Last November, Joan Rymal was appointed to fill the seat vacated on Oct. 14 of last year by Steve Peters.
Rymal previously served on council for two terms, between 2014 and 2022. She did not seek re-election in the 2022 municipal vote
So what prompted her to file her nomination papers this time around?
She continued, “We are trying to increase housing, and we have a lot of new builds. But once you get new builds, then you get new roads. And you have people who want more sidewalks. People, when they’re in their homes, they’d like to have the snow plowed. They’d like to have garbage picked up. So all those things are extra costs for services. So we have to be able to manage all those costs as well.”
And, factor in the $1 million ask this past Monday from the Elgin County Railway Museum.
“So a million dollars is like a 1.3 per cent increase on top of all the other items and pressures that the city has. So everybody has great ideas. We certainly support all sorts of suggestions, but we have to be really careful with the budget. And there’s only so much that the taxpayer can absorb in costs.”
We asked Rymal, if elected Monday night, what are you anticipating as you go into the new term of council?
We turned the focus to housing and what role, if any, might be played by the shuttered Arthur Voaden property?
“It is an issue to look at for housing. We have the federal housing program, and we have three new projects coming on stream with those. And with those federal affordable housing projects, those don’t cost the taxpayer anything. That money is all federally supplied. So that’s really a win-win. We have a certain amount of money, but we have, let’s say, three new projects that have been assigned to that. So we have been very good with the housing.”
Also sitting vacant is the former Wellington Street School.
“Yes, that has potential as well, and there has been an expression of interest gone out for that. So we’re looking at what people have suggested for that property, and that’s another central area to downtown. We are going to make sure we keep the playground on the corner, but that’s another housing possibility.”
Rymal is excited about the progress made so far on the first PowerCo structure.
“You know, it’s huge, the amount of building that’s going on there. It’s incredible the amount of infrastructure that was put in the ground. The sewer, the hydro, the water, a train line – it’s just incredible the amount of infrastructure that was put in place.”
As the campaigns wrap up, she notes that people she has approached have been friendly and gracious.
“I have a couple of other people who are out campaigning for me as well. So, it’s been going well. My pitch was experience you can count on.”
“Everyone works well together, and they really enhance the services for the citizens, like Destination Church’s lunch meal for kids. There are all these programs that go on that may not be as visible, but really, really help support the community. It’s a wonderful place to live.”
Written by Ian McCallum
