More Ideas for Questions

Well, I think that is enough questions from one source. However, there are a lot more issues that the Commission candidates should be prepared to tackle. Here are some ideas;

• The 5th-6th Street/ 1st Ave-2nd Ave South reconfiguration idea. Should those streets be converted to two way? What issues and challenges do the candidates see in that reconfiguration?
  
  
• Working to Ensure Northcentral MT remains a Medical Center. Many jobs come to Great Falls because of our medical facilities. All of Northcentral Montana utilizes our medical resources. However, I submit to you that the ongoing and continued spat between the Clinic and Hospital reduces both the morale and the effectiveness of these resources. In addition, many elderly residents of communities like Havre, Ft. Benton and Shelby have no way to get to Great Falls, as there has been no regular bus service between our communities for about three years. Our City Commission should work to make sure that our medical facilities remain effective and they continue to serve all of Northcentral Montana.
  
  
• Promotion of Bringing Canadian Tourism Dollars to Great Falls. The strength of the Canadian Dollar presents a real opportunity to bring many outside dollars to our community. We should be doing everything in our power to make it easy for Canadians to spend their loonies and toonies here. These currencies will be strong for the foreseeable future. However, many Great Falls retailers will not take these dollars, and even have signs up saying that they will not accept Canadian change. This is largely due to policies at local banks.
  
  We should be be doing more than just promoting our shopping opportunities to residents of Lethbridge and Calgary (however, we should be doing more of that). To start with, we should begin accepting Canadian currency in our parking meters. While I would not support getting the city into the currency exchange business, we should support and encourage those in that business to set up shop here. What will our City Commission and Mayor do to promote Canadian tourism here?
  
  

Those are a few ideas off the top of my head. The candidate forum is on 10/17. More information can be found at greaterfalls.com and the Electric City Weblog.