For years, Earl Taylor, as chair of the Downtown Development Board, was an outspoken promoter of the city’s core.
From events throughout the year like Nostalgia Nights and the Christmas tree-lighting ceremony to the Downtown Dollars promotion, Taylor strived to keep downtown businesses front and centre despite a pandemic and the lengthy reconstruction of Talbot Street.
But early last year, Taylor made the tough decision to step away from that role.
“It’s time for me to move on,” affirmed Taylor.
And move on he has.
Right into the heart of downtown, inside city hall.
In the 2022 municipal election, Taylor lost out to Tara McCaulley by five votes for the final seat on St. Thomas municipal council.
After McCaulley stepped away from council early this year, members on Feb. 10 appointed Taylor to fill the vacant seat.
An unexpected turn of events.
As Taylor puts it, “I was just finishing up my ten years with the downtown development board. I thought, okay, I’ll get rid of a couple of things off my plate. I’ve done that for ten years, change hats, slow down, maybe do some camping, but never really left the community.
“No, real estate was still my go-to and it was one of those things that the hat is there and now I got to put it back on again.
“It’s funny how that goes, you know, when I lost by five votes I sort of walked away from that, it’s okay, that’s fine, and I sort of tossed it out of my mind.
“I didn’t think any more about it until all of a sudden kaboom, here we are again.”
Taylor adds the health of the downtown core is still a priority for him, but now through the lens of a city councillor.
“So yes, the downtown is still a top priority for me. I’m looking to find ways to strengthen that from a different position that I’ve got.
“Do I have a little more influence in trying to make something happen for the better?”
And part and parcel of the downtown is The INN, the city’s emergency shelter.
“The homeless shelter is still top of my mind as to how do we fix that problem. It’s in my mind, it’s still a problem and I’m not against a homeless shelter by any means.
“We definitely need something, maybe we should not call it a homeless shelter, we need to call it something.
“But does that need to be in our downtown? We have businesses that are looking for support there.”
“Sprawl is not exactly the way to go, and most cities are realizing that sprawl is not the way to solve problems. It just creates problems. And there’s infill going on and older homes that can be taken down and redeveloped for sure, that’s a possibility.”
He continued, “The building sits on a footprint where there is no space for people who need assistance to relax. You would think I was the craziest person in the world, but that’s where we need to find a spot that is a little more comfortable, a little more relaxing, a little more, I don’t know what you want to call it, but a better solution. That’s what we need to find.
“Well, some green space around it too, absolutely. So these folks are there for a reason, and we’re there to help them, but when we provide them no outside space to even stand or sit in the cold of winter, the heat of the summer, it’s not fair.”
Taylor served for 10 years as chair of the DDB and for more than three decades has been a realtor in St. Thomas.
And, as the newest member of city council, Taylor admits he is in listening mode, but that will not be for long.
A critical area for the city moving forward is housing to accommodate industrial growth, in particular the PowerCo EV battery gigafactory due to begin production in 2027.
“It’s the growth that we’re going to see in the city over the coming years, and they predict a thousand people per year over the next 10 years. How do we house them?
“That’s a big one right there that falls into my real estate bag. I think we need more. How do we attract more high-density housing, whether it be apartment buildings, three- or four-storey walk-up type buildings or townhouses?
“I’m not just here to fill a vacancy, by any means. I had the opportunity to say no. I mean, I could have said no. No is not in my playbook.”
And downsizing, to help the growing number of empty nesters.
“And me being a senior and a lot of people heading that way, we need smaller homes. A thousand square feet, maybe don’t even need a basement, with a little bit of a backyard.
“And bring the prices down as well, we don’t need a $700,000 or $800,000 or $900,000 home for a senior. If we can knock that down somehow.
“So that kind of housing is definitely on my agenda.
“And then the growth, how do we handle it, where do we build these houses?
“Our borders have expanded to the point, where do we go next? So the easiest way is to go up.
“Sprawl is not exactly the way to go, and most cities are realizing that sprawl is not the way to solve problems. It just creates problems. And there’s infill going on and older homes that can be taken down and redeveloped for sure, that’s a possibility.”
It’s only been a couple of meetings, however, Taylor admits he’s starting to settle in the council chamber at city hall.
“It’s a lot of reading. It’s new stuff that I may not have understood before, but I know the fellow councillors around the table. I know the mayor personally, I have always had their phone numbers. It’s not like I’m jumping into something brand new. It’s an ongoing process with my life in the city here since, well, I guess I’ve been here since 1977.
“But yeah, I’m dedicated. I’m not just here to fill a vacancy, by any means. I had the opportunity to say no. I mean, I could have said no. No is not in my playbook.”
Taylor adds for people who are not familiar with him, “Let’s sit down and have a coffee, have a bottle of water, whatever it happens to be and see how we can figure this out.”
Related post:
A LIBERAL REBIRTH LOCALLY?
While the votes were being counted last Sunday afternoon in Ottawa to determine the new leader of the Liberal Party of Canada – and the country’s new Prime Minister – local Liberals held a party of their own.
About 100 faithful gathered in the CASO station to await the outcome.
David Goodwin, former president of the local federal Liberal riding association said he feels a rebirth of the party locally.
“Yeah. So, when I look at Mark Carney, what Mark Carney has said in the last three weeks really resonated with me.”
He feels change is in the air.
“Oh, no question tonight has been a great night because as I say, the party’s been revitalized and people are excited and you can see that with the attendance tonight.
“I’ve been chair of the riding association here and some of these people I haven’t met before that are coming out, not necessarily because of me, but because this is an important election and because of the fundamental choices and they support the Liberal Party and, as a result, support me.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with how this went tonight and I think you’re gonna see that from now until the election.
Goodwin suggests the party is experiencing a rejuvenation, as witnessed by the energy around last weekend’s leadership convention in Ottawa.
The overwhelming support for Mark Carney is a game-changer both nationally and here in Elgin-St. Thomas-London South riding noted Goodwin.
“But Liberals in this riding really have been evolving because it’s not the riding when I was growing up as you mentioned. There’s been so much change in this riding and so much growth. And so the demographics of this riding have fundamentally changed in the last 10 years. So it’s not necessarily the old true blue conservative riding. It’s fundamentally different.”
“But today, with the rhetoric of Trump, this is a serious time for our sovereignty. It’s totally unpredictable.”
With a federal election likely on the horizon, Goodwin advises this is a critical time in the history of Canada.
“I think this is the most important election of my lifetime. When I look back, I remember the 1988 election, the free trade, and there was a lot of nervous tension. What’s going to happen with Canada? Are we going to be absorbed? That didn’t quite happen. But today, with the rhetoric of Trump, this is a serious time for our sovereignty. It’s totally unpredictable.”
Last week Goodwin – the vice-chair and treasurer of the Elgin-St. Thomas-London South riding association – was selected as the Liberal candidate for the riding in the next federal election.
We will profile David Goodwin the Liberal candidate next week in this corner.
NOT QUITE FULL SALARY DISCLOSURE
In Monday’s (March 17) council agenda package is a report from Sandra Schulz, Director of Human Resources dealing with required information under the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 1996.
The Act requires organizations in receipt of substantial provincial funding to disclose the amount of salary and taxable benefits paid to individuals to whom the employer paid at least $100,000 as salary in a calendar year.
In this case, the listing is for the 2024 calendar year. And, as was the case for the 2023 list, the report to council for Monday’s meeting does not identify the individuals included in what is known as the Sunshine List.
That is being withheld until later in the month and then you have to request to see the list or, as an alternative, wade through the province’s website to find the relevant material.
We will again be doing the former.
Further hindering full disclosure this year is the fact information from the St. Thomas Police Service and St. Thomas Public Library are filed to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing but are not included in the report from Schulz because both bodies are under the governance of separate boards.
In addition, employees with the St. Thomas Economic Development Board are not included in this report.
All of this makes comparison to previous listings a rather convoluted process until we can request the full list.
The report does indicate for 2024, 105 city employees received a salary of $100,000 or more compared with 84 employees in 2023. Overall, the city has a net increase of 21 employees on the 2024 Public Sector Salary Disclosure List compared to 2023.
An increase of 25 per cent in one year.
However, if you include all municipal employees in 2023 covered by The Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act, 142 individuals received a salary of $100,000 or more, up from 131 in 2022.
What is known is last year 53 members of the St. Thomas Professional Fire Fighters Association were on the list, up from 42 in 2023.
And, 49 non-union employees are listed, up from 40 the previous year.
PREPARING FOR THE 2026 MUNICIPAL VOTE
With a municipal election scheduled for next year, Monday’s council agenda also includes a report from Deputy City Clerk Jon Hindley dealing with methods of voting.
Council will again be asked to allow the use of internet and telephone voting, using the same firm, Simply Voting Inc., which provided the service in 2022.
In that election, electors could vote at any time and place from October 11 to October 24. In addition, electors could attend at one of five mobile voter help centres to vote electronically at an iPad kiosk and to amend the voters’ list.
According to the report to council, “approximately 73% of electors voted prior to voting day. Of this number, 84% voted by internet, 9% voted by kiosk at help centres and 7% voted by telephone.”
The expenses related to the 2022 vote totalled just under $106,000 while the proposed budget for next year’s vote is $127,000.
The report goes on to note, “The city had a positive experience working with Simply Voting Inc., who ensured a smooth transition in offering internet and telephone voting in 2018 and 2022 and did not encounter any of the slowdowns or shutdowns that were experienced by some municipalities with other providers.”
We spoke with Simply Voting Inc. founder Brian Lack in 2021 about the city’s decision to move to a paperless vote in 2022 and he openly confessed, “I’m the first to admit there is no such thing as 100 per cent security. Nothing on the internet is 100 per cent secure, but we still use it.”
It’s an enlightening read and can be found here.
Questions and comments may be emailed to City Scope
Visit us on Facebook
And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
