Members of the local business community packed the Grand River Raceway as Centre Wellington Mayor Kelly Linton addressed the crowd at the mayor’s breakfast on Jan. 28.
The event was hosted by the Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce, whose president Janet Harrop noted one of the main goals of the chamber is advocating for businesses and helping businesses succeed.
Harrop said the mayor’s breakfast is one of the events the chamber hosts each year to help people meet with businesses, noting “it’s a great networking opportunity.”
Harrop thanked OLG for its sponsorship of the mayor’s breakfast for the past several years as well as many other events throughout Centre Wellington.
“We very much appreciate their support of this event,” said Harrop.
OLG director of municipal and community relations Jake Pastore said, “These breakfasts are a great way to come together for the sharing of information and encouraging dialogue and networking. It is an important part of your community and OLG is very proud to be part of it.”
Pastore added that since 2003, OLG sponsorship in Centre Wellington has totalled more than $425,000 and, “We’re very proud of the dollars we invest in your community.”
He also noted that since Grand River Raceway opened in 2003 the Centre Wellington community has received more than $20 million in hosting fees and has used those dollars to fulfill many priorities in the community.
“We’re very proud to support all our host communities across the province and especially proud in the role we’ve played in strengthening Centre Wellington over the past number of years.”
Linton said he was pleased to see the turnout of Centre Wellington business leaders and he thanked the chamber for hosting the event and the OLG for sponsoring it.
“I’m sure you’ve heard the statement government doesn’t create jobs, they just create the environment for businesses to succeed,” Linton said.
“We recognize you and your companies play a critical role as the engine of growth for our township. Without the jobs and the investment which comes from the business community we could knock ourselves out writing business plans, secondary plans, strategic plans and policies … but have little to show for it without the work of our businesses and the work the private sector does.”
The mayor added, “It is really important for us to create an environment which is conducive for good business.”
Linton introduced the senior management team and members of council, then highlighted major projects for 2014 with an outline of the major capital projects for 2015.
He said Centre Wellington has a great senior management team … which makes the job of elected representatives so much more pleasant. Linton added one of the things accomplished within the first months of the new term of council was the development of a citizen questionnaire. As of the breakfast meeting, 350 responses were received from the online survey, he said, noting 92 per cent of respondents believe the quality of life in the township is either good or excellent.
“I think everyone here recognizes that we live in a great community,” Linton said. “We can travel around the country and be assured this is a community a lot of people would love to live in.”
As he introduced councillors Linton commented, “we often don’t have a chance to recognize the level of expertise or the amount of real life experience your elected representatives bring to the table.
“We have a really good team in place right now with a lot of diverse experience. One of the things I think is really important is that we are different. It is in those differences that we are stronger as a team.
“It is important to recognize that in the next four years we will not always see eye to eye … that is healthy.”
In his review of 2014 Linton discussed the new Centre Wellington website.
“A ton of work has gone into it,” he said, explaining every department had representatives involved to help make the new website more user friendly and it easier to get information faster in a variety of ways.
Linton added the new website means Centre Wellington also meets provincial accessibility standards.
When it comes to the township protecting its heritage assets, Linton mentioned the designation of the Irvine Street bowstring bridge near Salem.
“Usually you see us designate heritage homes, but in 2014 we designated this. Bowstring bridges are important because we are losing a lot of them. There used to be hundreds in the province but we are now down to just a handful.”
Shifting the focus to 2015, Linton spoke of various projects within the 2015 capital budget, including:
– reconstruction of Water Street in Elora from High Street to Bridge Street;
– 1st Line (West Garafraxa) from municipal #6687 to Sideroad 15;
– reconstruction of Chalmers Street in Elora from Church Street to Colborne Street;
– reconstruction of Price Street in Elora from Mill Street to Church Street;
– implementation of a new multi-year pavement management program to replace small sections of pavement;
– “proactive remediation” on township bridges to extend their useful life;
– senior centre expansion in Fergus;
– renovations at 10 Mill St. for the relocation of the tourism office and downtown public washrooms;
– Bissell Park public washrooms;
– upgrading of the Fergus Grand Theatre for accessibility, including the front lobby and washroom; and
– pre-engineering for the reconstruction of Middlebrook Road from 3rd Line to Wellington Road 7.
Looking to the future, Linton said one thing candidates heard in election campaigns last fall was the message residents wanted to have the municipality listen.
As a result Linton said open government and improved communication are themes Centre Wellington wants to achieve in the coming term.
He noted residents recognize they have to pay taxes, “But people also want to know what their taxes are being spent on. They want to make sure that makes sense to them.”
He continued, “We want to make sure the tax dollars that we do spend – our priorities are clear and make sense. It’s not rocket science, we want to make sure that we are spending money on things that matter to the community and businesses.”
Linton added, “We have to develop communication methods that meet the preferences of our customers and citizens,” noting it will be important to identify and meet those needs during the next four years.
Strategic spending
Linton said “strategic spending” will require:
– establishing strategic priorities for this term of council;
– community engagement that builds on (but goes farther than) the citizen questionnaire results; and
– finding priorities that will drive budgeting decisions.
Linton noted that, in addition to the online survey, the township will hold quarterly town hall meetings to gather face-to-face feedback.
“I have committed us to seasonal town hall meetings,” he said, adding he hopes the meetings provide an informal venue for residents to express their views.
Linton said another goal is to optimize the role of the local economic development committee as a group of industry experts providing practical advice to council to take action to promote economic growth.
In addition, Linton wants to see the creation of an industrial land strategy looking at current inventory and future supply, as well as municipal and private sector roles in the development and supply of lands.
“It is our job as a local government to let people know we are open for growth … and remove barriers whenever we can,” he said.
“We want to have a balanced view. We do not want to see this as a bedroom community. We want to make sure this is a great place for you to have a business, expand a business … so you can grow with us as a township. We want to make sure this is a priority over the next four years.”
He spoke of the creation of a strategy looking at the future supply and the development of commercial and industrial land.
“This has to be a major focus for us. We are in competition with our neighbours for jobs and investment … We have to ensure the township is well positioned to get the jobs and investment we need in our community.”
He said good work has been done by the township and the county on the business retention and expansion project and an action plan is now in place.
“I’m looking to the next four years with practical action and making sure this community is an even better place to live and work,” said Linton.
Awards of Excellence
Harrop reminded those at the event that nominations close on March 6 for the Chamber of Commerce’s Awards of Excellence (to be held May 24 at the Fergus Grand Theatre).
“We have great businesses within our community,” she said. She recommended people visit the chamber website to review categories for nominating and to get more information about “the great businesses we have in our community.”
