The Village of Beiseker’s newest addition to council will be seeking re-election on Oct. 23 for the 2013 municipal election.
Warren Wise, a seven-year resident of Beiseker, is looking to see current projects through until the end.
Wise won the by-election by four votes on July 23, 2012. He received 80 votes, narrowly defeating Ken Nicholas, who received 76 votes. Melanie McCullough received 18 votes.
He came to Beiseker with his family after 40 years living in Calgary and two years in Sundre.
He was president of the Beiseker Fire Fighters Association for two years and has participated in four productions with Stage East Dinner Theatre.
Wise also has a background in construction as a designer and installer and operates a small consulting firm called Wise Designs.“I would like to see a few things push through,” he said. “ Mainly infrastructure projects.”
One of the main development projects for the Village of 780 people is the Grasslands of Beiseker project – a residential subdivision west of town.
Wise hopes the project will help entice people to move to Beiseker to help with the dwindling population.
“The more the merrier,” Wise said about adding more people to the village’s population. “The last two censuses said that our population decreased (828 to 780). It’s certainly a concern for us.”
Wise hopes that developments like the Grasslands project will help buck that trend.
In addition to increasing the population base, Wise would like to focus the conversation for council on the Village’s medical clinic.
“We have a part-time medical clinic in town, and the doctor is quite old and will be retiring soon, I would imagine. We need to talk about what happens then,” he explained.
Also on the agenda, should Wise be re-elected, is to reopen the lines of communication with Rocky View County (RVC) on a mutual aid agreement – an agreement that would see Beiseker’s Fire Department included in the County’s coverage area.
Currently, the fire department and other surrounding committee are left to deal with emergencies on their own, he said.
“From what I understand, and I haven’t had a direct conversation with the County, is that there isn’t a reason given,” as to why Beiseker isn’t included in the coverage area,” Wise said.
Wise explained the Village sent out numerous letters to surrounding County’s to get an aid agreement in place and several – including Wheatland County – have responded and talks are in place.
According to Wise, RVC has not responded to the Village’s requests.
Wise said he believes most residents are happy with their current status and their current council. There are five council positions up for grabs and nomination deadline is Sept. 23.
