It was a busy evening in Middle Springs!  I was door-knocking in the downhill half of Middle Springs 1, and Marilyn Bell and her cheerful team were doing the same for John Gibson's campaign.  Marilyn and I are Grizzly Street neighbours, so it was fun to run into her on the campaign trail.  And everyone in Middle Springs was very nice about being "campaigned at" twice in one evening! 

As always, there were interesting conversations at doors, in front halls, in kitchens.  Tonight's chats centred around concern over debt, ideas about the pedestrian bridge, and the need for some lights along the heavily used wooded trail from the Admin Grounds to Middle Springs. 

I spent an interesting hour at Town Hall this afternoon, along with fellow candidates John Gibson, Grant Canning and Erich Mende, watching Council grapple with some of the updates to the Community Plan.

I was delighted that they chose to add a clear reference to the commercial growth cap.  This will help anyone who reads the plan understand the unique context of our community.

I was also really pleased that they included a reference to the management of noise.  They have not yet chosen an indicator to go with this goal, but it seems to me that "numbers of noise complaints" might be one good measure!

In spite of low clouds and the threat of rain, I enjoyed going door to door in the upper half of Middle Springs I.  With the gloomy weather, a few more people were at home today.  Several new topics came up in discussions at the door:  creating a balance of viewpoints on council, having an overall vision and strategy for the town, and having strong environmental programs.

 When I reached Kim and Mandy's place, I was delighted to hear from them that Arlene Rheaume has stepped in to fill the third vacancy on School Board.  Having a strong school board is always important, but especially during the present major planning exercise.  Congratulations and thanks to Kim Bater, Sheila Snowsell, and to Arlene for being willing to serve our community -- I know they will do a wonderful job of representing the needs of Banff schools, parents and students at this critical time.

What a beautiful fall day -- just perfect for strolling around Valleyview.  I had a great time going door to door, seeing old friends and meeting new people. 

 For those of you that weren't home, sorry I missed you, but I'm glad you were out enjoying the day!  I hope you found the sticky notes on your doors with my website address.

I had some interesting conversations:  signage in town, the pedestrian bridge, and traffic closures for race events were the subjects of the day. 

I really appreciate Erich Mende’s idea of putting everyone’s links up on his blog, so I’m going to follow his lead and do the same.  Here are the sites that I know about at present – they give us all a great opportunity to get to know Council candidates and decide where our votes should go …

http://erichmendebanffcouncil.wordpress.com/ 

stavroskarlos.com

carmodyforcouncil.com

electgibson2007.com

chipolver.com

grantcanning.com