Tag Archives: Yarmouth Yards

05.31.25
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Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP Andrew Lawton puts the Liberals ‘on notice’

The riding’s newest MP was sworn in on Monday, and although he was still awaiting an office where he could focus his attention, Andrew Lawton joked there was always a vacant park bench or his hotel room, which would afford him an impromptu workspace.
And before the week was over, Lawton had a warning for Liberal MPs.
Connecting with the Elgin-St. Thomas-London South MP later that day he noted, “This is a chamber that I’ve studied and observed for years in my media career, and then to walk in on the floor wearing a Member of Parliament pin is a really surreal feeling.
“And it really underscores the honour it is to be here and to be representing the people of Elgin-St. Thomas-London South.

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03.08.25
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‘We’ve started our homework on what we do, from a procurement point of view’ – Mayor Joe Preston on the City of St. Thomas doing its part to Buy Canadian

With Trumpian tariff roulette trending in the lives of all Canadians, it is comforting to see that the majority of the citizenry is on standby, elbows raised, and ready for action.
But what about at the municipal level?
Is the city reviewing what products and services it may have obtained through U.S. firms?
In light of the major purchase of a pumper truck for the city’s fire department on Monday’s (March 10) agenda, we checked in with Mayor Joe Preston for an update.
He advised that he had recently contacted Justin Lawrence, the city’s Director of Industrial Development, to see whether the work proceeding at Yarmouth Yards was being undertaken by U.S. firms.
“He assured me other than perhaps some pump parts or some things that are not available anywhere else (that was not the case).

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12.21.24
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The incoming city manager is ‘an ideal fit’ for St. Thomas

St. Thomas has a new city manager and the hiring committee only had to turn their gaze slightly to the west.
Mayor Joe Preston announced Thursday (Dec. 19) morning that Southwold CAO Lisa Higgs will fill the void left by Michael Bradley’s departure in November.
He assumed the city manager post at city hall on May 15 of this year. Exactly five months later, a media release from Preston announced, “City to begin recruitment for new city manager.”
Bradley accepted the position of CAO with the City of Brantford – his hometown – and departed the city in mid-November.
Higgs has served as CAO and clerk in Southwold since 2017 and prior to that worked in SW Oxford, Tillsonburg and the Township of Malahide.

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12.07.24
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‘The development of Yarmouth Yards will require St. Thomas to take on significant debt in the next five years.’ – Finance Director Dan Sheridan

City council gets its first opportunity to review the proposed 2025 operating and capital budgets at Monday’s (Dec. 9) meeting.
Unless there are some major concessions or creative pencil sharpening, we will not be blessed next year with a budget sporting an increase of less than three per cent over this year.
Next year’s proposed levy is almost $74.5 million, up from shy of $69 million this year, an 8.13 per cent increase.
Factor in the estimated additional growth-related tax of 3.2 per cent and ratepayers are looking at a 4.93 per cent hike to the municipal tax levy next year.
City treasurer Dan Sheridan advises, “The 2025 operating budget has been a challenge, the high rate of inflation along with the need for additional resources due to growth and development have resulted in a proposed levy increase that is higher than in previous years.”

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11.30.24
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Does the Volkswagen front in St. Thomas seem somewhat quiet?

Steady progress is being made at the Yarmouth Yards industrial park with activity continuing at a hectic pace.
Now, we’ve chosen our words carefully when referring to the 1,500-acre industrial park in general.
That’s because there has not been a lot of chatter of late related to the PowerCo EV gigafactory which will be the primary tenant on the site.
In fact, in Monday’s (Dec. 2) city council agenda package, there is an Industrial Development Update that indicates the majority of work at Yarmouth Yards is progressing on schedule.

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10.26.24
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‘It’s oxymoronic to think you can have growth without expense under public safety’ – St. Thomas Police Service Board chair Dan Reith

It’s a simple premise if we agree to use it as a starting point.
The presence of police acts as a deterrent.
To put this into context, St. Thomas department heads are now preparing draft proposals to present to council in November as the basis for the 2025 capital and operating budgets.
With the explosive population growth projected in the coming decades – nearly doubling by 2050 – one critical area will be ensuring the well-being of newcomers to St. Thomas.
You do not attract new industries – and with it, workers to fill those jobs – when they will potentially be located in crime-ridden neighbourhoods.
So, this past week we sat down with Dan Reith, chair of the Police Service Board to discuss what is expected to be a budget ask representing a 14 per cent increase over the 2024 budget.
At first glance, that might seem like an aggressive ask by Chief Marc Roskamp and the Police Service Board.

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10.12.24
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The water is anything but calm when it comes to closure of the STEGH therapy pool

While the closure of the therapy pool at St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital has resulted in a wave of disappointed users, one Central Elgin resident is vowing to pressure hospital administrators into re-opening the pool relied on by Talbot Trail Physiotherapy clients and other area residents.
And we’re not talking about just anybody.
Sally Martyn is the former mayor of Central Elgin and STEGH board member along with a pool user.
Martyn held a meeting recently which dozens of concerned residents attended.
One of the outcomes of that meeting is to arrange a face-to-face session with hospital president and CEO Karen Davies.
“There were over 60 people who came (to the meeting),” advised Martyn.

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09.07.24
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Eastwood’s latest affordable housing project Highview Hideaway: ‘This is just another example of what we can do when we work together’

They are the second largest affordable housing provider in Elgin county and on Thursday of this week, Eastwood Housing Corporation hosted a ground-breaking ceremony for one of their largest undertakings of late.
The event drew a significant gathering to the vacant lot at 220 Highview Drive, just south of Wellington Street.
It will become the home of a five-storey, 82-unit complex known as Highview Hideaway.
In June of this year, we spoke with Jon McCurry, Eastwood’s Director of Operations, about the ambitious undertaking in partnership with Doug Tarry Homes.
Eastwood already has an inventory of 325 units in 11 properties across St. Thomas and Elgin county.

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08.31.24
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Will back-door deals determine the Conservative candidate for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South in the next federal election?

With MP Karen Vecchio announcing earlier in August she will not seek re-election, we are following up on a credible email dealing with the potential nomination process for Elgin-St. Thomas-London South.
According to the correspondence, party officials intend to parachute a candidate into the riding instead of following the usual nomination process.
The writer suggests party insiders will nominate Andrew Lawton, who declared his intention to run the day after Vecchio told myFM she would step away after this term.
So, it is 2018 all over again.
In the provincial election that year, Premier Doug Ford announced he would appoint candidates in 11 ridings, including London West, where three individuals had already declared their intention to seek the PC nomination.

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