Mayor of Elkford, one more time

Dean McKerracher is making an exceptional run as the mayor of Elkford, B.C.

Dean McKerracher has been elected to the position of mayor of Elkford for a fourth consecutive term. — Photo courtesy Danny Dwyer

There’s no shortage of projects that need the attention of the mayor and council in Elkford, B.C. Newly re-elected mayor, Dean McKerracher, gave Kootenay Business magazine an overview of his to-do list.

First, please tell us what motivated you to stand for re-election.

It was a family decision. We love Elkford and we love living here, and we decided that we might as well continue to serve the community if the community wants us to serve. That’s why I let my name stand for one more term. Of course, I had great support from my council and senior staff.

What’s the character trait that makes you good at being mayor?

I think it’s my ability to communicate. I’m friendly and at ease walking up to people I don’t know and starting a conversation. I’m interested in people and the things that are important to them. I’m pretty good at reading people and understanding them. I have the ability to listen and the ability to work with a team.

What are some of the challenges ahead for you?

We have a number of projects in the works. We just finished putting a new ice plant into our hockey and curling rink, and now we will be improving the energy efficiency by capturing some of the heat from the ice plant to heat the arena itself. We’ll be putting the swimming pool retrofit out to tender shortly. That will likely mean new motors for the pumps, and we want to capture the heat that’s generated from them, too.

Long term, we’re putting in a 20-year infrastructure replacement plan. Before we start to resurface our roads and replace the curbs and sidewalks, we want to make sure the pipes underneath are good for another 30 to 50 years. We’ve already started budgeting for infrastructure so that we have our portion of the funds in place when we apply for grants.

We’re also looking at riprapping Boivin Creek (putting rock into the creek to protect the banks from erosion). We did the river banks, but still have to do the creek.

What’s a project that you’re looking forward to?

The biggest thing is the deer relocation project. We’re the lead on a pilot project with Cranbrook, Invermere and Kimberley; Columbia Basin Trust is helping us with funding. The province wants us to put collars on the deer, at a cost of $800 per collar. They want to be able to monitor the animals and track their movements. If an animal dies, the collar can be retrieved. Fernie Rod & Gun Club, a non-profit association, has stepped up to help with the project.

What do you do for fun?

I curl. I like to watch my granddaughter play volleyball and also figure skate. In the summer we spend our leisure time at our cabin on Lake Koocanusa.