Belleville mayor and councillors say goodbye

It was an emotional meeting of Belleville city council on Monday as outgoing Belleville city councillors spoke of their time serving the city.

The agenda for the last meeting of this present city council took just 10 minutes as opposed to the usual two or three hours.

Then, three of the five outgoing members, Jackie Denyes, Egerton Boyce, and Jack Miller spoke at length of their time serving the city, what they called “a privilege.”

Councillor Denyes, with 15 years of service, called it the “utmost privilege and pointed out the city looks different from when she joined council 15 years ago.

“There are three new fire halls, new bridges, the Belleville Senators and issues the city brought about through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.” She indicated her pride in heading up the Cultural Cities Committee, dealing with Belleville’s partnership with Gunpo, South Korea, and Lahr, Germany.

Councillor Boyce, with 15 years on council, read a very emotional speech, sometimes losing his voice. He said he recognized that he had an “obsessive personality” and took on many projects. He indicated “politics isn’t over” for him and urged all the city’s residents to work with the new council.

Councillor Jack Miller, with 12 years of service on council, said councillors years ago prepared an “extensive list of items to address, glaring deficiencies in the city.” He said, “Every item is crossed off the list.”

He paid tribute to the city staff, indicating they work hours “beyond a normal work day” helping to make the city the best it can be. Having served the entire time on the Transit Committee, Miller said the system is “on the cutting edge with its on-demand service.”

After heading up the Fairground Negotiating committee which allowed the city to take over part of the grounds, Miller said he hoped the city would be able to take the next step in negotiating the rest of the property.

Mayor Taso Christopher said it had been an honour working with everyone, and called city staff “world class staff.” “This council has really pushed the envelope getting projects on the table.” he said.  “So sincerely from the bottom of my heart I want to say thank you to all our staff and their families.

Christopher told Quinte News after the meeting there were “healthy discussions” over the years, and many successful projects.

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Incoming mayor, Councillor Mitch Panciuk, paid tribute to the outgoing members. He pointed to the positive changes to the city under Mayor Christopher’s tenure. “We did not agree on everything but agreed on a lot of things,” he said of the outgoing mayor.

Councillor Mike Graham, who did not run in the election, did not attend Monday’s meeting.

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