By this time next year, the general civic election campaign should be in full swing and there could be a full roster of candidates seeking the coveted council chairs as well as the seat currently occupied by Mayor Gary St. Onge who has declared firmly that he will not be seeking re-election next October.
That means the stage door is wide open, ready for new players and perhaps the return of some seasoned veterans. Unlike rural municipal elections that are organized on staggered years, the civic council slate is wide open.
There will be no shortage of campaign platforms to choose from. The city's needs are many. That's what happens when you grow almost too quickly. A lot of items fall through the cracks.
Although it is far too early for potential mayoralty and council candidates to come to the forefront, it certainly isn't too soon to talk about what the electorate might expect from a new council.
We don't expect any "fresh start" narratives this time around. We've had enough fresh starts. This time we'll need even more finishers.
The current council has handled, and yes juggled by necessity, a number of files to accommodate rapid growth and they've done an admirable job of it. We've seen Estevan take several positive steps forward. Some of those steps have been incremental, others have been rather spectacular, as evidenced by this past weekend's official opening of Spectra Place. This council and administration played a key role in making that happen.
The council of the day has been forced to digress on a number of occasions. They have lost key personnel at inopportune times, forcing postponement of various projects. They have been led off the clear path with an unexpected garbage pickup circus of circumstances that nobody could have anticipated. This file alone has eaten up a lot of precious time, attention and money.
What we should be expecting from a fresh council in late 2012 will be a further commitment to improved infrastructure. It's not sexy, but it's very necessary. In spite of all their best intentions, Estevan streets and avenues remain in deplorable condition. The road to remedies is long and tortuous. This current crop of councillors started that journey. We expect subsequent councils will continue to focus on the needs for reworked water and sewer systems, a few decently paved roads every year for the next 15 years as we play catch-up after years of neglect.
We can expect a new water reservoir. We have a compliant water treatment facility, thanks to foresight in the past.
We can expect a continued effort to beautify the city with a recycling program, a concentrated effort to clean the streets in the spring and summer on a continual basis, not hit and miss. A city cannot be beautified if it's wracked with dirt, dust, weeds and untrimmed hedges and trees. Floral pots don't work if the flowers are choked out with flying dirt.
We can expect a council that will focus on continued expansion of subdivisions, accommodating developers who are pursuing residential, industrial and commercial construction.
We can expect a council that will continue the good work that has been put into leisure services and recreational facilities. We have great facilities that are the talk of the province. They need to be maintained and some will need to be replaced.
We can expect a council that will persuade a provincial government that we need some senior government funding to address transportation shortfalls, including the never-ending search for a truck-route. The current council has established a solid line of communication with senior governments, we wouldn't want the next council to turn into renegades and destroy that trust, unless, of course, senior governments choose to ignore them. At that point, we would expect them to take off the gloves and engage in some bare knuckle rounds of negotiations.
So, while it may be too soon for potential candidates to step up, it's obviously not too soon to talk about what they'll be asked to do.
