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Kolt signs off from post as full-time City solicitor

Mark Kolt’s weekdays have now opened up. The longtime City of Flin Flon legal mind and administrator officially retired from full-time civic duties Dec.
mark kolt
Mark Kolt rides his bike from stage to stage during last summer’s Blueberry Jam Music Gathering. The prominent arts figure, musician and organizer officially retired from his day job as the City of Flin Flon’s solicitor Dec. 6. - SUBMITTED PHOTO

Mark Kolt’s weekdays have now opened up.

The longtime City of Flin Flon legal mind and administrator officially retired from full-time civic duties Dec. 6, with council members and City staff hosting a come-and-go tea to celebrate his final day on the job.

Kolt, his wife Crystal and their children moved to Flin Flon in Sept. 1995 for Mark to become Flin Flon’s official city solicitor. Since then, Kolt has stayed in that spot for several years, adding in a 12-year stint as the City of Flin Flon’s chief administrative officer (CAO). Kolt worked under five mayors – Graham Craig, Dennis Ballard, Tom Therien, George Fontaine and current mayor Cal Huntley.

When Kolt came to Flin Flon for the first time, he didn’t know much about the place.

“When I got here, I was happy to have the job and I didn’t know much about Flin Flon other than the glory days of the Bombers and Bobby Clarke in the ‘60s and ‘70s. I really wasn’t aware of the culture that’s so strongly rooted here,” Kolt said.

“I was very quickly brought up to speed. People filled me in on the history of the glee club and things like that.”

When you ask about Kolt’s work as a legal authority, he stays tight-lipped about most of his duties. When asked about some of the highlights, however, Kolt will give answers.

“There’s lots of things to talk about,” said Kolt about his time working as a senior City official.

“Probably the two biggest things I’ve been involved with on the City side were the development of the mall where Walmart and Canadian Tire are. I was quite involved, not as CAO but doing up a lot of the legal work for that. That was interesting, there were a lot of details to be worked out. Crystal and I were in New York in June of that year and I was doing paperwork from New York. I was sending it back to Manitoba to make it all go through and I am quite proud of how that worked out.”

“During my time, we managed to get funding and get the water treatment plant built. That was something that was good. There had been some indications that it would be a good thing for the health of the community going forward and we took those warnings seriously to try and act on that,” Kolt added, saying, “That was probably the biggest project during the time I was here.”

The act of Mark accepting that job back in 1995 has had ripple effects throughout the community at large. The Kolts have been credited for reviving Flin Flon’s once-flagging arts, performance and cultural scene, becoming a driving force with the Flin Flon Arts Council, helping organize the first and second Blueberry Jam Music Gatherings, taking on lead roles with the Flin Flon Community Choir among others.

Kolt downplays his role in helping build the regional arts juggernaut, saying the scene was strong when he got here.

“I guess a bit of a renaissance was already underway. Within 48 hours of my arriving and starting to work at my desk here, I was recruited to play in a country rock band with Brent Lethbridge. Another 48 hours after that, I was recruited to play organ in two different churches,” he said.

“For me, there’s never been a dull moment in Flin Flon. Some people complain that their time in Flin Flon was a lonely time. That’s not the experience I’ve had. Flin Flon was especially welcoming.”

A one-time Juilliard School student in New York City and a skilled multi-instrumentalist, Kolt often takes over the keys at performances in Flin Flon – including most recently at the Beatlemania shows at Johnny’s Social Club earlier this month. He’s also been active in organizing concerts, notably at last summer’s Blueberry Jam. In addition to performing with dozens of different acts and musicians, Kolt was in charge of scheduling the weekend, using a bicycle to get between the main stage, Rotary Wheel and Johnny’s as quickly as possible.

“The big milestone things would be the establishment of our local cultural landmarks like the community choir, Johnny’s and the Blueberry Jam. I can say pretty accurately that I had an integral part of all three of those.”

Since moving to Flin Flon, Kolt has written two musical theatre pieces – the oft-mentioned Bombertown, which tells a love story set during the Bombers’ 1957 run to the Memorial Cup, and Three Brides for Kasos, a story set in Greece Kolt co-wrote with Greek dramatist Elias Kulukundis that received rave reviews when it was performed during the Winnipeg Fringe Festival.

“That time was special, in terms of our ability to use that to accomplish several things at once – for example, getting the light and sound equipment for the Community Hall that we continue to use to this day. It just changed the picture completely, in terms of our technical capabilities, the sorts of shows we could put on,” he said.

While Kolt may be stepping down from professional life, arts fans need not fear – he has no intention of retiring from the musical sphere. Kolt may do more composing and recording now that his weekdays have opened up.

“There’s a very full slate of things happening with Johnny’s and the choir. It’s a question of stamina more than anything,” he said.

“It does appeal to me that I might be able to get a little more sleep and spend some time doing charts or musical scores during the day, instead of between 10 p.m. - 2 a.m. There’s been a little too much of that.”

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