There is a new councillor in the Village of Halkirk.
Being the only candidate to run in the announced by-election, Yvette Allen was acclaimed as the new councillor at the end of nomination day and sworn in at the subsequent council meeting on Jan. 19.
Allen replaces former mayor Thomas Schmidt who resigned from council in the fall.
According to Allen, her goal sitting on council will be to improve the communication between the village and the residents, something she says has been lacking.
“Residents don’t find out (about things) until its too late,” said Allen.
“There needs to be an increase in communication.”
Allen has been a resident of the village for “not quite three years,” and while she acknowledges she wasn’t around for the viability review, she feels she improve communication going forward as the village navigates the fallout of the review.
Further, Allen says that she doesn’t just bring her opinion to the table; she says she has gotten very good at researching issues to bring forward. One example she cited was the bylaws the village has had to adopt as part of the viability review, and the research she has done to see that they are relevant to a community the size of Halkirk.
As for the reception on council? Allen says that the other councillors were “very welcoming.”
“I don’t want to go in there with animosity,” Allen said.
“Whenever I’ve been frustrated, it’s been a lack of communication.”
Aside from Allen’s swearing-in ceremony, the rest of the meeting was mainly housekeeping items, assigning Allen to different committees.
The next Village of Halkirk council meeting takes place Feb. 22 at 5 p.m.
