January 8, 2015
1564
Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie says 2014 was a busy year, with a lot of major issues for council to deal with. As for 2015, she is optimistic many of these issues can be resolved.
Seated in an office upstairs at the municipal administrative centre, while the downstairs is being renovated, Eadie admits one of the highlights of last year was being elected mayor of the municipality during the Oct. 27 election.
“We had a reasonably good year in 2014, as council dealt with a lot of big issues,” she says. “The main thing was the natural gas project and the progress made toward drawing up a business report. It's a complicated process and the industry is heavily-regulated. After four years of work by the Penetangore Regional Economic Development Corporation (PREDC) and the three-mayor committee (representing Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Arran-Elderslie), we had a report that clarified a lot of the issues for people.”
She encourages people to read the report because it addresses a lot of the concerns.
As for the business case to bring natural gas to the three municipalities, Eadie says that now waits on the provincial and federal governments to provide the necessary funding.
“The three mayors and staff are meeting with the Ontario Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Energy Board in January,” says Eadie. “We have to lobby the government for funding because we can't finance the project ourselves.”
Another major project was the multi-million-dollar Huron Ridge reconstruction which is almost completed.
“We're narrowing in on the end of it,” says Eadie, “and the Ridge looks quite modern. We're monitoring it to see if the drainage problems have been addressed.”
This year, two short roads – Sandy Crescent and McGregor Road – will be reconstructed and a final top coat added to complete the project. “It needed to be done,” Eadie says, “and it has made a huge difference to that area.”
A large chunk of municipal money has gone to renovations at the municipal hall which Eadie says was a huge project because a lot of repairs were required.
“We went ahead and did the whole project because we saved money in the long-run,” she says. “I give staff a lot of credit for running a municipal election, bringing in a new council and running the day-to-day operations, all while these renovations were under way. It has been a real challenge.”
Having new members make up half the new council meant a significant amount of training, says Eadie, in order for those members to get up to speed on such things as the natural gas project, the sale of Bruce Telecom and the proposed 2015 budget.
“We had six meetings in about two weeks,” she says. “That's a lot of work for the new council and for staff.”
Last year, saw a number of environmental initiatives, such as the focus on the recycling program at the Armow landfill site, says Eadie. This was featured in a video which is now on the municipal website. Also, the environmental action group has helped develop programs to deal with shoreline phragmites and the Emerald Ash Borer.
The proposed sale of Bruce Telecom to Eastlink (Bragg Communications), announced last January, was dealt a blow by the competition bureau which renounced the deal, and now the sale sits in limbo.
“We still have to deal with that issue,” says Eadie. “I would like to have a decision soon but the new council has to get up to speed on why the decision was made to sell the company, and we might not have a presentation from the consultants until February.”
Last year, saw the Joint Review Panel hearings wrap-up, looking into Ontario Power Generation's proposed Deep Geologic Repository (DGR) for low-level and intermediate-level nuclear waste at the Bruce Nuclear site. Eadie says that whole issue is out of Kincardine's hands and rests with the panel which is to deliver its report to the environment minister on or before May 6, 2015.
And finally, another major issue was the lakeshore drinking water pipeline and the bylaw approved by council in April to force all abutting landowners to pay the capital charge of $7,200 each, in order to clear the $1.5-million pipeline debt.
“That's coming to council Jan. 14 (that meeting is now being held at the Underwood Community Centre, due to renovations at the municipal hall),” says Eadie. “We will have a staff report which outlines the consequences if we don't have the landowners pay the capital charge. I hope council will be objective and take all the factors into consideration. And I urge the new councillors to make a decision based on reason.”
Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie looks forward to the challenges in 2015
Looking forward into 2015, Eadie says her top priority is communication.
She plans to set aside time at her office at least twice a week – Monday or Tuesday and Friday mornings – to meet with ratepayers and discuss their concerns. The mayor's office will be downsized to provide room for the rest of council to meet with ratepayers too.
Eadie also plans to be at the Underwood office at least one morning per month to meet with ratepayers, and she encourages people to make an appointment and discuss the issues.
“The challenge for the new council is to keep alive the vision and ideas that came forward during the election,” says Eadie. “The budget is the top priority now, but after that, council needs to come up with a plan for the next four years.”
She admits the budget is going to be tough to hammer out, given the number of infrastructure projects, and capital projects required, as well as the operating budget to run the municipality.
“Ideally, you'd be looking at a budget increase of about three to five per cent,” she says, “but before we even start discussions, we're looking at a loss in revenue of $1.2-million. Staff has already cut as much as it can from the operating budget. It's up to council at the next budget meeting Jan. 12 (also to be held at the Underwood Community Centre) to see what we can trim from operating and determine what projects have to be done and which ones can wait.”
Eadie says the Kincardine hospital needs major attention and council has invited Paul Rosebush, president and chief executive officer of the South Bruce Grey Health Centre (which operates the hospitals in Kincardine, Walkerton, Chesley and Durham), to discuss the Kincardine hospital at a council meeting in January or February.
“We've been sitting here patiently, waiting for a new hospital, when the project was halted in 2011,” says Eadie. “Now, the board has come up with a project on a smaller scope to renovate the hospital, which is very much needed, and it is slowly going through the process.”
Despite the major issues that council must deal with, Eadie is optimistic about 2015.
“If we use our collective intelligence, we can come up with the best decisions based on the information we have,” she says. “That's the best we can do.”
As she puts on the mayor's chain of office for a photograph, Eadie says she is humbled that the people of the Municipality of Kincardine have entrusted her with such a responsibility.
“On the other hand, I'm finding the job very interesting,” she says. “I enjoy being at Bruce County council and being at the ground level for information on things the county deals with.
“I see my role as a facilitator on Kincardine council. As mayor, I will visit, and listen to the needs of, various areas of the municipality. I have good experience with rural and urban areas. I have a broader background which I find useful as mayor.”
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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