Mountain View County Division 6 councillor Paddy Munro says he will seek re-election if he is able to successfully deal with some health concerns.
“My decision is I'm scheduled to get my heart operation within the next six months, and I haven't got an exact date,” said Munro. “My intention is that if I'm feeling healthy, you bet I'll run again. We've just started getting the problems of the county straightened out.”
Munro resigned as reeve of the county mid-way through the current term due to health concerns, although he stayed on as councillor.
Munro says he believes the current council has achieved a great deal and the next council can do the same.
“I'm absolutely thrilled with what we've done with the Municipal Development Plan and the planning department,” he said. “I think that has really come along nicely. We are working with the area structure plans, but we are also doing a complete review of the land use bylaw. We need laws but we need laws that are fair and equitable so that people can stand to live in our county.”
Sixteen people attended Munro's open house at the Harmattan Hall on April 25, the last of seven spring open houses held by MVC councillors over the past three weeks.
At Munro's two-hour meeting issues discussed included ongoing area structure plan development for South East Sundre, Water Valley-Winchell Lake, and Highway 2-27, the upcoming land use bylaw review process, road maintenance, the impact of oil and gas activities on area infrastructure, bridges, gravel pits, and flood concerns on the Red Deer River.
The Redford government decision to end funding the local bridge program in the recent budget has put a lot of pressure on MVC, he said.
“We have close to the highest number of bridges and now the province zero funds. We know about Big Prairie Bridge project and how difficult that has been and how much that has cost. Many of our bridges are reaching the end of their lives, so this isn't a good time for the province to download onto us,” he said.
Munro said he is frustrated by what he calls a lack of action on the part of the provincial government in addressing flood concerns on the Red Deer River.
“Because of the way the regulations and the way things are run in Edmonton, we have to let the river do what it does,” he said. “If we go in there with a trackhoe and very, very easily establish that river so it is going to go straight, then we are responsible for everything downstream.”
The county will continue working hard to address gravel pit development issues, he said.
“We are trying to balance the rights of adjacent land owners with the rights of the pit owners and it's tough and it's controversial,” he said.
Munro said he remains opposed to oil and gas companies using fresh water in hydraulic fracking operations, and he wants more done to control dust on county roads caused by oilpatch traffic.
If he does run again and is elected in October, Munro says he already has some plans in the works.
“We've got lots more work to do in operations,” he said. “It could be a leaner, meaner and more efficient machine, and that would be one of my goals if I run again, to really put as much energy as possible into making that department better. That would be my goal.”
As they did in the fall, Mountain View County CAO Tony Martens, director of planning John Rusling, and director of operations Michael MacLean attended the councillor spring meetings.
