First-term Mountain View County Division 5 councillor Bob Orr says he is still undecided whether to run in the October 2013 municipal election.
Speaking at his spring open house at the James River Hall on April 11, Orr said: “I'm still up in the air. If things go right with what I'm working on, I will be running.”
Sixteen people attended the open house, with topics discussed including the county's proposed new aggregate extraction bylaw, flood concerns on the Red Deer River, water use by the oil and gas industry, and road use agreements.
Issues facing Div. 5 include the use of water in gravel pit operations and in the area's oilpatch, he said.
“That's a big concern,” said Orr. “Extracting water is one thing, but nobody has identified the activity itself of mining of gravel in an aquifer. Even washing the gravel strips any toxins that are on the gravel. It's Mother Nature's filter and you are taking the stuff that's in the filter and allowing it back into the aquifer.”
Orr is a member of MVC municipal planning commission, which will hear the upcoming application by West-Can for a gravel pit development west of Sundre, a hearing tentatively scheduled for May 2.
During Orr's open house a number of guests voiced concerns about the proposed West-Can project, and in particular its possible impact on noise levels, nearby property values, and dust control.
Reeve Bruce Beattie, Deputy Reeve Patricia McKean and Coun. Duncan Milne will all host councillor spring meetings this week.
