WEYBURN - The RM of Weyburn’s new reeve, Bud Grohn, is finding out he has a steep learning curve as he dives into his new role of leading council.
He defeated incumbent Norm McFadden in the Nov. 13 municipal election, and is now beginning to learn the ropes of his new role as reeve.
This was Grohn’s first foray into politics as a candidate, and was joined by two other new candidates along with three veterans of the RM council.
“I ran on the premise that people need to get involved. Watching the world go by is just is not an option,” said Grohn in an interview on Monday. “If you question the status quo, then you need to get involved.”
In the campaign, he said one of the biggest concerns brought up to him was about the Airport Road to North Weyburn.
“I want ratepayers to know it will be resolved, as well as the rest of our roads, water utilities, along with transparency and equity,” said Grohn, noting he heard a lot of concerns from acreage owners that they feel they are paying a lot of taxes for the amount of services they get.
“I feel a definite push for ‘being open for business’ coming into our RM, but proper research and vetting must be achieved,” he said.
In regard to Enbridge’s proposal for wind turbines in the RM, the municipality put forward a resolution at the recent SARM convention, and the resolution was passed with over 90 per cent in favour.
The resolution asks SARM to lobby the provincial government to put standards and regulations in place for wind turbine projects, as there currently aren’t any, and if the province isn’t willing to do that, then there should be a moratorium in place on any new wind turbine projects until there are regulations in place for municipalities to follow.
Grohn noted in the bearpit session with members of cabinet, a number of RMs spoke about problems they have had with wind turbine projects in their areas.
“I was elected and I have a job to do. I will look at the project based on the facts,” said Grohn, noting he will be at the public meeting on Wednesday night, to be hosted by Enbridge at McKenna Hall.
Since the election, he and the RM council have had two meetings so far, and Grohn said the second one went very well. He admits there is “a huge learning curve” as he learns about what’s all involved, from the RM’s bylaws to how to run meetings.
The council will also be putting their 2025 budget together, and he noted he will have to review last year’s budget as they decide on next year’s priorities.
The reeve noted there is a good mix of returning councillors and new ones. Chad Culham and Doug Dembiczak join him as new members of council, while Josh Mainil, Jeromy Charlton and Dustin Bell all have two years left in their terms.
“There will always be disagreements, and differences of opinion, but that’s what makes good decisions too,” said Grohn. “People have different perspectives on things, and I’m okay with that.”
Considering everything he needs to learn about for his new role, Grohn said, “It’s almost overwhelming, because there is so much to learn about.”
He went into the election with the thought he could win, and did some preparation and research into such areas as community planning.
“It’s definitely a challenge, and I’m looking forward to the challenge. My goal is to leave the RM in better shape than what it is right now. I’m not saying the RM is in bad shape, but I want to have a positive impact going forward,” said Grohn.
