Crime and roads were two of the recurring issues that arose during the County of St. Paul election forum on Wednesday night.
Rows of chairs were filled at the St. Paul Rec. Centre with county and town residents, eager to hear from the candidates on a variety of issues. Emcee for the night Kevin Bernhardt said he was happy to see the night's turnout.
"This is very encouraging to me," said Bernhardt. He reminded residents that after the forum, the most important thing is to "go out and vote."
The evening began with an opening statement by each candidate. Incumbent reeve Steve Upham spoke first, noting that he was the first reeve at large elected in the County of St. Paul in 2010, and believe there's a "new energy" within the staff at the county, following an organization review that began in 2015.
"The unknown is our biggest threat," said Upham, referring to the next four years.
Reeve candidate and past public works superintendent Leo deMoissac was next to speak. He acknowledged that in his past role, he wasn't always popular with ratepayers when carrying out decisions made by council. But, because of his past experience, he has a thorough working knowledge of the county.
"I am invested in this community."
Past Division 1 councillor and reeve candidate Glen Ockerman was next to speak. He spoke about how he felt the reeve's role was a very important one, and that one of his many qualifications for the job was "common sense."
In Division 1, only candidate Darrell Younghans was in attendance, with candidate Dean Smith unable to attend the forum.
In Division 2, candidates Myra Bochon, Kevin Wrista, and Ron Heraid spoke and answered questions.
In Division 3, incumbent Cliff Martin was joined by candidate Ray Suvak. For Division 4 candidate James McGonigal sat next to incumbent Maxine Fodness.
For Division 5 all three candidates were also in attendance – Dale Hedrick, Barry Sallstrom, and Ric Webster. Division 6 incumbent Laurent Amyotte was acclaimed.
Roads
Maintenance and construction of roads proved to be a big issue, in the form of written questions directed to the candidates, and noted throughout the night at various times.
Heraid said that as a school bus driver, he's driven on the roads plenty, and had a specific close call in the winter where the bus he was driving when down a hill backward. That situation is what influenced him to put his name forward as a candidate.
“I do believe we need changes in the county,” he said.
Hedrick said he felt more input was needed from residents on which roads the county should be rebuilding, and he also was concerned about a lack of oiling roads.
Sallstrom noted that one of his priorities was effective summer and winter maintenance of the roads. He said he felt the county's policy regarding snow removal should be looked at, especially considering the large spring snowstorms that resulted in many residents being unable to leave their homes for a couple days at a time, in some cases.
The second question of the night directed to the candidates spoke about the condition of county roads, and how they appeared to be getting worse.
Upham referred to the weather over the past year, where roads froze with a lot of moisture, and thawed in the spring, which also saw heavy snowfall. He said he felt there was a “vast improvement” in the quality of roads over the past summer, with better quality gravel being accessed.
“We can’t forget that the damage on roads, it all comes with the traffic that we’ve gained over the last 10, 15, 20 years. I remember when I was a kid there were two big truck . . . now everyone has huge trucks,” said deMoissac.
He noted that roads because of the spring weather, road stayed right until mid-summer. “It’s going to take time, but we have come a long ways with our roads . . . Really at the end of the day, roads are always going to be a challenge.”
Sallstrom also spoke on the issue, noting poor gravel and inexperienced operators likely led to the poor road conditions. “We need trained operators.”
The state of Township Road 582 also came up, which is a heavily used road located just north of St. Paul.
As the division councillor, Fodness responded to the concern first, stating a few years ago council decided as a whole that no new oiling would be done. But, just a couple weeks ago, council has decided to look at the issue again.
She noted that money could be moved from building roads, to oiling roads, and personally felt there were a number of roads in Division 4 that could use oil.
McGonigal also spoke on the issue, stating he had heard concerns about County of St. Paul trucks using TWP 582. He added that if elected, he would choose wisely which roads get the attention.
Ockerman explained that the county has started numbering roads based on usage, with level 5 being heavy traffic, and level 1 being the least amount of traffic. The system also takes into account the number of residents along the road.
“We want main arteries throughout the county,” said Ockerman.
Upham also spoke to the issue, saying TWP 582 "is a significant problem," and that before the road could be oiled, it would need a good base on it.
“It all boils down to money,” said deMoissac, simply. He added that he could think of a lot of roads in a similar position that need work.
Suvak then took his turn on the microphone, speaking about the importance of a good base on a road, but added that he felt “we have decent roads right now. We need maintenance on them.”
Throughout the night, number of candidates referred to what they believe to be an increase in property crime taking place in the county.
Younghans was one of the first to bring up the issue of crime. He noted that crime, break-ins and theft are all people talk about lately, and he felt the county should lobby provincial and federal governments to have these serious issues addressed.
Hedrick also brought up concerns about crime, noting more RCMP members are needed in the area.
The first questions of the night to be asked was regarding support for Rural Crime Watch, to which each of the reeve candidates responded that they supported the community initiative, and would work with the organization to hopefully influence change.
Another question that garnered quite a few answers from candidates was if they supported the waste energy conversion project that the Town of St. Paul is currently looking at through a feasibility study.
Reeve candidate deMoissac was the first to speak, saying his quick answer was that it's “not feasible.”
He noted that hauling large amounts of garbage on the roads is an issue in itself, and a “huge expense.”
Ockerman also spoke, stating he has acted as chair of the Evergreen Regional Waste Management Services Commission, and believes that one thing that drives recycling is economics and tonnage. If large cities have a hard time coming up with adequate tonnage to make projects feasible, he was unsure of how the St. Paul area would make it work.
Upham noted that while everyone believes in recycling and making the world a better place, the project needs to be feasible to work.
“It's a wonderful idea . . . but the dots don't connect.”
Fodness also spoke to the matter, noting it would likely result in another tax, since it's an expensive project, and someone has to pay for it. She felt that everyone needs to rethink what they're doing on an individual basis when it comes to reducing waste in their own homes.
A question regarding the county’s level of debt was also brought up.
Upham said he wasn’t concerned with the county’s current debt. User fees, paid by the people who benefit from the projects, would cover most of the debt, he noted.
“To me, it’s not a concern.”
Ockerman then took the microphone and noted he was concerned by the debt incurred. He referred to the downturn in economy, but also acknowledged that some projects were 90/10 funding, which made things worthwhile to pursue.
Candidate deMoissac also spoke briefly on the matter, saying, the county does need to borrow money for some projects, but it also has to be careful with its spending.
A question directed at the idea of amalgamation of the county with other neighbouring municipalities also resulted in a number of responses from candidates.
Upham pointed to Lac La Biche as an example of how it takes a lot of work to make amalgamation work.
“They've struggled,” he said, adding, now that Lac La Biche has a mayor who is capable of bridging the gap, and leading effectively, it is coming together.
He added that he wasn't sure if the two communities – County of St. Paul and Town of St. Paul – were ready yet to take the step toward amalgamation.
In his view, deMoissac noted that the same amount of work still has to be done, whether that be roadwork or utilities, and he felt the cost savings would be minimal.
Ockerman said in some cases, amalgamation works. For example, the community of Mallaig is part of the County of St. Paul, and it works very well. He noted that he could see an amalgamation with the
Town of Elk Point being a possibility in the future, "anything's possible," but also noted that in any case, he wouldn't want to see the county incur anyone else's debt.
Support for libraries, the state of a beach area at St. Vincent Lake, past experience, support for small businesses, and support for youth were among the other issues touched on.
At the end of the night, each candidate was once again given the opportunity to speak, and offer closing comments.
In his closing comments, Sallstrom brought up the plebiscite question that will be asked during the municipal election on Oct. 16, regarding the idea of the county hiring bylaw enforcement officers. He said that he was offended to know that the future council wouldn't be bound by the results of the plebiscite.
Ockerman also made a statement in his closing comments, saying his first order of business as reeve would be to reduce the reeve's base salary by $500 a month. When Upham offered his closing comments, he referred to Ockerman's comment jokingly, saying he didn't want to see his salary decrease.
“The future of the County of St. Paul is in the hands of the people in front of me,” said Bernhardt, as he wrapped up the forum. He again encouraged everyone in attendance to reach out to their friends and family and encourage them to all vote.
