Bragg Creek's Mark Kamachi has dealt with many frustrations while serving on Rocky View County (RVC) council for the last four years, but there have been some success stories to share as well.

On Sept. 21, Kamachi attended his final RVC meeting. Months ago, he announced he wasn't seeking re-election.

Until he had an issue to deal with, Kamachi says he was relatively unaware of what goes on in municipal politics, and only heard that Rocky View council had a bad reputation.

After Councillor Liz Breakey decided she wasn't going to continue, he was approached to run. He was invited to take in a council meeting of the previous council.

At that particular RVC council meeting,  a decision was being made on whether or not to allow a family to build a second home so their mother, who was dying of cancer, could be with her grandchildren.

"The administrator said we could do this, this and this. The council fought and didn't show any compassion, and this poor family didn't get their wish. So, that decided for me, thinking I could help these people."

Once elected, he quickly learned it wasn't a problem with the administration or staff.

"If it wasn't for administration and staff, I don't know what or where Rocky View would be. We are envied by many municipalities and jurisdictions, and I thank administration and staff because they have made life easy for me this whole term."

"I've had allegations of breach of code of conduct, I've had lawsuits thrown at me, all these things from these crazy people out there who are just nemesis or extremely one-sided, 'I won't take no for an answer,' kind of people. Those are the people that I think are disrupting or slowing down any of the growth that we could be moving forward with."

He says running a municipality is a business. He doesn't believe a lot of councillors have the business experience necessary and are simply elected because they're popular.

Despite this, some important steps have been taken in the Bragg Creek area. The hamlet was torn apart by the 2013 flood and the economic downturn that followed.

He says the flood mitigation is almost complete, and there are temporary traffic lights at the entrance to the hamlet to eliminate congestion. The construction of a new traffic circle will follow.

"And we have some growth and expansion happening within the hamlet core, and FireSmart is up in the forefront. A lot of great things are happening, and it's not just because of Rocky View."

"People always ask me, 'What's your legacy project?' I tell them everything that happens isn't because of the council, it's about residents, it's about administration, it's about staff, it's about everybody. It can never be one person."

He is proud of the working relationship he's fostered with the Tsuut'ina First Nation, MLA Miranda Rosin, and MP John Barlow and appreciates having the opportunity to work with them.

"The Tsuut'ina First Nation understands that we need to grow and grow together. That's probably a mandate of mine, whether I get the next councillor to keep pushing, will be seen. I felt like I started a relationship with Tsuut'ina, and I heard from senior leadership at Rocky View it's been hard for the county to form one."

Kamachi is a down-to-earth, fun-loving guy, and it shows when he ponders what his legacy project is.

"If there was a legacy project of mine, it would be the bear-proof garbage container on Wintergreen Rd. That would be it. People, see that garbage can; that's because a resident called me, we worked with administration, and, boom, we got it done."

His answer also reflects the creative flair he uses every day in his career. Kamachi and his wife Tanya established AdMaki in Bragg Creek in 2011 after he left Young & Rubicam, where he served as their creative director for Western Canada. Since then, AdMaki has won numerous national and international awards.

Some more were just announced, and he's stepping back into his business on a huge high.

"We just found out yesterday that a bunch of work we did over the past year won several international awards, so, wow, I haven't been around, and the staff has done a great job."

Kamachi says some issues remain to be addressed, including internet access and an egress road for West Bragg Creek.

He encourages his successor to reach out at any time.

"I do hope they reach out to me because of what I've learned over the past four years."

The Kamachi's are regularly volunteers and contributors in their community. He says that won't change.

Brent Moore and incumbent Kevin Hanson are running in the new Division One.