We have a lot to deal with in the coming years…

Homelessness/Drug Addiction
Let’s face it – nobody chooses to be homeless and there are as many reasons for it as there are homeless people in encampments and various spots around Chatham-Kent. Unfortunately, drug addiction is sometimes, but not always a part of the homelessness crisis, delivering its own set of challenges.
Systemic breakdowns and halted transfer payments over the years from both the provincial and federal governments have only increased the problems and municipalities have been increasingly asked to step up.
We’re also dealing with illegal drugs that are far more potent and far more dangerous than those in the past.
Local residents are more than familiar with the impact of drug use and abuse in our community, and as a resident of Ward 7, I’m very aware of the tragic characters who haunt our local landscape.
Like many, I’ve averted my stare, had uncharitable thoughts at times, and quite recently came perilously close to hitting some clearly diminished soul who decided to step in front of my car on King Street.
This isn’t what I want for myself, my family or my community.
Unfortunately, this isn’t a situation the municipality can manage on its own.

We need ongoing dialogue with Chatham-Kent Police Services, whose members deal with this situation daily. Clearly, our laws were not designed to deal with the situations confronting communities across Canada and those laws need to change.
In tandem with that, we need to restore and initiate services successive provincial governments have done away with in the name of fiscal responsibility.
We also need to work with pertinent staff at the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Canadian Mental Health Association Lambton-Kent and other community organizations.
And, we need to understand and acknowledge the boots-on-the-ground work being done by municipal staff, various organizations and companies and volunteers every single day and those people need to be actively involved in the conversation.

Affordable Housing
We must ensure there is a supply of affordable housing in our community and we have not seen a lot of movement in that area.
In Chatham-Kent, many people are struggling financially and we can only expect that situation to get worse in the coming years.
Technology and offshoring decimated our once mighty manufacturing base, with many of the remaining jobs paying far less than a living wage.
In addition, we have a large population of seniors on fixed incomes and young people unable to find work adequate to enable them to move forward in life.
We have certainly seen our tax dollars going to invest in properties that may be used for future projects, but thus far, we have not seen much movement and the people waiting for affordable housing are frustrated to see new apartments and houses being built that they cannot hope to afford.

The municipality needs to prioritize must-do’s like providing affordable housing over nice-to-do projects, which not only take much-needed away funding from important projects, but weaken the faith and trust residents have in council.
When it comes to housing, we need to be creative and outside-the-box thinkers as we do have a surplus of properties that could potentially be converted to housing.
We also need to advocate for a living wage so that those struggling have options beyond couch-surfing, stop-gap housing and in the worst case scenario, living on the streets.

Administration Runs The Show
We hear this a lot, and in many cases it’s true. The reality is that councils come and go, but the bureaucrats are often there for the long haul. With the creation of a new role – Deputy Chief Administrative Officer – last year, residents had even more cause to be frustrated with a situation which appears to have been out of the hands of council.
However, it is the role of council to ensure wise decisions and thoughtful policies and procedures are implemented, and that there is a shared vision with buy-in from employees.

Much of what happens within the municipality is invisible to the public because it’s the day-to-day work done by staff. Council cannot and should not try and micromanage staff, but they should take a healthy interest in their activities, especially when they are involved in matters of particular concern to the public.

Distrust Of Council
It’s not difficult to understand why some people have lost faith in governments at all levels over the years. For many of us, life has gotten more difficult, wages have shrunk and it seems like the only real connection we have with governments is through the taxes we pay.
And while we pay taxes to all three levels of government, it can feel like the biggest hit for property owners comes four times a year when the municipal tax bill comes around.
And what do we receive in exchange for the ever-increasing taxes we pay?
Certainly over the past couple of years, it seems that many of our concerns have fallen on deaf ears. Big ticket expenditures and smug assurances that all is financially well in Chatham-Kent fly in the face of most people’s concerns.

All members of council need to recognize the fact that CK residents are diverse in their experiences, in their finances, their social situations and their backgrounds. Whether they are millionaires, people living paycheque to paycheque or living in tents, they all deserve the same consideration and respect.

The Budget
As residents of Chatham-Kent, we have been watching our tax bills increasing year after year with seemingly no end in sight.
While it’s easy to suggest that we simply cut staff, reduce salaries or pull the plug on major projects, in many cases that’s just not practical. And a ‘zero per cent’ tax increase is not going to, nor should it happen.

What needs to happen though, is responsible planning with the onus on departments to find savings within their own budgets without rolling out suggestions like closing libraries and arenas – a quick way to save big bucks, and a great way to further alienate an electorate who are already frustrated.
We also need to remember that Chatham-Kent is not Toronto. We have a huge municipality but a relatively small population which means there are only so many tax dollars to go around. If we have competent management and staff in place at the municipality, they should have the expertise to make the changes necessary to shave their budgets responsibly with minimal impact to the services residents rely on.
If we don’t have management and staff who are capable of making the same sorts of tweaks many of us are already making with our personal budgets, then it is time to make some changes.
For some residents of CK, higher taxes are simply a minor irritation, but for some it’s the difference between staying in their home or not. It could be the difference to staying in our community, or not.

Artifical Intelligence (A.I.)
There is no question that the entire world will continue to change as a result of the impacts of A.I., not only on business and business processes, but all aspects of our day-to-day.

CK needs to be run by people who understand not only its risks but its potential.
The reality is that A.I. will continue to cost us jobs and we need to be ready for that. A.I., when used successfully at the municipal level will allow us to fill gaps in service and streamline service delivery. However, we need to be judicious in its use and not look at using it as an easy way to save money by eliminating jobs.

The Hub
Unfortunately the situation revolving around the Community Hub now under construction in downtown Chatham has been a contributing factor in the current distrust of council.
Those outside of Chatham see this as yet another example of ‘the city getting everything,’ which of course isn’t the case, and those of us here in Chatham know many of us were very much opposed to what seems like more of a ‘nice-to-have’ rather than a ‘must-have.’
The decision to move forward with the hub, despite strong community opposition leaves a lot of decisions up in the air. What is going to happen with the current Chatham library building, and what about the Civic Centre? The hub budget assumes they will both be sold, with revenue helping to offset the $53 million projected cost. The municipality has spent a considerable amount of time and effort trying to convince residents that the Civic Centre in particular would be too costly to repair. If that’s the case, you’d think it would be a tough sell to investors. However, I suspect it won’t be difficult at all to sell this iconic building which is perched on the river. The library could be a bit more of a challenge, and could well end up joining the stock of unused buildings the municipality already owns.

Now that construction on the hub is well underway, I don’t believe there is any point pretending we can walk away from it, but we need to keep a close eye on this project and the municipal assets that are now in play as a result.
And, moving forward, we need to ensure that money spent on capital projects is closely scrutinised and spent on items that are critical to the community’s long-term viability and the safety and well-being of residents.

Our Infrastructure Crisis
Back in 2024, we were shocked to hear that we’d be dealing with some hefty increases in our water and waste water bills in the coming years, thanks to capital costs which were projected to hit almost $1.2 billion.
But that’s just the tip of the infrastructure iceberg. One has only to take a drive around CK to see crumbling roads along with bridges and culverts that have certainly seen better days. And let’s not forget that successive councils’ historic reluctance to spend tax dollars on the nuts and bolts of the municipality is precisely what brought us to the state we’re in today.

We have to do better, not just in addressing the infrastructure concerns we have today, but in ensuring we don’t pass them along to future generations. It has taken a long time to get to this point and it’s not a situation we can fix overnight, but we have to address it. If we keep doing what we’ve been doing – or in this case not doing – it’s only a matter of time before the yet-to-be-completed community hub needs to be replaced.

Outside The Box Thinking
There are a lot of people in Chatham-Kent and there is no shortage of great ideas. Unfortunately we have seen all too often that it’s the same voices which get solicited and heard by council and it’s time to change that.
We have our fair share of challenges, but we also have boundless opportunities if we are willing to embrace positive change and do some things differently.

I’d like to see more opportunities for residents to be more involved and better informed about the issues and decisions that will ultimately impact all of us. Nothing erodes trust in government more than after-the-fact announcements and the perception that council isn’t particularly interested in the concerns of residents. The next great idea to move our community forward could well be rattling around in the mind of someone who’s just waiting for an opportunity to provide it.

Agriculture
There has never been a better time for us to leverage everything our agricultural sector has to offer. Canadians are embracing Canadian-grown and Canadian-made like never before, and we are uniquely positioned to deliver based on the sheer magnitude and variety of what we grow and raise here.

Much of what we grow is processed elsewhere, but there’s no reason that we can’t do more locally. We already have smaller processors doing this, but this is the ideal time to look at expanding our offerings and working with a federal government which is eager to boost overseas trade that Chatham-Kent could well be a part of.
Beyond that, the federal government recently announced a $3.2 billion commitment over a decade to produce more food in Canada and CK should certainly be able to leverage some of that funding.
We also need to ensure that we maintain our farmland and keep a close eye on investors who might be interested in buying up property for uses that would not be in the best interests of local residents.

Downtown Chatham
The downtown area is at the heart of Ward 7 and local business people have invested heavily in this area over the years, only to be frustrated by the impacts of homelessness and declining foot traffic.
The Community Hub will remain under construction for the near future, but ultimately should be an asset for the downtown.
The adjacent, privately-owned One Hundred KING should also bring some new lustre and vibrance to the core which will hopefully translate into a resurgence of the downtown.

Tecumseh Park: A River Runs Through It
Considering that Tecumseh Park, and the nearby former Armoury are of such historic significance, it’s unfortunate so little has been done by the municipality to make it more enticing.
Thanks to its location and prominence in the downtown, it should be a vibrant spot which encourages foot traffic between the commercial sector and the Cultural Centre. Residents of a certain vintage well remember the beautiful gardens and fountain which featured in countless wedding and other special occasion photographs, long since ripped out by a previous council.
There was of course also a time when boats lined the river and floating docks bobbed on the river inside the park. Today though, the riverbank is overgrown with weeds and trees in various stages of growth. And, while it’s no secret we need more tree cover in CK, Tecumseh Park is all but invisible from the Fifth Street bridge which means visitors to our community don’t even know it’s there.

We need to better leverage the tremendous asset we have in the park and the equally historic Thames River. I’d like to see the riverbanks cleared of everything but the long established trees, and benches installed so visitors can enjoy the park the way it was meant to be enjoyed.

Tourism
We have great untapped potential for tourism. As fewer Americans visit and more Canadians are exploring their own country, we need to remind them of all that CK has to offer. Our current tourism website leaves a bit to be desired, and it doesn’t appear that we have a downloadable visitor guide, which means potential visitors have to click endlessly to try and find what they’re looking for.

We need to do more to bring much-needed tourism dollars to our community and it wouldn’t be difficult to put together a series of fun, themed road tours which potential visitors could download. My suggestions would include the Above-Ground Underground Railway Tour, Five A Day ag tour, the Chillin’ In CK ice cream tour, Beach Baby Bingo beach map, Gone Fishin’, a Park It Here map of parks, playgrounds and splashpads in CK and so on.

Climate Change
We are already seeing the impacts of climate change on our community and we will no doubt see more in the coming years. Just a slightly warmer average winter temperature puts us at risk of freezing rains which could be catastrophic, and serious flooding during warmer times of the year. This impacts all of us, and also has the potential to wreak havoc on our agricultural sector.

We need to make sure we’re addressing risk mitigation and have solid plans in place to deal with situations which we are learning can arise suddenly.