EloraFergusToday asked candidates in the upcoming municipal election to tell us a little bit about themselves and their platform.
Name: Valerie Bush
Occupation: Civilian with the OPP
How long have you lived in Erin? Just over nine years.
Why are you running in this election? Many community members, including myself, feel a disconnect between the Town of Erin and its residents. I would like to bridge that communication gap between the two. I also believe there needs to be female representation on council and I would like to be part of the decision-making process for our area. The Town of Erin is rapidly changing. Some of it good. Some of it may be regarded as bad. As a member of this community, I want to be more active in representing our community members when it comes to making decisions for our area. I want to see our community thrive and flourish, without taking away from its small town charm.
What qualifies you to represent Erin? I have been an active member in the community for years. Whether it's been in youth organizations or our schools, I've always wanted to be involved in my community. I have a high level of integrity and I have a diverse background in community and public service. I am not afraid to have a voice and stand up for what is right. I am also a community member who has been raising my family here for years and I want this community to be the best it can be for my family and others.
Why should people vote for you? I believe it's time for a change. I want community members to be able to approach town councillors with their thoughts and opinions and I want them to be heard. I am open to others point of views and I will happily voice our members concerns. There seems to be a lack of information being disseminated to the community and I want to change that. I'd like to see more transparency, more public meetings and ensure open dialogue so everyone stays informed.
What do you see as the main issues facing residents of Erin on a broader scale? There seems to be a divide amongst our community with regards to growth. I do believe we need some growth in order to be more sustainable. I think we can manage some growth but need to figure out at what pace we can handle that growth. Our residents are facing high tax rates, with little return for that investment. There are also major concerns to taxpayers about the bills associated with the sewer system and hook up. People are really worried about that, and I think that worry is justified. There also seems to be a lack of affordable housing in the area. The cost of living has gone up for everyone but unfortunately, their pay cheques haven't seen the same increases. We need to help residents and businesses succeed and recover from the last couple of years of this pandemic.
What is the most important thing you want to see changed in Erin? I want Erin to still have that quaint charm we all know and love. The town needs to have some growth for us to be sustainable but we also need to find other ways to help us move forward. Encouraging our residents to shop local and making the Town attractive to tourists, in order to bring us some much-needed traffic, would be great. I can't imagine any of our local businesses not wanting more traffic into their locations. It would be nice to include Hillsburgh in this. Our little 'borough' is often forgotten and it would be great if there were some initiatives or grants provided to assist getting more businesses there. We really need to sell and promote our quaint village!
I would also like to see more police presence in our community. As a resident here, I am often frustrated by the lack of presence here by the police and I know others are as well. I would love to create some sort of Police Liaison Committee between the Town and the OPP. With the increased growth we will be seeing, we need to be aware of the added calls to service that the police will see. It would be great to have more presence here and some much-needed traffic enforcement.
What services need to be improved in Erin? First and foremost, I do believe there needs to be more transparency between the town and its residents. In the past, decisions have been made and community members don't find out about them until after the fact. Wouldn't it be nice if the council meeting agendas were disseminated and made available in advance to the community well in advance so that residents would know what was being discussed? There definitely needs to be more of a presence online and community announcements made, so that residents are able to see what's affecting the community and what decisions are being made. We need more community input for these meetings. Perhaps this means more public meetings, at times that are convenient to our residents.
I also believe the town needs more amenities. If we are working on some growth and we want people to shop and stay local, then we need to provide the community with the amenities to do that. We're already seeing an increase of new families moving in that have smaller children and are raising families. We need to be able to keep those kids active and in programs as close to home as possible. I would love to see a splash pad in our community. I really do like the idea of the Barbour Field initiative. I think this is something that we desperately need. This would also be a great for bringing people into our beautiful community, giving our main streets some needed traffic.
Is Erin growing too fast, just the right amount, or not fast enough? My personal belief is that Erin, on paper, is growing a little too fast. There is no doubt that we need some growth. Provincial mandates say we need to grow. With the growth already happening in Erin, my hope is that we can keep development at a reasonable pace. We need to ensure that our infrastructure can support the pace of the growth. That's my biggest worry. I've seen it in the past, in other communities, that the growth moved so fast, that their infrastructure couldn't support the rapid rise in growth. That's just frustrating to residents and it's not what I'd like to see. We need to make sure we have a plan in place for the infrastructure (like our roads), that match the rate of the housing developments.
What can be done at the local level about the rising cost of housing? This is a tough question to answer. Costs of everything has gone up, with little to no increases in people's salaries. Everyone is paying the price of added cost to supplies and amenities. It's difficult to lower the cost of housing, as everything has gone up in price for building supplies, gas and supply chain delays. Perhaps incentives can be offered to new home buyers and perhaps some tax incentives. This is something that I would definitely like to look into further once on council.
Do you support building the wastewater treatment plant? The wastewater treatment plant is a done deal. There is no going back on this. I do believe that if we want to support some growth and be attractive to builders, in order to achieve that growth, then we need it. If in the long run, it assists residents and businesses with lowering costs, then great. What I don't want to see, is an exorbitant cost to residents for the hook up to these sewers and the decommissioning of their current septic tanks. People simply can't afford this. We also need to make sure that we're building this wastewater treatment plant within environmental parameters. I know there is some concern over damaging wildlife habitats and that perhaps there is a better system we could go with. We really need to ensure that this new system is the best path for our community to move forward and keeps our community thriving.
How do we make Erin an even better place to live? If I go back to some of my answers already, we need to be more community focused. How do we keep our residents here? How do we make our community thrive? How do we get people here to visit our charm and spend money? If we can come together as a community and offer the best services, have the best amenities, have thriving businesses and keep our residents here, with affordable housing, then I think we're doing ok. Erin is a great place to live and raise a family. We want to ensure we have everything we need right here, to make people stay and to promote tourism.
Any link to an election website or social media account: @Val Bush for Erin Council (Facebook)
