Mark Willmer, Barry’s Bay resident, has filed nomination papers to run for Madawaska Valley Township Council in the October 22 election. Willmer, who also ran in the 2014 campaign in Madawaska Valley, has experience as both a municipal councillor and a municipal employee.
According to online sources, for 21 years he served as a councillor in the Town of Arnprior. At the time he was also an employee of the City of Nepean where he worked in the recreation/special events department. After amalgamation with the City of Ottawa he worked for the city manager at city hall as a strategic analyst for property issues dealing specifically with culture and recreation issues. Willmer has received the Town Crest, the highest honour Arnprior can bestow on a resident.
Willmer has been a resident of Barry’s Bay since becoming a co-owner of the Mount Madawaska ski hill. During a one-year period from October 2015 to October 2016, as Age Friendly Community Planning Coordinator, he was responsible for researching and writing the Township of Madawaska Valley Age-Friendly Community Strategic Plan.