Neepawa town council: one year down, three more to go
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- Published on Tuesday, November 10, 2015
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press
The Neepawa Town Council has entered the second year of its municipal mandate by making a few changes to councillor鈥檚 portfolios.
During its most recent meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Dean Dietrich was named deputy mayor. He replaces Isobel Jerema, who takes over as chair for Public Works and Infrastructure. Other appointments include Bill Stilwell, who will be chairing Finance and Administration, Murray Parrott will head the Community Development Committee, Jim Cockburn will be the chair for Public Safety and Darryl Gerrard was named the Human Resources Committee chair.
During his Mayor鈥檚 report, Adrian de Groot noted now that the current council has been in place for just over a year, they will be able to use what they鈥檝e learned in that time to create a plan for the future.
鈥淎 little over a year ago, this council was sworn in to provide governance in the Town of Neepawa. There were a number of growing pains, as [the council] sought to collectively understand each other and our roles,鈥� noted de Groot. 鈥淲e revamped our organizational and procedure bylaws. [Council], along with administration, identified no less than 30 items that needed attention. Many of those left over from previous councils, but many as well are new and exciting opportunities. We are collectively excited about the remainder of this term of office.鈥�
Entering the second year of their term, council has no shortage of projects to occupy their time, including the grand trunk sewer line on the west side of the town, road upgrades on PTH 16, a new fire hall and the expansion of Neepawa鈥檚 boundaries.
As for presentations made to Town Council during the meeting, Leisure Services manager Amanda Novak and Rotary Park Bird Sanctuary caretaker Jake Birch requested assistance from the municipality to aid with the care of the animals residing there.
Novak said someone is needed to help with feeding and watering the animals as well as occasionally cleaning out the shed. Birch added that it would only take about 10 to 20 minutes a day for someone with some knowledge of taking care of animals, but that he鈥檇 be willing to teach someone if they weren鈥檛 experienced. Council took the request under advisement and made some suggestions to contact several local organizations and service groups for potential volunteer support.
