Rocky View County Coun. Bruce Kendall will face at least one opponent, as he seeks re-election Oct. 16 for a second term as representative of division nine.
Colleen Munro is launching her campaign this week and will be a familiar face to many constituents who reside in the expansive, rural region north of Cochrane, including Cochrane Lake and Monterra.
“I guess I like public service … you have to be all in when you do this job and that’s why I do – because I have that ability to be all in,” said the current Ward 5 Rocky View Schools trustee, who will be stepping down after three terms.
Munro, a rural Westbrook resident, said she believes her experience listening to the concerns of parents in her constituency – rural Cochrane and Bearspaw - will be directly transferrable to division nine residents – a “diverse range of rate payers from small acreage owners to farming families.”
Having filed her forms this week, Munro said she will prioritize her concerns solely based on what her constituents bring to the table – concerns she will uncover as she begins door knocking and participating in any county-held forum.
A concern she is already well aware of is gravel and the delay of the implementation of an aggregate resource policy (ARP) to govern aggregate extraction and operations in the county.
“I think the county needs to go back to that ARP and decisions need to be policy-driven … I would go back to policy rather than ad-hoc,” she said, adding that the policy-first approach has worked well in her work as a trustee, facilitating respectful, collaborative teamwork with her fellow trustees.
She said she does “question the density” that will result from the county paving the way for three potential additional gravel pits – bringing the total to four – along Big Hill Springs Road.
“How do you access (gravel) without impacting the quality of life for the residents?” she said, adding that the roads (highways 22 and 567) are “already really busy roads.”
A lifelong area resident, Munro hails from Springbank and has been actively involved in the Cochrane area agricultural community, including the Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation and 4-H.
Her background includes 15 years as a journalist with a focus on agricultural news, She also holds master of business administration and undergraduate degrees in science (agriculture) and journalism (Hons.).
Munro will have a Facebook page operational in the coming days. She can be reached by calling or texting calling or texting 403-863-0739 or [email protected].
Bruce Kendall
Kendall announced his intentions to seek re-election earlier this spring.
He is confident his integration in the community and experience on council will best serve his constituents and prepare him for the coming changes that will result from the new Regional Growth Management Board.
“I believe it is of utmost importance that Rocky View County has a council with the experience necessary to best represent the electorate. I will continue to advocate under the premise that less is more,” he said, reiterating that “agriculture occupies 92 per cent of the county land base and this vital industry needs greater understanding and support from the county.”
He is hopeful the plans to complete and implement an ARP will come to fruition in the first quarter of 2018.
Kendall voted in favour of the contentious Glenbow Ranch Area Structure Plan, citing the “protection of 50 per cent of the total lands within the plan area” as a win for agricultural preservation.
Should his run prove successful, Kendall would take to task the overdue re-write of the county’s land use bylaw – a “20-plus year old document, is well past its best before date, and with a new county plan, they need to be brought into conformity with each other.”
Kendall said he is most proud of the pumping solution for flood mitigation that is in its second year of operations at Cochrane Lake and the balancing out of the residential/non-residential tax base – bumping the non-residential up to 35 per cent, up from 27 per cent.
A former reeve and deputy reeve on the first elected council for the M.D. of Bighorn, from 1989 to 1991, Kendall moved from this area to Rocky View County more than 20 years ago.
Kendall’s community involvement highlights include his work on land acquisition to get the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre project off the ground in 1999.
His background includes real estate finance, as well as experience in the construction and development industries.
Kendall can be reached at 403-889-5075 or brucekendall.ca.
