A town council meeting involving the local chamber of commerce in Peachland, B.C. recently erupted so catastrophically the mayor and chamber president had to publish their respective sides of the story in the newspaper a week later.
Dewly Nelson, who opened Intersport in the Parks West Mall about 3.5 years ago, was recently elected president of the Hinton Chamber of Commerce. He said that episode sounds like the stories he heard about the relationship between the Town of Hinton and the chamber before he arrived, and that Mayor Rob Mackin was instrumental in the 180-degree change it has taken since.
Nelson was sorry to learn earlier this week that Mackin will not seek reelection in the fall.
鈥淗e鈥檚 helped move business forward and made it easier for them to operate,鈥� he said on Wednesday. 鈥淎ll I heard before I got here was that it鈥檚 a terrible place to open a business, there are all these rules, and we鈥檝e had none of that experience at all.鈥�
Nelson is interested to see who will run for mayor and council. He said there is no obvious candidate right off the bat.
鈥淥ur chamber now, our board is at every single council meeting,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e there and they鈥檙e open to it, and a lot of that was Rob.鈥�
The Hinton Parklander posted a letter it received from Mackin on Facebook that said he is proud of the momentum Hinton is carrying, and that he needs to step back for some personal time after going 鈥渇ull-tilt鈥� as mayor. He is already out of town on vacation and unavailable for comment, according to the town office.
鈥淚t was important for me to inform the community now of this decision to allow time for others to consider running for this office,鈥� he wrote. 鈥淗inton has so many progressive, forward-thinking, passionate citizens who I know would continue to advance our community鈥檚 priorities forward. Being the mayor is a humbling and rewarding experience.鈥�
Mackin said he would stay engaged for the rest of his term, focusing on getting approval for a new seniors lodge, fighting the mountain pine beetle and continuing to push the town鈥檚 economic agenda forward.
鈥淚 am very proud of the work that council has accomplished this term. For a council that had so many new faces in 2013, we were able to hit the ground running and accomplish a great deal.鈥�
Craig Gilbert | [email protected]
