The City's by-election to replace a vacant council seat is set for Wednesday, May 25. (file/meadowlakeNOW Staff/CKOM News Staff)

By meadowlakeNOW Staff

Date set

Meadow Lake byelection scheduled for May 25

Feb 17, 2022 | 1:45 PM

The City of Meadow Lake has decided on May 25 as the official date for its byelection this year.

Taking place on a Wednesday, the byelection will fill the position on city council left by Richard Levesque, who resigned his seat back in late November over frustrations with the City’s direction. Mayor Merlin Seymour said council and administration chose the date to make sure they met the deadline of July 27, while allowing more time for candidates to make their case. It also provides some distance from winter conditions.

“We could get a snow storm in April, like the last provincial election and the voter turnout was not very good,” he said.

While Seymour noted byelections aren’t a normal occurrence, the City has had some recent examples of this occurring. When Gary Vidal left his position as mayor to run for Parliament in 2019, Seymour was elected as his replacement, with Ron Dishko replacing Seymour on that city council.

“Unfortunately byelections do happen,” he said. “We hope it’s not a continuing thing, but you just keep moving forward.”

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The mayor noted that being on council is a commitment and that the byelection is something that will cost money to hold this spring, but added that it’s an opportunity for members of a community to contribute to the betterment of where they live.

“It’s to get a broader range of people in the community who can come forward with new ideas, where debate can then happen,” Seymour said.

“We’re all trying to make our community a better place to live. So, if you feel like you can contribute in some way, please feel free to get a nomination form and reach out to any one of us for any questions you may have.”

Nomination forms are available through City Hall.

Approval of transfers

Council also gave the go ahead for transferring donations to two projects. The first as a small donation from a citizen for the arena rebuild, the second is the $40,000 donated by Tolko industries last year for the building of action park.

Seymour said while the City’s budget was passed a few weeks ago, the funds had to be transferred into a reserve per budget regulations.

“Rather than just leaving it in a general account, it’s transferred into a reserve tagged specifically for that project,” he said.

Christmas kick-off sticking around

Meadow Lake’s ‘Kickoff to Christmas’, which debuted this December, will become an annual event moving forward. Held at Westview Park and involving multiple organizations, the community celebration was one of the first larger events held by the City during the pandemic.

“It was very well received by the community, so our recreation manager recommended we make it annual,” Seymour said. “Anytime people can get involved in the community and have a little fun doing it, that’s what the recreation department is [meant for].”

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