While Orillia city council tackled a number of big projects in the first three years of its term, Ted Emond feels there is still unfinished business.
It's why the the councillor is "leaning toward" taking a second run at his Ward 1 seat in the October election.
"I went so far as to ask my physician if I could survive another five years," he said, happily reporting the answer was "yes."
He wants there to be "continuity on council."
"I wouldn't mind if they all ran again," he said of his colleagues.
When asked about council's greatest accomplishments so far, building a recreation centre, set to open this summer, was at the top of the list.
"It resolves an issue that dates back 30 years, when I was mayor, when the community centre closed due to structural issues," he said.
Second on the list was the restructuring of the economic development office, though he is "a bit disappointed we had a misstep with the director we hired." (Economic development director Ian Bromley departed a year after he was hired.)
Emond also sees Hydro One's investment in Orillia as a win for the city. The city voted to sell Orillia Power Distribution to Hydro One (the deal is subject to Ontario Energy Board approval), which plans to build an advanced technology hub in town.
"It will be an economic development engine for the city," Emond said.
Regarding Ward 1 specifically, he feels the city has given more power to the people. The Dougall Canal was the city's responsibility for years, but the city "did nothing" with it for too long, Emond said.
"We put it in the hands of the residents so they will be able to be in charge of the canal."
Another challenge is emerging in the south end with more year-round residents on Grape Island in Lake Simcoe. There are now six year-round residents rather than cottages, and that has sparked some concerns about among residents of the mainland about traffic. Emond said the residents were encouraged to get together and work it out themselves, but that was to no avail.
"We came close to a solution, but that didn't result in an agreement," he explained.
Now it's in council's hands, and a report is expected this month.
Emond said his only true regret of this term has been "the decision we made on the replacement of the port building."
While he likes the Orillia Waterfront Centre, which replaced the Port of Orillia facility after it was destroyed by fire, he wanted to see a second storey added that would make room for a restaurant and more public space, and he wanted to see a skating trail included in the park.
Council had little time to come up with a plan for a new building, he said, quipping, "The person that burnt the port building down did it a year too soon in the sense that council hadn't gelled" and the money wasn't available to do more than what is there now.
Council has now had plenty of time to gel, and it has done well in that regard, Emond said.
"We have had a council that has operated more as a team than not," he said, adding one of the main reasons he sought a seat this term was "the antics of the previous council," which was bitterly divided on many issues.
