Chris Stedile
Castlegar News
Bruno Tassone is the face of change in Castlegar. The long-time city employee is the only newcomer to be voted onto council during last weekend’s civic elections.
He joins returning councillors Kevin Chernoff, Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff, Deb McIntosh, Dan Rye, and Florio Vassilakakis.
Tassone is an advocate for function over aesthetics and is putting city infrastructure at the top of his to-do list.
“I think there are issues with our infrastructure as far as storm work, and there’s room for upgrades in our water system,” Tassone said.
The new councillor said he would like to get started on revamping the city’s pumping station system.
His goal is to reduce the number of pumping stations required from three down to just one by using a gravity feed system leading to a grand reservoir.
“We’re not very efficient, having to pump our water multiple times, increasing our electricity costs,” he said.
In addition to the water situation, Tassone stated he will be working for improvements to the road systems and restoring ambulance and hospital hours.
Tassone believes his long standing career with the city — over 35 years — along with his knowledge of the surrounding area from a life led here will allow him to further improve upon the City of Castlegar.
“While working for the city, I became very aware of our strengths and weaknesses, and where we need to focus our resources,” said Tassone.
“While I’m proud of the city we live in, I think we can sharpen it up a little bit.”
Tassone will be joining council after the December 1 inauguration meeting.