Former Hanna mayor and Delia CAO Mark Nikota has put his name into the ring to represent the Alberta Party in the Drumheller-Stettler riding in the next provincial election.
     The Mail reported in its June 6 edition the Alberta Party is looking for nominations and Nikota is the first to enter the race.
    “My motivation is the same as when I ran to be mayor in Hanna, building and promoting communities and trying to be positive and bring a positive vision for the area. To work on things we need, like infrastructure, healthcare, and proper rural education,” said Nikota. “I want to make the area better and do it in a positive way.”
    Nikota has lived in Hanna for about 20 years, served as Mayor of Hanna from 2010 to 2013, and is currently the CAO of the Village of Delia. He has also spent a lot of time working with the Progressive Conservative Party in the area.  Currently, he is working on his MBA through The University of Alberta, majoring in Public Policy.
    He likes the practicality of the Alberta Party.
    “When I first talked to Greg Clark when he was leader, he put it best, ‘if it is a good idea it doesn’t matter where it came from.’  They are a centrist group. They pledge to balance the budget, but not slash and burn social programs,” he said.
    “There are things that people have to do collectively and that is where government comes in. It’s about running it the best you can.”
    He adds that the Alberta Party adds a moderate voice in an increasingly polarized political climate.
    “That is one of the reasons I am running, I don’t like the future of where politics is going. I see us going in the direction of the United States right now, there are two parties and all they do is squabble, they don’t actually fix anything. I think running a positive campaign, having a party focused on fixing things and good ideas, as opposed to just pointing out what is wrong with the other side all the time.”

The tender was awarded this week for the year’s street improvement program, with work commencing in early July on Hunts Drive and in the downtown.

A full reconstruction of Hunts Drive from 1st Street SE to 11th Avenue SE is planned. This will leave the center portion of Hunts Crescent to be completed. Director of infrastructure Armia Mikhaiel explains the centre portion will be completed next year. This is because of drainage issues, as the middle section has weeping tile that needs to be connected. Improvements will also be made on 2nd Avenue N downtown from Centre Street to 2nd Street SW.

Council awarded the tender to Rubydale Asphalt Works of Airdrie for $1,177,656, coming in under budget by $157,773. Since the project is under budget, Mikhaiel said the planned work will likely be expanded to include additional sidewalk and concrete work.

Costs of the project are shared between the town and the province.