A candidate from the 2010 municipal elections is stepping up to the plate once again.
    Tara McMillan, who ran for mayor in 2010 and was narrowly defeated, has put her name in the hat for a position as a Drumheller Town Councillor.  
    “I decided to run for council to serve the community and represent the residents of Drumheller,” said McMillan. “In the previous election, I ran for mayor and it was a very close race. Due to the time commitment of being mayor, at this point in my life it doesn’t quite fit. I feel this way I can better represent the people of Drumheller.”
    McMillan is looking ahead to completing a few different projects in town.
    “I want to represent the needs of the town, keep our taxes in line, be fiscally responsible,  enhance recreation, work with the province on flood mitigation, and I’m looking forward to phase 2 of the Badlands Community Facility,” said McMillan.
    She also identified berming and dyking as needs to be done in vulnerable communities in the Drumheller Valley.
    The key to moving forward for McMillan is for Council to work together and encourage growth in Drumheller.
    “I have a lot of ideas, but it’s a team effort once you’re on council. I think we need to grow our population and business base to give us a bigger tax margin and keep people’s taxes at a lower rate. We need more tourist attraction businesses, but we also need businesses to serve locals. We need to find a balance between the two,” said McMillan.
    Three weeks remain until election day on October 21. McMillan hopes Drumheller will come out in force to choose the next Town Council.
    “The biggest thing is to encourage people to get out and exercise their democratic rights,” said McMillan. “These will be the people who are the backbone of the decisions that are made.”

Drumheller seeks $1.235 million for flood costs

    The Town of Drumheller is getting close to finalizing its flood report to the Government of Alberta. At the moment, the Town is asking for $1.235 million to cover the costs of the flood.
    The Town will deliver the report to the province on Thursday, October 3.

    At the moment, the finishes touches are being made on the report and will go to Council for final approval.
    The report examines different aspects of the flood, including where repairs are needed, where new dyking is required, and the costs associated with each.
    “We’ve identified improvements that are required in the existing dyking. We know there are concerns areas during the flood that required additional material to be brought in, catch basins, and storm sewers that acted up. All of that has been included in the report. The report is going to look at the hot spots and identify dollars available for all those areas,” said CAO Ray Romanetz.
    “The second part of the report looks at those areas that don’t have dyking and identified costs.”
    The report also breaks down the costs of the flood. The Town spent $310,000 in flood prevention, $417,000 in flood recovery, $10,000 for the Evacuation Centre, $373,000 for road damages, and $125,000 to fix damaged pumps. In total, the Town is seeking $1.235 million from the province.
    There are also questions the Town is hoping will be answered by the province.
    “There will be questions for the province relating to our growth areas. For instance, we need to firm up what the elevation for the 1:100 level will be,” said Romanetz.
    The Town continues to work on recovering from the flood. Crews continue cleanup along the Red Deer River, identifying damaged pumps and pipes, road repairs. Since the flood, the trail system and Newcastle Ball Diamonds have been reopened.