The candidates for reeve of the RM of Estevan have been announced for the upcoming election. Incumbent reeve Kelly Lafretnz faces challenges from Janet Severson and Terry Keating. Each candidate took some time to chat with the Mercury about their priorities going into the election.
Kelly Lafrentz
Kelly Lafrentz, Reeve of the RM of Estevan, has entered his name into the pool of candidates. Lafrentz said he has enjoyed the work he’s done so far as reeve, and wishes to continue for another term. Lafrentz is in his tenth year as a member of council for the RM, and is in his sixth year as reeve.
Lafrentz will be running for the position again, with the intention of finishing up some ongoing business.
“There are some things we’re working on, that I’d like to stay here to finish up,” said Lafrentz. “We’ve got our commitment to try and build four to five miles of road every year, or upgrading every year. I want to keep pushing that, so we keep our road network in good condition.”
Other projects that Lafrentz wants to see completed include the highway twinning between the Bienfait junction and Estevan, and a series of negotiations between the RM and City of Estevan.
“We’ve also got a water pressure station we’re working on right now, toward the east industrial area. It will increase pressure to those folks out there— they’re a little low on water pressure,” said Lafrentz. “We’re going to put that in to boost their pressure, and it will further facilitate the remainder of development in that area. It will be good when that’s all tilled in, because we won’t have go to back and revisit it again.”
In regards to negotiations, Lafrentz stated that those entail land annexation talks with City of Estevan, along with a number of service agreements with the city that they are in the process of renegotiating.
“I’d like to stay on council until we’ve had those all renewed and satisfactory again,” said Lafrentz.
Janet Severson
Janet Severson has also decided to run in the coming election. Severson wants to be a force of change for the RM, and to bring some new ideas to the table.
“It seems we have the same people being elected, time and time again, and as long as it’s the same people that are elected, things never seem to change,” said Severson. “Sometimes, I think that although everybody has good intentions, their ideas get a little stale. It doesn’t hurt to have some new ideas come into the picture.”
One of Severson’s biggest priorities is improving the condition of roads in the RM; particularly those frequented by oilfield traffic.
“Even now, when the oilfield industry has declined, we still have a lot of heavy traffic on our roads,” said Severson. “The roads are always washboard, and frankly, I don’t think they’re safe.”
Another objective of Severson’s is to ensure fair taxation in the RM, after seeing what she sees as unfair rate increases for residents of the area.
“The last time our taxes were reassessed, they increased $850 in one shot,” she said. “I knew they would be increasing, because there were some government cutbacks and stuff, including funding to the RMs, but I think we should be encouraging young families to live in the RM and to live on acreages.”
Severson said that current rates of taxation are unfair and unaffordable to people in the RM, adding that taxes between $2,000 to over $4,000 a year are too much of a burden to residents, especially when combined with mortgage payments and other living expenses.
“I think we need some new perspectives and if no one else runs against these candidates that have been in there for a while, we’ll end up with the same ideas and reactions to things,” said Severson. “Change sometimes is a good thing.”
Terry Keating
Terry Keating has lived and raised a family in the RM of Estevan for 25 years, along with building a home and planting thousands of trees. Keating said that his experience as a councillor, and immersion in the community, working with people in the oil, power, mining and agricultural sectors have made him familiar with all aspects of the RM, and that it makes him a good candidate for the position of reeve.
“I’m familiar with municipal politics, rules and regulations, and I enjoyed that time serving as councillor. I’m retired now, (and) can focus exclusively on the RM,” said Keating.
Keating said his extensive work history on large projects with companies like Enbridge Pipelines, has made him familiar with how those large projects work. He noted the experience he accrued will serve him when he pursues infrastructure projects for the RM, if elected.
One project Keating prioritizes is the revival of discussions concerning a water treatment plant for communities and RMs in the area between Estevan and Weyburn.
“We were exploring options of building a plant that would supply potable water in the region between Weyburn and Estevan. It’s a big-thinking type of thing, and I would like to reopen that,” said Keating. “I want to at least determine the possibilities and feasibility of something like that.”
Keating said he also would like to see the rebuilding of secondary roads in the RM, and wants to improve infrastructure in the RM in general.
