The Town of Cut Knife's newly elected council begins regular meetings on November 23. (Photo Credit: Town of Cut Knife)

By Josh Ryan

Back to governance

Cut Knife mayor, council ready to work

Nov 19, 2020 | 5:50 PM

Ahead of the busiest time of the year, Mayor Gwenn Kaye is ready to tackle municipal issues with the newly elected council.

The co-owner of a local business, Kaye won her third term as mayor this month, garnering 122 votes to challenger Doug Sperling’s 61. She said she’s happy to be back in office and appreciated the support of residents who came to vote.

“It’s too bad the weather didn’t cooperate,” she said.

The town held its swearing-in ceremony Monday, along with a short meeting to talk about what they are working on in the coming weeks, with regular meetings scheduled for November 23. With budget talk around the corner, Kaye said she’s excited to work with the mostly familiar group, which includes incumbents Lyle Cronk, Douglas Robertson, Jason Lloyd and Alfred Roschker, as well as newcomers Sandra Feser and Lloyd Weeseekase.

“I’m very glad to see some existing councillors back,” Kaye said. “It’s always good to see new people too, with new ideas.”

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Regardless of the ever-changing dynamics of life during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kaye said her goals for the community have not changed, nor have the council’s priorities.”

“Our primary focus will remain improving the infrastructure and services to the town of Cut Knife,” she said. “And trying to get a stronger handle on asset management.”

If there was one goal that remains above all others, it is the same one that’s long been at the forefront for Cut Knife; keeping the town viable and not falling to the same obstacles that other small communities have.

“Everyone is working to improve, but it’s always a struggle through the financial part of it,” Kaye said. “You can only do so much.”

Overall, Kaye thinks residents have been fairly good in responding to the pandemic’s challenges, including having to respond to changed business protocols. The next step of governance for council and administration will be improving drainage, as well as working on streets and sidewalks.

“That’s going to be a lot of our focus coming up in the spring, because we’ve put a lot of time and money into our water system,” she said.

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports