Wheatland County council has once again appointed a new representative and alternate to the Wheatland Housing Management Body (WHMB) during the regular Tuesday, May 2 council meeting.
Division 3 Councillor Donna Biggar tendered her resignation from WHMB during the April 18 council meeting, prompting council to call for nominations at the next meeting.
“I acknowledge and value the trust placed in me during the 2022 Organizational meeting, but I am unable to continue serving on this board,” Councillor Biggar read from her letter of resignation during the April 18 meeting.
The letter further stated Councillor Biggar had felt “intentionally targeted” over the last several weeks and was “persistently criticized and labelled as a non-supporter” due to Wheatland County, at the time, not providing a letter of support for the new Wheatland Lodge project; all municipalities were given a deadline of June 1 to submit letters of support for the project, and Wheatland County council had passed a motion earlier in the April 18 meeting to approve sending a letter of support.
Councillor Biggar is the third council member to resign as representative on the board.
In early March 2022, Division 4 Councillor Tom Ikert tendered his resignation from the board. He had raised concerns regarding WHMB during a previous Wheatland County council meeting and, prior to his resignation, had received an unsigned letter from the board. The contents of the letter were not revealed during the meeting and were discussed during a closed session.
Deputy Reeve Scott Klassen then announced his resignation in June 2022; he had been appointed as representative on the board in April following sanction of former representative Division 6 Councillor Glenn Koester.
During nominations, Division 7 Councillor Rick Laursen put his name forward as representative. Although Councillor Koester was also nominated, he declined to let his name stand, leaving Councillor Laursen as the only nominee.
Councillor Koester’s name was once again put forward to serve as alternate on the board, but he once again declined the nomination. With no other nominations, Deputy Reeve Scott Klassen put his name forward and was appointed with no other nominations.
Deputy Reeve Klassen and Councillor Laursen will serve on the board until the 2023 Organizational Meeting later this year in October.
