KIPLING — In what was a last-minute decision, Kipling will see its long-time mayor remain at the council table. Patricia Jackson submitted her nomination at 3:57 p.m. on Oct. 9, seeing no other submissions for the mayor’s seat.
“I was in the office anyway to sign papers. I had to sign cheques and whatnot, and I had my paperwork with me,” Jackson recalled of the moment she submitted her nomination, which came as a surprise as she had decided not to run again. “I think we’ve got seven people there who are wanting to do the very best for the community, and that’s what a council is supposed to be doing.”
Jackson has served on council for 20 years over 36 years.
With four experienced candidates and three new to council, Jackson is confident the combination will create a well-rounded council.
A main priority for the returning mayor of Kipling is economic development—whether that’s within town limits, or beyond in the surrounding rural municipalities.
“To me, a big thing is economic development,” Jackson said. “We’ve got to prioritize it—and I’m not just talking about the town here, I’m talking about the town in conjunction with the two RMs—because some of the economic development might not even be within our town’s borders.”
Fostering strong relationships between municipalities is also very important, something Jackson would like to see continue and flourish.
“What I’ve been trying to get across to council and the RM councils is maybe we need to get together one day and just brainstorm some ideas,” she said.
Another item important to Jackson is the Kipling Airport, which sees lots of activity, but which needs attention in order to ensure the resource is around for future residents.
“We talked for the last two or three years about the airport. Our airport gets a lot of activity. It’s getting to the point we know that the surface has to be redone, and that’s going to be a seriously big cost,” she said. “It’s something that we have to start doing a lot of planning for to make sure that we are ready to be able to do it.”
She added that support from the RM of Kingsley, and funding through the provincial Community Airport Partnership Program have been important to the airport. Local agricultural producers and spraying companies comprise a large portion of the air traffic at Kipling Airport, but having the ability for medical transport to land is something not all smaller communities have.
“In my world, most important is the air ambulance,” Jackson said.
Outside of the hours devoted to municipal matters, there are a couple of other organizations Jackson commits her time.
“My husband and I are both involved with our church and with Lions,” she said.
