News profile1. What are your thoughts on city ownership of Saamis Solar, and what direction would you want to see council take with ownership of renewables?
For the City to invest in Sammis Solar, it will need to achieve a 17% return on capital over 20 to 25 years, considering both existing and future technologies. If it does not meet these parameters, it is not something we should invest taxpayers’ money in.
2. What are your thoughts on the future of the energy division, specifically the concept of turning it into a municipally controlled corporation?
The energy sector needs to adopt a business model based on return on investment. It is unbelievable that we spent $7.5 million on a solar project without doing a feasibility study first. The City approved $7.5 million and then requested an additional $700,000 from the council to conduct a feasibility study. This should have been done before we spent the $7.5 million on the plan. This is like putting a $10,000 non-refundable deposit on a truck and then checking the manual to see if it will tow your trailer. Not very responsible when you are spending other people’s money.
3. How would you look to balance taxation with the operation costs of running a city, as well as the services provided to residents?
We really look at the money we lose by not consulting with the public before we do projects. We lost over $10 million on the reflective solar plant, $2 million on the waterside project, and, if you include the removal of the seacans, $500,000 for the small roundabouts in the hill area, plus many other cost overruns and current operation losses, with no plan to mitigate the loss. If we stop losing money, it will reduce the services we have to address.
4. How would you approach economic development and any need to incentivize business to come to Medicine Hat?
The most important thing is that we need access to markets. The Wildhorse border needs to be developed into a commercial port. Saskatchewan has 4 commercial ports, BC has 16, and we have one in Coutts. If you look at all the manufacturing plants, they spread from Tabor to Ft Mcleod, all feeding Coutts. The USA government has spent millions preparing for this with a new modern facility at Wildhorse, but the City and Cypress County do not seem to recognize the importance of this move. Havre has the second largest Rail Yard in Montana with access to Seattle posts without going through BC, and the #2 interstate goes east to Michigan and west to Portland. This could make Medicine Hat have the manufacturing power of the Lethbridge region.
5. With the proposed north-side location for a permanent homeless shelter off the table following public concerns, what do you think are the essential priorities that a shelter location must provide.
The shelter must ensure that it can meet the needs of the neighbourhood residents, businesses, non-profits and the clients they serve. This is a large task, but if we include all the stakeholders from the start and try to address each other’s concerns, we should be able to reach an acceptable solution. We are not the only city to try this; we can reach out to other places that have had success.
6. A lot of focus during this election campaign has been on property taxes in Medicine Hat, though a majority of residents do not own property. What can or should the city be doing to ease cost-of-living issues for those who do not own property, such as renters?
It does not matter if you own property or not; if your landlord’s tax goes up, they pass it on to you; if the store’s Tax goes up, they pass it on to you; if your employer’s tax goes up, they may need to lay you off or reduce your hours. Keeping property Taxes low will help everyone.
7. What are your thoughts on proposed recreational facilities such as the Southside Outdoor Aquatics Centre and Brier Run Sports Field? How much focus would you want the city to put toward adding recreational facilities?
I really don’t understand the city’s proposal of an outdoor aquatics center at this point in time. We have no indoor ice facility south of the Trans-Canada Highway. Not every family has a car or more than one car, so to say there are enough rinks that can be used all year round versus an outdoor water park that can be used for only four months makes no sense. There really needs to be more contact with the residents in the area. We need to ask them what they want, not tell them.
