Meaford mayor-elect Ross Kentner says he plans to make changes in the upcoming term of council.
“Minor changes, but important changes, and all positive changes,” says Kentner.
He won the contest for the mayor’s seat October 24th, defeating Paul Vickers by 287 votes.
Kentner has been a member of council since 2018. before that, he had a long career with Bayshore Broadcasting.
Campaign material from Kentner says he’s committed to acquiring more affordable and attainable housing, attracting economic development, investing in rural infrastructure and protecting agricultural land.
He also says he’s committed to improving cellular and internet connectivity in the area, creating more opportunities for open dialogue with residents, encouraging volunteerism, strengthening the role of public advisory committees, expanding recreational opportunities and safeguarding the environment.
Some of the changes Kentner says he would like to include are changes to council agenda setting to help better inform councillors ahead of their meetings, noting, “I’ve often said councillors seem to be the last to hear about something. So I think we should be probably the first to hear about things.”
Kentner explains, “We’d go to a meeting, vote on something in committee of the whole and two weeks later, by the time we’d met some people on the street, by the time we’d talked it over…and considered it– that’s not where we want to go at all really,” says Kentner, adding, “I think it’s really important members of council know what is being planned.”
He says, “Councillors– we’re not there to manage, we are there to lead, and that, I think has been the missing element—that we need to show and demonstrate some leadership here.”
As a councillor, Kentner has been active the past four years on his Facebook page, posting regular updates on the social media site about the business of council and other events in the community. He says he would like to continue to share information with residents, noting, “It’s about communicating, and I’m very transparent and want to be that way and want to be known to be transparent,” says Kentner.
He adds, “I found that it was a way to celebrate how Meaford has turned the corner. Early in the term, ….about 2019 in particular, there was a lot of angst about the fact that there were a lot of empty stores on our main street. Things didn’t appear to be moving very fast, and all of a sudden that started to change,” says Kentner, pointing out that the municipality issued $100 million in building permits last year and its population grew by 4.5 per cent from 2016.
“Meaford has turned the corner,” says Kentner, adding, “If you look at our main street now, everywhere you look — refurbishment, revitalization. We had a huge couple of celebrations during the summer where Canada Day and Civic Holiday were both fantastic with huge crowds and you could feel the vibe, at the harbour, on the main street.”
He says he’s looking forward to working with the incoming council which includes the returning councillors Harley Greenfield, Steve Bartley, and Tony Bell, as well as new additions Brandon Forder and Robert Uhrig. Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney was acclaimed.
Council’s inaugural meeting is scheduled for November 21st.