Bow Island councillor returns to post to lighten workload

By Anna Smith

Commentator/Courier

With 20 years of experience under his belt, Lyle Tuchscherer was acclaimed to council last month.

Residents of Bow Island know Tuchscherer’s work on council well, including his 10 months as acting Mayor. 

“It wasn’t continuous. It’s been off and on. Because my wife and I had a business and I didn’t want to be on council while we had that business,” said Tuchscherer. “I have since retired, so I have some more time in my hands. Knowing what the workload is, and the commitment for each councillor, when one councillor leaves, of course, that workload has to be spread out and given to the other people.”

Since he’s retired, Tuchscherer has a lot more time to devote, and as such decided to let his name stand and fill out the rest of the term and take some of the workload off for the other councillors.

“We do have a couple of actually three new councillors. This is their first term, so somebody with a little more experience and knowledge of what has taken place in the town and council over the past few years, and that input, could be helpful,” said Tuchscherer.

He considers it an interesting time to be back, with the recent passing of the budget, but Tuchscherer is glad to be among friends as they look at how to make Bow Island an even better place to live amongst the rapidly changing landscape.

“I don’t have an axe to grind with anybody or anything like that. I just want to be part of any future developments that take place in town over the next couple of years,” said Tuchscherer. “Up until very recently, you know the town’s population stayed fairly stable and it was very common to know everybody walking down the street by first name, but that has changed; the dynamics of the town have changed and population has grown. And we’ve had quite an influx of different people.”

Tuchscherer looks forward to seeing how the town continues to evolve over the next several years, and is grateful for the chance to be a part of these changes again.

“Our council has always been very friendly and open and I do know everybody on council personally. It just helps (it) operate more efficiently,” said Tuchscherer. “And it takes some of the stress out of the job to work with friends. It can be enjoyable. It can also be frustrating when things don’t go right. But we just have to make sure that they end up going right.”

“I am always open and available for any comments, advice, criticism, whatever. I’ve been through it all, so if people want to express some concerns or some fresh ideas, I’m always open to that,” said Tuchscherer.

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