EloraFergusToday asked candidates in the upcoming municipal election to tell us a little bit about themselves and their platform.
Name: Jamie Cheyne
Occupation: Sales, Chantler’s Environmental Services Ltd.
How long have you lived in Erin? I grew up in Hillsburgh, going through grade and then high school in Erin. I have lived here 45 of my 60+ years.
Why are you running in this election? I ran in 2014, unsuccessfully, ran again in 2018 and was elected to Council. I have been involved in Hillsburgh and Erin through many avenues over the years, from the Erin Fair Board ( 15 years) ,Town of Erin Heritage Committee (17 years ), Let’s get Hillsburgh Growing Committee (10 years ), as well as a Board Member of the Huxley Cemetery Board. I care what goes on around me and the best way to improve your community is by getting involved and giving back.
What qualifies you to represent Erin? See above.... I am connected in many ways and I want the best for our community.
Why should people vote for you? I bring a sense of understanding to the table as well as sense of our past. We need a balanced approach to the issues at hand, wastewater, growth, community engagement, community growth.
What do you see as the main issues facing residents of Erin on a broader scale? See above.... With the wastewater issue commencing, and the main trunk lines also in their early stages, the community at large is just concerned about WHEN it comes down my street...When will I have to hook up and pay..HOW will the payments be metered out over the future years, as well as people are worried about losing the small-town charm. Without growth we WILL lose our public schools and more of our elderly will again re-locate to other larger towns and cities with better services for the aging population.
What is the most important thing you want to see changed in Erin? We need to have a broader scale of housing , to enable first-time buyers and those down-scaling will be able to enter our community. As it stands, housing prices are out of reach for the average wage-earner.
What services need to be improved in Erin? I think we have grown at a reasonable rate as far as amenities in relation to population. Our largest costs are for roads and fire services and we, as a rule, have very good records with both areas. We always need to update vehicles and equipment, but that takes tax dollars and we only have one taxpayer group. With commercial and light industrial growth, also planned for the expansion, those tax increases will go to help the tax balance.
Is Erin growing too fast, just the right amount, or not fast enough? Erin is definitely looking to grow substantially in the next five to 20 years, but only because we did not have wastewater serving before. The province is mandating growth to the lower tiers of government ( the county) which in turn sends the growth down to the municipalities. As we have not grown substantially in the past 20 years, we have the most allotted acreage to grow. We will grow, but we have a defined town border and we have a defined amount of volume allowed to be processed through the wastewater plant and we must remain within those allotments.
Do you support building the wastewater treatment plant? I ran and was elected the last time around on proceeding with the wastewater plant and the accompanying growth.
How do we make Erin an even better place to live? Good planning, community standards, and building guidelines. We need to incorporate our heritage features in our community as much as possible. We also need to ensure that we have a walkable community to encourage community engagement, parks, trails, playgrounds etc.
Any link to an election website or social media account: I have a personal Facebook page only, but I have an election email for those who wish to contact me. [email protected].
