P.A. city council candidates discuss key election issues

Ward 2 on downtown revitalization

The four candidates for the area representing the downtown and north of the river were asked what could be done to bring new businesses to Central Avenue and fill empty store fronts.

Kim Conarroe said efforts should be focused on attracting businesses for seniors and university students, two important demographics in the area. She also lamented what she saw as the decline of Prince Albert’s downtown, adding more efforts needed to be made to restore it.

“When I was a little girl I really loved going down to Central Avenue, it was the place to be,” she said. “And it’s just not that way right now, it’s scary to be frank with you.”

Devin Gorder agreed with Conarroe that things had changed for the worse in the downtown. He advocated for further consultation with business owners in the area to address their needs.

“We need to make sure that Central Avenue is a destination that brings repeat customers,” he said.

Incumbent Terra Lennox-Zepp said she was pleased to have made a motion during her tenure that resulted in the creation of a plan for how to redesign Central Avenue’s streetscape.

“We have the plan, it’s time to start the work,” she said, explaining she has advocated the city begin implementing the recommendations. “So far the city has not budgeted for that and we need to.”

Meanwhile Dana Dirks said the downtown had an image problem inhibiting new growth in the area.

“If somebody’s looking to put a business up downtown and they see fences up around our buildings, that’s just not going to cut it,” he said. “First and foremost we’ve got to get a proper facility [and] proper funding in place, we’ve got to get the right thing done for our homeless people.”

Ward 4 on crime

Every candidate was asked questions about crime including those running in Ward 4.

Incumbent Don Cody voiced his full support of the Prince Albert Police Service, while emphasizing that the city needed help from partners to address the root causes of crime. However, he said he didn’t like the way conversations on crime in Prince Albert were sometimes framed.

“If I were a person moving to this city, I wouldn’t come here, because we’re always talking about how bad the crime is,” he said. “It’s not nearly as bad as I think people think it is, but at the same time it is serious.”

Mira Lewis said homelessness and poverty were at the root of Prince Albert’s crime problem and she didn’t “believe in passing the buck” when it came to addressing those issues.

“The city of Medicine Hat has eliminated homelessness, there is a plan in Regina, these resources exist,” she said. “We need to access them, we need to access the partnerships and talk to whoever we need to talk to come up with a plan for Prince Albert to deal with issue.”

Margaret Duncombe echoed comments from both Lewis and Cody, saying that support for police and community involvement were important, as was a positive and collaborative approach.

“We need to build pride and not be so afraid of crime that we don’t have our children playing on the street or we don’t get involved in the community,” she said.

You can watch the full forum on the Prince Albert Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom

by Alison Sandstrom

P.A. city council candidates discuss key election issues

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