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Austin eyes slow, steady growth

Carolyne Austin is well-known as a tireless volunteer for efforts like the Great Lake Walk but now she's trying for a seat on Lake Cowichan council.

"Now it really is time for a change and some new faces on council. We need new ideas," she said.

Lake Cowichan is in transition from its historical place as a forest industry town.

"We have to move with the times," she said.

Austin has ideas to share with voters.

"We need well-planned, slow and steady growth of tourism and affordable housing developments. It's not just for seniors; it's for young families and single-parent families as well. Every child should have his own backyard, if possible. That's an important thing.

"But we have to upgrade the sewer and water in order to build more homes. And that hasn't been done," she said.

She's also hoping to see a seniors care facility come the Lake. But there are everyday concerns as well, she said, pointing out that the sidewalks around quite a bit of Lake Cowichan are in pretty rough shape.

"Some of them are covered in moss; they should have been cleaned before the end of summer. They're quite slippery and have funny edges. People with walkers and electric carts are having trouble getting up and down on some places. I've asked people to tell me the addresses of these places so I can go look at them myself.

"And we can't just talk about this during election time; we should be doing it all the time. The derelict buildings? I'm not happy about those. I think they can do something about them by charging them extra property taxes. We have to contact the people and say we want them cleaned up and fixed up," Austin said.