Earlier this summer, he filed his nomination papers to again contest for the Deputy Mayor post in Central Elgin. Days prior to the nomination period closing, Dennis Crevits changed course and entered the mayoral race against Morgaine Griffin.
So, what prompted that decision?
“I just assumed that the mayor (Andrew Sloan) was going to run again. And there was already one candidate that had put in for mayor. So that would have put three of us running for mayor. And rather than splitting the vote, I thought I’d have a better chance of both getting in and helping the community by being on council. So that’s why I ran for deputy mayor.
“And then when I found out that the current mayor was not running again, that’s when I put my hat in for mayor.”
Central Elgin has drawn attention in recent years after losing several hundred acres of industrial land to St. Thomas for the development of Yarmouth Yards industrial park.
More recently, the announcement that the former St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital lands will be transformed into a vibrant mixed-use community has garnered headlines.
Crevits says the latter prompted him to run again.
“When we found out that the hospital lands were going to be in Central Elgin and it’s going to remain in Central Elgin, that’s very important. They’ve done a study already for the hospital lands, and it’s good to see the planning there. And I’d like to make sure the planning supports smart growth.”
He continued, “This is going to be our chance for some growth to help offset our taxes. It has to be built as a community with some seniors housing, some affordable housing. Make it a walkable community. That’s the goal there.”
What are some of the other things that Crevits sees as priorities going into the new term?
“There’s always discussion about water and water rates; that’s something that recurs throughout the municipality. I’d like to see an amalgamation of our two water boards. We have the Lake Erie water board, the one located in Port Stanley, and they feed the City of London.
“And there’s also the one in Grand Bend, the Huron board that feeds the City of London. Currently on the books, the Erie station is about .93 cents a cubic meter as the cost at which they sell their water. On the other end, the Huron Board is at .53 cents, almost half price. So London gets to take advantage of a blended water rate.”
The municipality lost hundreds of acres of industrial land to St. Thomas to create the Yarmouth Yards industrial park; however, there is land bordering Hwy. 3 that is available for future development. We asked Crevits about attracting industry to Central Elgin.
Crevits added, “And once PowerCo does come on stream, then it will be access for parts or delivery, a closer delivery than having to rely on London Airport all the time.”
There was discussion at a recent all-candidates meeting related to growth in Port Stanley, something Crevits referred to as a line in the sand.
“There are only a couple more developments that are available there for residential development. One is just as you’re coming into Port Stanley on East Road, and the other is over by the golf course. Those are the two growth areas, and the third one, which is a big one, is the harbour front.
“A lot of people have their eyebrows raised about the hospital land developments. They’re asking, is there land being kept for any other reasons? There are 50 to 60 acres being kept by the province in that development, and speculation is that it could be a hospital someday.
“With the harbour front development, there’s a plan in place. And, you know, we should stick to that existing plan, not try to reinvent the wheel and get another plan in place.”
Crevits pointed out, “In the Union area, there is growth; there’s talk of a pumping station there. There are two developers from the St. Thomas area. One has about a 400-acre parcel, the other one a 100-acre parcel. And that’s all in the works. But again, that’s gone quiet in the interim.
“We have to watch our growth and watch our dollars, the way we spend our dollars.”
We asked Crevits about the feedback he is receiving as he campaigns.
“I seem to be getting really good feedback from the public. The doors that I’ve knocked on, there seems to be a lot of engagement from the people I’ve been talking to, which is a good sign. I’m hoping we can get a better turnout than we have had historically around the area. It’s roughly 30 per cent. It’d be nice to get that even to 35 per cent.
“A lot of people have their eyebrows raised about the hospital land developments. They’re asking, is there land being kept for any other reasons? There are 50 to 60 acres being kept by the province in that development, and speculation is that it could be a hospital someday.”
Keeping municipal costs in line is something Crevits would like to tackle right out of the gate.
“And so, under the strong mayor powers, it’s the mayor’s duty to introduce a budget. And what I will try to do, which I’m going to attempt to do for my first couple of years, is to have a zero per cent increase plus the cost of living, at the most.”
Crevits is running under the banner, ‘Experience Matters.’
“Not only in politics, over the last 26 years I’ve sat on council for 11 years. But in my business experience, I’ve run my own business for the last 38 years.
“I started by opening up a gas station, the Shell gas station. I built that back in 1988 on the way into Port Stanley. And being self-sufficient in my business and construction, I have the experience, and I know how to run the business.
“A municipality has to be run as a corporation, as a business. And that’s something that I’ve been pushing as well.
“So there are the needs and the wants. We have to satisfy our needs before we get into the wants, and that’s something important. People have mentioned more pickleball courts or a cricket pitch or other things.
“Those are the things that we can do. And yes, I’d love to do everything, but unfortunately, we have to draw the line sometimes. So we have to take our needs first, our snow plowing, our roads, our infrastructure. That’s the important thing.
“And so, under the strong mayor powers, it’s the mayor’s duty to introduce a budget. And what I will try to do, which I’m going to attempt to do for my first couple of years, is to have a zero per cent increase plus the cost of living, at the most.
“That’s the budget that I’d like to propose for the first couple of years, just to keep things affordable where they are now.”
For more information, you can visit his website at https://www.denniscrevits.ca/
Written by Ian McCallum
