On Monday, November 7, Tumbler Ridge’s new council was officially sworn in.
Of the seven, only two—mayor Darryl Krakowka and Councillor Chris Norbury—have previous council experience. The other five—Roxanne Gulick, Nicole Noksana, Ron Hofman, Luana Dusseault and Ken Klikach—are serving for their first time on council, though the latter previously worked for the District of Tumbler Ridge as Building Official and Building Services Manager and attended many council meetings from the other side of the table.
After a welcome to council by pastor George Rowe, newly sworn in Mayor Darryl Krakowka addressed council, staff, and the members of public in attendance. “I want to personally thank the residents of Tumbler Ridge for this incredible opportunity to serve as Mayor,” said Krakowka. “I am very proud of our community and most importantly, I am excited for the next four years. Thank you for your trust and confidence.”
He also thanked the candidates who stepped up to serve the community. “It was no easy task. You are to be congratulated!”
He then thanked outgoing council members: past Mayor Keith Bertrand, past councillors Bernie Lehmann, Curtis Miedzinski, Will Howe and Joanne Kirby, and wished them every success in their next endeavours.
“You have our assurance that as we embark on the next four years we will continue to build on the solid foundation laid by previous council and our commitment to provide quality services, to tax fairly, to spend prudently and to govern wisely. We are in exciting times but, as we all know, council will face many challenges over the next four years.”
He says the needs of community residents are many and are varied. “It is necessary to operate in a spirit of financial prudence while we work toward an even better Tumbler Ridge.
“As Mayor, I look forward to working with this group of Councillors. We have much work cut out to do on the issues surrounding Tumbler Ridge today and tomorrow.”
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
