Eight of nine councillor candidates were on hand to take part in the all-candidates forum, organized by the Melfort Trade Alliance Chamber of Commerce. (Cam Lee/northeastNOW)

By Cam Lee

Melfort candidate forum

Infrastructure, affordability, crime major topics at Melfort all-candidates forum

Nov 7, 2024 | 10:31 AM

The candidates for councillor in Melfort were in the spotlight Wednesday night at an all-candidates forum.

The event, organized by the Melfort Trade Alliance Chamber of Commerce, saw about 70 concerned citizens in attendance at the Kerry Vickar Centre’s CJVR Performing Arts Theatre.

Chamber president Lloyd Muntain was thrilled with the size of the crowd, noting in past events the forums without mayoral participation have not been as well attended.

“One thing I noticed is that people from all neighbourhoods in Melfort were in the crowd tonight, which is great to get such wide representation,” said Muntain.

He thanked those who chose to attend and the candidates for participating.

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The event featured a three-minute opening statement from each candidate, several written questions from the crowd, and a two-minute closing statement from the candidates. Unfortunately, incumbent councillor Brian Enge was unable to attend the forum.

The opening statements went in alphabetical order, and former councillor Darryl Benson focused much of his time discussing the struggle to maintain the city’s infrastructure and the crumbling roads. He also brought forward questions about inefficiencies, including whether Melfort really needs four stoplights when Tisdale only has one four-way stop.

Adrien Bourgeois said working together is the best way to accomplish goals, and he wants to be a part of a community to be proud of. The high school band teacher said the city has great facilities that need to be properly maintained, and they will help attract people to the community.

Up next, Rick Fettis said his family is a frequent user of the city’s facilities, and he would like to see them well-maintained to get the most life out of them as possible. He said if he is elected as a councillor, he would like to be involved in future maintenance planning and in the public works sector for water and sewer line maintenance and replacement as well.

Michael Gerski said he’s deeply committed to building the community, and said his slogan is ‘we can, we will, we must’. He promised to listen to concerns and focus on issues that are affecting people the most.

Former councillor Seth MacNaughton also said the city’s facilities are aging and need attention, and it’s imperative to be proactive when it comes to facilities, streets, and infrastructure.

Incumbent councillor Trent Mitchell said it’s difficult to balance maintaining and improving services while still keeping taxes as low as possible. He said during the last council inflation vastly increased costs for maintenance and infrastructure. Mitchell said the city needs to continue to look for efficiencies and apply for government grants to make the cost of infrastructure replacement cheaper.

Meanwhile, incumbent councillor Tara Muntain said she learned a lot in her first term on council. She said she wants to continue to make progress and network on behalf of the city, and it’s always necessary to look at policies at City Hall to see if they best serve the citizens.

Veteran incumbent Doug Terry mentioned that while he has 23 years on council, he feels he hasnt reached his best-before date yet. He praised the current city administration for their efforts. Terry said the city needs to maintain infrastructure as best as possible and continue to lobby governments to address various needs and issues, including mental health.

Several questions came from the crowd, including those discussing aging infrastructure, which most candidates addressed in their opening statements. All candidates were questioned about what they would do as councillors and as part of council to help address crime in the community.

Benson said he supports a neighbourhood watch program and potentially cellphone alerts. Bourgeois mentioned it is important to work along with RCMP and wondered if closing back alleys at night would be a solution. Fettis also said he supports neighbourhood watch and the Citizens on Patrol programs. He added that he supports more cameras in problem areas, and having cameras at all city facilities.

Gerski said people are concerned with the crime rate and wondered if it was a possibility to ban people from wearing backpacks at certain times to help prevent crime. Doug Terry said alley bylaws are difficult to enforce and there are cameras at many city faclities and said RCMP are working as hard as they can to combat crime. He said it’s important to lock cars and watch out for their neighbours.

Noting that the neighbourhood watch program has had difficulty finding volunteers, Tara Muntain said support of such a program is one thing, but boots on the ground is another. She hoped the Marshals service would augment the RCMP with serving warrants and other tasks, so RCMP officers have more time to dedicate to crime prevention.

The city has a good relationship with the RCMP, said incumbent councillor Trent Mitchell, and added he would like to see the return of the Auxiliary program. Seth MacNaughton said the city can’t do much on their own, but they can lobby elected officials to let law enforcement do their jobs so they can be tougher on crime.

The candidates largely focused a lot of their time discussing the need to maintain city facilities and other infrastructure, and that it’s important to find efficiencies to ensure services are being kept and improved while keeping tax increases as small as possible.

Melfort residents will have a chance to vote for six of the nine councillor candidates Nov. 13.

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Cam.lee@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @northeastNOW_SK