BOWDEN - It’s been a little over a year since three Bowden town councillors – Carol Pion, Kerry Kelm and Randy Brown gained council seats by acclamation during the 2017 municipal election.
Since then, they say, they’ve learned a lot about how municipal government works.
All three agree being a town councillor is a lot more work than they anticipated; the learning curve has been “steep.”
But Pion, Kelm and Brown are enjoying the experience and believe that together, they and veteran councillors Wayne Milaney, Sandy Gamble and Mayor Robb Stuart have made a difference.
They point to the fact that there are now several new businesses in Bowden, especially along 20th Street, in buildings that have been vacant for a long time, although Brown says previous councillors helped “lay the groundwork” for that.
Pion says a big surprise for her has been how enjoyable it’s been to interact with town residents.
“It’s kind of nice being able to approach that way and being able to listen more as well. So having a vehicle that I can actually listen to them and hopefully bring their concerns and thoughts to the table as well, so that everybody is heard.”
Pion says one year is far too little time for a councillor to make much of an impact, but she’s making strides, with the help of her fellow councillors.
“One year is definitely not enough to know all that’s going on and all the ins and outs. But we’re getting there. We’re actually a really good team.
“It’s really nice to have a lot of the incumbents, so a lot of the experience and helping out the newer guys. And then our views and our different perspective on things being presented to them as well, so that we kind of get a nice mix now,” Pion adds.
“So we’re really moving forward with a lot of things that might have gotten a little snowballed before -- you know, a little hesitant to move forward, but we’re really moving forward and making sure that the wheels keep moving now, instead of being stalled.”
Kelm says the amount of time the position consumes was a real surprise for him.
Kelm says part of the reason the position has become so time-consuming is that changes have been made to the Municipal Government Act, which outlines how municipalities operate.
“There’s more demands put within that framework of what kind of education we need, what (level) of training we have to be at, those sort of things,” he says.
Brown has enjoyed attending various seminars during which he’s learned how council works.
However, he notes he has an advantage in that area -- his dad used to serve on council. As a result, he had a better idea than the others did as to how time-consuming the role would be.
“My father was in it previously, so I kind of knew what I was getting into when I started down this journey, for sure.”
Like Kelm and Pion, Brown says the influx of new businesses downtown is encouraging.
“Obviously you’re not going to do it in a one-year term, but I think that we definitely are seeing the signs of it. There’s lots happening,” Brown says.
He agrees the changes are the result of a “team effort” among all councillors and administrative staff.
“And there was certainly some groundwork laid by the previous council, that’s for sure,” Brown adds.
