Mayor-elect Goetz prepared to lead Merritt’s ongoing flood recovery efforts

MERRITT — It was a close race Saturday night (Oct. 15) in Merritt as Mike Goetz was elected mayor with just under 36 per cent of the vote. The former three-term councillor (2008-2018) will take over in the mayor’s chair with a fairly inexperienced council with just one incumbent returning.

“This is a very strong council. We do have experience with Adam (Etchart) coming back, but we also have councillors that cover the economic aspect, the downtown aspect, the RCMP aspect. So, we have great coverage. The only thing I will ask of the community is to give these people some time to get their feet underneath them,” said Mayor-elect Goetz.

As the new councillors settles into their roles, the first big item in front of them will be continuing to work towards the recovery from the devastating November 2021 flood.

“The last 18 months, every time you saw Merritt, we were either on fire or drowning. In order for people to come here or for anybody to invest, we have to be safe first. Once we are safe then we can look at economics. I’m not saying we aren’t going to do all that at the same time, but there will be a push for the safety aspect. There has to be, because we are coming into freshet season (in the spring),” said Goetz.

The lone successful incumbent councillor Adam Etchart, secured the most votes on election night more than 70 per cent of voters supporting him. He agreed flood recovery will be paramount, but realized other issues will also need attention.

“Flood recovery is a top priority and a concern because we have to make sure we keep the community safe. But there are many other areas as well, the housing, lobbying for health care supports, economic development for the community,” said Etchart.

Etchart has topped the polls in both his runs for council, he expects the common goal of recovery will bond the new councillors.

“People have different experiences, some were affected directly from the flood, some were impacted by having friends and family who were impacted. But this event, the floods and the fires, it affects us all. So, we have this common goal to move forward and help our community,” added Etchart.

The city is undertaking a major study into the floodplain in Merritt, one of the possible suggestions from that study could include purchasing properties from homeowners, something Goetz is firmly against, calling it an absolute last option.

“If you are going to build a dike, build the first one correctly in the first place, what is the second one going to do for you. If you are that unsure of the dike you are building for the first time, the second one isn’t going to help you very much. It is also going to affect the secondary school, we have a secondary school right there. I think what we need to look at the options, weigh the options and see what works best,” said Goetz.

Mayor-elect Goetz and the newly elected council will be officially sworn into office at City Hall on November 1.