Shellbrook Town Office. (Submitted photo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Election

Shellbrook elects new mayor

Nov 12, 2020 | 10:35 AM

After sitting on Shellbrook town council for the better part of 13 years, Amund Otterson now occupies the biggest chair in the room.

The 69-year-old was elected mayor last Monday with 307 votes, roughly 140 more than Donavon Kultgen.

“I am pleased that the community has selected me, humbled by the opportunity to serve,” Otterson told paNOW.

Moving forward one of the big projects on the town’s agenda and budget planning is the upgrade to the water treatment plant.

“Shellbrook is blessed with hard water, and a great supply of water, but nevertheless highly mineralized,” Otterson explained.

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Since March, town residents have been paying more for water to assist with the upgrade costs, and the rate increases are expected to continue until 2023. Otterson explained council does have a design in place with an engineering firm which involves employing reverse osmosis filtration and blending the resulting chemically true water with the existing water to get a good balance in mineralization.

“That way you cut down on the amount of water softening required and maybe improve the way our water reacts with plumbing components and water heaters,” he said.

Otterson also explained he is very interested in the topic of climate change and sustainable energy practices. He cited the town’s decision already to install 100 kilowatts of solars panels at the rink.

“I’m not a climate change denier and I’m not totally influenced by the desire to have no fossil fuels but I think there’s a balance and as long as it’s economically sustainable, I like that balance,” he said.

Former mayor George Tomporowski announced plans prior to the election to retire, citing a need for some new blood.

Council changes

Town councillors Kathleen Nording, David Knight, John Hughes and Brent Miller were all previously acclaimed, leaving two vacant seats for election last Monday.

When the ballots were counted, Cheryl Ledding (211 votes) and Bruce Clements (185 votes) were elected. Acknowledging a mix of new and old faces on council, Otterson said council has always had a spirit of cooperation and he did not foresee that changing.

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nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell