A duo of candidate forums were held over the past week, providing residents with an opportunity to get to know where each stand on the pressing issues facing Cochrane in the coming years.
A duo of candidate forums were held over the past week, providing residents with an opportunity to get to know where each stand on the pressing issues facing Cochrane in the coming years.
Seniors on the Bow (SOTB) hosted a packed panel of Cochrane’s mayoral, council and school board candidates Oct. 2, while the Cochrane Settlement Community Association held its own forum Oct. 6 at Frank Wills Memorial Hall.
Funding for the town’s major projects - particularly the new Aquatic Centre -has dominated the conversation throughout this election cycle thus far.
During the SOTB forum, which was set up to be more about getting to know who is running for office than a debate, one of the lone ‘moments’ of the event came when council candidate Gaynor Levisky passionately declared, “We have to let corporate Canada know that Cochrane is open for business. ”
The proclamation was met with applause from many of the 147 in attendance.
Levisky’s comment came in response to how the town plans to pay for the bevy of multi-million dollar projects it has on its plate without raising taxes, particularly the new pool, which is expected to ring in at $35 million.
Levisky said the town must first balance its current tax base, which sits at 87 per cent residential to 13 per cent commercial, and to do so, has to welcome more business.
Levisky raised the idea of trying to establish a non-residential tax base in Cochrane through what she called a corporate campus model, which essentially involves enticing business to relocate or open an office in Cochrane to provide a better work/life balance for its employees.
Many council candidates, including Marty Lee, Shana Bruder and incumbent councillor Jeff Toews voiced support for the pool project, saying it would add to the quality of life in Cochrane.
Others, like Dan Cunin, Steve Grossick, Jamie Kleinsteuber and incumbent Tara McFadden said they would like to see a pool, but not if it puts the town into debt.
Mayoral candidates Ivan Brooker and Joann Churchill both supported the pool project, with each echoing the sentiment that it should not bring debt to Cochrane. Churchill added that if money were borrowed to get shovels in the ground it would mean the town would exceed its debt limit in 2015.
Also a candidate for mayor, David Smith said there must be a business plan in place for the pool’s capital and operational costs.
“Operational costs are what impacts our taxes, ” said Smith, adding that with the current state of the provincial government’s budget, Cochrane should not expect to see much in the way of financial help in the coming years, and must manage its own finances properly.
Toews and Lee argued that if the town waits to commence construction, the cost would go up at a more drastic rate than if they borrowed to begin building now. Toews said the town could borrow at a three per cent interest rate, which he said would be lower than the increased construction costs - a view Lee agreed with, who said if the pool had been built seven years ago when it should have been, it would have cost half the price.
During the SOTB forum, candidates were given the chance to speak about one of three topics - business priorities, recreational priorities or affordable housing - and, in one way or another, all spoke to recreation (pool) in Cochrane.
Between 2012-22, the town’s 10-Year Financial Plan rings in at just under $152 million for capital projects, with endeavours like the Aquatic Centre, Riverfront Park, an RCMP station, performing arts centre and Curling Club on the docket in the coming four years, the length for the next municipal term.
Candidates voiced agreement that the RCMP station - which will cost approximately $11 million and come from Municipal Sustainability Initiative funding and town debt - is a necessity, due to the town’s growth and resulting responsibility to pay a larger percentage toward police services.
With Cochrane’s population exceeding 15,000, the municipality is responsible for 90 per cent of the RCMP’s operating costs, compared to 70 per cent when the population was less than 15,000.
SOTB held a second candidate forum Oct. 9 after the Eagle’s press deadline. All but two council candidates - Mary Lou Davis and Jim Uffelmann - were present for the Oct. 2 SOTB forum and all attended Frank Wills Memorial Hall Oct. 6.
