Elected in 2014 and 2018 as a Southampton Ward Councillor, I’m honoured to have been acclaimed in the 2022 municipal election along with fellow Southampton Ward Councillor, John Divinski.
As part of Council duties, all members serve on various committees to support and advance the work and interests of the Town. Since 2014, I have participated in the following committees and boards:
• Accessibility Committee
• Attainable Housing Task Force
• Chamber of Commerce Board
• Committee of Adjustment
• Economic Development Committee
• Environmental Sustainability Ad Hoc Advisory Committee
• Municipal Heritage Committee
• Planning Committee
• Saugeen Mobility and Regional Transit Board
• Saugeen Rail Trail Association Board
• Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority Board (Parks and Property and Water Resources Committees)
• Southampton BIA Streetscape Committee
• Southampton Town Hall/Library Committee
Our Official Plan public consultation showed that residents’ top three priorities are: protecting our natural heritage, our cultural heritage, and providing more affordable and attainable housing. I’m proud of the work our current Council has already done to advance the public’s priorities.
As Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Ad Hoc Advisory Committee (ESAC), I’m very proud of our comprehensive report, and the fact that Council unanimously directed staff to advance 16 recommendations from this report in the near future. These recommendations include creating a Saugeen Shores Climate Action Plan, improving our waste reduction and collection strategies, and advancing an Urban Tree Canopy Plan. One of my priorities in this next term of Council will be to implement as many of the Environmental Committee’s recommendations as possible. Here’s a link to the ESAC report: https://saugeenshores.civicweb.net/FileStorage/95E649F34FEB4F1985537F09E16577FE-Final%20Draft%20Feb%208%202022%20-%20CC%202.pdf.
Our Town has grown remarkably; 16% since 2016, and 33% since 2006. That growth brings opportunities to provide more services, but it also poses risks to our built cultural heritage. I’m excited to work on two specific 2023 initiatives which will help to protect our cultural heritage:
• a Cultural and Heritage Master Plan to identify and protect our cultural assets
• a Cottage Area streets study including public consultation which will help to inform our staff how we can safely provide necessary infrastructure improvements without sacrificing the character and charm of our traditional neighbourhoods
In 2020/2021, Council struck the Attainable Housing Task Force. This Committee produced a powerful report with many recommendations. Our current Council wasted little time in taking action to create more affordable and attainable housing including:
• enacting zoning by-law changes to permit more additional residential Units
• creating an Affordable Housing Reserve Fund
• identifying potential surplus Town lands for affordable housing
• just in the past eight months, advancing the addition of about 700 rental units
I’m proud of the accomplishments of our current Council, and I look forward to continuing our hard work on behalf of Southampton and Saugeen Shores.
The above was provided to Saugeen Shores Hub by Cheryl Grace.