Blind River’s mayor-elect Sally Hagman is set to put a hefty agenda on the table when she is sworn in as mayor on December 3.
Hagman, who handily won the town’s top political position in the recent municipal election garnering 858 votes over incumbent mayor Sue Jensen’s 229 votes and mayoral candidate Alex Solomon’s 456 votes, said she was getting over what she called a “surprise” win.
“I’m very excited,” the mayor-elect told ElliotLakeToday in an interview. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to deliver the requests people have made of me.”
She is also confident the issues she will raise will get support from the new council which consists of five incumbent councillors returning and the sixth council seat won by newcomer Betty Ann Dunbar who got 1,078 votes.
“This team will jell,” she said of the make-up of the new council.
Many of the issues she will bring to council come from talks she had with voters during her door-to-door campaign throughout Blind River.
The issues include, “an independent review of municipal operations to identify cost savings, improve services and create efficiencies, work with the Blind River Economic Development Corporation and Chamber of Commerce to improve our investment climate, develop a tourism strategy and better market our tourist strategies, pursue public-private sector partnerships to look at building a seniors’ assisted living complex and new industry and new jobs, and create a downtown revitalization plan which would allow us to apply for grants and subsidies to improving our infrastructure as well as our curb appeal.”
She is also looking at resurrecting the town’s youth council to bring ideas on improvements to keep young people active and living in the community. Hagman would also like to resurrect an entertainment series with a focus on music, art, bringing in speakers on a number of topics of interest to the community and music.
One of the major issues that has circulated in the community is the town’s involvement in a $49 million loan from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in 2010 that is slowly being paid down, but has a buyout clause with a balloon payment of some $23 million to CMHC in 2037. Annual payments to the loan are coming from the municipally-owned North Shore Power Group and investment partner Plasco Conversion Technologies.
Hagman wants to establish a subcommittee of council to review the town’s ongoing involvement in the plan.
“This committee would include representation from the public at large to improve transparency to the process and would be tasked to provide recommendations to council on how to reduce our financial liabilities,” she said.
In the past the Power Group has hosted open meetings to allow the public to attend and get information about the plan and has also made regular reports to council which is expected to continue. However, Hagman said the subcommittee and subsequent public meetings would allow more residents to keep informed.
She is also calling for semi-annual town hall meetings in January and June to hear resident’s interests and concerns. The town would also produce an “annual report card” on progress made on issues and initiatives.
The mayor-elect vowed to “give 100 per cent to this position.”