Calling Lacombe the best place he could have chosen to raise a family, you can expect to see Bill McQuesten's name back on the official candidate list that will be released on Nomination Day Monday (Sept 18th).

He has no shortage of Council experience in Lacombe, serving on and off for a total of 13 years in the last 20, even a term as Mayor.

McQuesten says there's still some unfinished business he would like to see through.

“The west area; that started 20 years ago.  You know, a lot of people don’t really think or realize that things take that long, but they do.  Municipal government is a long term project.  So I’m excited to see it happening out there, this is going to be really good for the community, I know you are going to see other things spin off because of it”.

In terms of finances, paying down debt is a priority if he's re-elected.

“Our 10 year capital plan we don’t have any really major commitments and that’s I think from my point of view where we would like to be, we would like to be able to slowly start paying that debt down and I think that’s the plan from this Council going forward.  You know you can’t make the decisions for the incoming Council but we’ve always been a conservative, physically conservative community and it’s done well for us”.

McQuesten is also eager to do more work around ensuring Lacombe provides adequate services for seniors.

“We’ve been looking at a new facility, re-vamping the old one and how to enhance what we have, because we have seniors who are living longer, living more active lives, but we still need to make sure they have a place to live.  We’ve been talking with the provincial government on how to move ahead”.

A recurring theme that comes up at Coffee with Council sessions is sidewalks and McQuesten is determined to see action taken in those areas of the city that are without sidewalks, saying we all pay taxes and we all deserve sidewalks for safety reasons.

After spending time on the Recreation Board, and Chairing it prior to entering municipal politics, recreation is an area McQuesten is passionate about.  He’s thrilled to see the city working alongside the Bill Nielson Trail Society, and a cross country ski club get off the ground in Lacombe.  He’s eager to continue relationships with community groups that help build quality of life in Lacombe.