There has been no change at the top of MD council this year. MD of Foothills council held its organizational meeting Oct. 17 and Larry Spilak was voted in as reeve for his eighth-consecutive year. This is his 12th year on council. “It’s a privilege and an honour to represent our council and the residents of the MD of Foothills in this capacity,” said Spilak. He said it’s a good year to keep some consistency with the reeve, with discussions and negotiations ongoing over the Calgary Metropolitan Plan, which deals with future growth within the Calgary region. Mayors and reeves from all surrounding municipalities are part of the negotiations, he said. “A great deal has to be done working with the mayors and the reeves in the region to create this plan, and hopefully a plan that will work for everybody,” said Spilak. “That is the mayors’ and the reeves’ responsibilities to sit at those meetings, so that is an important part of maintaining that position for this year.” Coun. Delilah Miller was reinstated for her second year as deputy mayor as she heads into her sixth year on council. She said she enjoyed the role of deputy reeve over the last year with its additional committees and responsibilities. “For me it’s mostly being more out in the public and attending more public events, so that was different,” said Miller. “But I enjoy that so it’s not a hard thing for me to be involved in.” She said taking on the role of deputy reeve means being more visible in the community and filling in for Spilak when he is unable to attend a meeting or function. For the coming year, Miller said she’d like to see the MD work harder to build a larger industrial and commercial base. “I really would like to work on increasing our exposure and let businesses in the area know the MD is open for business and we want to attract more economic development to the MD,” said Miller. There is always some focus on rural crime, though she said the MD’s enhanced policing initiative, which began in the spring, seems to be helping in that department. “I think we’ve got that problem a bit more under control with our enhanced policing,” said Miller. “I’m hearing some good things from our residents, that they’re seeing our enhanced police officers out and about, and I think it’s making a difference in our communities, so that’s certainly been a positive thing.”
