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MERRITT HERALD THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2014 • MERRITT NEWSPAPERS
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GOING PROVINCIAL Merritt Secondar Secondary School youthful sent a very yo outh quartet of swimmers to the B.C. High School Championships iin Richmond on the weekend. was comprised of The foursome wa Jensen Cavaliere (left to right) Jen (Grade 9), Haley Zabek (Grade 8), Maddie Shea (Grade 11) and (Grade 8). To read Laura Lefebvre (G turn to page 29. how they did, tur Photo courtesy of SStef Zabek
Outgoing mayor, councillor say farewells By Michael Potestio THE HERALD
reporter@merrittherald.com
With a tap of her gavel to end Tuesday’s council meeting, Susan Roline officially marked the end to her final term as Merritt’s mayor. Roline was unsuccessful in her bid for a third term, losing the mayoral election to current councillor Neil Menard. As Roline’s time as mayor came to a close that night, she had some emotional words for her fellow council members. “I’d like to just congratulate all the new councillors and new mayor and wish you luck in your new roles, and I’ll enjoy my time
off,” she said. Roline told reporters after the meeting she’s proud of some of the things she and council accomplished while keeping taxes at a steady level with no major spikes. Roline noted the new Provincial Wildfire Training Centre at the Merritt airport, enhancing De Wolf Way, and working with various partners such as the provincial and federal governments as well as First Nations as highlights from her time in office. She also noted working with new projects such as the Merritt Green Energy Project and the Diacarbon pellet plant. “It’s been a nice six years. I’ve enjoyed it, I put a lot of time in,
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but I learned lots from it too,” Roline said, noting she thinks the city is better off now than it was when she first became mayor. “That’s always your goal; to leave it at a better place than what you came in to,” Roline said. She said what she will miss most about the job is the interaction with people. Coun. Mike Goetz told Roline he’s enjoyed working with her. “I know you’re passionate for the community. I thank you very much for your service,” Goetz said at the meeting. He also thanked outgoing councillor Harry Kroeker for his service, although Kroeker was not
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at the meeting. Coun. Kurt Christopherson said he echoed Goetz’s comments regarding the outgoing councillors and mayor. During the notice of motion period, Roline made a motion asking for the new council to direct staff to prepare a draft code of conduct policy that would be focused on the actions of council members and their duties. She also made a notice of motion asking the new council to direct staff to prepare a public engagement policy to be used by the City of Merritt. The intent of this policy is to lay out the roles of the city, its council, staff and its citizens in keeping the public
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engaged and informed on the city’s activities. Come December, Roline will be replaced by Menard, who also had some parting words for the outgoing mayor and councillors. Menard thanked Roline for her guidance, as well as that of fellow councillor Clara Norgaard, and noted how closely he’s worked with Kroeker. “I look forward to hoping to be as successful as you were,” Menard said. Kroeker was unsuccessful in his bid to serve the community for another term, while Norgaard chose not to run for re-election.
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