The Decision Makers: Mayor Brian Hedley talks about what's ahead for him as the new mayor of Neepawa.

It’s season two for the NACTV series, The Decision Makers, and term two for Brian Hedley, who went from serving as Deputy Mayor during the last term of Council to Mayor in this term. He speaks with journalist Rrain Prior.

Hedley says he really valued the time he spent getting to know how Council worked before trying to step up into the mayoral position, and enjoyed the time he spent getting involved in various committees and making connections throughout the province. He commends previous mayor Blake McCutcheon for stepping into the role without that background, and looked to him for guidance and mentorship when considering running for mayor himself.

Hedley also commends the town administration for making the transition between councils a smooth one, and considers it fortunate that they have retained all of their municipal staff from the last town council. One of his first duties was to hand out roles, including committee memberships, and he considered himself lucky to be familiar with all of the new and returning councillors, whether through the previous council or through their community work.

While councillors had input on what roles they’d like to take on, Hedley was ultimately responsible for considering their strengths and putting them in the most effective places where they could grow and flourish. One of those decisions was in selecting his Deputy Mayor, but for Hedley that was an easy choice. Now-Deputy Mayor Murray Parrott has served several terms on Council and has proven himself a good leader and fount of institutional knowledge.

One of the biggest issues Hedley is confronting, and believes he will continue to confront him throughout his term, is balancing the needs of new infrastructure projects against maintenance projects and the quality of life amenities. While all are necessary, right now the town has to come up with $6 million as the municipal contribution to the new hospital, and that might mean some cutbacks in other areas in the short term. For several reasons, the hospital is a priority project for the town and will both serve current residents as well as attract others to the area.

He also recognises staffing as a difficulty for many right now, not just in healthcare but in retail and other businesses as well. A recent bit of good news from the provincial government, however, was an investment in a one-time LPN program to be held in Neepawa starting in 2024, administered by Assiniboine Community College. That is a program that the town has been pursuing for some time, and Hedley hopes it will lead to other much needed programs such as EMS training or water and wastewater treatment plant operators.

As businesses have been expanding in town, several have left the downtown core and moved to more spacious locations on the highway running through the community. Hedley believes that those downtown spaces, as in other growing towns and cities, will fill with professional services and new start-ups. There are a few niches that local businesses have yet to fill, such as men’s clothing, and those vacancies create opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Hedley would like to leave people with the thought that the decisions that Council makes are not always easy, and the budget can’t always stretch to include everything we would like, but those decisions are always for the wellbeing of the town and its residents.