Veteran Councillor David Stead took over the position on November 9 after longtime Mayor Ed Anderson tendered his resignation a few days before. He said he accepted the position after a meeting with the other deputy, Councillor Rob Adams and CAO Leo Poulin.

“Rob figured because I had run for reeve years ago unsuccessfully, they could give me a chance if I wanted to be head of Council for a year,” Stead explained. “I talked to my wife, she thought it was okay, so I accepted.”

Stead has plenty of experience at the municipal level, serving on RM of Morton Council for over 20 years prior to the amalgamation with Boissevain. He received his 25 year pin last year. He first went on RM Council in 1995. He ran for reeve in 2002, and when he lost a close vote, he was off for a couple of years before returning in 2004.

They will be running one member short for 11 months before the next municipal election, but Stead said that should be fine. They will simply split the committees between themselves. He said they could have held a by-election, but they are expensive.

“There are better places to spend money.”

There are a few priorities for Stead and his cohorts coming up. For one, the lagoon needs to be upgraded, as it is 60 years old and has not had work in a long while. Stead said they are testing it and hoping they can come up with one of the less expensive options that will do the job.

Another major issue is the ambulance situation. Earlier this year it was announced that several EMS stations would be closed, Boissevain among them. They have met with MLA Doyle Piwniuk, but Stead was disappointed by his lack of enthusiasm to push for a change. The municipality has come up with a good case for keeping the ambulance in town, and the new head says he will be bringing it up at the AMM convention coming soon.

“A few things have happened since this announcement,” he said. “There have been three serious accidents and we have put a good plan together. I am determined not to let this go. It doesn’t make business sense.”

He is also looking at the budget, which will be coming up soon. Stead said he is unhappy with the fact the taxes have been going up the last two years. He wants to get the expenses under control and “be efficient and do things right.”

Although he has spent his time mainly dealing with rural issues, he feels he has the experience to be the head of Boissevain as well. Stead said Morton and Boissevain always worked together on larger projects, so they are all familiar with things. Although they did not ask to be amalgamated, it has worked pretty well here, he said, although you do not have to look too far to see problems in other municipalities from the forced mergers.

“We knew it would happen, and it’s too bad because I don’t think it will save anyone any money. In the long run, it will be okay for Boissevain-Morton. It is working here.”

He is happy with Council, saying the new blood they got in the last election has brought new ideas, which he is happy with personally. The key is to work together for the community and not let personal feelings get in the way, which he hopes never happens.

Stead paid tribute to his predecessor in the mayoral chair. Anderson had served on Town Council from 1980 and as mayor since 1989. If anything made a big impression on Stead, it was his doggedness in fighting for the community.

“If something was going wrong, like we lost a doctor or needed to get nurses or something came up like Communities in Bloom, he never stopped,” Stead explained. “He just worked and worked. That was probably his strongest trait. It didn’t matter how long it took him.”

He remembers years ago when the RCMP amalgamated locally, and they moved the head office to Killarney. Anderson fought that move – as Boissevain made sense geographically – tooth and nail. Although it ultimately did not happen, the purpose was there.

“If something wasn’t right, he would work to make it right for Boissevain.”

As for his own future, Stead is unsure. Balancing the top job with his business will be a challenge, and he said at his age things change all the time. Whether or not he will run again, and in what capacity, at the next election on October 24, 2018 is not settled.

“I might quit next October, but you never say never,” he stated. “A lot depends if we can get some good people come forward to carry on, and I know it is hard to get good people. We can do with some young blood on Council.”

At any rate, things are moving well in the community. A visitor from out of town came to Stead’s shop and asked what was going on, with all of the building and movement. In his community, things were shutting down, while Boissevain was moving forward.

“That’s good for us, we’re a vibrant town and we’ve got a lot of young people in town and that’s really good.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff