A good pair of shoes, clipboard and good ears.

Town council candidate Bella Fallis is equipped with all three in her quest to visit 9,000 homes and hear what people have to say.

The feedback is important to Fallis and what she heard at times was dismaying but it also reinforced her belief in the need to strengthen the connection between our residents and our town.

"There's a disconnect that people are not being heard and they want to be heard," says Fallis. "There are people who feel that they can't be heard and then there's the vulnerable people who have no voice; our youth and some of our seniors."

Through visits, numerous meetings with town officials, attendance at council meetings and additional research, she's modelled her campaign upon what she has discovered.

"I'm not making ridiculous promises or anything; these are coming straight from the people, so let's try to work with that."

Nor does she intend to run a negative campaign.

"I don't want to get involved in any fingerpointing or old battle ideology."

She agrees the infrastructure is an issue and has been studying it.

"Infrastructure has to keep up with the pace growth," she says. "I'm not against growth but there has to be responsible growth and I've had several meetings with town planning looking at things."

But her campaign goes beyond this and largely focuses on social issues and connectivity.

"As much as connectivity is important with roads, connectivity with the people is also important."

She sees value in all neighbourhoods having their own community association and goes to the point of offering to help establish them where they don't exist.

"I have a passion for community associations. Not every community has one, but they are valuable. You get to voice your opinions there, so it's so important."

She also sees the need for more grass-roots and town committees and believes residents should be comfortable in expressing their views and concerns at council meetings. Should council establish a third monthly meeting it may an opportunity to allow for punlic forums and presentations.

 "You should be able to go in there and not be afraid to be heard."

She's concerned about about the need for more affordable housing and assisted living for seniors, pointing to our growing seniors population.

"Some new housing coming on stream is beyond many seniors," she explains. "We need to cater to everybody."

She also believe now is the time to start lobbying for a 24/7 urgent care centre that is properly equipped to handle medical emergencies, many of which occur after the current closing time of 10 p.m. She understands it may take some time, but without starting to push now it will happen even further down the road.

"Let's get the ball rolling, let's try."

Transit is important to establish, especially for youth, seniors, single parents and one-vehicle familes, and she would like to see it established in 2018 rather than 2019 as currently scheduled.

"I've run into so many people, seniors especially, who would love to be able to get around.town."

She explains many have to rely upon others to get to appointments, visit friends and shop and transit would help them maintain their autonomy. She believes it could also help reduce traffic congestion and reduce our carbon footprint.

More law enforcement is required, both RCMP and bylaw officers, and Cochrane has fewer than most communities this size.

Break-ins was a common complaint she has been told by several people, and they're getting fed up.

She wants to see more affordable housing for all income brackets.

"Cochrane has become a destination for wonderful dining experiences and there's great shopping here, but the people who work in those places are only making minimum wage."

"If we don't want to become a bedroom community and we want to keep our Cochranites living and working here then let's have affordable housing for them here."

In contrast to the complaints aired about the cost of the pool, the feedback she has received has been all positive.

"I have heard nothing but praise for that place. Everybody's using it and I'm hearing people are there three, four, five times a week. It's well used and everybody loves it; the old pool had to go."

She's also heard interest in creating a cultural hub for the community and believes there are several options available.

She understands debt is part and parcel of running a municipality, but new blood can offer a new outlook.

"The next council is going to inherit these circumstances, but it will be fresh eyes and fresh perspective and there is such a thing as ground zero and it means you can look at things brand new. I would hope people would understand you always inherit what the last four years have brought you, but there are other ways to look at them."

In the meantime, Fallis continues to visit homes to talk to people and leave personal notes for those who aren't home.

 "I'm taking this very seriously. Am I going to win? I dont know, but I'm giving this my best shot. I have the time to commit to this and I'm not taking this lightly. It's a very humbling experience, helping to shape the future of your town."