DIDSBURY - The election in Didsbury was a month ago and the new council members are starting to get their feet wet, so to speak.
With only one new councillor in both Cremona and Carstairs, it's pretty much a steady continuation of the last term in those communities.
But with Didsbury having all new councillors and a new mayor, it's been a learning curve.
Two councillors have previous mayoral experience, but that was a while ago for one and in another province for another.
People often say that an election is just a popularity contest. There may be some truth to that as those with the most votes get in. It's pretty simple. But the residents must be given credit. They are the ones who vote and decide on the direction the town will go.
Although no experience is needed to be on council, candidates must be able to express themselves in media, in person and at the candidates forum.
One of the issues that came up was secrecy and transparency. Some thought that the previous council should have released more information about land dealings with developers and other information.
Another big issue that the new council needs to deal with is the pending library expansion. When the town moved from its old office on 19th Avenue to the new office on 14th Street one of the reasons given was to allow the library next door to expand into the vacated space.
The town office move took place six months ago and the library has not expanded an inch. There was a $60,000 feasibility study (including building condition report and concept plan) done by Avid Architecture in addition to consultations with staff and volunteers and a couple of public workshops.
The study essentially determined that expansion into the vacated town office space would be expensive and not sustainable long-term. Avid stated that a new building would be similar in cost to renovating or retrofitting the current library into the bigger space.
Kevin Bentley, chair of the library expansion committee, appeared before council in September and said the committee recommended council "take a step back."
Currently, the old town office space sits empty. The recently proposed town budget does not mention any expenditure for the library expansion.
No one is saying it would be easy for council, or that the town should make a rushed decision - but I really think there is enough information in place to make some kind of decision on moving forward soon.
Even with the Internet and cellphones, the library is as popular as ever. In addition to providing books, the library is a hub for activity with computers for use, spaces for gatherings/readings, etc., kids' programs, and so much more.
It would be nice to see a library building here that actually fits the growing needs of the community.
