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The town has the power

Council newcomer believes he has new ideas for Qualicum Beach
27568parksvilleEdWoloshyn
Ed Woloshyn wants a seat at the Qualicum Beach town council table

If experience on a municipal council is important to Qualicum Beach voters, then Ed Woloshyn has quite a bit to offer.

The former Saskatchewan resident served in municipal government for 14 years, three terms as a councillor and two terms of mayor of the town of Kindersley, Saskatchewan.

The former government employee and business owner also built a mini-mall and ran a convenience store for 14 years.

He said he got involved in the race for a council seat in Qualicum Beach because of the need to be proactive about the town’s demographic mix and support for the local business community.

“I believe we need to have a complete community,” he said. “We are lacking in respect to young people in terms of businesses. I’m not referring to box stores, but rather, businesses like we have now, but we need to support them and put some incentives in to keep them operating in Qualicum Beach.”

 

Although he didn’t cite specifics, he said a municipality has the power to offer incentives such as tax breaks, which allow businesses to thrive and grow.

“There are ways and means to help the business community,” he said.

“The more businesses we have, the more taxes they will pay and the less that will fall on the residential side.”

He said municipal officials should have been proactive before they were faced with the prospect of a possibly closing high school.

“They should have seen the decrease in the student population and grown our town,” he said. “We have to grow our town, regardless of what many people feel.”

Water is also an issue high on the Woloshyn agenda, an area with which he said he has a great deal of experience.

Other issues Woloshyn wants to address include taxes that continue to creep upwards and the need to hold the line on council remuneration.