MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - County councillor and former reeve Al Kemmere says his 17 years on council was both rewarding and challenging.
In an Albertan interview last week, Kemmere looked back at an important time for the municipality, when major changes were made in both the way the county is run and how it works with its neighbouring municipalities.
First elected in 2004, Kemmere was appointed reeve immediately after that election and held the position for six years. He was then a councillor from 2010 until this week, after deciding not to seek re-election in Division 7.
“It was a little bit of a surprise being appointed reeve so quickly,” Kemmere said. “I wasn’t pursuing that but it’s the way things worked out. It was a bit of a polar council at the time so they asked me to take on that role and so I did.”
A highlight of his time on council was his involved with Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties and later the Rural Municipalities of Alberta, which represents rural municipalities across the province, he said.
“I was elected to their board in 2010 and as president in 2014, holding that position until last year,” he said. “I think in those roles the county did benefit because concerns that affect the county were always put in the minds of those positions (such as MLAs). It was a good way to move forward.”
Kemmere was also involved with Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
“Those groups work with senior government and are responsible for more than $3 million a year in our grants from both the province and federal government. So I think there has been some successes from that.”
Several key and important updates to the county’s overarching municipal development plan (MDP) were made over his time on council, he noted.
“We redid that MDP in 2007 and in 2012 and that was a good success,” he said.
The creation of the municipal area partnership (MAP) among area municipalities was also an important step, he said.
“When I got elected in 2004 there were some challenges with collaboration among municipalities within Mountain View County. We created MAP and it ended up winning a provincial award for municipal collaboration. So I always felt that was an item of pretty good focus that I’m proud of,” he said.
Throughout his time with the county, Kemmere says the municipality’s staff was helpful and key to getting things done.
“Through the whole process Mountain View County has had such great staff,” he said. “Staff come and staff go but the core of the staff have been fantastic and I know I feel really comfortable leaving the role with the quality of staff we have in place.
“They are a great bunch of people to carry this county forward in the future. The new council will have a great group of people to work with.”
During his 17 years on council, Kemmere says he also worked with many dedicated fellow councillors.
“Some I haven’t always agreed with, but overall people get elected to try to help their community and I’ve worked with some really great councillors over the years. I have to thank them for the team approach that we’ve taken,” he said.
Asked where he sees the county going forward, he said, “I think the county, as all municipalities, is going to be in for a little bit of a challenge coming through the adjustment to the pandemic and where it comes forward from there.
“Economic development is always an item that needs a continued push. We’ve got our business parks and I think if we can get our economy and the province moving those business parks can provide a good tax base for the future.”
Continued cooperation with area towns will be key to the future success of the county, he said.
“We are a community; not just a bunch of communities,” he said. “We must continue to build good agreements.”
