MD Residents of Ward 5 are more informed on who's behind the name on their ballot come Oct. 16.
Dana Swigart, Silke Skinner, and Angela Cook are candidates running for a seat on MD of Bonnyville council.
Each of the candidates shed some light on their plans, should they be elected, during a candidate meet and greet on Monday, Oct. 2, at the Riverhurst Community Hall.
Like most wards throughout the MD, residents were concerned about crime, roads, and regional cooperation.
All candidates agreed they would start the discussion on bringing town halls back to the table, creating a platform for residents to discuss issues throughout the municipality.
One of the concerns discussed early on in the evening, was public safety.
“Crime is on everyone's agenda,” Skinner said.
While Skinner spoke of creating a rural crime watch program, and her efforts to get the ball rolling, Cook touched on how crime has gotten so out of hand.
“If we had been proactive we wouldn't be in this situation,” she said, adding if all communities work together, the issue would be easier to combat.
One option discussed between the candidates and residents, was training municipal peace officers to do more than just patrol, issue tickets, and enforce bylaws.
“They don't have training, they don't carry weapons. I would like to review their current roles and training and maybe have them do more,” said Skinner.
However, their current training and lack of weapons makes it difficult for the MD to send them out for nightly patrols, as suggested by some residents.
Before they can dive into changing the way things are done, elected municipal officials will have to sit down with all parties involved to discuss the best way of solving the local crime issue.
Although working together is one solution, residents still believe it won't be enough.
In particular, they referred to what was described as “a catch and release” system, where a criminal is arrested, and then released on conditions.
Residents wanted to know what each candidate would do in order to improve the system.
Swigart recommended reaching out to the local MP and MLA to express concerns with how the current justice system is running.
“We need to start working together to make that happen,” Cook suggested.
Another concern was where MD funding was going.
Some residents felt that more money was being supplied to the Town of Bonnyville than the City of Cold Lake, even though MD residents utilize facilities in both communities.
Cook would like to see that change, and for a more “fair” system to be put in place.
“That's exactly it… There should be funding going to these centres because we are using them,” she added.
Keeping community halls funded was also important to those who attended the event.
They wanted to see the MD provide more dollars to keep these halls in good shape.
“We should make sure these are kept in a good state so they can be enjoyed for years to come,” said Skinner.
One suggestion was offering money to the facilities that are benefitting the community through events and promotions.
Skinner wondered if it would be beneficial for some of the larger, more successful halls, to coordinate with the smaller facilities, working together to help keep all of the community halls sustainable.
Residents also recommended the MD hire an engineer to determine which roads to work on next based on usage, and not a “wish list.”
Swigart admitted that the MD could be doing a better job of maintaining roads.
One of the biggest concerns was the MD's method of bouncing from project to project instead of completing an entire area before moving on.
Candidates agreed that a better system may be completing the road altogether before moving onto the next project.
Residents will be heading to the polls Oct. 16 with their candidate's platforms fresh in their minds.
