The Village of Boyle council will be a majority new council after residents voted in three people brand-new to municipal politics Election Day Oct. 16.
Six candidates vied for five seats in the council chambers, and only Sam Assaf, who has served for 12 years on council, lost his seat.
Incumbents Mike Antal (165) and Colin Derko (199) will remain on council, along with Pat Ferguson (144), Shelby Kiteley (183) and Barbara Smith (162).
During their organizational meeting Oct. 20, Derko was made mayor of the village after he was nominated to the position by Antal.
Antal took over the role of deputy mayor, after being nominated by Smith.
Village chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey said Boyle would miss the experience of former council members Don Radmanovich and Bob Clark.
“The experience of Don and Bob will be tough to replace,” he said. “Our average age went down quite a bit, and we’ve kind of balanced out the sexes. We have two women on council, which is not a bad thing.”
“I’m looking forward to it. I think everybody brings different skills sets, and the ones we’ve elected will be more than qualified.”
In this election 243 people came out to vote, out of 680 eligible voters, or 36 per cent voter turnout.
“It wasn’t a real contentious contest,” Ashbey said. “I think the new people ran on that they want to bring another generations view to the table. But yeah, nobody was really running against anything. The people that were running were just putting forward a different viewpoint.”
Derko said he is excited to serve another term on council, after being elected in the 2016 by-election, and that Boyle’s “future is bright.”
“I’m excited of us coming out of a recession, we did well. Our past council’s, my hat’s off to them for keeping us in as good financial position as we’re in,” he said, speaking about the Millar Western mill closure.
“I’m excited about working with our new council. I think we’ve got some great councillors, lots of good ideas already.”
Antal said he looks forward to “continue doing what we’ve been doing.”
“This is my fourth term so my goals are the same; put the Village’s best interests forward, and hopefully help make some tough decisions through a time that’s a little bit tough,” he said.
Antal added Assaf was a great councillor and will be missed.
“We’ll miss him, and we’ll do the best with these guys.”
Ferguson said with this being his first endeavor into municipal politics, he is quite excited.
“I’m pretty happy with it,” he said. “I think everybody is looking for positive things for Boyle definitely, and everybody has excellent intentions for the village.”
He added there would be a learning curve, but he will be seeking advice from Clark and Radmanovich.
Kiteley, the youngest member of council at age 27, said she was very happy people came out and supported her and with the voter turnout.
“I’m not sure my age plays much of a factor. I guess I appeal to the younger families, maybe they would feel more comfortable coming to me with any questions or concerns they may want addressed at council,” she said. “I don’t think it will pose any hurdles or anything like that.”
She added her first order of business would be acquainting herself with everyone she will be working with, and attending upcoming training seminars.
“I’m expecting to learn a lot and form a strong team and a strong base for the community, and get Boyle moving forward and keep the services, see if we can find some additional funding and see if we can get things moving,” she said.
Smith said she was “very humbled” to have been one of the successful candidates, and she is excited to “be able to help shape the community.”
“I’m really excited and ready to get to work,” she said. “I think my first priority is to familiarize myself with some of the constituents and kind of get feel of what they’re looking for, and of course learning everything that I need to learn for the MGA and all that fun stuff. There’s a huge learning curve.”
When asked to comment on his election loss, Assaf said he had “no comment.”
Committee’s
The new council approved appointments to council committees during their organizational meeting, after being sworn in.
Community Futures (Tawatinaw Region): Smith. Alternate: Derko
FCSS: Derko
Community Transportation: Derko
Greater North Foundation: Ferguson. Alternate: Derko
Youth Advisory Committee: Kiteley and Smith
Community Betterment Committee: Smith
Hospital Committee: all of council
School (Education) Committee: all of council
Boyle Portage College Committee: Kiteley and Derko
Chamber of Commerce: Antal. Alternate: Kiteley
Municipal Planning Committee: Derko and Antal
Municipal Planning Commission: Derko and Antal
Subdivision and Development Appeal Board: Derko and Antal
Fire Department: Antal and Kiteley
Disaster Services: all of council
Emergency Services (Highway 63): Antal and Kiteley
Athabasca Regional Waste Management Services Commission: Ferguson. Alternate: Derko
Aspen Regional Water Services Commission: Derko and Ferguson. Alternate: Smith
Federation of Alberta Gas: Derko
Boyle Library Board: Smith
Northern Lights Library Board: Smith
Joint Recreation Committee: Antal and Kiteley
Boyle Recreation Committee: Antal and Kiteley
Boyle Fitness Centre Committee: Antal
Risk Management Committee: all of council
Tourism Initiatives: all of council
