Another cold autumn for Nikel?
The town council delegates in the Russian town of Nikel on the border to Norway has not yet managed to elect a head of the administration, three months after the elections. Without an executive branch of power, the people in Nikel can face yet another cold autumn.
Only the head of administration has the right to sign contracts on repair of the town’s heating system, which is on the brink of ruin.
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The thing about Nikel is that its laws and regulations do not consider a prolongation of the sitting head’s authority until a new one had been elected, as is normal for other Russian towns, TV21.ru reports.
Nikel is subject to the municipality of Pechenga, but the Head of Administration in Pechenga does not have authority to do anything about the political situation in Nikel.
Heating and hot water is normally turned off in Nikel during summer. Last summer a test of the central heating system revealed 13 serious leaks in the hot water pipeline system, and people did not get any heating or hot water until the end of September.
If the town council delegates do not manage to agree on a head of administration within three weeks, it looks like the people in Nikel will be facing another cold autumn. That is when the delegates go on vacation, TV21 says.
