Morin, who was the first mayor of Canal Flats when it incorporated in 2004, announced his decision on Oct. 2 after much deliberation and thought.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a long time so it wasn’t a sudden decision,” he said.

“Since the last election I’ve had a good feel for what’s happening and my intentions for joining council was to see how it operates.”

Morin, who came in second at the election in 2006 against late mayor John Tilly, said his reasons for running again this year were in part because he wanted to see through important issues the council had been facing in recent years.

“Right now the village is facing significant issues and we don’t need any real new issues,” he said.

“At the moment we’ve got Painted Ridge, Eagles Nest, and Bylaw 82. We also just had an engineering review on our recreational properties, the curling rink, the arena and the community hall, and there is some work required there as well.”

Of these issues he said the biggest mistake the council made was not communicating effectively or consistently with concerned residents and citizens of the community.

“It was a big mistake not communicating with the village and not being open enough,” he said.

“Part of the problem was because of the legal proceedings and we were reluctant to say anything too much, but we could have said a lot more,” he said.

Regardless of this, Morin said he has a great vision of the village as a retirement community, especially since most of the up and coming generations were already starting to look at places like Canal Flats as a place to settle down.

“The best bet in the long run is to look at ourselves as a retirement community,” he said.

“The advantage of the village is that we have a beautiful setting.

"We have beautiful views in both directions and our community is right in the middle of it and people are already moving into the village with the intention of retiring.”

Morin also said he believed the area had great potential as a destination for tourists, and the recent opening of the Columbia River Trail on Sept. 28 was just the beginning of expanding on that attraction.

“In terms of economic development, traditionally in the valley we have four major industries: mining, logging, ranching, and tourism,” he said.

“Mining, logging and ranching aren’t going to grow, but tourism is and the trail opening was the start of that.”

Councillor Walter Woodske, who is running again for reelection, said it would be good to see Morin back in the top job.

“He has been a previous mayor and councillor and it will be good to have him back,” he said.

“From his previous background working as an engineer he has a lot to give to council as far as things are concerned.”

Coun. Tricia Doherty, who is also running again for reelection, also believes he has a lot to offer the community.

“He was an engineer before he retired and so he’s very meticulous about things,” she said.

“He is involved in every little detail about the community, and he reads every bit of paper that comes through, and because of his background, he picks up on things that some of us may have missed, so it will be great to see him as mayor again.”

It’s more than just his engineering background however, that makes him a great asset as mayor.

Doherty said it’s his community involvement that really raises the bar on his character.

“He’s a great person and he’s very community-oriented, and he’s always helping out in the community,” she said.

“He does a lot of work with the seniors, and almost every weekend he’s out picking up rubbish with his wife after people have been out drinking and partying.

"He really does a lot for the community and it will be great to have him as mayor again.”

Coun. Ute Juras is undecided as to whether she will be running for reelection into council.