Jobs were the biggest challenge for Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens in 2015 and will continue to be the main focus for the new year.
To that end, the city will hire two and a half full time staff to manage economic development directly for the city.
Dilkens says he will also work with the county to push discussions on regional transit forward. He says transit is a major barrier for employment in the region and that needs to change.
"The fact that the bus system stops at the borders of the City of Windsor from our perspective is a problem. How do we get people to the greenhouse jobs out in Essex County? How do we move people out to Vista Print and some of the other employers that are out in the Patillo Rd. Industrial Park?" says Dilkens.
In 2016 the city is expecting to break ground on the new City Hall, open up a pool on the city's east end and host the 2016 FINA Championship in December.
"One of the other things that is really exciting for me is what's happening out at the airport," says Dilkens. "We've spent a lot of time and a lot of money getting our hands back on the airport, making that cargo hub village a reality and we see that's going to come online very early in 2016. So FedEx will be open and we have the International Institute of Border Logistics and Security that will be opening there and we have other space that we're going to be filling as well."
This year marked the first year the Windsor International Airport made a profit and gave a $1-million dividend back to the city.
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