St. Marys Mayor Al Strathdee says he's honoured to continue serving as mayor after being acclaimed this year.
Strathdee says the last term was a challenge, with COVID-19 forcing the community to try new things to remain connected.
"We had a Santa Clause Parade where people drive by and wave to Santa, we did a lot of innovative things. We did fireworks on the bridge that people could see from their homes to help pull people together. We had a really strong wellness program where people were delivering meals and doing outreach to people, so I think our community faired pretty well during COVID," Strathdee said.
He says the town also accomplished some other notable things during the last term.
"We built a new fire hall, and we also recognize, especially during the pandemic and what's been going on, there's been a number of people that have been left behind and are struggling for housing and actually struggling to make due so we have an outreach program," Strathdee said.
That includes a community outreach officer that can assist vulnerable residents. Strathdee says more will need to be done though to address what's becoming a serious issue.
"We are concerned about the housing crisis as every municipality across the region and really, probably across the country is, so we've been doing some work to bring in the tools that the province has given us and we're also looking at doing a few projects with partners, so housing is a big one," Strathdee noted. "We have some more increased transportation, the GO stops in St. Marys now and we've had an influx of new residents moving here. So as a result, we need to do some work in staged phases on our sewage treatment plant. There's a number of recreation programs, we've been looking at doing some work down at Milt Dunnell Field, the flats."
Additionally, another existing recreational hub in the town is getting attention.
"We're working on a new skate park with a private group of individuals for the younger population which we sometimes don't keep up with, but the skate park has become quite dated and we have some community members who are working on that," Strathdee added.
All in all, Strathdee says he's very enthused about the next council term, and says he's lucky and thankful to have had such great teamwork.
"I'm pretty lucky to have the support I've had, and it's an honour to be the mayor and work with the council. The big thing is teamwork, I've been lucky that people, we've been able to get on the same page, and try and move the community forward together in an efficient and respectful way, so that's a big part of it," concluded Strathdee.
