(file photo/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Nipawin Council Sworn In

Nipawin council swears in, mix of experience and fresh faces

Nov 18, 2020 | 4:51 PM

There wasn’t much business conducted on Monday, Nov. 16 for the Town of Nipawin, but the new council was sworn in.

For Mayor Rennie Harper, it’s the second time she’s been sworn into office. She said it’s supposed to be easier for a second term, although in a lot of ways it isn’t.

“I’m putting a lot more pressure on myself,” Harper told northeastNOW. “I feel like I’m expected to know the things to do next. I will leave enough time for the new councillors to get a good grip on what the job is yet start to move forward on some of the things that were said during the campaign. Not that I’m not thrilled, I am, but I think you have to hit the road running if you’re in your second term.”

Joining Harper are three returning councillors: Jan Boughen, Sheldon Chornawka, and Geoff Stewart. The three new councillors are Bruce Pihowich, Sheila Seiferling, and Stacey Vik. Harper is excited, as she believes all the councillors are serving for the right reasons and are trying to learn as best they can.

“We’re going to get some new ideas and experiences that everybody brings in,” she said. “Every time you get that you get another opportunity to revisit things and look at them again through fresh eyes. You learn some things and you start to do things differently. A council is much like a family. As people come and go, you get some new perspectives.”

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Harper expects a bit of a learning curve to get the three new councillors up to speed on projects like the BARWA landfill, but she’s confident in them.

“They’re very familiar with this community,” she said. “I’m not too worried. New people bring new ideas and a new way looking at things. Not that we always agree when that happens, but usually you come up with the best solutions.”

The first few months of the new Nipawin council’s term will be busy with continuing town business, budgeting for 2021, and preparing for the 2021 Municipalities of Saskatchewan conference in February. Nipawin’s next council meeting is Monday, Nov. 30.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow