A Canal Flats resident who’s served on village council for the last four years is making a run for the mayor’s seat.
Doug McCutcheon says the biggest issue facing the community is development.
“The main issue for us I think is economic development, we have quite a bit of industrial and commercial land available at what we think is a very good location in the Columbia Valley for companies to locate to,” he said.
“It would help us go over the ups and downs of the business cycles for different businesses. It would also potentially draw in a few more citizens and help maintain our community as a viable place to live.”
Another focus of his campaign is making Canal FLats a more viable option for seniors.
We have seniors in our community that are being forced to move away from Canal Flats in order to for them to find places to get help or live,” he added.
“That in itself bites at the community’s history and the strength of the community.
“When you start to lose your seniors you start to not see a healthy family-oriented community take place. I’m trying to encourage people to build senior housing and certainly put in place more medical support.”
If elected, McCutcheon says one of his top priorities will be focusing on community feedback.
“Relating to our community, creating mechanisms of discussion, getting feedback,” he said.
“Finding ways of understanding what’s important for residents of Canal Flats and weaving that into council discussions.”
McCutcheon is running against newcomer Mark Doherty.
The municipal election is on Oct. 15.