Kelly Elliott - Mayoral Candidate
I am excited to run and represent you as your Mayor in the next term of Council. I have spent the last years on Council representing you as your Ward 1 Councillor and Deputy Mayor gaining experience on municipal, provincial and federal policies and processes, developing relationships and networks and joining local, provincial and federal organizations that all play enormous roles in gaining experience to be successful as the next Mayor of Thames Centre. I was born and raised in Thames Centre and am currently raising my family here. My children attend both West Nissouri Public School and Lord Dorchester Secondary School and are active in baseball, soccer and hockey here in Thames Centre. I also work in the agricultural industry locally here in Thames Centre. I am proud to call Thames Centre home and it would be an honour to serve our community as Mayor. My experience includes:
As I mentioned during the All Candidates meeting on Saturday night as I was specifically asked this question, my top three priorities would be: 1. Review and update the Thames Centre Strategic Plan with the new Council and ensure our short, medium and long-term goals and projects are still consistent with moving the community forward. 2. Community safety and road safety overall (including policing needs) - for further information, see my answers below! 3. Rural economic development, including promoting on-farm diversified uses Each of these are all priorities specifically in Thorndale although they are broad for the entire municipality!
There are lots of changings that need to be made in our Zoning Bylaw and Official Plan - but with our comprehensive review which included lots of public feedback - we have made many of them, which includes the use of ADUs (additional dwelling units), which I have received many inquiries about. Currently ADUs are permitted under provincial guidelines, but without our OP update, are not permitted and require the additional step of getting approval from Council. This much needed change will allow aging in place, as well as supporting migrant farmers! Additionally, another change that I receive phone calls over is waiting to be made is the 1999 rule for surplus farm dwelling severances. This change has been made, however, waiting for the final sign-offs! (To note as of when I answer these questions on October 3rd, I know many are waiting for these changes - Middlesex County has to make the approval of the Thames Centre Official Plan and they are currently waiting for their own Official Plan to be approved before approving any lower-tier Official Plans. The Province of Ontario must approve Middlesex County’s Official Plan, and we just received word that Minister Steve Clark has overridden the 120 day approval process without any reason or timeline, so we are not sure when the County’s OP will be approved now. CAO Mike Henry did have a discussion with Minister Steve Clark about this last week with our concerns, and Minister Clark assured him it would be taken care of. Middesex County’s Director of Planning reported to Middlesex County Council that in his discussions with other Planners, Middlesex County was not the only County to receive this timeline halt.)
In terms of development charges, these are calculated very specifically and legislated on how they can be spent. You can find our most recent Development Charges Study - which was passed in 2022 - publicly posted on Thames Centre’s website. In 2022, the Development Charges in Thames Centre to build a single or semi-detached home in an urban area is $37,322. In comparison, to build the same home in 2022 in: City of London - $38,120 Middlesex Centre - $28,683 Lucan-Biddulph (Lucan) - $6,987 Lucan-Biddulph (Granton) - $5,450 Strathroy-Caradoc (Strathroy) - $26,465 Strathroy-Caradoc (Mt. Brydges) - $29,931 Central Elgin - $13,491 City of Woodstock - $15,134 As you can see, our development charges for a home are significantly higher than many of our competitors, and is just shy of the City of London and these charges ensure that “development pays for development” in Thames Centre. In the 2022 budget, development charges included specific projects in Thorndale including a new recreation pick up truck (expanded services in Thorndale), new display cases and various miscellaneous projects around Thorndale Lions Community Centre, new dog park in Thorndale, the new parking lot off Agnes St, expansion of trails as well as projects across the municipality that support youth and residents in Thorndale. Development charges have also gone towards the King St infrastructure project, the Thorndale Lions Community Centre, grounds work and various other projects.
The major infrastructure project that happened here in Thorndale with the King St project has left significant infrastructure concerns on Upper Queens and Railway St which need to be addressed. Additionally, infrastructure concerns along Agnes St with the new Foxborough subdivision and recreational fields - specifically regarding intersections - is a concern we need to continue to find a solution for. Secondly, road safety infrastructure in our rural areas is a big concern and through my work with Ontario Good Roads, I am extremely hopeful that my position there will allow Thames Centre to become a location for a provincial pilot project for new rural road safety infrastructure.
Economic development and supporting local businesses is huge and is multi-faceted in terms of opportunities that exist. I often credit the work of I Love Thorndale and the work they have done to support and promote local businesses, including the loyalty card program, as the epitome of how local grassroots ideas can make big changes. During the pandemic, it was a great experience to be selected by Past Warden Cathy Burghardt-Jesson to sit on a Committee with business owners and employment agencies from across Middlesex County on the Middlesex County Economic Resiliency Taskforce to ensure we were meeting the needs of local businesses as much as we could, as well as advocating for business owners during the pandemic. Additionally, we have been working on a bigger economic development program behind the scenes at Thames Centre that we haven’t launched quite yet - that will coordinate with the Support Local maps and signs we have launched. We were pleased to work with a local marketing company owned by a local Thorndale resident, that will produce commercials and social media videos promoting local businesses, as well as brochures and publications to promote local businesses and amenities. In terms of industrial growth, we have seen an increase in industrial businesses in the Thorndale Industrial Park specifically. Council has also approved beginning a Donnybrook Drive Secondary Plan to explore the opportunities for new industrial growth just north of the 401, as quick and easy highway access is absolutely something business owners are looking for. However, and I have made these comments publicly in Council, to say that you want to protect agricultural land and expand industrial growth in the same breath, but it is a very fine line. Specifically in Thorndale and along the 401 is surrounded by agricultural land, and expanding industrial growth means making a choice. I sat in a meeting with the members of the Taskforce and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and this was a huge debate on how we should move forward. It must be a SERIOUS conversation that all of Council has on how industrial growth is going to come and where it fits in the municipality - and what we are willing to risk for it.
There are absolutely enhancements we can make to make our main street and downtown more healthy, and I’ve addressed Community Improvement Plans in the next question! Community Improvement Plans also offer opportunities for public and business engagement. In terms of parking, I know specifically accessible parking at the post office was raised to me and I worked with MP Karen Vecchio (as the post office is federal jurisdiction) to get accessible parking available for the post office. Adding a crosswalk is also a huge concern for the safety of the downtown “core” of Thorndale and while the traffic counts have not merited a crosswalk in Thorndale, now that COVID is “over” and traffic volumes are back to “normal”, I have requested a new traffic study from Middlesex County in hopes that new values will put us over that allotment, as it has in Dorchester.
This is done through Community Improvement Plans, and other municipalities across Middlesex County and other counties, have implemented these. This was brought forth to this term of Council, however, the majority of Council decided not to move forward with this. This is absolutely something I would like to bring back in the next term of Council to support.
The new Thorndale Lions Community Centre is an exciting time in Thorndale as it has allowed for an expansion of services in this community that wasn’t there before - including drop-in recreational opportunities, as well as with the Lions Seniors Centre. Additionally, with the Boys and Girls Club partnership in Thorndale, this community actually has more access to youth recreational programming than Dorchester does at the moment! Access to the municipal office in Dorchester is the main issue in terms of service equity and Councillor Heeman brought forth a motion to look at comprehensive services during our organizational review that would look at offering more services, specifically in Thorndale, which was supported by Council.
Transportation is something I am passionate about, and I know it’s something Thorndale is too. When we (Middlesex County) announced our successful grant for our microtransit bus pilot project and launched surveys and public consultations, Thorndale residents overwhelmingly got involved in the process, more so than anyone else in Thames Centre. These consultations led to the microtransit bus project being launched in Thorndale connecting Woodstock-Thamesford-Thorndale-London four times a day, five days a week. From there due to community feedback, we also launched an on-demand Saturday service where residents can call and book a ride on the bus from 11:00am - 2:00pm on Saturdays between any of the spots we offer. Middlesex Connect is one of the least expensive microtransit services in the Southern Ontario region, as we wanted to ensure it was kept accessible and affordable for residents. Getting the word out of this service is extremely important, and we need to do better promotion for this. It’s also important to note that this is a pilot project and we have committed to making changes to ensure that it works for residents. So, it’s important to provide feedback so we can make it work for the community! You can find out more about the service, including schedules and fares, here: www.middlesex.ca/ct On top of this, Middlesex County has also launched a more fulsome public transportation project - and I’m happy to represent Thames Centre and Middlesex County Council on this Committee - to explore how we can add more transit options across the County. We are in the very initial first steps, and the public survey process that was advertised in print media, social media and the County’s website just wrapped up. It will be exciting to see what opportunities come out of this. In terms of walkability, active transportation is extremely important. In other questions, I have addressed the need to expand trails, but ensuring connectivity is important. With the Thames Centre Accessibility and Inclusivity Committee, walkability and connectivity within our communities is one of our mandates and we have created a subcommittee specifically dedicated to Active Transportation. If you would like to get involved with this, please feel free to reach out to me as I Chair the AIAC currently and would love to see more people get involved.
I have used social media, and traditional media, to garner more attention to Council agendas and issues facing residents of Thames Centre to get residents more involved in the process and to solicit more public feedback. When I was first elected, I was the first Council member to start using SurveyMonkey to get public feedback, which Thames Centre took over the account - so it could be more municipally used. This is how Thames Centre started using the platform for our annual Budget Survey which allows residents to have their input as the budget is being developed. I have made myself extremely accessible to residents to be able to have their say. I’m also an advocate of advisory committees, which allows community members to be able to make direct recommendations to Council. Last year I successfully created the new Thames Centre Accessibility and Inclusivity Committee and have committed to creating new advisory committees, including for the environment and recreation. 12. What is the most significant issue related to Thorndale's development in your opinion? Whether we like it or not, we will be seeing development and growth across the province in every town and city. I wish I could be the “popular” candidate and say what everyone wants to hear - “I will stop any or all development” or something to that effect - but anyone who says this is unequivocally going to break their promise to you. By stating this, they have not been paying attention to what is happening around us. This past spring, housing was one of the main talking points in the provincial election. Every major party committed to building 1.5 million homes in the next 10 years in the province. The voters in Ontario elected one of the most pro-developer governments, and the current government is not holding back in its promise to fulfil 1.5 million homes. This is *not* an anti-Ford or anti-conservative rant. But it is reality - development is coming whether you like it or not. This government has issued more MZO’s (ministerial zoning orders) overriding local planning decisions than any other government before them. They have passed a new Bill - without consultations - to give Mayors stronger powers to override Council decisions “to build more houses”. I have vocally spoken out against this Bill with these new powers, and do not believe it will affect housing … but it goes to show, development and housing is THE TOP priority of this province and they will do what it takes. During a recent Council meeting when we debated the Hawthorne subdivision, we were advised prior to the meeting that legal action had been threatened since we were past our 120 days of making a final decision - why were we? We provided time for additional public and stakeholder consultation, but the risk of the plan going before the OLT, would be that all local considerations would be thrown out the window, and the developer could potentially get whatever they wanted. OLT decisions and MZO’s take ALL local planning out the window, and leave local Councils powerless to how they develop. The statistics are daunting, In 2022, developers have won 172 of the 178 decisions OLT has handed down. The latest study from the Smart Prosperity Institute titled “Ontario’s Need for 1.5 Million Homes” has shown that as we stand today, Middlesex region is short 1,200 homes by our current population census results. In Middlesex region based on the latest census, there are 4,630 multi-generational homes. By 2031, Middlesex region based on population forecasts will require 39,500 *new* homes. This number should be taken as the LOWEST number required as it assumes that larger centres such as Toronto, Peel and York will make all of their own housing targets (Peel - 277,000 new homes, Toronto - 259,000 new homes, York - 180,100 new homes). Should they not meet their own demands, we will yet again see another “drive until you qualify” scenario like we have, and the number of new homes in the Oxford, Middlesex and Elgin regions will continue to climb. In our latest housing papers and Official Plan review in Thames Centre, we have forecasted our growth over the next 25 years, as required by the provincial government. Every municipality and region is different. Thames Centre has committed to protecting agricultural land by not expanding our Urban Growth Boundaries and fulfilling our housing needs by using infilling and increased density to do so. Other regions haven’t. Durham Region added 9,000 acres of farmland into their urban growth boundary, with 6,425 dedicated to single-family homes. Peel Region has added almost 11,000 acres of farmland into their Urban Growth Boundary. When it comes to development and protecting agricultural land, we can’t have our cake and eat it too. In a podcast back in February with Craig Needles, our OFA Director Crispin Colvin specifically used Thames Centre (Thorndale) as an example of unsustainable growth by building “seas of single-family homes” The harsh reality is, it doesn’t matter what I feel about growth and development. What Council can do, and what I commit to doing, is ensure development is right for the community and protect the best interests of our community. There is absolutely things we need to consider when development proposals come before us (because they will): - is development paying for itself and not coming off the backs of our current residents? - are our development fees adequate to ensure we have the infrastructure in place? - how does the proposal fit into our community? - does the proposal fit the needs of our community? - what does the proposal add to our community? what are they bringing to the table? - how does the proposal impact neighbouring residences? - … etc. My stance on development has not changed, and I’ve been a vocal proponent on housing, particularly over the last three years. We need to protect agricultural land by intensifying in our urban areas, and we need to build more housing for seniors and for those just starting out in the housing market.
So the biggest question here is why is this being proposed? What value does it bring to the community? Does it fill a need in the community? Is this proposal even worth being considered if it doesn’t bring value or fill a need? Have residents expressed a desire or need for this infrastructure? If we consider this, what impacts on the community does this project have - if it’s a road or bridge for example, what are the environmental impacts? Those would be my first evaluations on whether or not this project is worth even being considered for implementation. If it passes all of these tests, next I would look at the value/costs of the project. Does this fit into our capital planning? What is the impact on the budget? What are all of the considerations - do we have to acquire land, etc? Do we have to take out other projects in our capital budget to implement this, and if so, does it match with the priorities of the community? Are their grants and/or other levels of government funding available for a project like this? After all of this, it would have to go through a public process and be debated through Council as to the merits - because as much as I personally may think it was worth implementing or not - it would ultimately be a Council decision 14. If you received a $1 million grant to use for Thorndale any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why? $1 million seems like a lot of money, but when you get down into bigger capital projects - it, unfortunately, doesn’t go too far these days! What makes this question even more exciting is this is no strings attached - which is not common at all! If I had this unspecified, no-strings-attached grant, I would love to use it towards a community improvement application for residents to apply to for various projects across the town. I believe this would be the “best bang for the buck” for the grant as it would allow numerous projects to be completed on projects that are important to residents.
There have been numerous times when someone looks at my postcard and says “that’s not a municipal issue!” and opens up the conversation on how many federal and provincial issues do impact us as a municipality and we do play a role whether in advocacy or doing our part. One of these is climate change, and in particular, infrastructure resiliency. Whether or not you believe in climate change, the fact of the matter is we are seeing more severe weather happening more frequently. It was just one year ago we declared a state of emergency in Middlesex County due to the significant rainfall that caused numerous road closures across the County, including many here in Thames Centre. Ensuring our roads, bridges, culverts and facilities can handle these storms is imperative in proper asset management. Failure to act here will cause significant unplanned and unbudgeted costs in the future. Climate change has been a big topic with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which I had the privilege of serving on this Board as a Director and served on the Ontario Caucus. There we have been working with the federal government to provide funding for municipalities to address this, as well as resources for municipalities across the country. Additionally, one of the commitments - and I have already spoken to a few interested local residents - I will make for this term of Council is the creation of an Environmental Advisory Committee who can make direct recommendations to Council on what we can be doing better to address climate change and be better stewards for the environment. Furthermore, I brought a motion to Council recently that explores adding pollinator gardens to our property standards bylaw to also tackle climate change! I have been the only mayoral candidate overall openly discussing more than a couple of issues impacting Thames Centre residents, infrastructure resiliency and climate change being just one of the dozens of issues! 16. What is your stance on the Proposed Elliott Gravel Pit given it is located less than 1km away from an elementary school and subdivision? Will you advocate for additional air quality testing if the pit should become operational? In terms of the Elliott Pit, we did request and receive additional peer reviews on all studies submitted by the applicants to ensure that the studies done were adequate. All of this information was submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry who do have the final say and issue the licensing of the aggregate extraction license. In terms of air quality testing, that would be a requirement from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry as part of their license and be undertaken by the Ministry of the Environment. I do want to say that Thames Centre is a member of TAPMO (Top Aggregate Producing Municipalities of Ontario) and continuously advocates for issues in relation to aggregate extraction pits, and TAPMO meetings are ones I regularly attend. One of the things Thames Centre has done was to financially contribute to TAPMO’s advocacy plan to hire a professional lobby group to garner more traction with the province on issues. We are constantly working on behalf of residents on many different issues in relation to aggregate - even if you don’t see it. One of the things TAPMO is advocating for is a moratorium on new license applications until a review is done for the current and future needs. The four key issues we advocate for in this very heavily provincially regulated industry are: - Fair taxation - did you know that industrial gravel pits pay LESS in taxes than a single-family home? This flawed assessment process costs our municipalities and our province millions of dollars a year in lost tax revenue and negatively impacts their ability to deliver more fulsome services and programs to residents. - Greater Collaboration between local municipalities, the Province of Ontario and all stakeholders - In terms of extractive consultation - adopting a review and approval process that is fair and reliable, we can improve the consultation and application review process for both industry and municipalities. - A Fair Aggregate Levy - While aggregate production plays an important role in Ontario’s economy, regular reviews of fees are needed to ensure municipalities and taxpayers are not left footing the bill for road maintenance and repair caused by aggregate transportation. 17. With all the growth in Thorndale: What is being done to advocate for more elementary school space? Any discussion of a secondary school? *Arlene I know this was a school board question but I think it’s important to note here as municipal and school board partnerships are invaluable. I brought forth a motion to Council that would allow Thames Centre’s Mayor, Deputy Mayor, CAO and Director of Planning to meet with Thames Valley District School Board’s planning staff and our Middlesex County Trustees following the release TVDSB’s Accommodation Plan, as we did not believe the Plan adequately represented what was happening in Thames Centre in terms of growth, and did not forecast the needs of our community. We held this meeting and I am proud to say that TVDSB did release a REVISED Accommodation Plan that sees a capital plan for an expansion of West Nissouri Public School in 2023, as WNPS is currently at 118% capacity. In regards to a secondary school, during the last election we were advocating to keep Lord Dorchester Secondary School open as there were rumours it would be closed to support filling spots in Montcalm and Clarke Road. Over the last four years we have advocated for this school, and although it is currently only at 75% capacity, it has seen new programming and investments made to it. Ensuring the success of this school, and filling to capacity, is absolutely a priority before the school board will look at a new secondary school in Thames Centre. As much as these are school board issues, they are also municipal issues! 18. What are the most significant safety concerns for Thorndale? What do you commit to doing to increase the responsiveness of the OPP to increase enforcement where necessary? Two of the most significant concerns come down to road safety, and overall community safety. It has been a privilege over the last 4 years to serve as a Director on Ontario Good Roads’ Board and I have been able to do a lot of advocacy when it comes to transportation and infrastructure issues. One issue I have been extremely passionate about is road safety when it comes to our local roads in rural and small communities. I have done extensive work with Ontario Federation of Agriculture and Good Roads’ to collaborate on initiatives, and I’m excited to say that Rural Road Safety will be on our agenda to advocate at Queen’s Park in November. Should I be elected, I will bring my passion to continue to fight for this issue. From our Good Roads’ report for our meetings this past week: “There are disproportionately more collisions on rural roads than their urban counterparts. The high rate of crashes is caused by a combination of factors, including a lack of safety resources, simpler roadway infrastructure, poor emergency medical service and, to a significant extent, risky driver behaviours. Many fatal crashes happen on straight sections of roads. Good Roads believes its members have a role to play in addressing the infrastructure factor. Simple interventions to rural infrastructure, could save many lives.… Furthermore, Good Roads has built relationships with road safety infrastructure manufacturers who believe they have the tools to prevent these unnecessary deaths.” Good Roads’ is confident we can get the Province of Ontario to invest in a new rural road safety infrastructure program, and I am excited to be a part of this advocacy at Queens Park in November should I be elected. ASE has also been something I have been watching for a few years now, and particularly with my position on Good Roads, where we have been advocating to the Province of Ontario to implement Vision Zero practices into the Highway Traffic Act. I am passionate about implementing Vision Zero in the HTA, and (if I’m elected) I will be advocating to the Province at Queen’s Park in November to make these changes. One of the downsides of photo radar comes down to logistics. All municipalities have to enter into contracts with the Joint Processing Centre in Toronto who issue the fines. One of the biggest reasons I hear from residents to implement this is a “revenue generator”. In fact, ASE costs municipalities approximately $450 per day, including fees to the JPC. JPC estimates municipalities could see on average 6 fines per day - and at $77 each, doesn’t actually generate money for the municipality. Earlier this year, the City of Ottawa announced it lost $1.1 million in lost fines due to the fact that JPC didn’t issue tickets on time (they must be mailed out within 23 days) and called the province to deal with the backlogs. Generating revenue is not a reason to implement ASE, and there are many more cost-effective ways to address traffic calming. It is important to note that currently at this time, ASE can only be implemented in school zones or “community safety zones” - so they are not for everywhere. Over the last two years, we have been implementing solar radar signs, which we are still seeing success with, and I absolutely support continuing to use this and implementing more throughout the municipality. We recently also started using delineators and looking to add more cost-efficient ways to slow down traffic - unfortunately those seemed to just get used for target practice as many were intentionally damaged. I just had a great meeting recently with our Director of Public Works to talk about traffic calming and more options we can utilize. As I always say, if everyone would just obey the speed limit and rules of the road, this would be a mute conversation.. but alas! Someone once told me if you have to use “just” talking about human behaviour, it will never work! Enforcement and police presence is a key piece in community safety. In 2022, Thames Centre residents paid $1.8 million dollars towards policing to the Province of Ontario. It also should come as no surprise that the Ontario Provincial Police are both understaffed and under-resourced. Our police officers across Middlesex County do the absolute best with what they have available to do them. The OPP cannot take direction from Thames Centre Council, but through our Police Services Board locally here in Thames Centre, can consult with our local Board on community concerns. Back before the pandemic hit, Middlesex County representatives - including myself - met with local MPPs with our concerns about the lack of policing resources - particularly on our local roads. We were backed by our local Detachment Inspector who shared his very concerning staffing and resources concerns. We were also advised that the direction from the Province of Ontario is to give priority to provincial highways over local roads when possible - which means Highway 401 running through Thames Centre actually pulls police presence off of our own roads. We are currently in a multi-year contract with the OPP and it is my commitment to exploring what other options are available to our community. You can look at examples like next door in the Town of St. Marys who ended their contract with the OPP to contract the Town of Stratford for policing - for similar costs, however, the level of service the town has experienced has dramatically increased. There’s nothing to say that Thames Centre could not look at opportunities with the City of London, Town of Strathroy, Town of Woodstock, City of Stratford, Town of Aylmer, or any other police forces to cost out a contract to provide a greater level of service to the residents of Thames Centre. I have already started conversations with staff, however, the last time we “negotiated” a contract with the investigations. In this term of Council. I commit to doing this to ensure our residents are receiving the best service for the amount of dollars we invest into policing. 19. How do you plan to invest in recreational opportunities for residents of all ages? Specifically here in Thorndale, Thames Centre has partnered with the Boys and Girls Club to waive our rental space at the Thorndale Lions Community Centre to allow more youth recreation programming in Thorndale. Additionally, the Lions Seniors Centre - which programming is run by volunteers - has been actively expanding more programming available at the new Community Centre. Investments have been made on the grounds of the community centre, and there are still more to be made. I know lighting the pickleball courts is a passionate issue for many, and absolutely something I’m willing to work with residents on and I have already begun conversations with staff on it.
We already do have this in place, specifically in recreation facilities, where residents and non-residents are charged different rates for rentals. Additionally, we have allotments where non-residents are not permitted to rent facilities (for example, ice rentals on PD days or holidays). Additionally, we have implemented a policy across the board where local service groups (not-for-profit) can rent facilities at a discounted price, as well as have worked with the Boys and Girls Club in collaboration with I Love Thorndale to waive the costs of rentals to specifically allow more youth recreation programming in Thorndale specifically.
This conversation came to Middlesex County Council and I did support reducing the minimum farm parcel size at the County level. I specifically used examples here in Thames Centre where there are very successful farms that sit on parcels less than 100 acres and are thriving businesses. Agriculture is changing at a rapid pace and as we set official plans that set the benchmark for planning for the next 25 years, we have to be able to adapt with the industry and ensure we are keeping up. There is absolutely a need for 100-acre parcels, but there are also successful farming operations that only require 50 acres, and they should be given an opportunity to open their business here in Thames Centre and Middlesex County without being held back by archaic policies.
This is a great question and something that has absolutely been on the radar for a few years now in terms of staffing capabilities and changes to mandatory certifications, amongst other fire services-related concerns. In terms of staffing and ensuring we have the availability of firefighters - particularly during daytime hours - is absolutely something we need to keep an eye on, as moving to a full-time complement of fire staff is a huge undertaking, including a big financial hit to the budget. It’s also something that our Fire Chief will need to keep in mind as we are hiring staff as to what their availability is. In terms of certification, this has been in the works over the last few years and municipalities and our organizations, including the Rural Municipalities of Ontario Association, have been advocating to the province to ensure that rural municipalities with volunteer compliments are not left without certified emergency personnel. It’s a concern that we know about, and as with many issues, keeping it on our radar.
Again, this is another issue that has been on our radar since 2019, and one I’ve been fairly vocal about. Pre-COVID I was at a conference and specifically asked MPAC about this, specifically in relation to when the price of farmland was increasing and the impacts assessments would have on that. The reality is, municipalities should not be treating increased MPAC assessments as a goldmine and we know what it takes to run our municipality efficiently and effectively with the needs we have. Tax rates will absolutely need to be adjusted to ensure that residents - and landowners - are not negatively impacted.
1. We need to expand and enhance our trails in Thames Centre, and update our Trails Master Plan 2. We need to expand our playgrounds to make each of them more accessible (beyond the basic AODA guidelines) and more inclusive 3. In Thorndale specifically, we need to upgrade the soccer pitches. |
Sharron McMillan - Mayoral Candidate
Because I see a real need for change in the way we do things - from issues with development and most importantly fiscal responsibility
3 Things: My answer is throughout the whole Municipality since I am running for Mayor: a) As regards Thorndale - work on finding ways to bridge the gap between Dorchester and Thorndale b) Fiscal responsibility - we are likely entering a period of moderate recession and higher interest rates. Find ways to save money and make sure what is collected is well spent.
Zoning bylaws are regulated through the OP - we just did that exercise, so I believe it would be necessary to examine each proposal on a case by case basis, and generally NO to rezoning farmland.
Not always! Have concerns that too much development money was spent on a ball field.
From talking to residents, one I can think of is drainage on Upper Queen St.
I think we need to work on economic development in both Villages in the Municipality - find trusted partners to help support jobs and bring in new business
I think Thorndale has a nice main street with a variety of small businesses. I, so far, have found parking adequate
Funding this sort of thing is a bit tricky and usually takes time. It may be something to explore in the future
It appears that there might be a need for staffing presence to assist the residents of Thorndale and is one of the areas I intend to look at if elected
Our Municipality is geographically diverse. Beyond what we currently have, this is a subject that would require future study before I could answer.
I have considered small group input on this issue
12. What is the most significant issue related to Thorndale's development in your opinion? As in all our communities, growth in association with maintaining our more rural quality of life
Study, citizen input and funding whatever the project
14. If you received a $1 million grant to use for Thorndale any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why? Infrastructure because it is key to any community
I think we all have a role to play, both citizens and government
16. What is your stance on the Proposed Elliott Gravel Pit given it is located less than 1km away from an elementary school and subdivision? Will you advocate for additional air quality testing if the pit should become operational? Aggregate issues are difficult. We need the materials for roads, construction, etc. but I do recognize the issues residents face. Mitigating the problems is likely our greatest problem.
17. With all the growth in Thorndale: What is being done to advocate for more elementary school space? Any discussion of a secondary school? *Arlene Arlene can best answer this
18. What are the most significant safety concerns for Thorndale? What do you commit to doing to increase the responsiveness of the OPP to increase enforcement where necessary? Work with the police services board on issues surrounding road safety and more importantly speed
19. How do you plan to invest in recreational opportunities for residents of all ages? With community partners, look at what is needed, how it can be funded
Obviously it is better to give priority to residents
100 acres is likely a good base, but there are specific areas of agriculture where 50 acres works well
If elected, I would like some input from emergency services before making any decisions
This is an area I think is better discussed when we know the impacts
Making good decisions based on need and fiscal responsibility.
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