Though two nominations were received for the open councillor position in Alliance, only one candidate turned up for the public forum on Friday, Sept. 11.

The Rec. Centre was full, with residents joining in to hear what nominee Joan Zacharuk had to say about her plans for Village Council, should she be elected.

Kenn Neyrinck, who was also nominated, did not attend the forum.

Zacharuk moved to Alliance about a year ago from Edmonton, where she ran her own business.

“I also sat on several boards,” she added of her past experience.

She turned her focus to Alliance, and what needs to be done for the village to attract and retain new residents.

“We need to create a vision of what we want to be.”

Small villages are having trouble remaining viable, she believes.

Zacharuk wants to see an open, transparent council in the village.

“You tell me your truth, and I’ll tell you mine,” she said of the important relationship between council and the public.

She hopes to find ways to attract young people and families to the area, as she says that those groups attract business and revenue, which is something that Alliance needs.

A daycare, she added, would help to attract these young people to the village.

Zacharuk asked anyone with ideas on how to attract and retain new people to come forward. “I think Council should be open to all of your ideas,” she said.

She went on to mention a recent family reunion that brought dozens of new people to Alliance, as well as the fact that there were very few businesses open for those visitors to explore and shop at.

“Those people only come every once in awhile, but they all talk,” she said.
“Would you come to Alliance and sit in a park for two hours if that’s all there was?”

Zacharuk also brought up the idea of dissolution into a hamlet, referencing the current viability reviews being done in Galahad and Strome.

“Once you do that, there’s no going back,” she stressed.

She went on to note that becoming a hamlet would mean that any decision-making power would be removed from the village.

Decisions made by the county, she said, would be made according to what they believe is the bigger need.

As an example, she said that if Galahad were to have issues with their sewer system, those repairs would come before any road paving that may need to be done in Alliance.

“We don’t have any of those things that would make us self-sufficient for the long haul at this point in time,” she added of Alliance’s viability.

“I think we need to fight for this village.