My Approach, Qualifications & Community Involvement

Approach…my philosophy

Doing things differently

I’m running for Council because I love Kawartha Lakes, it’s my home.

I have the knowledge, skills and abilities to help make it a better place to live, work and play. For the past 13 year’s I have been your Police Chief and I want to continue to serve our community as your elected councillor, but I am going to do things differently, it’s time for a change.

No Donations

• Representing you regardless and equally whether you contributed or not
• 1 in 10 of our residents in Lindsay qualified for the Basic Income Pilot, they’re living in poverty
• Keep your money or support our charities

No Signs

• I have never put a political sign on my lawn – preferring to keep who I am voting for private
• Signs are routinely vandalized and/or stolen
• All signs will eventually end up in our landfill
• They are visual pollution

We need to recognize our strengths, and build on them

GTA residents are moving here, and why not. We have a safe community, a beautiful downtown including the Academy Theatre, arts, dining, quaint shops and beautiful trails.
We should be focusing on what we are, or who we are becoming & building on our services & amenities that support those.

 

Qualifications…my strengths

Bringing fiscal responsibility, social and environmental conscience to Council…doing things differently…because it’s time.

Making tough calls

• Our Core Services review has been stalled since 2016
• The Core Service Review presented a number of options for service delivery efficiency that need to be revisited and considered, staffing levels and outsourcing need to be included in the review
• We are one municipality and we need to operate like that. By supporting all areas of our community, we can improve the lives of all residents and visitors alike
• We can’t complain about higher taxes and then refuse to make the tough calls

Professional experience

• Human Resource Management
• Managing Infrastructure & Budgets
• Emergency Management
• Strategic Management
• Business Planning
• Political experience

 

Community…my leadership

Community Mobilization Builder

• Lead our City’s Safe Communities initiative
• Brought stakeholders together like never before
• Championed our Community Mobilization HUB model

Community Record

Rotary – President, Past President, and current Board Member
United Way – Campaign Chair
Ross Memorial Hospital’s Imagine the Future Campaign – Communications Chair

Community Involvement
• 100 Men Kawartha Lakes – Member
• Shamrock Sprint – Co-Chair
• Kawartha Lakes Trans Canada Trail Committee – Member
• Emergency Services Golf Tournament – Chair

Hospital integration…Is it a good idea? Or Bad?…I’m concerned.

Hospital integration

I’ve been hearing from Ward 5 residents who are concerned about Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) having “formal exploration” of ways to integrate the two corporations into one.

I’ve been following this closely and am concerned as well, as we all should be, while recognizing that resistance to change and the fear of the unknown is natural. It is important for all of us and the new council should be monitoring this closely.

I will attend our Town Hall meeting when rescheduled to learn more.

The August 15th Lindsay Advocate article, is a must read, well researched, examples of how this has worked (or not) in other jurisdictions and the potential risks for Kawartha Lakes.

http://lindsayadvocate.ca/planned-hospital-merger-could…

Town Hall meeting rescheduled

August 21, 2018 – The Boards of Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) and Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) have jointly determined that the Town Hall meeting scheduled for August 29 at RMH will be rescheduled while they consider information related to the proposal to integrate the two hospitals into a single hospital entity with two sites, which has just been received.

https://www.rmh.org/news-releases/integration-town-hall-meeting-set-for-aug-29-will-be-rescheduled

 On March 28, as reported in This Week

The Board of Directors of the Central East Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) passed a motion directing Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) and Ross Memorial Hospital (RMH) to begin a “formal exploration” of ways to integrate the two corporations into one. Under current provincial legislation, both the Central East LHIN and the hospitals within it have a legal duty to identify and explore opportunities for integration of the services provided for patients.

• This could mean one board and one CEO overseeing both hospitals;
• The two hospitals already share a financial officer.

“It’s not about saving money. It’s not about cutting jobs. And it’s not about reducing services,” said Dr. Lauwers explaining integrating the two hospitals could potentially help address the chronic over-crowding and staff shortages. “It is going to be a very positive thing for patient care in the long run…It will no doubt improve sustainability.”

Ross Memorial board chair Val Harris agreed adding, “As we enter these discussions, we’re doing so with a commitment to maintain and enhance services at each site. It is our responsibility to ensure both hospitals are positioned to continue delivering excellent, sustainable care for the people of our communities and region going forward.”

The hospitals have already been working together in areas such as diagnostic imaging, dialysis services, laboratory medicine, mental health and addictions services, obstetrics, pediatrics, ophthalmology and orthopedic surgery.

https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/8566834-peterborough-and-lindsay-hospitals-announce-plans-to-merge-more-services/

From June 28, 2018 as reported in This Week

Both institutions have declared their mutual intention for the proposal, following submissions of a joint directional plan laid out by the Board of Directors of the Central East Local Health Integration Network(LHIN).

A final decision has not been made, and the proposed integration is subject to ongoing due diligence, stakeholder engagement and approvals by the Boards of both RMH and PRHC; by the Board of Directors of the Central East LHIN; and by the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.

Through integration, the two hospitals would be working together rather than against each other, Lauwers said. It would end the practice of competing for staff, and it could benefit both hospitals in attracting new services to the area. said Dr. Lauwers. Further…as an integrated hospital, they would be able to be in the top tier of large community hospitals in the province, giving them a stronger voice in attracting new programming and resources from the LHIN and the Province.

https://www.mykawartha.com/news-story/8701603-lindsay-and-peterborough-hospitals-take-one-step-closer-to-merging/

 

 

 

Top 3 issues in Ward 5 – Kawartha 411

What are the top issues in your ward?

This is a challenging question for Ward 5 as it’s issues cover a large and diverse geographical area, from stalled development in the west end, our Airport, the proposed HWY 7 widening to 4 lanes and imacts at HWY 35, downtown development (Kent St.) and impacts on parking, to transit to the north ward (Springdale Gardens/Ken Reid Conservation Area) and our landfill in the east…having said that if I had to pick 3… I would say:

1. Parking versus development in the downtown, shouldn’t be a conflict.

What would I do? – We need to be more open, transparent and accountable – let’s stop wasting money on consultants and build a parking garage;

2. Stalled development in the west end, this has taken far too long

What would I do? – The North-West Trunk is in place, let’s get on with it…it’s getting embarrassing – if Walmart doesn’t want to go there let’s determine who does, let’s be proactive versus reactive on development – begin projects with the end in mind;

3. The pending Kent St. infrastructure redevelopment (Store Front to Store Front) needs to be linked to a parking solution (garage(s)).

What would I do? Before commencement – I’d ask “how effectively have we communicated this issue to effected businesses?” “How will they be able to manage the impacts?’ I have questions and concerns. We need BIA input, broadly communicated/consultations to/with all downtown businesses and residents.