The new Nelson City council gets ready to serve for the next three years
By The Nelson Daily Sports
By Bruce Fuhr
The Nelson Daily
Nelson — it’s the best place in the province, to live, of course.
Those were the words of Mayor John Dooley as he ushered in the next three years for City Council.
Judge Mrozinski was on hand to five the oath of office to Dooley, councilors Donna Macdonald, Robin Cherbo, Bob Adams, Deb Kozak and rookies Candace Batycki and Paula Kiss, Monday in front of a packed house at the Prestige Lakeside Resort.
“We’ve built a solid foundation here in Nelson, a cornerstone that strong and straight,” Dooley told the crowd. “We’ve got a quality of life making Nelson the best place in the province.”
The inaugural meeting of the new council allows the public a chance to see the two movers and shakers in action as well as enable the city to honour long standing staff, including members of Nelson Police Department and Fire Department.
During his inaugural address, Dooley told the audience the payback Nelson has received from his work on the Federation of Canadian Municipalities but stressed Nelson would not in the shape it is without the contributions of its residents.
“When the Kerr Building caught fire, we struck a committee and would not stop until everyone had a place to stay,” Dooley said.
“When the provincial health minister George Abbott said he didn’t think Nelson should have a CT scanner, the community went out and raised the money to purchase one . . . which should be here shortly.”
One of the first items on the agenda for the new council is preparing the city budget.
“This will be the first challenge for us, but especially for the new councilors Paul Kiss and Candace Batycki, is the budget,” Dooley said.
“But Nelson is in great financial shape and our taxation is mid-level (for cities) in the province.”
Following Dooley’s speech, the inaugural meeting was adjourned as councilors mingled with the crowd.
