Council decides against byelection to fill Nicol’s seat

VERNON – City of Vernon council will wait until the fall municipal election to fill Coun. Patrick Nicol’s vacant seat.

Nicol passed away January 15 after a long battle with cancer. He served on Vernon council for 22 years—among the longest of any councillor in the province—and also chaired the Regional District of North Okanagan board.

In waiting, the city avoids the extra costs of holding a byelection—which would be the same as holding a regular election. Because there are still enough members on council (six) the city felt the best decision was to hold off until the fall.

During Monday’s council meeting, Mayor Rob Sawatzky took Nicol’s seat and a memorial bouquet of roses was placed next to his nameplate in chambers. The only times Nicol was not on council in the last two decades was when he unsuccessfully ran for mayor. Council felt it was only right to honour him in the one seat he never held.

It was the first council meeting without Nicol, and councillors shared teary words about their longtime friend and colleague.

A funeral service will be held February 3rd at Trinity United Church at 2 p.m. The church seats 900 people, but the city is expecting more than that to attend. To ensure everyone can pay tribute, satellite viewing locations are being arranged at the Schubert Centre and Kal Tire Place.

More may be added.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Charlotte Helston at chelston@infotelnews.ca, call (250)309-5230 or tweet @charhelston.