By Jennifer Robinson

Denis Vaillancourt is seeking re-election as mayor of West Bolton, the rural village of 700 residents. A retired veterinarian, Vaillancourt has served the municipality for 12 years – one term as mayor and two terms as councillor. He says his commitment is stronger than ever: keep the community rural and peaceful, improve administrative processes, and manage the roads and services in an efficient, resident-friendly manner.

As Tempo went to press, Vaillancourt is the only candidate so far who has made his intentions known. Mayoralty hopefuls have until Oct. 3 to declare their official candidacy.

Major achievements

Among Vaillancourt’s major achievements as mayor, he secured permission from Quebec to buy a slice of land to renovate the tiny town hall and install a well and septic tank; improved staffing at town hall and improved working conditions to reduce turnover, which had been a major impediment to getting things done; rebuilt Paramount Road and fixed other road problems; reduced speed limits on some roads; adopted by-laws to safeguard bilingual services to residents and to maintain a water-testing program of the town’s main streams.

Priorities

Key issues facing the municipality are practical rather than political. These include maintaining gravel roads, from controlling dust and plowing snow to improving culverts; measures to reduce speeding on roads, which is out of control because the SQ is invisible despite high costs; more efficient management of permits; keeping property taxes low; and working with others to safeguard water supply and quality, power supply, and to protect the environment.

Other issues include services that are increasingly out of the municipality’s control, like recycling pick-up. Quebec has taken that responsibility away from municipalities and handed it to the MRC. Vaillancourt is determined to work with the MRC to ensure quality services are maintained.

Large parts of West Bolton are zoned agricultural. Unlike nearby towns like Brome Lake and Waterloo that are bursting with new construction and expansion, West Bolton has remained virtually untouched by major development. It has no downtown, few businesses, few paved roads, and a landscape defined by large properties and the Glen. That’s exactly how most residents want it to stay.