After spending months addressing a number of concerns in his community, a Black Diamond man hopes residents will allow him to have a bigger impact.
Glen Fagan is running for mayor in Black Diamond’s Aug. 22 municipal byelection. Fagan has been attending council meetings over the past 18 months.
Former mayor Sharlene Brown resigned last spring when she accepted a job as Black Diamond’s chief administrative officer.
For months, Fagan has been bringing questions to council, many relating to taxation, as a member of the Concerned Taxpayers of Black Diamond.
“I’ve invested a lot of time working with council and out in the community talking to residents,” he said. “I have a sense of obligation now that I need to put something back into the community. I feel the best way for me to do that is to be running for mayor.”
Fagan, who’s lived in Black Diamond for nine years, said he has the business qualifications and credentials for the position.
“I’ve worked in difficult situations in my business life that are easily transferable to this council,” he said. “I’ve led teams, participated in teams, I’ve parachuted into teams that I needed to integrate and I’ve built teams from the ground up.”
Fagan has been going door to door to learn what residents want and the most popular request is lower taxes, he said.
“Even a $20 increase on taxes is significant for some people, especially for those on a fixed income,” he said. “Seniors today can no longer afford the tax burden of owning a home and the young people come here, buy a house that’s very affordable and then taxation hits them.”
Fagan also learned that residents feel communication is lacking between the Town and taxpayers.
“They don’t believe that it’s as open as it should be and that council is as accessible as it should be,” he said. “They think there should be another venue to getting information out. They think it would be better to have a broader release of information – like a news flyer that comes out once a month.”
Growth and development is another concern among residents, said Fagan.
Supportive of commercial and residential growth but against bringing big box stores to Town, Fagan said growth shouldn’t occur until the town’s water situation is addressed.
Black Diamond and Turner Valley, which share water services, are under frequent water restrictions as the corporation continues to search for more sources to meet the demands of the two communities.
“If a well runs dry or we have an interruption in that water for some reason, we don’t have water,” said Fagan. “We can’t press on with new developments without having water in place.”
Amalgamation is another topic residents are talking about after Black Diamond and Turner Valley were approved Provincial funding earlier this year to conduct a feasibility study on what merging the two communities could look like.
“The concern is why are we doing it again and the other side is, yes, we should be looking at it gain,” he said. “There’s a real split in the community.”
Fagan said he supports amalgamation if the feasibility shows a cost savings to both communities.
The municipal byelection will take place in the basement of the municipal building Aug. 22 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
