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Black Diamond vote on after second attempt

A last-minute decision by three Black Diamond residents means the town is going to see an election for council on Oct. 16.
Eight candidates are running for Black Diamond council during the Oct. 16 municipal election.
Eight candidates are running for Black Diamond council during the Oct. 16 municipal election.

A last-minute decision by three Black Diamond residents means the town is going to see an election for council on Oct. 16.

Nominations for town council reopened Tuesday morning after only five candidates submitted their names for the six council positions on Monday.

Within half an hour, Dean Anderson, Chelsey Kehler and Veronica Kloiber added their names to the ballot, joining Ted Bain, Daryl Lalonde, Sharon Hart and incumbents Jackie Stickel and Brian Marconi.

Councillors Mike Ross and Ruth Goodwin will both face off for the mayor’s chair.

Kehler said it wasn’t until she learned that only five people stepped up for council that she seriously considered running.

“There was hesitancy in thinking that perhaps I’m not well known enough in the community or a bit too young or not having the breadth of experience the other councillors may have,” she said. “When reviewing the nomination package last night I realized I can do this. I reached out really quickly last night and made a few texts and within 10 minutes I had 15 people say they would sign for me. I thought maybe I can do this.”

Kehler was one of 40 people invited to give feedback on which direction the town should grow in a recent consultation.

“Looking around the room there was a realization that there wasn’t a lot of support from the younger members of the community,” she said.

Since moving to Black Diamond two years ago, the mother of two teenagers said she is dedicated to staying in town and seeing sustainability and growth in Black Diamond.

“There’s been lot of change with the stop lights and Tim Hortons,” she said. “There needs to be some serious conversations around feasibility and sustainable growth and not just expansion.”

Marconi also admitted some hesitation about running. He served one year on council after being voted in during last year’s byelection.

“I was juggling a part-time job, council and a wife with some health problems,” he said. “When I found out that most of council wouldn’t be running I thought somebody has to be there to give a balanced perspective on things.”

Marconi said the town is faced with infrastructure that needs repairing, and he would like to see it become a priority. Another need, according to Marconi, is installing streetlights and sidewalks on blocks that don’t currently have them.

“We have to bring them up to standard,” he said. “We have to make sure every block is lit properly so everyone is safe walking the streets. Walking on the road is not a good thing in the winter time.”

As for amalgamating with Turner Valley, Marconi said he would like to see a business case outlining what it could look like before deciding.

“Status quo for sure is not the right option for both towns,” he said. “After a while you can’t afford to keep going the way you are. Things are costing more.”

Ross, who served 15 years on council and is running for mayor, also sees many issues ahead of council and feels he would serve as a suitable leader in addressing them.

“The new council is going to be over 50 per cent new members so they will have their learning curve and I think it’s important that they have strong knowledgeable leadership to guide them through the process because we’ve got timelines on a lot of this stuff we have to do,” he said.

This includes amalgamation, the upcoming legalization of marijuana, the new Modernized Municipal Government Act (MMGA) and taxes.

As for amalgamation, Ross said he would like to see it go ahead.

“I would like to see, for the first two years, we form a comprehensive collaboration committee and start working to make sure our land use bylaws are inline and get ready to amalgamate… and after two years put in the application to amalgamate,” he said.

Lalonde, another running for council, hopes to bring a youthful voice to the council table if elected.

The Black Diamond resident of six years has been involved with local taxpayers associations and development groups in recent years and would like to contribute to the decision-making process.

Having attended the recent candidate training forum, Lalonde said he learned that he can’t just walk in and make policy changes but he’s looking forward to making a change as a team effort if elected.

One of the areas Lalonde said he would like to see addressed is town development.

“We are under a lot of restrictions currently,” he said. “I think we should have a bit of a moratorium on it while we get it under control. The condo complex (proposed beside the Oilfields General Hospital) is a thorn in a lot of people’s side. We need to take a step back and decide if this is right, right now. Maybe we should step back and get a few things in place.”

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