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Buglas seeking fifth term on N.B. council

Sep 20, 2016 | 2:48 PM

The longest serving current member of council hopes to continue for another term.

Don Buglas has served on council since 2003, tying him with Ray Fox for longest serving current members. Buglas is seeking his fifth term after officially submitting his papers for October’s election.

Buglas said he wants North Battleford to continue to grow but doesn’t want the expansion to be a costly burden to residents.

“I am looking at affordable quality living in our community,” Buglas said. “How do we maintain and add to our infrastructure without making things overwhelming for the tax payers?”

Buglas highlighted the new rink that may be built to replace the Civic Centre as a project he would like to manage with council. He wants to make sure it gets built while avoiding any tax hikes.

Buglas said he would also like the city to keep moving forward. The phrase “North Battleford is open for business” is used a lot in council and Buglas said he expects it to be a big topic come election time.

“There are many great things happening in North Battleford,” Buglas said. “New businesses are being built and opened and expanded. We have some great recreational facilities but again it comes back to how do we keep those facilities affordable?”

Buglas added he wants to continue working on community safety efforts.

Buglas was born and raised in the Battlefords. He graduated from the North Battleford Comprehensive High School. After getting his Bachelor of Education at the University of Saskatchewan, Buglas moved back to the Battlefords where he has spent the majority of his career teaching. He is currently the principal at St. Vital Catholic School in Battleford.

As of noon on Sept. 20 there were only six people officially submitted to run for council. With six spots available and the deadline at 4 p.m. Sept. 21, the road to a fifth term might be an easy snag for Buglas.

 

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.