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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2004 THE NEW TANNER 19 Mayor Bonnette reviews first year in office Continued from last week The New Tanner asked Mayor Rick Bonnette to re- view his first year in office by answering a series of questions. This is the second and last instalment of the mayor ¥ replies. Q: Describe the relation- ship you have built with your council during the first year in office, and your style of being "boss." A: I believe I have a great relationship with my council. I have an open door policy with them and I work on a consensus. It is important to be fair. I have worked with four previous mayors before I was elected to this position. One of the criticisms of some of the past mayors was coun- cillors felt they were left out of the loop on issues (particu- larly issues in their ward). I inform them, for the most part of important issues in their ward. We have had ward meetings in my office to dis- cuss issues in their ward. Lalso invite the ward coun- cillors to all photo ops. This wasn't a past practice of pre- vious Mayors. I- feel it is important to them to get to know of new business open- ing up in their ward. Also, every.two weeks I have a meeting with the two Regional Councillors Jane Fogal and Clark Somerville to discuss the Regional agendas. When we only have three voiees at the Region, I believe that we should have a consen- sus when we go to Regional council. We may disagree from time to time and that is democracy. As long as we re- spect each other's opinions. For the most part I have a laid back attitude but I can be tough if needed. Q: What would you like to accomplish in the next two years, and how will you try to fulfil those plans? A: I would like to ensure that the development of the 401/407 Gateway Business Park becomes a reality. The decision of Mold Masters to locate there and council's de- cision to invest $1.5 million will act as a catalyst for high quality development. I antici- _ pate over the next two years we will see several industrial buildings proceed. We need jobs in our community and we need industrial and commer- cial growth. Our economic development office has devel- oped a marketing campaign for industrial expansion and my office, council and staff will work collectively to get the message out that Halton Hills is the place to locate. I would like to see our Ac- ton water allocation resolved so that we can concentrate on getting industry in Acton as well as office space for doc- tors. I am working on a fundraiser for the Youth Cen- tre as well as I hope to see the skateboard park built. Q: What has surprised Mayor Rick Bonnette you most about being mayor? What do you like best, and least? A: The biggest surprise is how rich we are in our com- munity by our volunteers. We have so many organizations that commit so much to our town to make it a great place to live. There are 52 weeks in a year and I can tell you last year there have been over 90 functions from annual general meetings of many organiza- tions to actual events. We have a wealth of talent in our community. What I like the best is all of the interesting people I have met since taking over the job. A pleasant surprise is how well I have been received in all parts of Halton Hills. What I like best is resolv- ing issues and helping people. Also, I like the planning for our community particular (sic) working on Economic Development. Another surprise is the number of emails I receive from the public and letters. I try to answer all of them in a timely fashion. The more technical questions I do refer to staff. I guess what I like the least is the amount of conflicts from neighbours. You'd be surprised how many neigh- bour conflicts there are. It is unfortunate, for whatever rea- son; these conflicts come up. Q: Can Halton Hills have a strong voice in planning -- can it fight urban sprawl -- in light of provincial plans for managed growth? A: The Town of Halton Hills has always had a strong voice in planning. Example the Region's Halton Urban Structure Plan confirmed the Town's past position for planned growth: Georgetown 50,000, Acton 10,000, rural area 10,000 and the industri- alization of the 401 corridor. The new Green Belt plan in many instances reflects our current policy initiatives and the Town's strategic plan. Our town will continue with it ef- forts to ensure that communities within the Green Belt are scaled to a size to re- flect the character of those communities in a Green Belt setting. I have been against urban sprawl which was my tough stand during last year's elec- tion.. Now we have a new planner at the table, the Prov- ince. The Regional and Area Municipality plan review ex- ercise can be staged in a manner to phase long term' growth, balance and short term growth needs. The Town has retained its urban boundaries since the mid 1980's with the idea that planned growth would be contained inside these boundaries. We have been successful in the past and in that regard and we would ex- pect to provide the same stewardship in the future. Q: Halton Region is 30 years old. Is Regional gov- ernment working to the benefit of Acton taxpayers? A: Definitely, it has taken some time but I think gradu- ally people are not feeling the same disconnect from the Region as some of the resi- dents in our town felt in the early years of Regional gov- ernment. In the last few years we have had a $7- million up- grade to our sewers. This summer the region spent al- most $2-million on the water and wastewater mains for the downtown Acton core. We now have a 24-hour ambu- lance service. Last year, the Region put in an epoxy liner, which was not budgeted, in the Lakeview subdivision that was close to $600,000. This gave local residents quality water to wash and drink. Also the re- gion has helped with economic growth (401 corri- dor). The region has an excellent credit rating. This benefits the town as we can borrow from the region at a lower cost. Also the Region was an ally when we opposed the Acton landfill many years ago. One thing that residents may not be aware of is that a huge component of the Re- gions budget is for police. Q: Give yourself a per- formance grade, from A to F, on the following items: taxation, environmental protection, ratepayer com- munications, managing the Town and balancing pub- lic and private life. A: I cannot grade myself, as this is something that the public will do at the election. e CONGRATULATIONS: Acton Figure skating coach Vicki Newman, centre, congratu-- lates two of her students, Ashley MacPherson, left, and Sarah Cunningham, right, on their medal performances at skating competitions at Keswick and Grimsby recently. Ashley was a Silver Medallist at Keswick while Sarah won a Bronze Medal at Grimsby. Ashley was fourth in preliminary elements at Keswick, second in preliminary free skate and sixth in introductory interpretive. At Grimsby she was fourth in preliminary free skate and ninth in introductory interpretive. Sarah was third in preliminary free skate at Grimsby> and tenth in introductory interpretive. At Keswick Sarah notched a sixth in preliminary elements and seventh in preliminary free skate and introductory interpretive. -- Submitted photo. I can give comments on each subject. ¢Taxation- We were look- ing at a 10% tax increase last year. I broke tradition when I became the first Mayor in Halton Hills history to be- come chair of the budget. We came in at a 5.8% increase with 2% dedicated for noth- ing else but our roads. ¢Protecting the environ- ment- Last year we put in an aggressive pesticide reduc- tion program at a cost of close $75,000. Staff is presently working, under my direction, on an energy reduction pro- gram to conserve energy in our Town buildings. We are looking at experimenting with electric vehicles to re- duce emissions. Lastly, we are currently looking at the Hungry Hol- low Management Plan to finalize trails and park space as well as looking at acquir- ing land'in the Acton area for \ ic _ Traqy Mitchell D.D. Your local Complete & Call to schedule an appointment to discuss your denture needs New Patients are always welcome hskxor)130 Mill Street East, #103, Acton pea (519) 853-0079 a future community park. *Communicating with ratepayers- I have been con- sistent with a mayor's column as well as receiving an average of 7 emails, one letter and about four phone calls daily from the public. I answer all of them. I have an open door policy and I intend to keep it this way. Managing the town -- | believe staff morale is up and we are not losing the staff that we were a few years back. With the help of councillors we have many town commit- tees working together on making-our town safe. Some committees are the Fire Mas- ter Plan, Town Accessibility, I sit on emergency planning, to name a few. *Balancing public and private life- You may want to ask my wife Josey (joking). The job has many long days averaging 12 hours a day, sometimes longer. I try to book certain weekends in my calendar when I can but some- times it is not easy with so many functions and most of them on weekends. | still manage to have my Friday nights free, for the most part, to coach ladies hockey in AC ton. NEED WHEELS? ,, NO CREDIT? : POOR CREDIT? HAVE JOB? . : WE CAN HELP! ; WE SERVICE ALL MAKE AND MODEL "Wiig. thn, S°, Whey thn, "n,n "ts