The downtown core, crime, the CUPlex and the Ag Society were among the familiar topics came up at last Wednesday's North Battleford election forum put on by the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce.
The candidates for council were at the Don Ross Centre putting forward their case to voters as to why each of them should be among the six people who will make up city council after the vote on Oct. 24.
While the discussion was wide-ranging, the forum did not generate an abundance of fireworks as candidates found themselves in agreement more often than not on the issues facing the city.
The event also generated a noticeably smaller crowd than at past Chamber election forums, with only about 40 people showing up.
Cold weather could be blamed, but a likely culprit could also be the lack of a race in the mayor's category this year, with Mayor Ian Hamilton back by acclamation.
While the audience was small, it was a full house where it mattered most - at the front of the room, with all 12 council candidates in attendance.
Participants included the five incumbents running for re-election Don Buglas, Ron Crush, Ray Fox, Trent Houk, and Grace Lang, and seven challengers Ryan Bater, Steven Cormons, Roxanne Kennedy, Greg Lightfoot, Brian Maunula, Cathy Richardson and Tom Schwab.
Each candidate made their own pitch for votes. Coun. Fox, seeking a fourth term, implored voters to again "mark a box for Fox." Cathy Richardson used the letter "C" a lot in seeking votes, using words such as "cares" "committed" "collaboration" and "contribution" extensively.
Maunula, who is also Battlefords Rotary Club president, made his pitch by referring to Rotary's four-way test: "is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it bring goodwill and better friendships, will it be beneficial to all concerned."
While a range of issues were discussed, the most substantive discussion at the forum centred on the issue of downtown revitalization.
Steven Cormons, who has made downtown a major part of his platform, made clear he wants to see movement on the issue.
"We need action, and I believe I can assist in that action," said Cormons, making his fourth bid for a council seat. "Downtown will be one of my priorities."
Crush, running for a second term, suggested the work of renewal had already begun, pointing to some new projects in the area. He also suggested the revitalization would take a long time.
"Downtown didn't get like it is overnight; it's not going to renew overnight," said Crush.
Houk, seeking a second term, pretty much agreed with that sentiment by saying "Rome wasn't built in a day." Candidate Lightfoot also agreed, saying revitalization would be a "five, ten, fifteen year project." As for what to do, Lightfoot suggested cleaning up the downtown and restoring old buildings, and as for "buildings that can't be restored, let's get rid of them."
"Boarded up buildings don't help any business move into a community," said Lightfoot.
For Richardson, her prime concern was safety downtown and she wanted to see a greater police presence to address those issues. "Who's going to want to bring a business there when people are afraid to come and be downtown, so I think that needs to be dealt with first," she said.
The most blunt response came from Schwab. He agreed safety issues needed addressed, but Schwab also called for the bulldozing of the property on 11th Avenue infested by pigeons.
"They've got a building behind the Scotiabank that's breeding pigeons right on top. We've got to get rid of the pigeons downtown so that (when) we walk downtown they don't s**t on you," said Schwab.
Bater, making a bid for council after recent runs for an MLA seat in the Battlefords, wanted a three-pronged approach. He said he wanted to focus on cleaning up the litter downtown, to see derelict and condemned buildings removed - "they would serve our community a lot better as a parking lot," said Bater - and see the King Street Station mall concept revived to fill the empty lot across from the liquor store.
Other topics at the forum included the future of the Battlefords Agricultural Society. There was general sentiment expressed by all the candidates in support of the organization and towards resolving the issues surrounding their lease with the city.
Another question posed to candidates asked whether they had financially supported the CUPlex project. That prompted candidates to explain the various contributions they all had made to the CUPlex, though some of them did point out that everyone in the community supports the CUPlex through the city's RCCF levy.
Coun. Grace Lang noted that a lot of people could not make a monetary donation, but said they could still support the CUPlex "by going out and using it."
Overall, though, it was the downtown issue that left the largest impression on the audience and on Mayor Hamilton.
"I was quite impressed with some of the responses," said Hamilton. Downtown revitalization, he told reporters, "is a long term issue, a long term initiative that will not be solved overnight. It's good to hear that that's understood by members of council that will be coming to the table, because then we can look at this form a perspective of long-term planning for the future of the city of North Battleford."
While Hamilton did make a few opening remarks at the podium, the mayor mainly stuck to the role of interested observer on the night. He told reporters he took notes on what the potential members of his future council had to say.
Hamilton was encouraged by the number of candidates who had come forward in the council race and said he looked forward to working with them. He described the candidates as "very articulate - I think they had very much thought out their positions and they put across some very good points."
The Battlefords Chamber of Commerce will host another all-candidates forum for the council race in the town of Battleford on Wednesday Oct. 17, at 7pm at Fort Battleford.
Voters in the municipal election go to the polls on Oct. 24; some advance polls in the Battlefords have already opened.
