2014 Strathmore by-election

Our question of the week is:
“In your opinion what are some of the issues facing Strathmore, and what do you think needs to be done to correct those issues?”
Want to ask the candidates questions? Attend the Chamber of Commerce Forum being held on Dec. 2 at the Strathmore Civic Centre at 7 p.m.

 

Allan Auger
I believe that most of the issues that foremost in our minds during the last election are still just as important a year later. The development of our commercial lands to help keep taxes stable, parks and pathways in our new developments and the funding and construction of a multi use facility for both Strathmore and surrounding areas as well as the revitalization of the downtown core.
But there has been one issue that has risen to the forefront in the last year and that is the treatment of our seniors not just in our community, but also across the province as well. Seniors across Canada are probably one of the largest lobbying groups in this country and yet they seem to have lost their voice. No longer treated like the valuable resource they are but instead treated like a commodity to be used for profit.
The closure of the Extended Care Unit to make way for offices and the movement of those patients to a for profit facility. This facility makes millions of dollars a year while we as taxpayers still have to pay the salaries of the health care workers who are employed there.
Another issue that should concern local taxpayers is the lack of any real supervision on any of the current projects underway around town. When these new developments in Edgefield on the east side of town and Lakeview on the Northwest are completed the town will takeover a lot of new infrastructure that has not been supervised as well as it should have.
Maybe the town should hire a projects manager or supervisor to act in the town’s best interests. For example, all we have to do is look at the mess that Thomas Drive is in to see how costly this could become in the future. Feel free to contact me at www.facebook.com/allan.auger or comment on Strathmore’s Future on Facebook. Thank you Allan Auger.

 

Glenn Freeland
There are no issues that our town has that a larger tax base wouldn’t eliminate, all issues from infrastructure, recreation facilities, development, leisure and wellness can be addressed by the following question “how do we increase our tax base?”
This is a question that all governments at all levels struggle with, some more successful than others. So we to look at successful towns and municipalities, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. Our viability as a town is directly related to our tax base, the more appealing our town is the more businesses and people want to move here and the large our tax base is.
Sounds simple doesn’t it? “Basic Economics 101” that statement is the only simple part of the question.
We as a town need to have a sound and workable Economic Development Plan, a long-term plan that is viable and attainable – there are needs and want, we need to balance both. This is just one possible solution but one that all towns strive to achieve. We need to promote, market and sell Strathmore as a destination for growth and prosperity. With a development strategy consisting of possible tax concessions for new development and a smooth permit process we can get a reputation in the province that “Strathmore is open for business” and that we will work with both companies and individuals to ensure that the process is quick, smooth and cost effective. Our current Mayor, Council and Town employees are working to achieve this.
Strathmore is located on the prime east/west transportation corridor that should be very appealing to light industry development, the fact that our cost per acre is lower than our friends in Okotoks and Airdrie and our close proximity to the most economically vibrant city in Canada should be a selling point.
With a strong commercial and residential tax base the positive spin-off to an upper middle class and a higher per household income will ensure a viable tax base and a higher quality of life for all Strathmore residents.

 

Nicole Gibbons
Residents and businesses are rightly concerned with Strathmore’s diminishing downtown core, as we grow and expand many businesses are opting to relocate to the newer eastern shopping area. The downtown has many buildings in need of a facelift; businesses and landlords will be encouraged to work together in revitalizing downtown. A committee has been formed and is actively working towards resurrecting the downtown core; Councilman Bob Sobol has been working with them in this endeavor. I look forward to working with council to help bring vibrancy back to this area, attracting residents to a bright, fun place to stroll, shop, and dine before enjoying a movie.
Strathmore’s Industrial Park is now open to public lease, attracting more business that is very beneficial to our community in tax and lease revenue, and providing more opportunities for employment. This is a key area that will improve Strathmore’s economic viability, thus allowing for availability of more funds for other areas of concern.
Recreation has been a huge topic of late, I agree that we can do more; I think smaller less costly recreational solutions, that can potentially support themselves, are more in line with economic prudence. We run a significant deficit on our current amenities; I believe that self-sufficient plans are prudent at this time over multi-use mega arenas. I have worked in conjunction with other councils in past years to create viable teen activities that I look forward to bringing to the table.
As your voice in Town Council, I will always be available for comments, questions, conflict resolution and guidance by phone, e-mail, Facebook, Canada Post and in person. I welcome and encourage dialogue from all residents, patrons and visitors.
I ask for your support and vote on Dec. 8 or 15.
I look forward to serving as a voice of reason on your town council.

 

Steve Grajczyk
All issues big or small are important, whether it be snow removal, traffic concerns, policing, or development issues.
For many years W.I.D. (Western Irrigation District) and the town have been trying to work out the proper disposal of our stormwaters. Improper disposal could be an environmental issue as all water eventually ends up into the Bow River. One of the ways to solve this problem is to install storm ponds or settling ponds. Currently, the older sub/divisions in town do not have the infrastructure to handle storm waters and need the installation of drainage ditches, storm ponds and or settling ponds at an enormous cost to the taxpayer. In recent years all new subdivisions have installed the proper infrastructure to handle this issue.
Continuing with the concerns and care of our seniors, after all they built this community.
The empty hospital wing is a concern. We must continue to pressure the current Provincial Government to insure they adequately develop this wing into a proper functional area with more beds or enlarging our triage area.
Continuous upgrading of our streets and sidewalks, including the very old sewer and water pipes in the older subdivisions are replaced as the streets are repaved.
There is a great need for more recreational facilities, such as a multi-cultural library/sports complex. Now, having said that, I’m very concerned as to where the monies will come from to build this project and maintain the operating costs afterwards, remembering this is all tax payers’ expenses, which is a great concern for me.
In closing, I am saying, I am willing to tackle all these issues as I have the experience and knowledge from being in this community for the past 37 years, by serving on past council and numerous other committees. I can assure you that I will work with my fellow councillors on getting these issues resolved for the betterment of the community at large.

 

Jason Pollo
Strathmore is a rapidly growing community, as such there are bound to be growing pains. There are several areas that need to be addressed. One such area is the revitalization of the downtown area. Over the past few years I have seen many businesses either close up or move to the Ranch area. We are seeing more and more vacant storefronts. This has to be remedied soon. Co-op is on its way out now leaving another large vacancy in the downtown area. I for one would like to see a big time overhaul. More condo style shops with residential on the second level. Also let’s get back to or roots as a railway town, maybe try and give main street a more historic rail town look. Some thing like this could be done relatively cheap with false fronts on the buildings and would attract more people down to take a look and check out the shops. It’s not going to happen over night but with the cooperation of the town, businesses and residents we can make the downtown come to life with activity again.
Another key area I have seen that needs to be remedied is the lack of recreational facilities. As more and more young families move to town there is more stress put on our current facilities. For one, minor hockey teams are having to take ice in the surrounding communities due to an extreme shortage in town. When the arena was built here it was great and still is, but our population has doubled since then and we haven’t added any sheets of ice. Ice surface is not the only area we are short. As our community has grown the rec facility side has kind of fell behind, we now have to play catch up. I understand that we are not going to be building a giant state of the art rec-plex tomorrow but we do have to start doing the work to get it going. I feel that having places families can get together and enjoy activities together develops a feeling of community which in turn leads to people doing more local business and shopping therein boosting the towns economy. Of course this all costs money to first build then to operate and maintain. I feel however with some careful planning and the support of the community this can be accomplished. Any other questions I can be reached at jason_pollo82@hotmail.com also checkout and like my Facebook page www.facebook.com/councillorpollo.