Kentville mayor to reoffer for second term

By Kirk Starratt

kstarratt@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

He has been serving his town as an elected official for the past 23 years and will throw his hat in the ring to reoffer as Mayor of Kentville in the 2008 municipal election.

Kentville Mayor Dave Corkum said he hopes to be able to continue the positive trends in the town if elected to a second term as mayor. He said serving as mayor has been a very rewarding experience and citizens have embraced changes initiated by council.

Although it has been an outstanding experience, he said some days are tougher than others and some decisions are difficult. Corkum said that in order to make improvements, changes must be made.

He said the town has excellent infrastructure and a progressive council interested in tackling the tough issues. The mayor and council take a team approach in working together with staff and the public. In moving the town forward, Corkum said they’re encouraging people to get involved.

“I’ve proven I have the desire and the ability,” Corkum said in regard to his first term as mayor. “I’ve tried to fulfill my commitments to the best of my ability.”

The town had a fantastic tenure under retiring Chief Administrative Officer Bill Boyd and Corkum is looking forward to working with a new CAO in the future. The town will have a new Engineering and Public Works director in September. Corkum said the town has had and continues to have great staff and he points out that the new professionals coming on board would help carry the town to the next level.

Named number one

In the past few years, Kentville has been named the number-one town in the province following a ranking conducted for a book published in 2006, has received “Five Blooms” from the Communities In Bloom initiative and has been named the most welcoming community in Atlantic Canada for towns with a population of 10,000 or less by Welcome Wagon for the past two years.

Corkum said the town is recognized throughout Canada for its recreation facilities and there are many towns across the country envious of the amount of land available for development in Kentville’s downtown, the former CP Rail land. It has the second lowest residential tax rate of any town in the province and the fourth lowest commercial rate.

Looking down the road to the twinning of Highway 101, Corkum said this represents greater opportunity for the town to grow and there is a mushroom effect that benefits the entire region when Kentville grows.

By working together with other local municipal units in the Kings Partnership Steering Committee and remaining committed to inter-municipal service funding agreements, “our area is distinguishing itself as a leader in cooperation,” Corkum said.

Corkum was first elected to Kentville town council in 1985. After being elected by his council peers as deputy mayor, he was elected Mayor in a 2005 by-election following the death of former Mayor Gary Pearl, who passed away while still in office.