Scott Klassen to serve as new Wheatland County reeve

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Scott Klassen has been elected by his peers among Wheatland County council to serve as reeve for this council term. 

Having served for seven years as deputy reeve, as well as reclaiming his seat following the results of the municipal election, he will fill the role previously held by Amber Link prior to her departure from council.

“My colleagues thought that I was a good choice, so I’m very honoured for that, and (I’m) just looking to move forward with the councillors new and old, and there is so much coming to Wheatland County because of location (close) to the big urban center of Calgary,” he said.

He added that as the official spokesperson for the county, as well as for council, he is stepping out of his comfort zone but is looking forward to filling the role. 

“It definitely will take a little bit to get used to, but being a deputy for a number of years, I have had to step up in the past for many meetings and I have always tried to be fair and follow process and make sure everybody is heard,” he said. “There are some large developments; we all know about the De Havilland and CGC to name a couple, and there are some more in the pipeline, of course, with land approvals and things like that.”

Similarly, Coun. Shannon Laprise was decided to serve as deputy reeve for this council term. 

She was the only member of council to be acclaimed back to her seat during the election and is entering her second term as an elected official. 

“I decided back in January that I wanted to serve again just because we have so many things that are, I think, moving us in the right direction and I wanted to be there to see some things come through,” she said. “I’m definitely honoured, that’s for sure, and proud of my previous four years that maybe encouraged people to vote that way.”

Laprise explained she intends to prioritize maintenance and replacement of local infrastructure throughout this new term and see several projects through to completion that were initiated during the previous term.

“For me, it’s really about core infrastructure projects,” she said. “We do have a number of aging infrastructure, including bridge files that were built in the 50’s and 60’s that are really nearing their end of life. I really want to see that stuff on a replacement schedule.”

Klassen added he is hoping to see a change of dynamic between Strathmore and Wheatland County’s councils, instead of continuing the difficulties in communication experienced during the previous term. 

He said correspondence with Mayor Pat Fule had already been sent out, and he was looking forward to beginning new discussions regarding the betterment of council relations.

“Urban and rural (councils) look at things differently. That’s a balance … what’s important for an urban center and what is important for a rural center, sometimes they are different,” he said. “I’ve expressed that to Mayor Fule before and how to move forward is – we have all been elected for a new four-year term and I know baggage from before can be left behind.