The last five years have seen major steps forward for the Town of Langham, according to John Hildebrand.
The incumbent Mayor is seeking his second term at the helm of the community. First elected to Langham Town Council in a by-election in 2015, Hildebrand was elected Mayor in the 2016 municipal election.
“The number one priority is to continue the work that we’ve done over the past five years,” said Hildebrand in an interview. “One of the reasons I ran in the first place was to help get the new municipal sewage lagoon built. That was a huge project and as a town it was our number one priority.
“Now that’s getting pushed to the finish line with the funding lined up and the framework in place for completion.”
Hildebrand said with the old lagoon at capacity, the town was unable to grow.
“We weren’t able to say yes to any new development,” he said. “But now we’re definitely open for business.”
Hildebrand said the town recently completed a new Official Community Plan and is prepared for new residential and commercial developments.
“There are over 100 acres of undeveloped residential land in Langham,” said Hildebrand. “Now we have the infrastructure in place to get that done. We have the water and wastewater capacity. This past year, we built a $3.1 million lift station on the east side of town, so it would be nice to see a residential subdivision begun.”
Over the past few years, there has also been the beginning of a “revitalization” of the town’s main street business district, spurred in part by a five-year property tax abatement policy.
“We have two restaurants, a pharmacy, a dentist’s office, and a new gym downtown,” said Hildebrand. “There is also a new building on Park Avenue by the gas station. I’d like to see that momentum for new businesses continue.”
Hildebrand said improvements to basic infrastructure provides an opportunity for developing more recreational amenities.
“The town invested quite a bit in recreation,” said Hildebrand. “The new spray park has been a hit with families that have young children. Also, the trail network we’ve put in place in cooperation with Corman Park is a great addition.”
Hildebrand said one of his priorities was establishing and maintaining good relationships with the RM of Corman Park.
“Partnerships between municipalities are important,” he said.
The bottom line, he said, is town council and administration are working to “make Langham an affordable and attractive” community that offers residents a good quality of life.