OTTAWA: Okotoks Town Council was under the microscope of local businesses at Wednesday’s Chamber of Commerce luncheon presenting their accomplishments and goals through the first two years since they were elected.
Many questions were brought up by the business community; the main points of discussion have been items of business the Town has been working diligently to accomplish, including the ongoing potable water pipeline plan.
Chamber CEO Cheryl Actemichuk says having the mayor and council come to their membership helps them better understand the issues and possible roadblocks effecting them.
“Not a lot of times do they get to go to council meetings, they’re all busy running their business so I think it’s important that they got to hear what council had to say,” she says. “They are working on some big projects that everybody has been wondering about and they haven’t been completed and it was good for them to know why things take so long.”
Mayor Bill Robertson along with with Councillors Tanya Thorn, Ed Sands, Matt Rockley, Carrie Fischer and Ken Heemeryck presented different accomplishments in their time on council this term including the moving of the K-9 school site to 32 Street and the ongoing annexation processes.
Actemichuk says it was an eye opener for those in attendance.
“As a citizen sometimes what we don’t realize what the actual procedures or steps are to making things happen and even though we’ve been talking about water forever and ever that there is a process and processes are slow,” she says. “Like council said when you’re dealing with so many levels of government sometimes it can take a lot longer than we have hoped.”
Actemichuk says whenever the Town comes and presents it is always informative to the Chamber.
“I do appreciate that council came out today and gave everybody the opportunity to ask questions and if you don’t want to find out the answers, you don’t have to come or if you can’t come to these meetings, they can certainly write to the councillors at anytime and find out answers to their questions.”
