[0:48] I'd like to call the special meeting for
the town of Grand Bay-Westfield on
[0:51] Wednesday, May 13th order at 7:02 p.m.
We respectfully acknowledge that the
[0:57] town of Grand Bay-Westfield exists on
the traditional Wolastoqey land.
[1:02] The lands of Wolastoqey people are
recognized in a series of peace and
[1:06] friendship treaties to establish an
ongoing relationship of peace,
[1:10] friendship, and mutual respect between
equal nations.
[1:14] The river that runs by our town is known
as Wolastoq, along which live
[1:18] Wolastoqey, the people of the beautiful
and bountiful river.
[1:23] We, the staff and elected
representatives, pay respect to the
[1:26] elders, past and present, and
descendants of this land.
[1:31] Good evening, everyone. Uh before we
begin tonight's special meeting, I would
[1:35] like to take a moment to acknowledge
Monday's municipal election and just
[1:39] reflect reflect briefly on both the work
of this current council and the
[1:44] transition ahead. Um firstly, I want to
sincerely thank every candidate who put
[1:50] their name forward in this election. Uh
if you've done it, you you know that
[1:55] offering for public office is not easy.
It requires time, energy, vulnerability,
[2:00] and a genuine desire to serve your
community, and I saw that uh clearly
[2:05] through the uh campaign process.
And so, everyone who participated uh
[2:10] deserves recognition and appreciation
for that commitment. I also want to
[2:15] extend congratulations to those who were
elected, including Laura Veer and
[2:20] Brandon London, who will be joining
council following this swearing-in
[2:24] ceremony later. Um then I guess June
June 10th is the date we have set for
[2:30] that.
At the same time, I would like to
[2:33] recognize and and deeply thank
Councillor Jim Balcom. Jim has dedicated
[2:39] many years of service to this community
both on council and uh and innumerable
[2:45] other ways, and has contributed greatly
to Grand Bay-Westfield during his time
[2:50] on council as well. So, on on behalf of
the town, on behalf of council, on
[2:55] behalf of staff, and the entire
community, I want to sincerely thank him
[3:00] for his commitment, service, and care
for this community. Thank you.
[3:07] Okay. So, as we near the conclusion of
this council term,
[3:13] the mayor's not supposed to clap while
she's doing her opening remarks.
[3:16] I also want to thank the members of this
current council and our staff for the
[3:20] tremendous amount of work accomplished
over the past 5 years. Uh
[3:25] there's been a lot of change, some
really significant change. We've
[3:28] advanced important projects. We've we've
moved forward priorities. We
[3:33] strengthened the organization, and we
have worked really hard to position
[3:39] Grand Bay-Westfield for long-term
success.
[3:42] There's still a ton of important work
ahead both in the the remaining weeks of
[3:47] this term and and into the next one. So,
I know our incoming council will inherit
[3:52] both strong momentum and meaningful
opportunities to continue building on
[3:58] the work that has been done. So thank
you, council.
[4:04] So with that, we'll move on to the
record of attendance.
[4:08] We have regrets from counselor Day and
Deputy Mayor Tool has been joining us
[4:12] virtually and everyone else is here.
Item five is agenda approval. The motion
[4:18] is that the council of the town of Grand
Lake Westfield approve the agenda for
[4:21] the special meeting of May 13th, 2026.
Do I have a motion?
[4:25] » So moved.
>> Counselor Balcom, thank you. You have a
[4:27] second? Counselor Belman.
Any questions or comments on the motion?
[4:31] There are being none, all in favor?
And you're reminded motion is carried.
[4:36] Thank you. Item six, disclosure of
conflict of interest. Are there any?
[4:41] There being none, we'll move on to item
seven, new business recommendations.
[4:46] Item 7.1, human resources. And with
that, before I get into the resolutions,
[4:52] I will pass it over to our CAO.
>> Uh
[4:56] if you don't mind, Your Worship.
Um
[4:59] Section 56 of the Local Governance Act
uh clearly states um
[5:05] the limits of the powers of council
during the transition.
[5:09] Except for
it is in the public interest and is
[5:13] urgently required.
Uh due to my resignation that is before
[5:17] council tonight, um this is an urgent
item in the public interest that needs
[5:22] to be addressed sooner than later.
Uh the next council meeting
[5:26] uh after the
uh anyway, so
[5:29] uh yeah, just the way the calendar
works, we need to get this done sooner
[5:33] than later.
Sorry.
[5:36] » Okay, thank you.
Um
[5:38] So we have two resolutions before us. Uh
procedurally, John, I think we should do
[5:43] them one at a time.
>> Yes.
[5:45] » Okay, perfect. All right, a resolution
one, acceptance of resignation.
[5:51] The motion is that the council of the
town of Grand Bay Westfield accept the
[5:55] resignation of the chief administrative
officer, John Endsley, effective July
[5:59] 7th, 2026, and thank him for his service
and leadership to the town. Do I have a
[6:04] mover?
>> Correction, it should be 2026.
[6:08] » July 6th?
>> It's April. Sorry, it was
[6:10] » That's okay.
We didn't have a mover or a seconder
[6:12] yet, so we're good. We have a mover for
that? Councillor Bellman, seconder
[6:16] Councillor Councillor McIntosh Lawrence.
Um
[6:20] any questions or comments on the motion?
[6:25] There being none, all in favor?
>> I. I.
[6:28] » Contrary minded?
Motion is carried. Thank you.
[6:32] Resolution two, recruitment
authorization.
[6:36] The motion is that the council of the
town of Grand Bay Westfield authorize
[6:39] the mayor and CEO to engage KBRS
managing partner Katherine Risley to
[6:44] undertake the recruitment process for a
new chief administrative officer for a
[6:49] flat rate fee of $37,000
plus taxes and approved expenses,
[6:54] including approved advertising costs,
candidate travel, and accommodation for
[6:59] interviews, or any required catering for
search committee meetings, which will be
[7:03] invoiced at no cost at sorry, at
invoiced at cost with no markup. Do I
[7:08] have a mover for that?
Councillor Bellman, thank you. Do I have
[7:12] a seconder?
>> Second.
[7:14] » Oh, Councillor Bellman, thank you very
much. Any questions or comments on the
[7:17] motion?
[7:20] There being none, all in favor?
>> I.
[7:23] » Contrary minded?
>> I.
[7:26] » That motion is carried. Thank you. And
um John, on behalf of council and the
[7:31] community, oh, I'm going to do it again.
[7:35] This is like your first council meeting
and I'm like
[7:38] I would like to thank John for his
service and leadership over the past
[7:41] several years as chief administrative
officer for the town of Grand Valley
[7:45] Westfield.
John joined our town, and I referenced
[7:49] that in my open opening remarks, during
a time of significant change. We're
[7:52] coming out of COVID. We were heading
into local governance reform.
[7:56] Um and and growth and and throughout his
time here, he really helped guide us, us
[8:02] as council and us as the overall
organization through many important
[8:06] initiatives
and challenges with professionalism,
[8:11] dedication, inventiveness, creativeness,
and a strong commitment to to public
[8:15] service.
And we're very sad to leave him to see
[8:19] him leave. Um
but we also understand and respect his
[8:24] decision to pursue a new opportunity,
and of course wish him nothing but
[8:28] success in the next chapter of his
career. So, thank you, John, for your
[8:33] contributions to this organization and
to our community. We wish you and your
[8:37] family all the very best.
And I would ask the floor to you.
[8:41] » You're contagious.
Uh no, it's been great, as I said in my
[8:46] letter.
[8:49] Coming here has been a terrific
opportunity.
[8:56] I hate for you to come cuz I think
you're going to miss today and now, but
[9:01] just thank you.
And this has been super just for me
[9:05] professionally.
[9:09] One of the best things about working
here was the intrinsic parts that don't
[9:14] get paid for.
There are no host of challenges, which
[9:17] were inspiring,
which drew us as a team together.
[9:22] Us as a That includes council.
Everything from, you know, $325 No,
[9:29] $355,000
cut
[9:31] to our budget to uh
you know, growing with amalgamation.
[9:37] Um
it's been terrific. My family's loved it
[9:39] here.
You know, my son blossomed. So, thanks
[9:43] very much.
>> Thank you, Tom.
[9:45] » Thank you.
[9:58] » With that, we'll move on to item eight.
At least then there will be no more
[10:02] crying with these
with these items. Item eight is
[10:05] adjournment.
And the motion is that the Council of
[10:07] the Town of Grand Bay-Westfield adjourn
the meeting at 7:11 p.m. Do I have a
[10:11] mover? Thank you, second Councillor
MacKintosh Lawrence.
[10:15] All in favor?
Any contrary minded?
[10:18] Motion is carried. Thank you, Council.