DORCHESTER, N.B. — Wayne Feindel has stepped down from Dorchester village council this week.
Feindel submitted his resignation to his fellow councillors on Monday, citing increased demands on the village by the provincial government as his top reason, as well as health and family commitments.
“Our village staff has the same demands as larger communities, and even though office staff has been doubled to two, they are creatures of the province with the same legal and fiduciary responsibilities as the larger centers with five times the staff,” he stated in his letter of resignation.
Feindel said he thinks it’s only fair to the remaining council members that he step down since he doesn’t feel he can accomplish what he would have liked with his remaining time on council.
Feindel, a retired teacher and principal, has been both a councillor and mayor for the village on and off since the 1980s. He has served on a number of boards and committees over the years and is also a past District Education Council member for the Anglophone East School District.
Mayor Jerome Bear said council accepted Feindel’s resignation “with regret” and thanked him for his longstanding service to local government and the community.
“He has served the people of Dorchester for many years and he has always had a vested interest in education, being a retired principal, and remained active with Dorchester Consolidated School and the library board,” said Bear.
“I’ve had the honour of being a councillor when Wayne was the mayor and he taught me the basics of what it is to be a mayor and councillor,” he continued. “His wealth of knowledge will be missed.”
Feindel’s resignation comes less than a year before the next municipal election so there will not be a byelection to fill the council seat.
In his parting message, Feindel said he hoped to pass on his love of the community to the youth and encouraged them to step up and become “the next generation of leaders and innovation.”
Feindel’s letter of resignation was entered into the minutes of council’s monthly meeting June 17 and will be available to view in its entirety once the minutes are adopted at the July meeting.
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