It was a first this week for the brand new council for the Rural Municipality of Ritchot.

Council held its first meeting since last month's municipal election. Mayor Chris Ewen says it was an opportunity to welcome their two new councillors; Joel Lemoine from the Ste. Agathe area and Jason Bodnarchuk from the St. Adolphe area.

"We were graced with two new councillors," says Ewen. "It will be a nice mix of two new elected officials to get some out of the box ideas and some new creative thinking in council."

Ewen explains the inaugural meeting is not a time for making big decisions but rather to appoint councillors to various committees and make sure all documents are properly signed.

"I think the new council is going to get a quick hang of everything, the learning curve should be pretty low because we've got three other experienced members on council," admits Ewen. "I believe they are going to be very active, and they are going to be engaging for their communities. So, we look forward to working with them for the next four."

The meeting was also a time to appoint a Deputy Mayor for the next year. Council selected Councillor Shane Pelletier. Ewen says not only does Pelletier have two terms under his belt, but he also speaks both english and french, making him a good choice.