Town forum draws on a variety of issues

More than 300 people packed into the St. Paul Recreation Centre for a much-anticipated Town of St. Paul election forum, hosted by the St. Paul and District Chamber of Commerce, on Wednesday night.

Several residents came with burning questions to be asked, and a large stack of more than 50 questions was collected on a range of issues, like the handling of the takeover of the golf course, taxation, candidates’ stance on the development of the Country Garden Villas and affordable housing, as well as issues of staff turnover, transparency and accountability.

The incumbents, which included Mayor Glenn Andersen and councillors Norm Noel, Edna Gervais, Ken Kwiatkowski, Don Padlesky, Judy Bogdan and Dwight Wiebe, are all re-running. During opening remarks, more than one of the incumbents pointed to achievements in the last term, including getting a grant to conduct a feasibility study on diverting waste from landfills, a new FCSS and Parent Link building, a construction of a skate park and dog park, and development of empty lots as well as demolition of derelict homes and buildings, the creation of the Wellness Centre and infrastructure repairs among them.

Among the incumbents, Coun. Dwight Wiebe acknowledged the tumultuousness of the past term, obliquely referring to some of the challenges council has faced during what he called an “interesting” term.

“We’ve certainly had our peaks and valleys, I guess you could say,” acknowledged Wiebe. “I guess I can sit here and admit to you and tell you decisions do not go the way you always planned them to go. But we do work together. We don’t always agree, but we do work together.”

Past councillors including Gary Ward and Ron Boisvert pointed to their volunteer background and experience in municipal politics, with both having served in administration as well as Parks and Recreation director and CAO respectively. New candidates Brad Eamon, Kim Werenka, Nathan Taylor, Lise Belliveau, David Inshco, Tyson deMoissac are running for the six seats on council, while former school board chair Maureen Miller is challenging Andersen for the mayor’s chair.

Eamon spoke to the desire for change he’s heard voiced, voicing the opinion of newcomers as he said, “Let me be part of that change.”

Councillor candidates all spoke to the need for transparency, with Taylor saying transparency was not just a goal, but a constant.

“It’s a way of doing business. It’s a way of operating,” he said, adding he supported live-streaming council meetings as a way to keep council accountable to the public, a suggestion also made by Gervais.

The Country Garden Villas project was brought up during the night, and the question was asked to mayoral candidates why there was no movement on the project after more than a year.

Andersen said an Area Structure Plan was required by the Municipal Government Act, which would provide necessary information such as water requirements, sanitary and storm water systems, and drainage.

“All this stuff is stuff you have to consider when you’re developing,” he said adding the town doesn’t want to be left holding the bag “if something goes sideways with the development.”

The town has even offered to help with the Area Structure Plan and share costs on such a plan for Country Garden Villas, but the developer has refused for whatever reason, he said.

Miller said she supported the project, but agreed an Area Structure Plan was necessary. However, the delays seemed to be taking forever, she said, saying, “I just would like to see the road block doesn’t happen at town council, that council doesn’t become the block.”

Inscho spoke to the need for council to work with private developers and get housing projects developed that would allow seniors to age in their own homes.

When a developer expresses interest in coming to town, it may make sense to create a committee that would bring members of council, administration and the developer together at one table “to move projects like this in a much more timely manner,” he said.

The town’s handling on the golf course came up, with a questioner asking Bogdan, Boisvert and Ward, as people who had sat on the golf course board and attending board meetings, if they had questioned the financial straits of the board to find out what a precarious situation it had been in, prior to going under.

Bogdan responded, “Actually I sat on that board for a very, very short time,” as she said she had not been in the position long enough to understand or question the finances.

Boisvert said two years prior to the town’s takeover of the course, the town had met with an accountant about the golf course’s books, and there was a plan in place to eliminate the deficit.

“They had a plan in place but unfortunately, a golf course is subject to the weather and the amount of members that will use it,” he said. Boisvert said he wasn’t involved in the town takeover of the course, which took place after his retirement.

Ward referred to the process of the takeover, saying, “As a member of the golf course board, we did have knowledge of private investors for probably the last two years before the town did step in to take it over.”

He said his job as a member of the board was to notify the town about its financial position, which he said he did by telling the CAO of the time, Boisvert. The town made the decision to take over the course, and his role after the fact was to correspond with lawyers and look after paperwork, said Ward.

With Bernhardt giving other candidates a chance to speak up, Kwiatkowski piped in, affirming that “council never ever knew there was a deficit.” He said that the only indication that they had of the financial deficit of the board was when a board member asked for council to provide $25,000 for a pump, “knowing they were $200,000 in the hole. Council never, ever had that information.”

Affordable housing was another issue brought up, in which a questioner wanted to know if candidates thought the land east of Glen Avon School was a good location for such housing. Council candidates all noted there had to be more information brought forward before decisions could be made on supporting such a project.

“Nobody is against affordable housing,” Belliveau said, adding however, that there are two things that people must consider, including the impact on the community, which includes the effect on housing prices, and density. She noted she had heard from people that the housing should be spread throughout town.

Werenka also spoke up, saying he was all for affordable housing but “it needs to be put in the right spot,” and the project must be well-thought out.

However, Andersen said no formal presentation had been made to council on any one site; if that land was considered, there would be a public hearing to allow residents to have their say, he said. “You will have your voice.”

Noel added people shouldn’t “let fear-mongering get us all riled up,” as community input would be solicited yet. “We want what’s best for our community.”

When asked later in the forum about the town providing land for housing, Belliveau, Bogdan and Inscho all said there needed to be an up-to-date assessment of the community’s need for affordable housing.

However, Taylor noted that if the town can provide 25 cents to the dollar in return for provincial and federal funds, it would increase the likelihood of getting funding, as he said the town doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to get the best leverage out of its dollars.

A questioner wanted to know what the town could do to combat the perception that the community is not open for business.

Noel was succinct in his response, noting that there’s been $92.5 million invested in residential and commercial property since 2012 “and you tell me the Town of St. Paul is not open for business?”

Belliveau, however, noted that young people are not sure if the town will survive, if it was a place they could invest in, saying while she wasn’t sure what the answer was, or if there were simple answers, she felt council needed to ask, “What can we do different?”

Others like Gervais and Taylor pointed to existing programs that helped businesses, with Gervais pointing to Portage College’s incubator program for new businesses, and Alberta HUB for spurring investment. Taylor noted that Community Futures exists to be a “lender of first opportunity” for people, and that more needs to be done to get the message out to young people that Community Futures exists to help get businesses off the ground.

Miller said she thought it was “sad to think” there were people that believed St. Paul wasn’t open for business, and as a business owner with her husband Ken, she said she hasn’t found that to be the case personally.

“I believe we’re a vibrant community,” said Miller. “It hasn’t even been a second thought to me.”

A few of the candidates like Inscho and Ward spoke about the needs for land set aside for industrial park as a way to spur development. Andersen noted that the town has acquired six or seven acres on the east side of town for commercial development. However, the town must be careful with its use of the land “because it’s a huge investment,” he said.

In response to a question on what councillors would do to advance reconciliation, all called for the need for more discussion and cooperation between nations.

“We are a community, we have to get along, and we will have to grow stronger toghetehr,” said Noel, as he pointed out the discussion has already begun with the town of St. Paul hosting a meeting on systemic racism.

Wiebe suggested that all of council should go through a blanket exercise, a suggestion which garnered applause.

Belliveau noted that while a few people had referred to communication between “two communities,” many Frist Nations people live in St. Paul and are part of one community. Respectful dialogue was needed, she said, adding, “We need to heal on both sides.”

deMoissac suggested that Saddle Lake council and Town of St. Paul council attend each other’s meetings as a way to advance discussions.

“However old that hatchet is, it’s got to be buried,” said deMoissac. “We’ve got to work together.”

Each of the candidates had time to summarize their closing arguments at the end of the forum. Belliveau advised people to vote as they felt they should.

“If you only want three, only vote for three,” she said, adding this offered people the best chance to have the council they wanted represented.

“Vote with your heart is,” advised deMoissac, saying his heart is in serving the town.

Bernhardt underlined that sentiment, saying, “This much passion needs to be supported by a passion for voting,” as he urged everyone to head out to the polls.