Foothills County Division 4 Candidate for 2025 Municipal Election:  I have enjoyed getting to know many of you while serving as Division 4 Councillor over the past years.  We have worked together to find solutions to challenges and joined forces to make our community a great place to live.  As noted earlier this year, I have submitted my nomination papers and am running as a candidate for Division 4.  It would be an honour to continue as Division 4 Councillor, in partnership with you, bringing my passion and dedication to the many projects currently underway and the new ones that emerge.  I will:

• Continue fighting for our rural perspective to be included by all levels of government.

• Be creative in the face of challenge and stand strong for fairness in decision-making with County matters, issues between neighbouring communities, and with inter-governmental dynamics.

• Gain ground in areas of interest for residents while being careful of any associated tax burden, keep taxes steady, the budget well-managed and strike a balance between service level and taxes.

• Make informed planning decisions on developing our area, keeping in mind the cumulative effects of all our activities on the landscape, respecting resident input and direction given through our local County plans.

• Build relationships with neighbouring municipalities and other government to provide solutions that spend tax dollars efficiently and represent the interests of Foothills residents in these endeavors.

• Collaborate on: tackling rural crime, coordinating emergency services, delivering effective 9-1-1 service, improving road safety, constructing prioritized road and infrastructure projects, sharing wildfire preparation strategies, and dealing with agricultural issues (including - livestock, bugs, disease, crops, environment, land, water, weather, weeds, hunting, wildlife and more).

• Research new opportunities and promote dialogue including diverse perspectives.

• Support business, including agriculture, tourism, energy, and encouraging industrial development within our Highway 2A Industrial Corridor to increase services, diversify our tax base, create jobs and trade prospects.

• Plan for the future, find ways to improve rural services, reduce red tape, streamline processes and build our community vision for recreation.

• Join in with our local watershed management groups to develop water protection, share awareness about flood and drought preparedness, promote resilient development from lessons learned, and strategize sub-regional water and wastewater projects.

• Help our community maintain its rural character, natural beauty, open spaces and enjoy the benefits of country living. 

• Preserve the scenic views along our Highways, promote our “Dark Sky Country” initiative and support areas for cherished cultural heritage activities, including our community associations and agricultural societies.

• Assist residents in understanding our municipal services, departments, guidelines, plans, budget, taxes, jurisdiction and navigating our processes.

• Provide information on municipal resources and practices to help residents with their proposed projects and guide impacted neighbours when they wish to participate in the public processes regarding development that affects them.

• Communicate with residents through writing a monthly article for the High Country News, sending email updates and posting news through Facebook and other media.

• Stay connected with residents by hosting public meetings on relevant topics and by volunteering in the community and with our local rural crime watch.

• Represent residents effectively using experience gained through public service, as a business owner, and as a long-time rural landowner.

• Make a positive contribution to the County by bringing skills to the table: being energetic, organized, a team-player, analytical, technology savvy, future-thinking, resourceful, collaborative, environmental-minded, and respectful in communication with other council members, staff, businesses and residents.

• Welcome continued interaction on the topics which matter to you. 

I sincerely thank you for considering support of my candidacy for Division 4.  

As we face a changing world, I hope to continue working together with you to enhance and protect our beautiful home in the Foothills. 

Please contact me with any questions or comments you may wish to share and discuss: 403.931.2711 or via Email.

During my entire time as Division 4 Councillor, I have coordinated and hosted meetings about hot topics in Division 4, to hear from residents and subject experts to learn and find solutions.  In partnership with Foothills County, our local community associations and rural crime watch, I have brought attention to many high-interest or contentious issues through public meetings in Division 4:  cyclist-community-parking conflict, road/traffic safety, yearly RCMP updates, crime prevention, fraud and scam awareness, many wildlife conflict/co-existence meetings over the years, elk herd discussions, bear spray training, beaver infrastructure conflict solutions, hunting and shooting conflicts, fire department updates, wildfire preparedness and review of our NW Foothills Wildfire Mitigation Strategy, many FireSmart meetings, post-incident fire and emergency discussions with fire+911+police, responding to the Champion Lake Fire – post incident with provincial firefighters and Foothills first-responders, Highway 762 concerns, making a change to the SW Calgary Ring Road design to add a service road to the schools, flood mapping and flood mitigation discussions, exploring piped water services, watershed learning, working well workshops, septic workshops, emergency preparedness, access to fiber optic and other internet providers regarding services to Div. 4, self-defense street-safe workshop, spruce budworm infestation, dark sky awareness, and most recently in 2025: 2 public meetings for Highway 762 area residents about fire and water servicing, plus 3 public meetings for all Division 4 resident areas: (1) Foothills Enforcement Services + RCMP updates and action, (2) wildlife conflict + fish&wildlife officers + invasive species + agricultural services presentations, and (3) chainsaw + tree safety including professional arborist and local tree service contractors.

You will find country living at its finest in Foothills!

Since we are dealing with many water projects in Division 4, a bit of background on this topic may be of interest… While three levels of Government have laws governing water, all water in Alberta is owned by the Crown and managed by the province, regardless of whether it occurs on public or private land.  Activities impacting water are regulated under the provincial Water Act.  With major population and a constrained water supply in Southern Alberta, water is a highly prized commodity, as well as the essence of life that must be managed carefully with a balance for maintaining environmental objectives and needs of other users.  The topic of water management is complex.  Simply stated, permission is required to use water for municipal, agriculture (including irrigation), commercial and industrial uses.  A certain amount for rural household use, traditional agricultural use, surface water for grazing livestock and firefighting does not require permission in the form of a water licence approval.  All these types of uses exist in Foothills County.  Whether landowners are developing a project or communities are securing communal systems, a water licence is part of the equation.  A few things need to be in place to provide water service to communities: a supply of water, the permission to use that water, and infrastructure to move and treat the water (for drinking/potable water).

Division 4 in Foothills County experiences unique dynamics as it is situated in the upper watershed reaches, which collect drainage water to form Fish, Priddis and Whisky Creeks, eventually supplying the Bow River.  There are many individual water and septic systems in the rural setting of Division 4, where residents manage their own systems and incur all their own costs. There’s ongoing agricultural water use, and some private communal water systems which serve groups of homes, again where costs are borne by users.  Foothills County oversees larger water and wastewater systems within Priddis Greens and Hawk’s Landing, where users had paid for their entire systems before turning over to the County, and they continue to pay for their systems. Foothills County also owns and operates the West Foothills Water Treatment Plant and Bulk-fill Water Station.  Full cost recovery on operations and capital costs are important consideration for all these systems.  Along with aging infrastructure, technical issues and maintenance, varying seasons of drought and flood impact the management of our water systems.

As stated in the County’s Growth Management Strategy, residents have expressed concerns about servicing new development, including the impact of added development on their roads and their wells or the impact of more wastewater treatment facilities on the watersheds.  In addition, the 2006 Provincial moratorium on new water leases for three of the major sub-basins of the South Saskatchewan River has created a situation where municipalities need to carefully manage their water licences.  Strategies must be employed to ensure water and servicing requirements in Foothills County meet standards and operate in a responsible manner.  Best management practices must be required for all new development such as storm water ponds, overland drainage systems, infiltration practices and filtering practices that protect the future quality and supply of groundwater and surface water.  Proposed residential subdivision must be evaluated with due consideration of accurate municipal cost, including road construction and maintenance, servicing infrastructure and provision of services such as police and EMS.  Proposed water and energy conservation measures should be included as part of any Area Structure Plan, Area Concept Plan or Outline Plan application in order to reduce consumption to ensure community resilience.  Developers must ensure there’s an adequate, secure water supply for proposed new development.  Foothills should continue to work with our municipal neighbours on sub-regional infrastructure collaboration for economy of costs and water supply, where possible.

Over many years, investigations have been undertaken to consider piped potable water servicing in the area of the West Foothills Water Treatment Plant and water reservoir.  The County now owns the infrastructure and has secured a rare water licence, which was transferred to the area.  Due to the lack of grant availability, investigations have been initiated to determine if a project may be developed through the Local Improvement Process, while the County is still looking for any possible grant opportunities.  Two public meetings were held in 2025.  Then, over the last few months, an “expression of interest” has been collected by residents of the area. The County has worked on preparing a mapped-area, potential service areas, and high-level cost information relevant to those who have responded. After incorporating additional changes requested by residents, end of September, the County will provide updated information, review investigations provided by residents and then participate in another meeting, including information sharing and resident input.  At such time that levels of interest in proceeding have been determined, and if there is adequate interest to proceed with an official Local Improvement Petition, detailed engineering would be completed for the specific area(s) and residents could determine if they wish to proceed on that basis, or not.  No commitment to the project is required until the County responds with the numbers and draft Local Improvement Tax.  That’s when residents would decide/vote on proceeding or not.  The diversity of opinions on this topic is recognized and respected.

Below, please see a few LINKS to my Committees & Boards that have website information:

*Bow River Basin Council (website link) & Fish Creek Watershed Association (website link)

*Calgary Region Airshed Zone (website link)

*Cross Conservation Area (website link)

*Dark Sky Initiative - Dark Sky Country (website link)

*Foothills Fire Department (website link)

*Foothills Regional 9-1-1 Commission (website link)

*Inter-municipal Committees & all Committees information (website link) & all meetings (website link)

*Northwest Foothills Recreation Board (website link)

*Policing - Foothills Enforcement Services (website link)

*Policing - RCMP & Mountie Moments (website link)

*Volunteer president: High Country Rural Crime Watch Association - membership is free of charge (website link)

Foothills County residents value the benefits of country living, so a balance must be achieved in protecting agricultural land and maintaining our rural character, watershed integrity, wildlife habitat, and valued assets, while accommodating development and providing housing choices.  Foothills planning documents, which were written in consultation with residents, indicate a tolerance for minimal to moderate development in Division 4.  In respect of that, I support in-filling of Country Residential parcels where appropriate, with resident input, and the currently-approved Secondary Suites development option.  Secondary Suites provide a solution for increasing the housing density within all land-use zones, and allows for affordable living, aging in place and income options. 

Along with that, I support making improvements to speed up development/building permit processes and approvals, and consulting with residents about the level of development and density they would like to see in Division 4 and the County.  Regarding larger-scale developments, Foothills residents should be included in the decision-making and invited to the upcoming review of the County’s Municipal Development Plan to present their perspectives.  I believe the timing is right to also initiate a deep dive into the growth strategy of the central corridor where there’s the most pressure for development, and then re-examine the Northwest area of the County.  A check-in with residents and stakeholders will keep these decision-making resources relevant and current. 

In addition to this aspect of planning, of course, residents are always invited to participate in the public hearing processes regarding developments.  As your local councillor, I am happy to provide information on municipal resources and practices to help residents with their proposed projects and guide impacted neighbours when they wish to participate in the public processes regarding development that affects them.  I participate in local and provincial plans and reviews in order to keep myself informed and provide a voice for our residents about regional plans, development which affects our county, important water planning, flood mapping, and other matters.  I believe it is important to be knowledgeable about the impacts and benefits of development, considering capacity, infrastructure, cost recovery and risk, while understanding the local, historical, landscape, ecological and human aspects of the affected area.

In the municipal world, we often face contentious issues in the form of developments that polarize the neighbouring residents or even farther afield, depending on the impacts and scale.  In these cases of overlapping dreams, it is important to review all the information about the proposed project and hear from the affected landowners/neighbours/stakeholders/jurisdictions.  The County follows public process procedures and protocols, which requires matters to go to council for discussion and decisions, and also through public processes as determined, such as public meetings, hearings and engagement.  In addition to carefully preparing and taking part in these processes, as a councillor, I find it beneficial to research the project, visit the proposed site, learn about related technologies, gain technical knowledge about the issues and proposed project, ask for input of county admin and departments, speak with residents and stakeholders about their perspectives and then listen carefully to their input during hearing processes to inform decision-making.

Additionally, I hear from residents about the difficulties they are experiencing. I appreciate the opportunity to listen and assist with sharing ideas and resources. 

Some developments cross over into more than one jurisdiction, adding complexity regarding approvals and processes.  Where other jurisdictions provide approvals, such as the province or federal governments, there may be a limited scope of the county’s role to approve only portions of a proposed project.  This can be confusing for stakeholders who are not familiar with the various government approval processes and areas of authority.  It is therefore important to provide information to residents to explain and clarify the matters that are within the local municipal authority and avenues for participation in other jurisdictions’ approval processes.

Many projects and laws originating in other levels of government affect our residents, municipal operations and authorities.  I participate in local and provincial/federal plans and reviews in order to keep myself informed and provide a voice for our residents about regional plans, development which affects our county, municipal law reviews, grant opportunities, emergency services delivery, policing frameworks and services, safety codes, water planning, flood mapping, energy regulation, industry regulation, laws affecting any of our departments or committees, and other matters. 

Example: After the 2013 flood, I supported Division 4 residents when a proposed provincial flood mitigation project threatened approximately 500 properties along the Priddis and Fish Creeks.  A project was under consideration to send flood waters from the Elbow River to the Priddis and Fish Creeks.  I did my homework on the impacts, rallied our residents and presented our investigations and objections to the provincial task-force review teams and publicly at provincial flood mitigation forums. We are thankful that this project did not move forward after our action.

Example:  West Foothills neighbourhoods have experienced conflicts regarding the interface between the residential community and the provincial Kananaskis public land use zone.  When issues have occurred related to shooting, random camping fire-setting, forestry activities, road remediation post-industrial activities, access, road jurisdiction, mapping, and grazing considerations, I invited all municipal, provincial, industry and local stakeholders to meet about these issues.  Also, I have presented concerns to Foothills County departments, policing agencies, provincial ministries, MLAs and ministers in order to bring attention to the impacts of these concerns and look for solutions.

More examples of provincial-municipal matters where I have worked with agencies and departments towards a better outcome: AFFRCS radio communication pilot project with RCMP and Foothills County Enforcement Services, lobbying for improved EMS dispatch when this service was removed from our 9-1-1 centre by the Province,  9-1-1 + Fire + EMS collaboration, peace officer safety, years of lobbying to exit the Calgary Metro Region Board, flood recovery programs and organizing to help resident recipients in Division 4, participating in regional flood mitigation project evaluations, lobbying for speed and safety issues on highways under Alberta Transportation (AT) jurisdiction, survey of entire Hwy 762 residents regarding speed limit change and working with AT to present results and requested change, working/meeting with residents-AT-Foothills to make a change on the design of the SW Calgary Ring Road to include a service road to connect to the schools, working with residents on emergency plans, crime prevention through strong partnerships and presence in our community with our local crime watch, and I will continue lobbying until the Priddis bridge project is built and then move to the next priorities within Division 4.

Advanced poll voting dates for the election:

Saturday, October 4, 2025 – completed

Tuesday, October 7, 2025 – completed

Thursday, October 9, 2025 – completed

Thursday, October 16, 2025 – completed

Advanced polls will be held at the Foothills County Administration Building (309 Macleod Trail, High River, Alberta).

* Special ballot voting is available by request to the Foothills County Election Returning Officer.

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Election Day voting - Monday, October 20, 2025:

Polls are open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Polling stations for Division 4:

1. Priddis Hall

2. Okotoks Best Western

3. Foothills County Administration Office