Residents in the Town of Eckville will get a chance to hear from candidates running for town council at a forum on Thursday, Oct. 16.

Mayor Colleen Ebden was acclaimed, as no other candidates stepped forward to contest the mayor’s seat. Nine candidates are vying for four available spots on council.

The forum is organized by the Eckville Lions Club and will take place at 7 p.m. at the Eckville Community Centre.

Lions Club president Helen Posti said each candidate will have a few minutes to introduce themselves before answering written questions submitted by attendees.

“We ask people to write the questions down — we’ll collect them, and then we’ll let the candidates answer,” said Posti. She added that questions don’t have to be addressed to all candidates.

This year marks a significant change for the town, as the number of council members has been reduced from seven to five — the first time this has happened in Eckville’s history.

Posti, a former mayor, speculated the change could be due to financial considerations, as well as the fact that community boards are now run by volunteers, eliminating the need for council presence.

“It’s quite exciting to see that there are four individuals who have never run for council putting their names forward,” she said, noting that many small communities struggle to find residents willing to serve.

The nine candidates running for council are:

• Jacqueline Palm-Fraser

• Karin Engen

• Dwayne Meyers

• Lindsay Holmen

• Collin Pacholek

• Kevin Alexander See

• April de Heer

• Cathy Sherba

• Albert Windrem