Mayor's Corner for October, making the Crowsnest Pass a better place one step at a time.

MAYOR'S CORNER  It’s October and fall is here: Clear, bluer than blue skies, trees turning yellow and frosty crisp mornings. Your Council is pressing hard to continue the progress and change we promised. This month we have had an unfortunate occurrence which resulted in a number of our firemen leaving their positions. However our administrative team managed the situation professionally and we are assured of our safety. I understand some firemen are currently re-applying for their position. Our head of Protective Services and our new Fire Chief inform us that the restructured fire service will be smaller, more efficient in its use of equipment and ultimately more cost effective contrary to some opinions expressed. We also met with the ratepayers group. Personally I found it to be an enjoyable civil discussion in which there was an exchange of facts versus rumor, the clarification of Council objectives versus misconceptions, and a discussion of long term Council goals.  Perhaps most importantly we discussed the philosophical lens through which we both view the current and future status of our community. It was determined that Council has  a “glass half full” philosophy as opposed to the ratepayers “glass half empty” outlook. It was a good discussion and we agreed to disagree on some points. At the conclusion of our discussion Mr. Kovach surprised us (after such excellent discussion) by requesting that the administration reverse their decisions regarding the fire service and that the Council resign? After such an excellent productive discussion we all gave our heads a shake of consternation. I note that once again some individual is instigating another Council recall and our ratepayers group is requesting government intervention. This seems to be becoming a habit. If with every Council you disagree with the elected representatives – petition the government and throw them out.  Can you imagine what would happen across this province if this occurred in every community? I wonder what kind of impression we are creating with the government? It appears one of our newspapers is unhappy with us and has contacted the newspaper association regarding our approach to advertising.  At this time I am unaware of the details but I expect we will find out in due course. Now on to more positive items. Please note elsewhere in this issue the various locations in which our newsletter can be picked up. We are receiving an amazing number of requests for the newsletter and many requests to publish it twice a month. I don’t think we can handle that but we will look into it. It seems like people like to have the facts. I am pleased to announce that after months (and months) of hard work we have as promised, resolved the problem surrounding the Crowsnest Learning Centre and “old” hospital facility. The new hotel restaurant truck stop complex - is a go! The last few legal details are being ironed out and early next month we and the developers are looking forward to holding a public session to gather your input as to what you would like to see happen. Watch our website or the upcoming newsletter for information. On the manufacturing plant status, I phoned them last week. They have confirmed that we are the location they wish to locate in. This plant produces a lot of clean hot water which needs to be cooled before it can be put back in the environment and apparently this is proving a major problem for them and delaying their decision. The moment I know what their decision is I will inform you. We are currently in discussion with an international heavy industry which is considering Crowsnest Pass as its base. A week ago another Canadian heavy industry contacted me by phone and will be setting up a meeting with us shortly. I wouldn’t get too excited over these latter comments just yet as I believe these industries are just in the “speculation” stage. As previously indicated your Council is working steadily on all issues. Following Mayor’s Corner you will find a letter sent directly to the Premier regarding our ongoing concerns over Highway No. 3. In conclusion for this month I note that rumor and misinformation is still being propagated by a small minority. This suggests we need to intensify our efforts to bring you the facts and the truth. Please don’t hesitate to contact our municipal administration, our councillors or myself for the facts and the truth.                                   - Mayor Decoux