Mayors Myron Dyck of Niverville and Chris Ewen of Ritchot have both filed their papers this month to run for re-election. The upcoming municipal election is scheduled for Wednesday, October 24.
Dyck has served as mayor since taking over the mayorship from Greg Fehr mid-term in 2013. Ewen has served as mayor since winning last summer’s by-election following the resignation of Jackie Hunt.
At the time of this writing, no other mayoral candidates have yet thrown their hats in the ring. As for town councillors, their registration window opens on June 30. Potential candidates have until September 18 to decide whether to run for council.
Chris Ewen
Ewen’s tenure in the mayor’s chair has been short. With the by-election having been held last July, Ewen and the rest of the newly elected council haven’t had long to work together before heading back to the campaign trail.
“It has been a ten-month term so far,” Ewen says. “Now that the learning curve is over and our council has passed some major decisions and achievements, I would say my time so far has been a great experience.”
He adds that being mayor has been a lot of work, although he has revelled in the opportunities he’s been afforded so far.
“With Ritchot part of the Winnipeg Metropolitan Region, being a mayor is close to a full-time position, and it definitely has made me appreciate previous councils and the time and effort they put into this position.”
So what have the most important achievements been over the past term—recognizing, of course, that the term has been unusually short?
“I believe that building a strong council that listens to one another and can be respectful during difficult decision making sessions is our biggest accomplishment, especially given how I was elected into council during the by-election,” he says. “My big push was to bring better communication to residents and the RM. This is a difficult topic for every municipality, and unfortunately I haven’t tapped into the golden ticket of communication yet. I am continuously looking at how to make this more fluid and efficient.”
As to the personal qualities that help him stand out as a leader, Ewen pegs his ability to listen.
“Each councillor, admin staff, and resident has concerns, ideas, and suggestions,” Ewen says. “The more I listen, the better I understand and can help be a part of our positive growth.”
Myron Dyck
With five years under his belt, Dyck says that Niverville has prospered over the course of council’s previous term. He cites many examples of major accomplishments: getting the business park up and running, finishing the land annexation with the RM of Hanover, building the splash pad, installing a water line down Main Street, establishing a business incentive grant, and helping to shepherd the Open Health medical clinic into existence.
A huge amount of time and energy has also been spent identifying the problem with the town’s water supply and going through the laborious, and bureaucratic, process of getting it resolved. Dyck says he’s excited to see all that work pay off in about a week when the new water line is expected to be turned on for the first time.
“We’ve spent some time these last four years trying to do a five-, ten-, and 15-year look forward,” Dyck says of the work still to come for the next council. “Some [projects] are in process, and some of them are yet to be done. It’s not necessarily that they’re unfinished, it’s just that it wasn’t their term yet.”
Front and centre is the new high school that’s currently underway, and the Community Resource Centre (CRC) that’s anticipated to occupy the adjacent lot.
“The CRC is going to carry on to the next term,” he says. “Not just on the capital side, but then also on the operational side. What kind of programming is going to go on there? What permanent staff are we going to need? What are our operational costs? How is that going to affect our budget? That’s going to be a big one.”
Another issue on the horizon is the state of the town’s septic infrastructure. Dyck isn’t sure shovels will get into the ground in the next few years, but it’s time to start thinking ahead, including giving consideration to whether the community wants to partner with neighbouring municipalities.
“On the emergency services side, we’re starting with the police review that was asked for as of last fall,” Dyck adds. “We’ve now hired the consultant. We’ve also purchased the [former] Hydro building and land, which we’re setting aside right now for municipal building needs in the future, whether that’s a town office or an emergency services building.”
Dyck also would like to turn his attention to addressing the need for more diverse housing options.
“We have a growing baby boomer population, so what does that mean for senior housing? What’s going to happen with that? Will we have enough? And what about entry-level? Are we going to be dealing with more density because more condos need to go up? Is it going to be on new land? What about infill? What about smaller [homes]? Not everyone wants a condo. Some people would love to have a single-family home even if it’s just a smaller footprint. Where is that market headed in the next four years?”
As far as leadership ability, Dyck says that his skillset is about three things: being relational, communicating well, and envisioning the future.
“I’m a relational person,” he says. “I try to be that listening ear, I try to ensure that people believe that they’re heard. And I try to do my best to communicate, [including] why a decision was made. So even if someone doesn’t necessarily agree with [that decision], I try to present the process by which the decision was made, to hopefully at least give them an understanding as to how or why council got there… and then I try to be the visionary, focusing on where we are headed in ten years.”
He cites the importance of strengthening relationships with other levels of government, especially in terms of ensuring that the province and federal government continue to find favour with Niverville and its needs.
