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A provincially appointed administrator will oversee an Interlake town’s operations after a councillor’s resignation left it without enough elected representatives.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg Beach’s council lost quorum after a member resigned April 30, a provincial spokesperson told CBC News on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The province is required under the Municipal Act to step in by appointing an administrator to ensure the town can function, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The provincial government is working to confirm an administrator’s appointment this week. The town’s remaining council members will be considered to have resigned once the administrator is appointed, the province said.<\/p>\n
The administrator will remain in place until a new council is sworn in the day after the town’s previously scheduled general election on July 24, the province said.<\/p>\n
Jodi Mitchell, Winnipeg Beach’s chief administrative officer, told CBC News the town is waiting to hear back from the province after it sent notification of council’s loss of quorum.<\/p>\n
Although the council is meant to have five members, it only had three \u2014 Mayor Stan Potten, deputy mayor Barry Hoel and Coun. Doug Jarvis \u2014 when Jarvis resigned last week, Potten said.<\/p>\n
Two other spots were left unfilled after Larry Kisiloski’s death last December and Jean Gendron’s resignation last summer, Potten said. Council decided against holding byelections to fill those seats because of the upcoming election in July, the mayor said.<\/p>\n
Potten declined to comment any further, saying he’s no longer the town’s mayor.<\/p>\n
About 1,500 residents live in the town, which is about 70 kilometres north of Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
‘We really don’t know what the issues are’<\/p>\n
Former Winnipeg Beach mayor Pam Jackson, who resigned in September 2024 after council voted against her request for medical leave, says the news was a little concerning, but not surprising.<\/p>\n
Some residents feel left in the dark about what led up to the loss of quorum, she said.<\/p>\n
“What I’m hearing on the ground is that there’s lots of people who are really puzzled as to why this happened and what the issue was that caused Coun. Jarvis to walk away,” Jackson told CBC News on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
CBC News reached out to Jarvis for comment but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n
The town’s council meetings were\u00a0scaled back recently, Jackson said.<\/p>\n
“Unfortunately, over the last number of months, there’s been no open discussion on council. I think meetings have been less than half an hour,” she said. <\/p>\n
“I believe that most discussion is happening behind closed doors, so we really don’t know what the issues are.”<\/p>\n
Jackson said she trusts the administrator will work with the town’s staff members.<\/p>\n
“Council is not there, but the staff certainly are,” she said. “I absolutely trust that they will be doing everything in their power to make the tourist season as good as it always is.”<\/p>\n
Nicole Chychota, president of Manitoba Municipal Administrators, said in a statement to CBC News it’s rare for the province to appoint an administrator to oversee a municipality’s operations. It can have a “significant impact” on affected communities and leaders, he said. <\/p>\n