Rob Muench (Submitted/Rob Muench)

By Cam Lee

Humboldt mayoral candidate

Rob Muench hopes experience as mayor, councillor entices voters in Humboldt mayoral race

Nov 6, 2024 | 1:22 PM

A former mayor and long-time member of Humboldt city council is hoping to return as mayor once again.

Rob Muench was mayor of the city from 2016 to 2020 and has been a councillor for 14 years in total, including the past four-year term.

Muench told northeastNOW that he’s been out talking to people in the community before the Nov. 13 election.

He said council has been planning for growth in the community with the impending BHP Jansen project.

“Our population is expected to reach about 8,000 people by the end of the decade,” Muench said. “We’ve been busy over the last decade preparing our city for growth and the things that come with it.”

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Muench said his experience at City Hall would be beneficial as mayor as the city embarks on a new era of growth, and council could hit the ground running continuing the preparation for that growth.

Upgrading the water treatment plant was one of the things the city has done to address boil water advisories that were affecting residents, according to Muench. He said the city is now working on the wastewater treatment plant as the current system is at capacity for the current population. Anticipated population growth made the move to upgrade the system necessary.

Muench said council and administration has been trying to further prepare through the northwest area structure plan, which sees them working with developers in developing a plan to maintain roads and infrastructure in the area. The city is also doing a study to determine all of the engineering needs required to grow the community, to try to come up with a recommendation for development levies that are fair for taxpayers and developers.

Keeping taxes low is also a goal for Muench. He said during his time as mayor they had the fourth-lowest tax increases among cities in the province, averaging a 2.05 per cent increase per year.

“I think if we focus on what we’re doing, there’s no reason we can’t look at doing that again,” said Muench, especially if inflation continues to drop.

He would also like to see the development of a second ice surface, a theatre space, and a long-term care home replacement. Muench said having a larger tax base would certainly help in making those developments become a reality.

Ice time is at a premium in Humboldt, and Muench said many teams and groups book ice time outside of the city to be able to practice and play. The community has been without a dedicated theatre space since the high school was replaced.

He added people are being forced to send elderly loved ones to long-term care homes in other communities, and he looks to put Humboldt on the provincial government’s list to replace the aging facility should he be elected.

Muench is facing Harley Bentley and Andrew Breker in the mayoral race.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK