Banff’s municipal election is shaping up to have a large slate of candidates seeking a seat on council.
With nomination day still several days away on Monday, (Sep. 18), 11 people have submitted their notices of intent to run for council on Oct. 16. Mayoral hopeful Hugh Pettigrew is taking on incumbent Karen Sorensen in the mayoral race.
Newcomers Mark Carroll, Jon Whelan, Christopher Wong and Wade Rettie also filed intent papers, as did incumbent councillors Chip Olver, who is seeking an eighth term on council, and Ted Christensen, who wants a second term.
They join Allan Buckingham, Barry Ferguson and Rob Lillington, along with incumbents Grant Canning, Corrie DiManno and Brian Standish, whose election campaigns have already begun.
Carroll, an independent professional artist who has been instrumental over the years in getting the skateboarding community involved, has lived in Banff since 1998 when he came to visit “for a few days.”
“In 2000, our local video store took a chance on a kid with no retail experience to speak of. In doing so, that job enabled me to get to know many, many residents of all ages and occupations,” he said.
Carroll said the most pressing matters affecting Banff continue to be affordable rental housing, given there’s a zero vacancy rate, and transit to deal with parking and congestion.
He said there’s been much-needed progress on these issues, but said it’s imperative work continues by exploring any and all viable options to improve residents’ quality of life.
“I believe that a three to five per cent vacancy rate must be achieved as soon as possible, to both remedy the lack of affordable housing choices, and to offset and diminish the rise of local rents,” he said.
“Our town is like a boat afloat in a sea national park around us. We must be very aware and diligent in how our limited space is used, and must always be acutely mindful of the symbiotic relationship between the ‘boat and the sea’.”
Wong’s election campaign focuses on three guiding principles – increased transparency and accountability, fiscal responsibility and improving quality of life for locals.
“I’d like to see more of those principles being applied,” said Wong, who is presently vice-chairman of Banff’s development appeal board. “I just feel it’s time for a change.”
In terms of quality of life for locals, Wong said he believes “committed locals” should have priority in affordable housing projects.
He said applicants could show proof of residence of at least two continuous years, or a demonstrated intent to stay longer than two continuous years. “The accommodation vacated by committed locals would then become available to others,” he said.
Wong, a lawyer and businessman, also wants wording in land use bylaw removed in favour of new wording requiring more parking stalls in apartment buildings.
“New built units should have adequate, comfortable living space and also at least one parking stall per unit,” he said.
Wong is also calling for increased transparency and accountability.
He said he’d like to see audio recording of all council sessions. “I was surprised this wasn’t happening,” he said.
Jon Whelan, who is semi-retired and has lived in Banff National Park since 1972, said experience has shown him that “the little guy does not get justice.”
“I’m basically standing up for not just the little guy, but for everybody in Banff,” he said.
Whelan said residents’ opinions should be welcomed and listened to, something he doesn’t believe has been happening as he points to results of the 2017 resident satisfaction survey.
He said the survey showed 30 per cent of residents asked felt their quality of life had decreased, compared to 2013, when 12 per cent of respondents stated their quality of life had gone down.
In addition, he said, 49 per cent of the 174 respondents to the 2017 online poll responded that their quality of life had decreased, which he suspects involves issues of affordable housing and traffic congestion.
“The bottom line is there’s a lot of things that need to be done that would, I think, improve the quality of life,” he said.
Whelan said social agencies such as the library, daycare and seniors centre, could do with more money.
“I would very much like to look at funding social agencies,” he said. “They could always use more money.”
Affordable housing will be near the top of Whelan’s agenda if elected, but one of his main goals is to eliminate the 0.6 parking stall requirement in the current land use bylaw to a more realistic minimum of one parking stall per apartment unit.
He points to the Town of Banff’s new development on Coyote Lane.
“There’s 132 apartment units and 80 parking stalls and there’s barely sufficient parking for residents in the area,” said Whelan. “I bet around 300 people will be living there, and I can’t believe there won’t be residents’ vehicles parked on Deer Street and on the other side of Banff Avenue.”
Incumbent councillor Olver is seeking an eighth term on council. She was first elected in a by-election in 1994.
She said she’s running because she believes there’s more that needs to be worked on, including housing, traffic management, social needs and environmental and economic sustainability.
High on her priority list is her continued work with Bow Valley Regional Housing, which is building level two assisted living housing for seniors in Canmore, and working on the next phase of level four housing for seniors needing greater care, such as those with Alzheimer’s.
“We currently don’t have that here and that would mean so much for people who are dealing with those challenges,” said Olver.
Some specific issues for Olver, if elected to another term, include looking at distribution of handicapped parking throughout town, reducing ice and snow buildup at crosswalks in winter and getting started on the review of Banff’s community plan.
Olver said continued work with the province is a must.
“Taxes compared to the rest of the province are low, and so when we go to the province to say we need help, they say ‘your taxes are low, why don’t you raise them?’ But the cost of living here is high,” said Olver. “If we can do a shopping basket study to demonstrate what the cost of living is here in comparison to other communities in the province, we can quantify what we are already saying.”
Christensen said after one term, he believes he has more to offer the community.
“I feel that my first term was something like an apprenticeship, and now I’ve completed my apprenticeship and I have a greater understanding of the operations,” he said. “Now it’s report card time, and I’ll see how the report card comes out, and if I pass I’ll continue on.”
Christensen said neighbourhood density and traffic congestion remain big issues.
“With density, I think we’re pushing our limits. I hear long-term locals concerned about changing neighbourhoods with increasing density,” he said. “I don’t have a solution in mind, but I think we need to talk about it.”
Christensen said he also feels very strongly about seniors housing in Banff.
“I know we have a very proficient Bow Valley Regional Housing authority, but I still see the need in Banff for more considerations for seniors’ long-term care and for seniors housing,” he said.
Wade Rettie could not be reached for comment by press time.
