Issues come to light at Okotoks election forum
By John Barlow
Editor
 Two things became
evident at the Okotoks election forum held last Thursday night —
the 12 candidates running for the six seats on town council are all
passionate about the issues and that in all likelihood there will be
some new blood on council.
Five incumbents, Bill Robertson, Ed Sands, Laurie Hodson, Ralph Wilson
and Jamie Tiessen are all vying for re-election (Linda Boychuk is not
running again). The incumbents are joined by newcomers Laurie Cherkowski,
Angie Hunter, Grant Hunter, Rick Neufeldt, Lynne Karche, Mary Jane Pfeifer
and Greg Philpott — none of who have run for council in the past.
About 200 people attended the forum, held at the Foothills Centennial
Centre, last week to address a number of issues including town debt,
policing, vandalism, the health of the river valley, curfew, animal
control, commercial and industrial development and so on.
However, not surprisingly, the two hottest topics were the future of
the Sustainable Okotoks concept and the $15 million the town has committed
to expansion to the Okotoks Recreation Centre and construction of the
Centennial Arena.
One of the first questions asked of the candidates and three mayoral
candidates (incumbent Bill McAlpine, Andy Gray and Michele Noordhof)
was whether or not they supported the Sustainable Okotoks concept and
a proposed cap on the town’s population at 30,000.
All five incumbent councilors supported the Sustainable Okotoks concept
although Wilson was leery about the population cap. However, McAlpine
was not in support of the population cap.
“It is a nice concept,” said McAlpine, “But I don't
think it will work. The Municipal Development Plan is a living document
that has to change with the times. (A population cap) would be difficult
to accomplish.”
Some of the new candidates including Philpott, Cherkowski and Noordhof
also supported the concept.
However, other candidates did not support Sustainable Okotoks saying
the proposal was unrealistic and that should a population cap be imposed
real estate prices would sky rocket and many families would be financially
forced out of Okotoks.
“(A population cap) would put the costs so high my family couldn't
afford to live here,” said Philpott.
The second substantial issue on Thursday was the $15 million loan approved
by town council for upgrades to recreation facilities.
Grant Hunter said the town taking on $15 million in debt was unacceptable.
“Okotoks is getting into debt when the province is getting out,”
he commented. “I will be a watch dog on council so not to stifle
our children with the burden of this tax load.”
While some candidates voiced their opposition to the debenture, others
staunchly defended the decision to proceed with the upgrades.
Tiessen rebutted that the province is becoming debt free by shifting
responsibility for infrastructure projects solely on the municipalities.
“Property taxes have increased 40 per cent since 1995,”
explained Tiessen. “Alberta is debt free because the municipalities
are carrying the infrastructure debt load. The province is downloading
the infrastructure debt onto the municipalities.”
Noordhof also defended the decision saying most residents do not understand
the funding is for two projects including the rec centre and Centennial
Arena.
In fact, Noordhof said the renovation project at the Okotoks Recreation
Centre does not go far enough. She suggested adding a waterslide and
wave pool complex to attract families to Okotoks.
A third issue that was discussed at length included policing and, specifically,
options to deter vandalism.
Wilson, a retired RCMP Staff Sgt., said in 1995/96 vandalism was at
an all-time high in Okotoks, but recent stats from Okotoks RCMP show
vandalism is actually down.
Robertson agreed saying, “The latest survey shows it is lower
than it has been in seven years and that decrease is because of our
police service and special constables.”
Sands added, “I am encouraged that the vandalism numbers are down,
but I don’t think we can stop getting the message out that vandalism
is not a good thing because we all pay for it.”
Lastly, one resident asked for ideas on revitalizing downtown.
Cherkowski, the executive director of the Okotoks and District Chamber
of Commerce, said, “There is no doubt our businesses are in a
transition stage. But I believe the commercial changes in the south
(Cornerstone) will make us better.”
She said projects such as Olde Towne Okotoks are steps in the right
direction and town council will set the pace with the renovation of
the old Scotia Bank building that will be the future administration
building.
The election will be Monday, Oct. 18 and the polls will be open at the
Foothills Centennial Centre from 6 am to 8 pm.
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Warm air
Jesse Lockwood of Okotoks catches
some air at the Okotoks BMX track on Sunday afternoon. Lockwood, and
many other Okotokians, were taking advantage of the last warm days
of fall in as winter is surely just around the corner.
photo by John Barlow
Heritage Heights School finally given go-ahead
Budget for new school still a concern for division
By Ryan Laverty
Staff Reporter
It’s taken almost three years, but the Foothills School Division
(FSD) may finally begin construction of Heritage Heights School
east of Okotoks.
Trustees voted unanimously last Wednesday to approve the construction
of Heritage Heights School, that will be built in the Davisburg
area east of the Okotoks overpass on Highway 552.
“Every time I go out in public the question is asked ‘when
are you guys going to build that school?’” said Ward
2 trustee Graham Sewell, the representative for the affected area.
“We’re finally confident we can do it now.”
Alberta Infrastructure approved $4 million for the construction
of the new school last year, but at the same time student enrollment
dropped by 160 students. The largest decrease came from Okotoks
schools, including 40 from Percy Pegler School. The board decided
to wait a year before approving construction to see if numbers would
rebound.
“We thought it wasn’t prudent to rush out and build
a school just because we had the money,” said FSD superintendent
Jim McLellan. “We wanted to assess the numbers again this
year and now we feel confident we can move ahead with it.”
Despite rumors that a large number of students were switching from
public to separate schools, McLellan said the majority of the students
who left last year, left the area completely.
“We were able to track where these students went and they
weren’t going across the street they were going to Calgary,
to Saskatchewan, they were just leaving,” said McLellan. “We’ve
never had that problem before and with the way Okotoks is growing
it was contrary to what we expected to happen.”
McLellan and Sewell both said they expect Alberta’s beef industry
crisis played a large role in the drop in enrollment.
“We were concerned that if this was going to be a trend, the
worst thing we could do is build a new school,” said Sewell.
“We got the numbers back on Sept. 30 and they’re back
up. And we’re confident now that this will be a trend.”
However, a major obstacle for the school remains funding.
The province has allocated $4 million for the school and initial
designs and cost analysis completed more than a year ago put the
school more than $1 million over budget.
The trustees were adamant, and remain so, that they will not build
an inadequate facility.
“We are not going to build something we are not going to be
happy with,” said FSD chair Jerry Muelaner.
Last year the division was able to cut $1 million from the costs
of the school to get close to the provincial budget.
However, material costs have not come down in the last year.
“The price of steel is through the roof,” said Muelaner.
“The cost pressures are still there. I am not convinced the
climate (high material costs) has changed.”
Muelaner said they will proceed with the tendering process and see
where they stand in terms of the cost of the new school.
Again he said the division will not build a “warehouse for
kids.”
“We have told the province there comes a time when our kids
deserve better, our community deserves better,” he stated.
“If the tenders are not on budget and there is nothing left
to take out we are not going to put up a box with no windows —
we are going to fight for something better.”
The new school will be for students between kindergarten and Grade
9, and will primarily serve students from the DeWinton and Davisburg
areas northeast of Okotoks. It’s expected the school will
pull as many as 350 students from crowded classrooms at Percy Pegler,
Dr. Morris Gibson School, Red Deer Lake School and Okotoks Junior
High School.
Construction plans will allow additional classrooms to be added
in the future, maximizing the school’s population at 550 students.
No firm date could be given for when the school would be completed.
Sewell said the construction project has to go to tender through
Alberta Infrastructure, which could mean it may take more than a
year and a half before the doors are finally opened.
-- with notes from John Barlow
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In this issue...
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Civic Election
Candidates response to questions
• See News
BACK ON TRACK
New high school to open in 2005
• See News
Rivalry Reignited
Okotoks and High River square off
• See Sports |
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