Residents in the town of Grand Bay-Westfield and part of the Westfield West local service district (LSD) have spoken.
They have selected the new name for their soon-to-be-amalgamated community, which is currently known as Entity 51.
Grand Bay-Westfield was the number one choice of more than half of the 2,165 residents who cast their ballots in recent voting.
“Our area has been through its fair share of amalgamations and name changes since 1967, and it feels good that this time, the name chosen for the new entity was voted on by the people,” said Jon Taylor, chair of the Entity 51 naming committee.
Committee members met Wednesday evening to unveil the recommended name, which will now be forwarded to the province for final approval.
Grand Bay-Westfield and a portion of the Westfield West LSD are among the communities being amalgamated as part of the province’s local governance reform.
A naming committee was struck in March and sought suggestions from community members. It received 369 name submissions consisting of 116 unique names.
Members used a matrix to narrow the 116 names down to 15. That list was sent to the province, which eliminated any names that did not meet provincial requirements.
From there, the remaining 10 names were provided to committee members, who used preferential choice voting to determine which names would appear on the ballot.
In addition to Grand Bay-Westfield, which was pre-determined, residents were able to choose from Hillandale, Nerepis Valley, Three Rivers, and Westfield.
“No matter what you put on that ballot, I appreciate your dedication to participating in democratic action and taking an interest in the future of our town,” said Taylor.
The recommended name selected by residents will only apply to the local government and will not affect mailing or civic addresses.
Residents in Grand Bay-Westfield will continue to use Grand Bay-Westfield in their address, and residents in the portion of the Westfield West LSD will continue to use Nerepis or Woodmans Point.
Provincial officials say the newly amalgamated communities will go into effect in January 2023.
