Water, the CMRB, business attraction and improved communication drove a former councillor to enter the mayoral race in Okotoks.
Naydene Lewis, who served on council from 2007-2010, said she decided to campaign after seeing the diverse range of candidates for the council table.
“I want to be part of a fresh, new council that has this type of dynamic – education and business and planning backgrounds,” said Lewis. “The array of knowledge from these candidates is just incredible, and I want to lead that team.”
She said her previous experience on Town council makes her an ideal candidate, because she has already seen how council works and understands municipal politics.
Though she lost the race for council in 2010, Lewis said she was relieved, having just endured tragedy with her family when her husband died the same year.
Since that time, she has been involved in the community and council matters, administrating the Foothills Views & News group page for years, helping to launch the Okotoks Ratepayers Group, and staying on top of council agendas and discussions.
“I’ve kept my hand on the pulse of the community,” said Lewis.
The first issue she would like to tackle as mayor is the water pipeline. While the solution seems to be underway, she said more could be done by pooling regional resources and getting more municipalities to buy in to the waterline.
“It’s a complex issue, this water situation,” said Lewis. “I see, now, that council and administration have been working toward a pipeline. It all comes down to partnerships.”
The Calgary Metropolitan Region Board (CMRB) is also one of her top concerns. Lewis said she fails to see how the board and its growth plan benefits Okotoks.
She would rather have the Town pull out of the board and continue working with neighbouring municipalities like High River, Foothills County, Black Diamond and Turner Valley through existing intermunicipal committees and shared agreements.
Allowing municipalities outside of the Foothills region to have a voice in whether Okotoks development can occur is concerning, she said.
“It’s a group of people at a level different than our own municipality that will be telling us what we can and can’t do in our own community and in our own region,” said Lewis. “There’s no value to it, but it’s going to cost us a ton of money in years to come.
“I really prefer that we look at our local region and build our local region that’s going to benefit our communities.”
Communication with residents and businesses is also key for the next council, she said. Developing a strong two-way communication is necessary to ensure the Town is pursuing its citizens’ needs versus wants.
Proper communication has been an issue for years, she said.
“If people want to be heard, and if council is serious about hearing from the people who live in Okotoks, and work, and play, we’re going to find a method of communication where everybody is included, where everybody feels they are heard,” said Lewis.
As for economic development and business attraction, she said ideally the Town would be open to all businesses willing to set up shop within its borders rather than trying to bring in specific industry or employment types.
One of the best ways to entice new business is through tax incentives, she said.
“Why not focus on any type of business that wants to come to Okotoks?” said Lewis. “'We would love to have you, and here are some incentives to bring you here.’
“Then for our current businesses, if they want to sign up for incentives, whether it’s having internships available for our youth or cash incentives to grow, then why not? We’re only as limited as we allow ourselves to be.”
In addition to bringing in new business, she said during economic recovery it will be important for the Town to listen to all business owners and entrepreneurs in Okotoks and not just those that belong to associations like the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Business Association.
It’s important to hear from businesses of all sizes when it comes to potential impacts of Town decisions, she said, adding that’s another element of improving communication from council.
“We’ve got to bring all of our businesses together to say, ‘This is how I’m being affected by the decisions you’re making,’” said Lewis. “They need a task force of some sort, and not a downtown business task force – a task force as a whole, for the businesses of Okotoks and whoever wants to be at the table.”
She said the underlying message of her mayoral platform is to focus on the needs of the community rather than the wants, and to bring those in line with affordability and what residents and business owners can shoulder at tax time.
Consideration must be given to the cost of projects and how much people are willing to pay for them, and those costs have to be disclosed to the public in a clear manner, she said.
People would understand where the money goes better if they had the information at their fingertips, she said.
“I think that would help make it really clear what the issues are when it comes to spending money,” said Lewis. “There’s always a bigger picture, and council hasn’t been really clear in the bigger picture.”
