This is the final in a nine-part series in which OrilliaMatters asked city councillors and the mayor to reflect on the first half of their mandate, look ahead to the second half and let citizens know if they intend to see re-election.
Today, we provide the answers from Mayor Steve Clarke.
Question 1. What are you most proud of, personally as the mayor, that you/council have been able to accomplish in the first half of your mandate?
A number of reasons to feel proud but none stronger than how the citizens of Orillia reacted to the COVID pandemic. No one saw it coming, safety measures/protocols were brought in to play. People in Orillia understood the gravity of the situation and, although tough to do, reacted responsibly to minimize the damage, that we have seen elsewhere.
Certainly, there were a few other reasons to feel proud over the last couple of years. This would have been more obvious, if we had not experienced the pandemic. Those other reasons would include the completion of two long-awaited projects; those being the closing of the Hydro One deal, which will bring jobs and other economic prosperity to our City for decades to come and the very recent opening of the Orillia Recreation Centre on West Street.
Question 2. What is your biggest disappointment as it relates to a council decision/direction or issue?
Although, it will still be a wonderful and transformative project, the timeline of the 70 Front St. work has proven to he a bit of a challenge. However, among other things I have learned, over the last six years, the most meaningful projects in our community are also the most comprehensive or complex. I fully believe this project, when combined with other meaningful projects in this area of the City such as Matchedash Lofts, Couchiching Brewery, 144 Elgin St. townhomes, will be beautiful and bring a vibrancy that will be wonderful link between our beautiful waterfront and our heritage downtown.
Question 3. Nobody saw the pandemic coming. Specifically, as the mayor, what is the biggest challenge the pandemic has created and how have you tried to tackle that challenge?
Of course, even with having to adapt to over 260 Emergency Management meetings over the last seven-plus months, transforming to virtual meetings and getting creative with funding the new needs, the toughest part of COVID has been responding to and reassuring our citizens on two fronts; First, providing assurance that if we all take the measures put forth by our Medical Officers of Health seriously, we will minimize the negative impact of this global pandemic. Second, having to explain to certain sectors and to businesses within those sectors, that they must remain closed or in a state of restricted operation for the overall health of our community.
Certainly not easy to do, and I get it; These business owners are merely trying to keep their staff employed and keep food on the table by keeping their business from 'going under.'
Question 4. As a result of the pandemic, many citizens are worried about the future and think council should have halted everything (ie. waterfront plan, Centennial Drive project etc.) to save money. What do you say to those people and what is your view of the future of the municipality amid the reality of a pandemic?
I understand that can be a natural reaction in a tough situation such as this, with increased costs and reduced revenue. The bottom line is, although it is going to take a while, we 'will get through this'. And when we do, it would be much harder to start from a much diminished position.
Many of these projects and their associated budgets must go forward to provide the infrastructure and services we actually need (such as road reconstruction, our new Recreation Centre, our waste water treatment center upgrade etc.). and keep people employed.
I believe we would be doing a disservice to our community if, we were to ‘limp’ out of this pandemic. We need to keep our community healthy, including economically, and “vault’ out of COVID, as it recedes.
I would also add, although COVID has hit us hard, we were prepared, as our financial situation is still quite strong. Further, we started a reserve fund about five years ago that we have put millions of dollars into…call it a 'Rainy Day Fund'.
Question 5. The recent discussion about the waterfront plan spawned a lot of debate and, despite your efforts, many seem to think there wasn’t enough public input. Are you doing enough as a council to be transparent, to encourage public input and to listen? How so? How could that be improved during the second half of your mandate?
This is a very intersting question. We are continuously revisiting our communication strategies with the goal of reaching as many people in our community as possible. We employ all of the communication vehicles we can think of.
For example, we use traditional media advertisements, on-line media ads, we send mail to residences, employ numerous social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, will often use physical signs, public information sessions and numerous surveys.
And yet, we still have people that appear to be unaware of an issue until a decision that could affect them comes to Council. Having said this, 'our ears are open' to suggestions and we will continue to attempt to meaningfully reach as many of our citizens as possible.
Question 6. What is the biggest challenge council faces in the second half of its mandate (ie. Staff retirements, promised tax freeze, capacity) and what are your top priorities?
Before COVID-19 hit, I would have answered with such things as, increasing our affordable housing inventory, adding more employment land, seeing the Front Street project through to completion, keeping our community healthy...all meaningful and necessary. However, COVID has been a game changer. The items above must be addressed but now it must be done in the context of a pandemic.
The base question now is, 'what is normal' now and in the future. Eg: The housing question now goes beyond just affordable housing. People now realize they can do their job in Toronto but can do so from a home in Orillia We have a shortage of homes for sale and for rent across the housing continuum. This has been punctuated by more people wishing to live/work here with tech skills, and able to do so with the presence of true internet fiber. Our traditional economic development delivery model is now in question.
And, something we probably didn't contemplate as a widespread issue before, now is; not only do we need to provide an environment where people can be physically healthy, we must now put significant effort into making sure we are addressing our collective mental health!
Question 7: Lastly, do you intend to seek re-election? Why or why not?
At this point, I am simply not sure. I will certainly have to turn my mind to this, over the next year. This will entail numerous conversations with my family and many in the community.
