Incoming Olds mayor Michael Muzychka is surprised that crime was mentioned as a concern during the municipal forum, held this past week.
The forum, held Oct. 3 at the TransCanada Theatre, attracted about 180 people.
Muzychka says during his meetings with residents, some people ñ especially business people ñ have mentioned it, but it hasn't come up much.
"I've talked to, oh, probably 200 citizens over the last two weeks and crime has certainly come up; not as much as I thought it would. It's more so for the business owners. It seems the businesses are getting hit a little bit more than the private citizens. But I was surprised by hearing that," he said during an interview with the Albertan.
He was also concerned to learn that, according to several incumbent council candidates, the town has lost as much as 40 per cent of its water via old pipes. Those candidates say staff are working on getting that figure down to 10 per cent; it's around 20 per cent now.
"That was a little bit concerning. I didn't think it was quite that high," he said.
Muzychka sympathizes with those who were frustrated when it was decided he wouldn't answer any questions during most of the forum. Organizers made that decision because they wanted to make sure the candidates had as much opportunity as possible to answer questions.
Twelve of 13 candidates for councillor attended the function. The lone candidate not present was Matthew Cadrin.
Muzychka told the crowd he will answer the questions posed during the forum in the coming days on his Facebook page (michaelmuzychkamayhorelect).
"The committee suggested early on that I take a back seat as we have a high number of council ladies and gentlemen that are vying for positions so that they had maximized their time," he said.
"I've been holding weekly meetings: ëmeet the mayor-elect,' coffees around town and I'm going to do a few more over the next few weeks as well and some in the evenings as well, so people can come out and ask me these questions."
Two questions were posed to him specifically though, and he was given a chance to answer them at the end of the forum.
Muzychka was asked why he wants to make Olds more business-friendly, despite the fact that, according to an Alberta Venture survey, on a business-friendly scale, Olds was ranked third.
"I absolutely agree with that," Muzychka said, but added he's heard that some people contemplating establishing businesses in Olds haven't done so because "the process is a little bit difficult to get through council, as far as development permits and building permits and so forth.
"I'd like to review those processes and see if there's any way that we can streamline that and have more businesses coming to Olds," he said, adding the more businesses established in Olds, the greater the opportunity to relieve the tax burden for residential property owners by levying taxes on a larger tax base.
Muzychka was also asked if he has obtained his CGA (certified general accountant) designation.
"It seems every time I continue it on, either family commitments or work commitments pop up and it slows that down. But I continue to work on it on an ongoing basis," he said.
Like some candidates for council, Muzycka publicly thanked outgoing mayor Judy Dahl, who was in the audience, for her service. She served as mayor for 13 years. The crowd gave her a loud ovation.
"It seems the businesses are getting hit a little bit more than the private citizens. But I was surprised by hearing that."MIKE MUZYCHKAINCOMING MAYOR OF OLDS
