In the run up to the 2017 election, we asked our readers and listeners what issues matter most to them. Every day, we ask candidates for their thoughts on healthcare, growth, traffic, city facilities, downtown, and the other issues important to their campaign. Today, Allan Hunter addresses your issues.

Allan Hunter hopes that on October 16, he'll win a third term on City Council. Hunter said it is important when addressing Airdrie's needs, to proceed with plans that are sustainable and timely while also making sure solutions are affordable.

Hunter thinks adding hours to the Urgent Care Centre was a great improvement, but he still sees a need in the community for additional healthcare that Urgent Care just can't meet. As a founding director of the Airdrie and Area Health Benefits Cooperative, he believes the cooperative is the best option for local health care that will address urgent and emergent care short of a hospital.

"Our objective is to build a health campus that will be all-encompassing so that most of the needs for healthcare in Airdrie from mental health to physical health to day-to-day things can be met right here in Airdrie."

Hunter said the health campus will actually meet two community needs. Besides better healthcare, that site will provide entry, mid-level and high level career opportunities that will both retain residents and attract new residents. Elected or not, Hunter vows to continue his work to see that health campus come to fruition.

When asked about growth, Hunter said a few things come to mind. As the community grows, there will be a need for affordable housing that must be addressed. He's worried by candidates that suggest capping development, as that will kill jobs that are vital at the moment. But for Hunter, the elephant in the room is the plethora of multifamily dwellings that are being churned out. Hunter said the City needs to take a step back from what he calls "packing and stacking," and look at the after effects that that strategy is having, particularly on Airdrie's roadways.

Hunter believes that Airdrie's roadways are overburdened, and it is no longer sufficient to simply use Yankee Valley and Veterans Boulevard as the only feeders to the QE2. Residents have devised strategies to get in and out of town using service roads, but when weather or traffic events hit, those strategies fail and leave drivers irritated. He's proud that the current Council and City staff had the foresight to put up design dollars to look at the issue of improved access to the highway, which will come in the form of a 40th Avenue overpass.

"I will continue to advocate for an overpass south of 40th Avenue with the Alberta government. They have total jurisdiction and responsibility for it, but as we keep hearing, they have money for a lot things but a lot of it doesn't seem to get to Airdrie."

Hunter said Airdrie needs a large multipurpose facility that addresses the competing needs of various groups. Genesis Place is overburdened, the Over 50 Club has outgrown their space, and other groups need meeting spaces as well. Hunter said any facility needs to address the fact that groups, teams and clubs in Airdrie are all looking for somewhere to meet.

"I'm very supportive of getting together with the entire community, looking at the total need, and saying, 'How do we put as much of this into a facility as possible with the efficient use of dollars?'"

When it comes to downtown redevelopment, Hunter said he is in support of it as long as there is good financial management involved. He said the first question needs to look at the cost, followed by addressing who pays for redevelopment and how long it will take. Hunter pointed out that much of downtown's utility infrastructure is sixty to seventy years old, and downtown redevelopment would mean it needs to be upgraded, which adds to the cost.

Hunter is passionate about public safety, and was pleased to have spent the past term as chair of the Police Advisory Board. He's proud that they were able to add resources for Airdrie's RCMP, and he wants to continue on that path to see crime in the city reduced. He's also passionate about another public safety topic.

"One that nobody wants to talk about because it's so uncomfortable: Domestic violence. Breaks my heart. I'm getting phone call after phone call from people whose families are shattered and there's domestic violence, and they're scared and they don't know where to go. We direct them to ADVAS, we direct them to Community Links and all those things."

Hunter said he's supportive of Airdrie P.O.W.E.R and the work they are doing to get a shelter built. The issue of domestic violence is one that he thinks needs to be brought further into the light.

 

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