Hedley poised to become Neepawa mayor

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This article was published 06/10/2022 (1261 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man many in Neepawa recognize as the town’s deputy mayor and the general manager of Neepawa-Gladstone Co-op is set to be acclaimed as mayor this month.

On Oct. 26, Brian Hedley, the only person who put their name forward for mayor in Neepawa, located 74 kilometres northeast of Brandon, will be acclaimed.

No stranger to municipal politics, Hedley has served on town council since 2018. He told the Sun that when he first put his name forward for council, he did not expect to find the experience as enjoyable as it has proven to be.

“I went in with the idea of wanting to know more about what goes on in the community. I found it really interesting and enjoyable.”

Some of the projects that Hedley prioritized during his time on council are also going to be the ones he focuses on during his tenure as mayor, he said, including upgrading the town’s lagoon system and completing the restoration of Park Lake.

As previously reported by the Sun, after historic rainfall on July 1, 2020, the lake, which served as the town’s reservoir, spilled over the dam and onto nearby streets, making its way into basements and causing untold damage in flooding to homes and businesses.

The water that broke the dam had spilled into Park Lake from the Whitemud River, which was already swollen from absorbing creeks west of town. The entire town, and even residents from surrounding communities, came together with sandbagging efforts and other attempts to minimize the damage that occurred when the dam broke. While most of the flooding damage that occurred two years ago has been fixed, it has taken the town a while to tackle the problem of the empty lake.

The town put out the tender for contractors to replace the dam and reservoir and construct a new dam and spillway. According to the town’s manager of operations, Denis Saquet, the consultants the town has been working with should be doing a tender release of successful bidders in the near future.

Fond memories of taking his own children to the Park Lake area have motivated Hedley to continue efforts to revitalize the lake.

“I’ve been here 25 years, and when we first moved here, the kids were small and I just loved it when I took them down to Rotary Park and … the bird sanctuary there. It was just a beautiful area, and I’d like to see that get restored.”

Making Neepawa’s recreational facilities last for many years is also something that Hedley said is of vital importance to the community.

“I’d like to see continued recreation development that will give us an opportunity to look beyond tomorrow and look at some generational plans 30, 40, 50 years into the future,” Hedley said, adding a lot of people have suggested creating one large, central space for the town’s curling rink, skating rink and other winter activities to take place in.

Refurbishing the town’s infrastructure, such as its roads and sidewalks, is also top on the list of things Hedley would like to tackle as mayor.

“Streets and sidewalks are a big concern.”

Finally, he’d also like to ensure that plans for Neepawa’s new health centre, which is expected to be complete in 2025, with the new hospital projected to be twice the size of the current Neepawa Health Centre.

Construction of the centre was announced last December, the Sun previously reported. The $127-million facility will have space for at least 60 acute care inpatient beds, up from the 35 currently available in Neepawa. The facility will also feature an expanded and modernized emergency department with a trauma room, stretcher bay and ambulance bay, and have room for surgeries, diagnostics, palliative care, dialysis and chemotherapy.

Hedley, a native of Hamiota, located 83 kilometres northwest of Brandon, said that Neepawa is his “hometown by choice.”

“I really enjoy the community here and the growth aspect of the community. It’s so exciting,” he said. “I find it a really interesting community. I’ve moved around a lot and lived in several cities, and I love the country feel of Neepawa. I enjoy the people and the diverse culture here. It’s just a very pretty town.”

Hedley is a well-known citizen of Neepawa who is respected for his achievements, Neepawa chief administrative officer Colleen Syhchyshyn told the Sun. As the community continues to grow and many projects continue to be worked on, she added, she welcomes the “continuity” that Hedley will bring.

“With four years to his credit as deputy mayor, he understands the importance of keeping things on track in order to meet the needs of a growing community,” she said.

» mleybourne@brandonsun.com

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