“Committed to Community, Dedicated to Progress.”
Committed to Community
On March 10, 2015, I will have been your Mayor (Westport) for one hundred days during which the councillors and I have spent many hours at council meetings and committee Meetings. We are committed to learning about the issues and being strategic while developing workable solutions. When MPP Steve Clark came to our January Council meeting, he noted that our Village “won the prize” on two counts – the most Council meetings since taking office and for having the most constituents in attendance. Mr Clark also noted that you also were the happiest group of people attending a council meeting!
When MPP Steve Clark came to our January Council meeting, he noted that our Village “won the prize” on two counts – the most Council meetings since taking office and for having the most constituents in attendance. Mr Clark also noted that you also were the happiest group of people attending a council meeting!
Some milestones have been reached and we continue to work towards others. The installation of new pumps at the Glen St station and repairs to the berm at the lagoon were completed by December 31. Both were important to assist with our production of effluent. We have supported our operator all winter to process as much snow as possible and he has made good progress, despite pipes breaking and the towers freezing up. Both of these situations require the plant to be shut down until repairs can be made. Council is in the process of finalizing mitigation plans for the lagoons this spring. If the analysis and forecast after the snowmaking season indicate that the lagoons are not low enough to handle the spring thaw and rain, arrangements have already been made with another municipality to move the required effluent to its processing plant.
The winter has been long and we have received as much snow as last year. I want to recognize the work done to keep the roads and sidewalks ploughed. I have been stopped by many people, who are pleased that they have been able to get out this winter and in particular, walk around the Village.
Dedicated to Progress
The best news we received occurred in late February when the Village was notified by the government of Ontario that it had been successful in an infrastructure grant application for $2million dollars, of which the government will cover 90%. This will get us started on the repair and remediation work at the waste water distribution plant.
New Committees of Council were formed in January, community members were invited to apply and in February several Westport residents and business owners met with their Councillors to begin the work of the committees. Parks and Recreation, Economic Development and Tourism and the Harbour Committee are new and add to the strong community involvement of Westport in Bloom, Museum, Library and Heritage Committees.
This month, Council will begin the budgeting process. There will be a meeting later in March dedicated to discussing and eventually approving the budget. I will keep you informed of that date.
Robin, The Mayor 
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