Coun. Kurt Christopherson has secured his third term on Merritt’s city council, and said he is prepared to help the newcomers get up to speed.
“As the only incumbent on council I hope to be able to provide a little bit of a memory of what things have happened, why they have happened, and what goes on in the background in accomplishing things, such as the airport being finally back under city control,” he said. Christopherson noted the city used to lease the property that hosts the airport, losing money in the process.
“Now it is actually bringing in fairly substantial revenue. It took court cases and was a lot of work, and I don’t think that that was recognized at all,” he said. “I’m going to make sure that people know that a lot of hard work goes into the background of things.”
Among the tasks the incumbent hopes to continue with are flood mitigation and enhanced health services in town. He noted he has been in contact with receptive memebers of Interior Health Authority to work through what the community is asking for and what is possible for the town, such as a facility where visiting practitioners could service the public.
“I don’t know what it is going to look like but I am excited that we have not been ignored,” he said.
Looking to the future with his new fellow councillors, Christopherson said he is excited for what is to come.
“I think all the candidates who were successful have a lot to offer the city,” he said. “I think certainly the community made it evident they want to have new voices on there and I think that is an excellent opportunity to work together.”
Functioning cohesively, however, is easier said than done, Christopherson stressed.
“I would think that the mayor-elect’s greatest challenge will be bringing all the voices together. You don’t want everybody to be on the same page all the time because you need those voices and opinions that express different points of view, but you also need to finally come together and say ‘Once we’ve made a decision it is time to march forward’ and that is a very difficult thing to do,” he said, tipping his hat to mayor Neil Menard.
“We weren’t always on the same page but I really admired [Menard’s] ability to bring out the best in councillors,” he said. “I wish [mayor-elect Linda Brown] all the best in doing that because I think it is very difficult to keep people feeling valued even when their opinions might not be shared by anybody else.”
