The Decision Makers: Comparing Two Neepawa Councils Nearly a Decade Apart

Born and raised in the Neepawa area, Lisa Pottinger’s family goes back generations in the region. She and her husband ran a business in town for eighteen years and raised all of their children in the community. Pottinger first joined Council in 2010 while she was still both running a business and raising her family. Now in 2023, they have sold the business and the children have all left home, which puts her in a very different place in her life the second time around.

That’s not the only thing that’s changed in a decade. In 2010, Neepawa was just beginning its growth curve. The population was starting to increase but housing and infrastructure had yet to catch up. Now in 2023, we have seen substantial water and wastewater, housing, and commercial projects as well as two new schools and a new hospital on the way, most of which were only a pipe dream during her last term.

Pottinger says the character of the council has changed over that time as well. During her first term, she felt that Council wasn’t necessarily all pulling in one direction, which had a big impact on the speed and character of decision making. In her time away, she kept up with Council’s activities and it was the smooth collaboration of the Council and staff immediately prior to this one that convinced her now might be the right time to get involved again.

She feels strongly that Council is a decision-making entity, not a hands-on body, and in fact made that part of her platform during the election. “I think we set policy, we set high-level expectation, and then let the staff do what they do well,” says Pottinger, adding that part of Council’s role is sometimes to just stay out of the way.

Pottinger is chair of the Emergency Services Committee, which includes COPP, RCMP, and Fire Department, and is a member of the Finance Committee and Recreation and Economic Development Committee as well. She served on the Finance Committee in her previous term, but the other two are new to her. She also works with NADCO, particularly in their role in running the community clinic and seeing it through several growth phases.

While Pottinger didn’t come on board with any particular passion projects in mind, she has always been passionate about things like garbage and recycling, and looks forward to the new Environmentalism Committee that is under development at the moment. As well, tourism is an area she feels could use more attention, particular from residents of the town. The previous Council set several things in motion, says Pottinger, and she has been very happy to see those through in her first few months on Council.

When asked about a vision for the future of the town, Pottinger says, “Right now it's really  hard to see where we'll be in five to ten years, but I think we need to be steady. We need to be deliberate. We need to be nimble to be able to change.” Because a lot of projects are being fast-tracked, including the new LPN training centre which is taking less than a year from concept to launch, Neepawa needs to be ready to move quickly, which is why the previous Councils’ work in expanding the underlying infrastructure is so vital.

While the City of Neepawa may be on the horizon in the next decade or so, Pottinger says, “The sentimental part of me wants to stay the Town of Neepawa. We'll see. With growth comes all kinds of opportunity.”