A former realtor is ready to bring her business sense and vision for Okotoks to the council table.
Wendy Langton decided to add her name to the list of candidates in the upcoming municipal election when it became clear most of the current councillors were not seeking re-election.
“This would require almost an entirely new council, with different traits and skills to allow for growth and change,” said Langton.
She said the current council has laid a foundation for the next group to move forward and plan for the future, with things like the Municipal Development Plan and Land-Use Bylaw rewritten in the last year.
The groundwork was also started for a water pipeline, which she said is important to the expansion and growth the Town anticipates over the next 50 years.
Langton said she wants to be part of the planning process.
“It’s imperative for us to make sure we have the right foundation to grow, but we take everything into consideration – the environment, water, funding, everything,” said Langton. “They’ve (the current council) started it all, they’ve got lots in the works. It’s our job to continue with maybe some new ideas as well.”
In addition to planning the future for Okotoks, she said communication is key. There needs to be better ways to share information from the council table to the public, she said.
For someone like her, who is connected to the Town through owning a business and being a 21-year resident of Okotoks, it’s easier to find that information than a lot of residents.
“We need to be more transparent,” said Langton. “It’s really difficult for the average person to look up what’s going on with the water solution, for instance. There are so many links. It’s very disjointed.
“It needs to be easier for everyone to understand what’s going on, and then we could avoid some of the misinformation and misunderstanding.”
To help spur more growth and take the onus off homeowners, Langton said she would like to see more focus on business and industry attraction so the non-residential tax base can be broadened.
It would make Okotoks more affordable for those who own homes in town.
“We just don’t have that basis,” said Langton. “We have a tax base of homeowners, and very little for commercial or business.”
She said the affordable housing initiative is important, and she would like to get involved in seeing through comprehensive plans that are beneficial to the town as a whole while providing lower-cost housing.
On top of that, she said a keen eye needs to be kept on the budget – something she’s no stranger to, having sat on numerous boards and run her own brokerage.
That will be paired with honest opinions and making common-sense decisions.
“I’m not the one who will sit back,” said Langton. “I’ll tell people what I really think, even if it’s not the most popular, but I’ll also work through an issue to come to a decision.”
Having been involved in real estate in town for 17 years, raising children and seeing her granddaughter grow up in Okotoks, Langton said she’s invested in preserving the character and small-town feeling she fell for in 1997 when she first visited town.
“I love the small-town feel,” she said. “We’re over 30,000 people but we still have that safety, people are friendly, and I really want to keep that going.
“Even though we could be a city, I want us to have all the amenities but still have that small-town feel, safety and comfort for everybody.”
