Merlin Seymour speaks at an announcement for the COOP Centre earlier this year. (Julia Lovett-Squires/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Julia Lovett-Squires

Seymour running

Merlin Seymour seeks another term as ML mayor

Oct 7, 2024 | 1:23 PM

Merlin Seymour isn’t finished yet.

“It’s a huge commitment, but I’m very passionate about Meadow Lake and we’ve seen…a lot of things happen over the years,” he said.

The mayoral candidate said with many projects underway in the city, he wants to be a part of it, thus the reason for submitting his name once more.

“We still have a few other large projects on the go like the recreational facility that I would definitely like to be a part of the opening and seeing it move forward and succeeding.”

“We have a great administration team, just in the process of hiring a new city manager – we haven’t hired anyone yet but we’re in the process of interviews and stuff like that,” Seymoour added, noting there’s a sense of continuity too as four current councilors have filed.

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The four to join Seymour in resubmitting are Ron Dishko, Mauri Young, Martin Bishop and Tom Harrison. Though it is still unclear about whether Conrad Read will resubmit, it is known the Clay Debray has decided not to run again and so, regardless of what happens, there will be at least one new face at the table.

“All depends on (Wednesday, Oct. 10) at 4 p.m. when nominations close,” he said.

“We’ll see what happens there but just looking forward to…working with our administration team and trying to make things better within the city. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Looking ahead, Seymour said they’ll work towards a strategic plan that will take their city into the future. Along with the recreation centre, the candidate said there were a few items that tip the scale.

“The first is community safety, working together with the RCMP just to make sure that our residents feel safe,” he said.

“There’s been a lot of stuff going around in surrounding communities and Meadow Lake does have a lot of the crime and stuff like that but just looking for a way to curb it down.”

Other areas that are on the candidate’s mind are infrastructure and paving projects.

“People don’t see a lot of this but it’s the stuff under the ground,” he said.

“The water and sewer lines and working towards – we do know there are older parts of the city that are in need of water and sewer line replacement – nobody sees that.”

As for paving projects, Seymour acknowledges that some areas are getting older but there is only so much in the coffers.

“We as council that make the budgetary decisions have to make sure that we’re keeping up with the times but on the same token not overspending and forcing us to cut services elsewhere,” he said.

Meanwhile, to help candidates and the community get to know one another, they have “kicked around” the idea of a candidate forum.

“That’s still in the works yet,” he said.

Regardless of who ends up in the council chamber, Seymour said they have one goal in mind.

“If I may speak for the rest of the council on this one, we try and do what’s best for the community as a whole,” he said.

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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