EloraFergusToday asked candidates in the upcoming municipal election to tell us a little bit about themselves and their platform.
Name: Mike Martin
Occupation: Commander/operations manager, Region of Waterloo Paramedic Services. I’ve worked in the paramedic industry for 21-plus years. First as a frontline medic and then joined the management team several years ago.
How long have you lived in Mapleton? Carly and I moved to Mapleton in 2011. An opportunity arose to purchase the house in Moorefield that her grandparents built, she wanted it and I tagged along. It has been one of the best decisions we have made. We love this small town and the community vibe.
Why are you running in this election? I have been active in local municipal council now for two terms (eight years) and it has been an intensely rewarding experience. I enjoy my community and I’m honored to offer my time and energy to represent a demographic that is often lacking, but important, on a municipal council. I want my boys to grow up in a place that is safe, vibrant, and wholesome and I’m prepared to work together with my friends and neighbours throughout Mapleton to make this happen.
What qualifies you to represent Mapleton? Besides meeting the technical qualifications under the Municipal Act, I am an active member of Mapleton and I care about issues that affect my neighbours throughout the Township wherever that is. I have shown a great deal of passion and empathy during our decision-making processes at Council and take pride in prioritizing the interests of our local rate payers. I participate, debate and then support the decisions of Council.
Why should people vote for you? I recognize that I am a single voice and one vote and that it is not a councillor/mayor that makes a decision, it’s council as a whole. I operate well within those parameters. Council needs to be functional, open minded, responsive, and progressive to meet the needs of our community. In the position I find myself, I would suggest that you review my work, votes and opinions in the past eight years and if you are happy and satisfied then I’d be thrilled with your vote for another term of council. I love being involved in my community and I am always available wherever you find me be that at the arena, ball diamond or in the grocery store. I have tried to do my part to bring new ideas, accountability and a healthy dose of common sense to the table throughout my past two terms and that is what you can expect moving forward.
Main issues facing Mapleton on a broader scale? I’d suggest it’s our long-term financial sustainability. The infrastructure gap identified in our asset management plan is daunting. At our core we’re a proud and booming agricultural community. Everything revolves our local farmers and the products they provide to our province, country and the world. But the province doesn’t appreciate that, and in turn, doesn’t compensate us accordingly. Farms pay 25 cents/dollar for property taxes (as they should) and the province used to reimburse the difference as per their Cheap Food policy but they’ve been slashing back this funding for years. However, we can’t just whine and expect others to fix our problems, we need to continue to think outside the box for efficiencies and to create funding streams that don’t rely primarily on our residential property tax base. Decisions around our key infrastructure aren’t fun or exciting nor do they prompt lots of public feedback but they certainly come at a cost and it requires a plan.
What is the most important thing you want to see changed in Mapleton? I’d like to see the reliance on our residential tax base decrease. When we talk about growth it been primarily around increasing the residential base. Our Township CAO, along with his staff, have been working tirelessly into providing and facilitating opportunities for the growth of our local business sector. Growth of our industrial and commercial sectors will bring both jobs and amenities to our local communities that our residents are looking for. We know that we’re a great place to live and grow, and we also need to be a great place to work and play and together we can achieve that.
What services need to be improved in Mapleton? Our community is full of young and energetic families that need amenities. Our recreational services need to grow and improve. We can’t ask our local folks to keep driving to other towns to enjoy things like a pool or a simple basketball court. We’ve had conversations and made an attempt to secure funding to enable us to have a more diverse facility at the Drayton arena but unfortunately, we weren’t successful. We need to continue to invest in our recreational facilities, ball diamonds, and green space areas to make sure that our residents, young, and not as young, have a space to enjoy without driving 30 minutes. We’ve seen numerous examples of our local service clubs being creative and investing in our parks and park space and the Township needs to continue to build on that creativity.
Is Mapleton growing too fast, just the right amount, or not fast enough? For the majority of my past two terms of council I would’ve told you that it hasn’t been fast enough due to our water/wastewater issues. Now, it’s a matter of controlled growth and making sure we don’t grow too fast. In fact, it’s a community conversation that really needs to happen. If we grow too fast, we’ll outpace our amenities and one could argue we have already. Thoughtful and deliberate growth is key. Growth is supposed to pay for growth and then eventually we’ll have more people to contribute and overall costs will subside, at least that’s what we’re told. So far, we’ve just seen rising property taxes. We need to make sure that growth is good for everyone, especially for those that already live here.
What can be done at the local level about the rising cost of housing? We can provide guidance about the amount/density of local housing, but I’d suggest that it’s best left outside of government to dictate the cost. We’ve seen how that typically works out.
How would you support the effort to bring licensed child care to Mapleton? This is a service that is primarily dictated by the upper tier level of government locally I.e. Wellington County if it becomes a subsided service. Licensed child care providers have been identified as a local need. We’ve recently established a Mapleton Before/After School program to attempt to fill a void but our struggle is keeping it cost neutral/user pay as these things should be. Wellington County has also created a EarlyOn centre in downtown Drayton a couple years ago.
How do we make Mapleton an even better place to live? It’s already the best place to live, but if you want to make it better just engage. Get out, vote, have your say, and be involved in the discussions. I know everyone has an opinion, so even call/text/email and make yourself heard. You might be surprised how easy I am to talk to. The few folks who come out to budget and public meetings have a tremendous impact and this could be you. Also, we’ve got a ton of amazing local service clubs that live and breathe Mapleton, join one and have some fun making Mapleton an even better place to live.
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