New Parksville mayor Ed Mayne and councillors Adam Fras, Teresa Patterson, Al Greir, Marilyn Wilson, Doug O’Brien and Marc Chandler were sworn in at a Nov. 5 inaugural council meeting.
After approving the inaugural council agenda, Mayne gave his address.
“I want to acknowledge the efforts of the previous council,” Mayne said.
“Unless you have done this job, you can’t understand the amount of time you spend on doing it or the amount of angst you go through in almost every decision that’s made, and then there’s the amount of time away from your family and hours reading reports and background information. Whether you are in agreement or not with the decisions made, we have to say a large thank you for putting themselves out there to help our community.”
Related: Mayne focuses on communication as new Parksville mayor
Mayne praised his current council for their “unbridled enthusiasm.”
“I believe that this council could be the strongest group of individuals we’ve seen in many years in Parksville, and talk about eager. I’ve had to practically tie them down to keep them from getting started before we were sworn in tonight,” he said.
“I can guarantee you that this council will never be accused of not doing anything.”
Starting right away, Mayne said council will work as a team to bring a ‘divided’ Parksville back together and make the city the envy of Vancouver Island and beyond.
“We have just come through a very bumpy time where our population has become divided and as a result the voters of Parksville have spoken in a way we have never heard of before,” Mayne said.
“The reality is that 222 Corfield is still the elephant in the room and has been the cause of this division. Fortunately it is quickly coming to a close. If we are going to move forward with our upcoming agenda, we have to put this behind us.”
Transparency and having an open line of communication with the public was also highlighted in Mayne’s speech, referring to his implementation of ‘Coffee with the Mayor’.
“We can talk about anything you want, it doesn’t have to be about politics, it doesn’t have to be about the city… I just like to talk so come on in,” he said.
Mayne added that he’s asked city staff to begin looking at options for holding council meetings in community facilities.
“We want you to witness your government in action and to understand the reasoning behind why some decisions are made the way they were,” Mayne said.
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