Health & Fitness
A step in the right direction but much more is needed
It has been about a month since the residents of Ward 2 elected me to be their Councillor. When I was elected several people told me that they hoped I would continue to speak out on the issues and how they are being addressed.
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I’ll start with private ways. Last spring, a friend of mine asked me for some help because the city wanted to assess each homeowner on his street between 85 and 100 thousand dollars to replace the water main on their street. This, in spite of the fact that the cost of maintaining the system is factored into the water bill.
On April 12, I wrote a column in the Tribune on this problem. Councillor Vizard picked up on the issue and put in an order to correct this unfairness. If all goes well, this may be corrected before I am sworn in in January.
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I have written and talked about the serious issues affecting our downtown for many years both as a columnist and a candidate. Although, a complete review of all zoning is in order, changes to allow bakeries and delicatessens are now moving through the council. A small step in the right direction.
Still troubling is the lack of a Master Plan. Both the Mayor and the City Council have approved money to redo the sidewalks and plant new trees on Moody Street. Meanwhile, the City Council is looking at plans to redesign Moody Street, a classic case of putting the cart before the horse. Hopefully, everyone will get together on this issue and do it right.
There is much more going on that I will talk about later, but my next blog will be about my personal experiences moving from a candidate to a councillor.