Mayor Jim Parsons
Corner Brook
1) Has your council done some positive things in the community during the past year?
I’m proud we started down the road of developing our tourist sector with work around all-terrain vehicle tourism and leading a strategic plan for the Bay of Islands as a tourism destination. ...We started forming some community committees as outreach with one aimed around accessibility and making a more inclusive community. The other is a community services committee made up of representatives from groups to work with non-profits and social services. This is stuff cities haven’t been directly involved with but something we as a council feel we have a role to play.
2) What’s the biggest accomplishment your council has made since being elected?
Council’s biggest accomplishment is the establishment of a committee to eliminate the poll tax. This takes a burden not only off youth but also people with low incomes. It’s a symbol that we want young people to come to our city.
3) Is there anything in particular that you have your sights set on moving forward?
We have our sights set on making changes to how our committees work internally and being more responsive to citizens. We’re going to continue to find ways to improve our economy by developing partnerships with our major industries, including our post-secondary education sector.
Mayor Tom Rose
Stephenville
1) Has your council done some positive things in the community during the past year?
From the economy and business front, the announcement by Marine Harvest to spend $51 million in the aquaculture industry has been positive. From a community perspective, we moved forward in hiring a recreational director and feel this is a positive that will enhance the community. Another was putting bike lanes in Stephenville promoting healthy, active living. One under both the economy and the community was supporting the development of tiny homes in Stephenville
2) What’s the biggest accomplishment your council has made since being elected?
I believe our council’s biggest accomplishment has been the attention Stephenville has received as being a “trendy” community, from the tiny home development, bike lanes to the mountain bike trail development.
3) Is there anything in particular that you have your sights set on moving forward?
Our sights are set on increasing traffic at our airport and port facilities. Porter Airlines increased capacity this year, which is a good news story for the travelling public. ...Our broad approach is to look at our seniors, working class, children and the business sector.
Dean Ball
Deer Lake
1) Has your council done some positive things in the community during the past year?
In the last year we’ve had some excellent developments get underway in our town with the breaking of ground for the new Hampton Inn by Hilton, a start on the construction of a new Dollarama Store, a start in January of a new Tim Horton’s/Dairy Queen/Orange Store and the foundation now in for a new Winging It restaurant. In addition to about 16 new housing starts, residents have been really stepping up their game in the last 2-3 years and renovating their properties.
2) What’s the biggest accomplishment your council has made since being elected?
I will honestly say our biggest accomplishment, with four new elected councillors, has been getting through the growing pains of a new council and everyone now working together. With regular meetings every second Monday night and other meetings every other Monday, council is busy with a lot on the go and a lot on the radar. As a council, we’re not missing any opportunity and chasing down any deals that we can close.
3) Is there anything in particular that you have your sights set on moving forward?
We have a couple of irons in the fire, including closing deals in October on three parcels of land in our new industrial park and in negotiations with businesses on a couple more parcels in our 70-acre lot. In our five-year plan we are looking at water and sewer work on High Street first and after that the upper side of Main Street.
Gary Bishop
Pasadena
1) Has your council done some positive things in the community during the past year?
During our first year, through a capital works project, we have increased the capacity for water usage by 50 per cent. Our council wanted to be more transparent so we now live-stream all our meetings. We’ve received a grant for $50,000 for asset management to do an inventory and chart a course during the next number of years.
2) What’s the biggest accomplishment your council has made since being elected?
Our biggest accomplishment this year is that during challenging times, through a surplus and grants from government, we’ve improved the town infrastructure while holding taxes at the same rate.
3) Is there anything in particular that you have your sights set on moving forward?
We are planning improvements to our recreational facilities including looking at a splash pad/outdoor rink combination. We have about 13 acres of land in the lake area where the former Rod and Gun Club was located, so we are looking at a marina concept for that location. Council’s also campaigning to have some accommodations put in the town, including a boutique and a motel.
Mayor Tony Major
Rocky Harbour
1) Has your council done some positive things in the community during the past year?
During our first year with this council we are continuing Phase 1 of our waterline project. We got our arena back up and running and have a new arena committee in place. We are looking at the feasibility of hiring a new recreation director. For our town, tourism continues to be a big thing and council strives to make sure all tourism operators are happy. There were some engineering faults in our septic system so we are working at getting that rectified and operating properly.
2) What’s the biggest accomplishment your council has made since being elected?
Out biggest accomplishment this year was securing funding to get our waterline replaced and those improvements to the septic system to make us more environmentally friendly.
3) Is there anything in particular that you have your sights set on moving forward?
We continue on the development of the former Shears Esso Gas Station property for a new multi-purpose community building located right in the middle of town. We’ll be able to host summer festivals on those grounds and have sections for businesses to go in and operate. It’s located next to the waterfront, which is ideal for all types of festivals. We plan to do more road paving in the town and continue in the future with the other three phases of our water system.
