Well, that was short-lived.
Heralded as “a pretty good standout” among over 70 applicants, Michael Bradley assumed the city manager post at city hall on May 15.
Exactly five months later, a media release from Mayor Joe Preston announced, “City to begin recruitment for new city manager.”
Bradley has accepted the position of CAO with the City of Brantford – his hometown – and will depart his office at city hall in mid-November.
Before accepting the post in St. Thomas, Bradley had been the Commissioner of Community Development with the City of Brantford.
He also served for 11 years with the County of Brant, including a stint as CAO from 2018 to 2023.
Tag Archives: Sandra Datars Bere
A sunny start to the regional transit pilot program serving St. Thomas
The sun was shining on Monday’s (April 8) launch of the new regional transit service linking St. Thomas with London and Dorchester.
But ironically, it was the brief blocking of the sun in the afternoon that resulted in a busier than anticipated first day of operation.
St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston was aboard the early morning bus to Dorchester and remained aboard for the return trip which offered a pleasant surprise.
“It was quite surprising to find 20 people standing at the White Oaks Mall bus stop to come to St. Thomas.
“A number of people coming out here to see the eclipse today thought a $5 bus ride was the way to do it.”
Share this:
Southwestern Public Health raises a red flag over the province’s move to expand alcohol sales, a step it calls ‘an all-encompassing community health concern’
Southwestern Public Health is airing its concerns as the province moves to expand alcohol sales.
The health unit wants to ensure “the province takes a stronger commitment to the health and well-being” of Ontario residents.
In a conversation this week with SWPH board chair Bernia Martin, she explained, “We originally received a report from staff on alcohol-related harms on our community back in October (of last year).
“And at that time, the board took the recommendations and one of those recommendations was to reply to the province outlining our concerns.”
Other recommendations included a request for the provincial and federal governments to beef up advertising regulations, increase taxes and improve access to treatment.
Share this:
‘I will say that it was my intention to continue to be in St. Thomas but sometimes opportunities come up.’ – City manager Sandra Datars Bere to depart for top job in London
We got wind of this just over a week ago and the move was confirmed on Tuesday of this week. City Manager Sandra Datars Bere will assume the same post up the road in London, effective at the beginning of May.
Her last day at city hall will be at the end of April.
She returned to St. Thomas as city manager on Jan. 10, 2022. So, for the second time in about 15 months, the hunt begins for a new city boss.
Datars Bere stepped in following the retirement of Wendell Graves at the end of February 2022.
She served as the city’s director of social services from 2006 through 2010, before moving on to continue her municipal career in London and Bruce County.
Mayor Joe Preston admits the city has big shoes to fill.
Share this:
Bicentennial celebrations are planned this year for Old St. Thomas Church which is ‘very much a part of southwestern Ontario history’
Construction began on Old St. Thomas Church in 1822 and was completed two years later, and so this year marks its 200th anniversary.
We spoke with Steve Peters, who sits on the church restoration committee, on the founding of what was originally known as St. Thomas Anglican Church, located on Walnut Street.
“Daniel Rapelje, the first settler of St. Thomas, had two sons pass away in 1819 and he had buried them on this land and then in 1821, he donated land for the church and cemetery.
“Construction began on the church in 1822 and was completed in 1824 and opened when the first minister was appointed.”
It is considered an example of Early English Gothic Revival architecture.
The first incumbent, the Rev. Alexander Mackintosh, served from 1824 to 1829 and was also the village’s schoolmaster.
Share this:
‘If you can get people talking about you because of what you’ve done, then more people are listening.’ – St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston
There is no denying St. Thomas Mayor Joe Preston is an upbeat kinda person, no matter the situation confronting him.
It would be a safe bet to say he could be branded Jovial Joe without a whole lot of pushback from the mayor’s corner.
For example, Preston and a city delegation, including councillors Tara McCaulley and Steve Wookey along with city manager Sandra Datars Bere attended this year’s Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference earlier this week in London and we caught up with him at the culmination of the gathering and his exuberance was palpable.
According to a release prior to the conference, the city advocacy work was to “focus around resources to create new and augment existing community mental health supports, support for capital investments in affordable housing, increased support for inter-community transportation connections and initiatives, capital funding for new childcare spaces, investments in social assistance programs and administration, and support for legislative changes and funding to alleviate pressures faced by St. Thomas Police.”
Share this:
Welcome to The Station in St. Thomas where there’s hope for what the future may hold ‘when there’s the assurance of somewhere to sleep and a place to call home’
I had the pleasure Thursday of joining members of city council over the lunch hour for a tour of The Station, Indwell’s 45-unit supportive housing project on Queen Street that is in the process of welcoming tenants from the city’s by-name homeless list.
We had the opportunity to tour a couple of the apartments, one a studio-style unit and the second barrier-free.
More on the accommodation later, but first my conversation with Natasha Thuemler, Indwell’s regional manager in London.
We first met almost two years ago when touring Railway City Lofts, Indwell’s first project in St. Thomas consisting of 15 micro-apartments above the transit building on Talbot Street.
Owned by the city and operated by Indwell, the units are an example of welcoming supportive housing for individuals transitioning from homelessness and mental health challenges.
Share this:
St. Thomas designs action plan to pursue federal housing accelerator funding
As part of the city’s ambitious housing strategy, members of council on Monday (Aug. 14) will be asked to approve an application for funding under the CMHC Housing Accelerator Fund program.
This funding is available to municipalities across the country and is to create a greater supply of housing at an accelerated pace and enhance certainty in the approvals and building process, according to a report to council from Taylor Mooney, the city’s strategic initiatives manager.
Mooney notes such an application “has the potential to achieve sizable funds to support housing development in the City of St. Thomas. Base funding is estimated at $20,000/HAF incented unit, with opportunities for top-up funding and an affordable housing bonus.
To qualify for funding, the city has to prepare an action plan that identifies at least seven initiatives and the money provided is determined by estimating the number of permits issued for dwelling units resulting from the initiatives in the action plan before September 2026.
Share this:
The city’s newest supportive housing project in partnership with Indwell is to be known as The Station, offering ‘hope and homes for all’
Based on the demonstrated success as a Built for Zero Canada community and the recent recognition of St. Thomas-Elgin as the second community in Canada to achieve functional zero veteran homelessness, city manager Sandra Datars Bere had the opportunity this past week to showcase local efforts to end homelessness.
She participated in a three-person presentation Thursday at the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) conference in Paris, Ontario.
The session recognized the challenges of homelessness are not exclusive to large urban centres.
Datars-Bere highlighted some of the best practices being employed to address homelessness in St. Thomas and Elgin starting with compiling a quality By- Name List of approximately 130 individuals identified as actively experiencing homelessness in the community.
It is updated frequently and supports local processes for matching people to resources and making data-informed decisions.
Multiple service providers meet bi-weekly to review this list to match individuals to available resources.
