Carmacks’ new mayor is impatient.
Elaine Wyatt likes to get things done.
And she finds the municipal process “frustratingly slow.”
“I never expect things to take as long as they do,” said Wyatt on Friday.
“You have to go through this stage and then that stage, then this stage ….”
Wyatt, who was Carmacks’ acting mayor, defeated Robert Mayer, Bob Jackman and three-term councillor Meta Bailie on Thursday.
It was a close race, and voter turnout was high, said Wyatt.
Of the 146 enumerated, 129 voted.
The village has a population of just over 400, but many First Nations can’t vote because they’re not living on titled land.
Wyatt replaced mayor Mick Larkin in July, after he retired.
“Since then, I felt like I was in a state of limbo,” she said.
“Because I wasn’t actually elected in, I didn’t want to get into things like $5 million contracts with a new council coming in a couple of months.”
But Wyatt does have a lot of things on the go already, she said.
“And I want to get focused and get going again.”
There’s funding for Carmacks’ sewage treatment plan, and it’s ready to roll, she said.
“YTG was just waiting for us to get through the election.”
The village’s water-distribution plan must also be examined, said Wyatt.
“And I know the roads need to be done,” she added.
“But before you can do the roads, you want to make sure you’re not going to rip them up for the water.”
On all village infrastructure projects, Wyatt hopes to work with the Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation.
The village and the First Nation have been at odds a long time, said Wyatt.
“And it would be good to get back on track.
“They have projects we could give input on, and we have projects they could give input on.”
Wyatt and chief Eddie Skookum sat down a couple of weeks ago to talk about unity, she said.
“We both know that not working together is a hindrance,” she said.
“And we want to get the good will and the unity back, so we can work together as a community.”
Wyatt has a lot on her plate.
“I think there are a lot of projects we need to work on,” she said. “There’s tons to do.”
Wyatt got 61 votes, Bailie received 46, Mayer garnered 18 and Jackman got 2.
For municipal council, Robbie Cashin received 106 votes, Doris Hansen got 78, Lee Bodie garnered 75 and Jason Wheeler got 55.
Kelly Gage, Helena Belanger, John Laughlin and Mike Nadeau also ran for council.