core services.
There are four different items he wants to continue working on, he added. He would like to see the downtown get revitalized, have the town get a handle on its fiscal management, improve collaboration with Westlock County, and create a community fund between the town and county.
He explained the fund would be for community groups to access, so they’re not coming to both the town and county when looking for money — it would be one point of contact for those groups instead of applying repeatedly.
Truckey also mentioned his involvement with the Westlock Foundation, and how he’s proud to be able to say the community is able to provide five different levels of care so seniors and those people who need certain levels of care don’t need to leave Westlock.
Third to speak was Lisbeth Booth, who said she chose to move to and live in Westlock.
She spoke about what she considers the three pillars of her platform: electoral responsibility, including a promise to step down after three terms; fiscal responsibility, specifically living within the town’s tax base as well as broadening that base; and economic development, through making the process to apply to set up a business as seamless as possible.
Booth also talked about how it’s integral to the town’s growth and sustainability that there be reasons for young people to stay in Westlock when they’re finished high school, or to return after finishing post-secondary schooling.
Curtis Snell touched on his involvement with improving his immediate neighbourhood, having been a key figure in creating a park in the Belvedere neighbourhood.
In his 20 years living in Westlock, he said he’s not seen as much growth as he would have hoped in that time. To that end, he said he would like to find a way to make the town more attractive to new business.
Snell also said the town must keep an eye on its large capital spending, especially with projects like replacing the water tower and resolving the Jubilee Arena issue still on the agenda for the next few years.
Incumbent Coun. Clem Fagnan spoke of how Westlock is a really busy place with people coming in and out of town daily.
He views his concerns as including infrastructure, remaining fiscally responsible and keeping the Westlock and District Seniors and Disabled bus running.
In addition, Fagnan said he would like to see a solution to the problem of people getting ticketed for crossing the train tracks through downtown, hopefully through some form of arrangement with CN Rail.
On the topic of cooperation between the town and county, he said amalgamation is part of the answer, and he expressed hope the pending review would indicate that as well.
John Shoemaker was next to address the crowd, and said with his accounting background his biggest concern is with the town’s finances.
He said he would like to see the town increase its revenues through increasing the town’s tax base instead of raising taxes, which he doesn’t view as an option. He credits groups like GROWTH Alberta with working hard to bring more commercial and industrial development into Westlock and the surrounding communities, but said more needs to be done.
Shoemaker added he hopes to improve the condition of the roads and sidewalks in town, as well as ensure the seniors’ bus and child care society continue to exist and thrive, as they’re services the community needs to have running.
Coun. Sheila Foley was the seventh candidate to speak. Like Booth, Foley said she chose to live in Westlock, in part because of the great services in the community.
She said in order to see the town grow, she said there’s a need to entice people to move here. Ways to do that, she said, include providing services people are looking for, as well as a place to live.
That’s why the town is continuing to work to keep the seniors’ bus alive, and pushing developers to build in Southview.
Ultimately, she said, it’s up to the people already living in Westlock to sell the community as a place to live wherever they go.
Benita Pedersen spoke next, and discussed how her years as a business owner getting out meeting people would serve her well on council.
She said she’s an approachable person who welcomes speaking to anyone, whether they have positive comments or complaints they want to share.
Pedersen’s biggest concern about Westlock is its lack of growth. She mentioned population figures from Statistics Canada, which showed the town experienced a population decline between 2006 and 2011, while neighbouring communities like Barrhead and Athabasca grew. She questioned what Westlock is doing wrong that people are leaving the community.
While she wants to see that trend turn around, she also said it’s important that growth is steady and manageable.
Wyatt Glebe talked about his 20 years of experience in municipal administration and how he feels that will benefit him on town council.
Stating his concerns mirror those of his fellow candidates, he singled out Westlock’s taxes and debt as being quite high. Growth is not happening much in town, and he feels Westlock needs to reinvent itself to maintain what it has and stimulate that much-needed growth. He hopes to bring an open mind to the table to get that done.
The town offers a community feeling Glebe didn’t sense when he and his wife lived in Edmonton for a while, he said. Here, people know their neighbours, which is something he couldn’t say he experienced much living in the city.
Second-last to address the crowd was William Norton. A longtime municipal peace officer in communities in the region, he said his experience dealing with different municipal departments would serve him well on council.
He added he feels his future is in the community, since he and his family are currently and have been involved in many different activities. He said he understands the pulse of the community and wants to be involved in steering Westlock into the future.
Norton admitted he does have less experience than some of his fellow candidates, but he said his passion and decision-making skills more than make up for that.
John Kingma said his decision to run for council comes from the heart.
A traveller, he said his experience working to set up social programs in Indonesia bodes well for helping to keep young people in Westlock.
One of Kingma’s biggest concerns is that a lot of young people leave town because there is nothing for them here. He added he found some statistics that show only 55 per cent of Westlock’s population is in the workforce, well below the provincial average of 70 per cent.
He hopes to build relationships with organizations like NorQuest College to provide education in town so young people don’t need to leave to build their futures.
