The early feedback on the city’s draft of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan and the Community and Aquatic Centre Feasibility Study appears positive, based on the steady stream of residents who attended the drop-in open house this past Thursday (Jan. 22).
Held in the lower level of the Joe Thornton Community Centre, it was an opportunity to read through and ask questions about the two documents that will help guide future decisions related to parks, recreation facilities, and services across the community.
A considerable amount of attention was directed toward the aquatic centre, an ambitious undertaking that is likely eight or ten years down the road.
Category Archives: city finances
Numerous attempts to bury the problem now leave the St. Thomas Cemetery Company staring down a financial crisis
For the second time in a decade, the St. Thomas Cemetery Company has begun the process of abandoning St. Thomas Cemetery (West Avenue) and South Park Cemetery, south of the city.
In 2015, the board of directors had served notice that it would seek to abandon the two burying grounds if the long-standing city grant wasn’t reinstated.
And in October of that year, city council voted to extend the cemetery board of directors a financial lifeline of sorts by way of a $20,000 operating grant. Combined with the first instalment in April of $30,000, it left them $9,000 short of the amount requested during 2015’s budget deliberations.
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Joy Dawdy’s swimming lessons earn a reprieve; however, some conditions will apply
The days of treading water for the owner of 21 Philip Street are over, at least for the time being.At Monday’s meeting of city council (Dec. 8), members unanimously agreed to direct staff to design a temporary bylaw, allowing Dawdy to continue offering swimming lessons in her backyard pool, likely for a period of three years.
Something she has done for more than three decades.
Staff were not recommending Official Plan and zoning bylaw amendments in a report to council from Michelle Knieriem, Manager of Planning Services.
She concluded, “Staff understand and appreciate that the swimming lessons provided by the applicant are valued by many members of the community. While this value is noted, staff recommend refusal of the Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications due to issues of compatibility.
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Some tinkering with the proposed 2026 property tax levy, but the result is still a hike in the range of six per cent for St. Thomas ratepayers
Round 2 of 2026 city budget deliberations is on tap for Monday’s (Dec.8) council meeting.Several amendments are being presented by the city’s Director of Finance, Adam Boylan; however, they will not lower the projected six per cent hike to the municipal property tax levy next year.
A major consideration is the rescoping of the Emslie Field grandstand project.
Boylan notes city staff are exploring a ‘fresh start’ approach that would entail demolition of the grandstand, to be replaced by “modern, accessible amenities at a significantly reduced cost.”
These would include new, concrete bleacher pads, accessible bleachers, a barrier-free ramp, equipment storage, replacement player benches and protective netting.
The approximate price tag is $600,000, well below the original estimate of $1.2 million to fully rehabilitate the grandstand.
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‘St. Thomas is exactly where we need to be’ – Vianode CEO Burkhard Straube in announcing a $3.2 billion investment in the city
With the Yarmouth Yards industrial park serving as a backdrop, Ontario Premier Doug Ford called Thursday’s (Nov. 20) announcement of a $3.2 billion investment by Norwegian firm Vianode a historic milestone for southwestern Ontario and a major win for workers.The ceremonial ground-breaking was on the site of what will become a state-of-the-art synthetic anode graphite manufacturing facility that will initially result in 300 new, good-paying jobs.
Anode graphite is a critical component in electric vehicle batteries, nuclear reactors, semiconductors, aerospace and defence systems, steelmaking and other strategic industries.
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‘We cut out the noise, focus on the signal’ – PowerCo hiring blitz is underway
It was an invite-only event with a twist.
Thursday evening (Nov. 6), PowerCo held a Shopfloor Hiring Network Event designed to connect local talent in industrial electrician, millwright and industrial automation roles with their gigafactory team.
Those attending had the opportunity to meet company leadership, explore career opportunities and get an up-close look at what it would be like to be an employee at what is to become the largest such factory in Canada.
As the evening started to wind down, we spoke with Shuja Qadri, manager of talent acquisition, who observed, “Considering this was an invite-only RSVP event that we wanted to look at based on skill set and experiences, we actually had over 65 people turn up for the event.”
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‘So 37 years later, it’s my opportunity to pass that hat to somebody else’ – Steve Peters steps away from city council
An announcement out of left field, but, in the final analysis, likely inevitable.Steve Peters stood up as Monday’s city council meeting drew to a close to announce he was walking away from municipal politics, effective immediately.
Ironically, this year is Peters’ 30th anniversary of holding elected office.
You can read his announcement to council below.
Peters wants to spend more time in his position as chair of the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, a position he was appointed to last year.
The organization represents 170 growers of over 4,300 acres of greenhouse vegetables.
“I’m a focused person, and I really want to focus on the greenhouse sector. We’ve got a lot of stuff on our plate.”
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The St. Thomas Terry Fox Run gets a shot of adrenalin for this year and beyond
For 45 years, it has been a fall tradition.
And tomorrow (Sept 14), St. Thomas will join more than 650 communities across Canada in hosting a Terry Fox Run, a fundraiser in support of cancer research.
This year’s event will take place in 1Password Park, notes one of the organizers, Bre Betts.
A St. Thomas native, Betts and her husband have moved back to the city in the past month, and participating in the annual run has been an important family tradition.
And she stresses, “The thing with Terry Fox, like any charitable work, it’s very much reliant on volunteers, so there’s been a very dedicated group here of a few people who have used their might, and who have really chugged it together each year to get something going, so I’m really grateful for that.”
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Working together ‘on highly collaborative initiatives that support the community’s aim of functionally ending homelessness in the coming years’
A good portion of city council’s attention at Tuesday’s (Sept. 2) meeting was devoted to housing and homelessness initiatives and funding.Which meant Danielle Neilson, Housing Stability Services Manager, fielded a significant number of questions from the mayor and council.
She authored the St. Thomas-Elgin 10 Year Housing and Homelessness Plan: 2024 Progress Report, which sees city staff and community partners “work together on highly collaborative initiatives that support the community’s aim of functionally ending homelessness in the coming years.”
We briefly touched on this report last week regarding the city’s emergency shelter, The INN.
