The Village of Canal Flats council has an empty seat it is looking to fill after former councillor Evence Blanchard resigned in December.

The nomination period for the upcoming by-election to elect a new village councillor will run from February 19 to March 1 with April 6 slated as the date for the  by-election.

“I just hope a lot of people come forward and stand up for the job,” said Canal Flats mayor Ute Juras. “And I hope a lot of people will go out and vote.”

Responsibilities the new councillor will likely shoulder include helping finish up projects from last year and moving new items up the list of priorities, she said.

A planning and priorities session scheduled for February 15 will provide more clarity on what the future will hold for the successful candidate and with the Columbia Discovery Centre getting close to completion, a move into new council quarters sometime in May may prove to be an added bonus.

“They will be lucky enough to not have to go through the entire budget because we will be close to adopting it at the time,” Juras said.