By Cecilia Nasmith
Port Hope Mayor Bob Sanderson applauded the culture of collaboration he is seeing these days at a Wednesday breakfast hosted by the Port Hope and District Chamber of Commerce.
“I think that benefits the municipality – and even more collaboration between the municipalities. If we all work together on our common goals, we all go a lot farther,” the mayor said to the crowd gathered at the Railside Restaurant.
That's true within the municipality, Sanderson added, where this culture has borne fruit at all levels.
Another core value is strategic planning, and he singled out the work toward a Community Improvement Plan that was set up in 2016 and has more than $100,000 committed to it to assist with specific areas within the community.
“We are looking at expanding that to some degree to include things like housing,” the mayor said, adding that applications to the program are slowly increasing.
One of the highlights of last year was the 2019-2022 strategic plan that council approved, with six pillars which Sanderson listed and expanded on.
Sustainable infrastructure
“Like many communities, our infrastructure is aging beyond its useful life,” Sanderson said.
“Our goal is to reduce the deficit and expand infrastructure management, and I think we are making good progress on that.”
One recent positive development in this direction is the $400,000 provincial contribution for the Pemberton Road expansion allows direct off-the-401 access to the Fox Road business park (soon to boast a Hampton Inn), while keeping big tractor-trailers out of the flow of business traffic in the vicinity of Jocelyn Road and County Road 2.
Waterfront and Riverwalk enhancements
“We want to protect our heritage and natural resources, and look after the environment,” he said, noting that residents who have come out to meetings on this issue identify it as a priority.
The five members who will shortly be approved by council for a working group to tackle this challenge have a range of expertise that varies from good business sense to artistic flair. With $800,000 in a reserve for this work, they will also have resources to begin the task.
“Our waterfront is one of our major assets. I look at it as the heart of Port Hope, and the river is a big artery going through. And that heart and artery have to feed the municipality,” he said.
That artery is a little more attractive now, he added, with the installation of light standards along the Ganaraska to enhance the downtown area.
Corporate efficiencies
This includes lower taxes and building reserves, Sanderson said.
“We actually lowered Port Hope operating costs by about 28%, while expanding the work being done. And we came out with a 2.5% levy increase, which is exactly where we wanted to come out.”
While budgets used to come out in April, they now come out at the end of the year. In that way, the municipality gets a clear idea of the projects they will be pursuing and can put them out to tender earlier – which means getting the best price.
“If they come out in April or May, they put a higher price on it because they are already busy,” he said.
They currently save the amount of a chief administrative officer's salary by doing without, with the six department directors running the six departments. The Open House Expo they had in the spring, offering residents the chance to meet and talk with staff from these departments, was a success they plan to repeat.
And now that the six departments all have strategic plans, Sanderson expects to commence a search to fill the CAO position – a $150,000 cost that will potentially result in savings of $250,000 to $500,000.
They jumped at the chance of a good price for the old Lake Lands Place building (the former ValuMart on Queen Street), and it will play a role in revamping the downtown parking – but it also means a consolidation of municipal property south of Walton Street all the way down to the harbour, except for the old Canadian Tire property.
“The big plan is to get municipal services under one building,” Sanderson continued.
Having multiple locations as they do now is inefficient both for staff and for residents who come in requiring these services.
Constructing a building with tax dollars is not the way to go, he said, and he is looking for private-sector relationships that (ideally) can cover up to 15% to 20% of this cost.
Affordable housing
While it's not typically a municipal priority, Sanderson pointed out, they do advocate and work actively in this area, investing staff time and resources to put skin in the game and have some effect over the outcome.
“You need housing, you need transit, you need businesses – the triad is critical. They are not separate entities,” the mayor said.
Multi-generational community opportunities
“We are banging on provincial doors and banging on Federal doors to get the Ruth Clarke (seniors' activity) centre moved up to the agricultural centre,” Sanderson said. It's a controversial move, he admitted, but one that has taken citizen input into account before council made the decision in what it sees as the best interest of the community.
“And we are working on cenotaph beautification,” he added. This project is getting a lot of support, and they hope to expand the program of banners that recognize war veterans.
On the other end of the age spectrum, a splash pad is in the budget.
Intentional growth planning
“The goal is to plan our growth,” the mayor explained.
“We are right next to the elephant, who is growing. The 407 has opened up. The 418 is coming in. We are seeing people actively interested in this community, coming here to live and coming here to build businesses and work.
“We need to manage that, or we will be like every other community.”
Sanderson summed it up in a phrase he used during the municipal elections last year – Keep Port Hope Port Hope.
“That doesn't mean no growth. That doesn't mean no change. We do need to develop our tax base, provide jobs for younger people and fulfill our social responsibilities.
“But if we get greedy and grab everything that comes our way – the first people to show up at a good opportunity are not always the ones you want.”
The 2020 budget includes $100,000 to improve communications strategies, such as work on the municipal website – which, as of Oct. 11, includes the My Port Hope portal.
“It allows each and every one of you to go in and participate in the decisions the municipality is making,” he said.
And thanks to a $10,000 grant, the Heritage Business Improvement Area was able to launch its Digital Main Street that will improve the on-line presence of member businesses.
One on-going challenge is the low-level radioactive-waste clean-up taking place. Home owners who have known for some time that it was coming are now seeing it in their back yards and – in some cases – are very unhappy. But the Federal government has invested more than $1-billion in the effort, and they are working closely with the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories to get it done.
“Its a really big project that will go on for a long time and have impacts on our community for the next five years at least,” he predicted.
On a smaller scale, roadwork continues. Brown Street is pretty well finished, and Lakeshore Road will be a big project in the year ahead. They also hope to work up designs for badly needed crosswalks on busy Peter Street. Looking farther ahead, disruptive but important work is planned for Walton Street.
Their strategic task force plan for the fire departments came from a good working group that submitted dozens of recommendations, “virtually all of which we are implementing over a period of time.”
The importance of this work cannot be overstated, the mayor said.
“The biggest risk to a downtown core of heritage significance is fire, so I am pleased to say we are really putting investment into our fire department.”
Renovations to Station 1 are almost complete, with Station 2 in Garden Hill to be worked on next (a project which included the move of the Port Hope Public Library branch from that building south to Canton). Then they will move on to Station 3 in Welcome.
At the county level, Sanderson – recently elected warden - reported on news from Northmberland County council, including a recent joint council meeting with Alderville First Nation in a collaboration he hopes will continue.
He has already attended his first Eastern Ontario Warden's Caucus meeting, where a key focus is broadband and connectivity.
And he is working with counterparts in neighbouring upper-tier municipalities to get Metrolinx transit service as far as this area – the ideal being from Bowmanville to Belleville.
And if that is successful, he said, it is vital to plan ahead for what will happen locally in terms of housing and jobs.
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini was in the audience to receive Sanderson's thanks, not only for the big boost to the Pemberton Road project, but for $32,000 in support for the annual Cultivate festival and $5,000 in support for the municipal transit system.
Sanderson ended his talk with an invitation to everyone to attend the regular meetings of council, taking place the first and third Tuesday of each month. Agendas come out the Friday before each meeting, so anyone interested can see what's up for discussion.
And if an item you're interested is not on the schedule, he added, Port Hope's is one of the few municipal councils to have a question period.
