Pangnirtung working on taxi service, soup kitchen, mayor says
Umar Kukkadi won March 30 byelection
Newly elected Pangnirtung Mayor Umar Kukkadi works in his office on Monday. His first priority is to communicate with residents early and often, he said. (Photo by Daron Letts)
Pangnirtung’s newly elected mayor has set out an ambitious, fast-paced agenda for his short, 18-month tenure.
Umar Kukkadi won the mayorship with 85 per cent of the vote in a March 30 byelection to replace former mayor Lynn Mike, who resigned in December.
Kukkadi said his first priority will be to encourage residents to get more involved in their local government’s decisions.
“Together we will build a stronger, more inclusive, and opportunity-driven community grounded in collaboration, respect, and shared purpose,” he said, during an interview in his office on Monday.
To that end, Kukkadi is reaching out through the community radio station down the hall to remind residents that they are welcome to attend council meetings.
There are several chairs lining one wall of the council chamber for observers.
However, any resident wishing to address council in-person on a particular issue or concern must pre-register three days in advance, Kukkadi said.
Kukaddi is also working to ensure that the hamlet’s voicemail system is maintained and available to receive incoming messages, he said.
Updates about council matters will be provided over the airwaves at least every two weeks, as well.
Regularly scheduled town hall gatherings will be held to update the public about council matters and to gather their feedback, he added.
“I would love to have it monthly,” he said. “I will see that it will happen in May.”
Meanwhile, the mayor has already put parts of his plans into motion.
Other projects the new mayor said he’s working on include developing a new soup kitchen, a training program for mechanics and the creation of a taxi service.
Kukkadi said he wants the hamlet to convert Pangnirtung’s former radio station building to a volunteer-run daily soup kitchen and food bank by December. It would replace the hamlet’s soup kitchen, which closed years ago.
Under a training program for mechanics that he hopes will start this year, four students will be sent to Ottawa for two months of classroom training and two months of paid on-the-job training for each of three years. He suggested it would cost about $4,000 a year per student, money he hopes to get from Inuit organizations and government sources.
The hamlet is seeking four Inuit entrepreneurs to establish a two-car taxi service. The business would be owned by the drivers, Kukkadi said.
(0) Comments