The new mayor of Kamloops will not have their Chain of Office at the Nov. 1 inaugural meeting.

In March, the City put out a formal call to Kamloopsians offering up to $3,500 to an artist whose design was chosen for a new Chain of Office to replace the existing one which was stolen during a break-in at City Hall in September last year.

City Councillors reviewed submissions during a May 10 closed council meeting, according to information released by the City this week.

“City Council was impressed by the submissions received and keenly interested in hearing about each design,” the report from CAO David Trawin said.

“The process allowed Council to truly study the symbolism and meaning in each submission as well as in the design of the last Mayor’s Chain of Office. In the end, Council decided to retain much of the original design in the replacement chain.”

Only Councillor Kathy Sinclair was opposed to a motion to direct staff to replicate the missing Mayor’s Chain of Office as closely as possible.

However, Trawin went on to say that there were “challenges” when it came to finding materials and skilled craftspeople needed to recreate the new ceremonial chain.

“Due to these challenges, it will not be possible to replace the Mayor’s Chain of Office in time for the Inaugural Council Meeting on November 1,” he said.

Typically worn by the Mayor at ceremonial events and honours, the missing Chain of Office included the City of Kamloops’ Coat of Arms, the Government of BC Coat of Arms, as well as symbols to represent the Government of Canada.

The City says those elements were “connected by interspersing medallions engraved with the names of prior Mayors and the dates they served.”

With incumbent Mayor Ken Christian not seeking re-election, there are five people in the running to become the next mayor of Kamloops. It includes current councillors Dieter Dudy, Sadie Hunter, and Arjun Singh, as well as businessmen Ray Dhaliwal and Reid Hamer-Jackson.