There’s work to be done but the City of Belleville has a bright future ahead of it. That was thrust of Mayor Neil Ellis’s New Year’s Levee speech New Year’s Day at the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre.
Mayor and council greeted well over 100 residents and other local dignitaries to the Centre’s gymnasium during the annual event.
Ellis stressed the following focuses for council’s next four years–attracting more family doctors and other medical professionals, providing more affordable housing, and economic development.
Mayor Neil Ellis delivers his New Year’s Levee address. (Photo: Quinte News)
In a concrete move on the health care priority the mayor announced that the long-time Manager of Economic Development and Strategic Initiatives Karen Poste will now begin working full-time on doctor recruitment for the city, joining Quinte West, Prince Edward County, and many other communities who already have a full-time physician recruiter on staff.
Newly hired Heather Candler will handle the economic development job.
City councillors also introduced themselves and spoke briefly with all expressing optimism meeting both goals and challenges over the next four years.
Councillor Sean Kelly drew applause when he said how much he looked forward to working with not one or two but three wonderfully talented women on council.
New full-time physician recruiter for the City of Belleville Karen Poste. (Photo: Quinte News)
Mayor Ellis’s entire Levee speech can be seen below as well as photos from the event.
Good morning. A warm welcome and happy new year to all! Thank you for sharing in today’s celebration of the new year and continuing this long-standing tradition in the City of Belleville.
I would like to extend a special welcome to some of our local dignitaries here today. It is my pleasure to recognize:
MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman
Mayor Jim Harrison, Quinte West
Mayor Steve Ferguson, PEC
MP for Hastings-Lennox and Addington riding Shelby Kramp-Neuman and her father, former MP and MPP Daryl Kramp. (Photo: Quinte News)
Special guests at Belleville’s 2023 New Year’s Levee. From left to right: MP Shelby Kramp-Neuman, Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson, Mayor of Quinte West Jim Harrison and his wife Jane, Quinte West councillor Jim Alyea, and Quinte West Fire Chief John Whalen. (Photo: Quinte News)
Belleville has a bright future and together, with my fellow City Councillors, 2023 will be just the first year of the next 4 filled with finding ways to unlock the full potential of our city. We need to drive change through effective leadership, and I am up for the task —now more than ever.
As I said during the campaign, we must focus on infrastructure. We must focus on the grass roots of the city. We must focus on getting much needed boots on the ground.
We are a strong community and our future looks bright. “Putting people first” requires actively creating a desirable work environment and a city that is there for you.
The doctor shortage is very real in our city and we must do better. Doctor Recruitment is very near and dear to my heart, and something we must make a priority this term.
My past council brought this concept forward and it is now time to invest further in the program. We have been fortunate to attract and recruit 43 doctors since the inception of this program, but it is not enough.
Like many other cities, Belleville faces numerous issues related to healthcare and we, City Council and myself, must take a leadership role to help resolve this. I look forward to revamping the Doctor Recruitment program and bringing several more doctors to our city.
The Affordable Housing crisis is real, and our housing shortage is at an all-time high. We must continue to be creative and innovative when it comes to Affordable Housing and in discovering new ways to resolve this issue. We must work with each level of Government when it comes to finding these solutions and the funding for them. There is money out there and we will go after it.
We must invest more in Economic Development —really promote what Belleville has to offer. We need to retain what businesses we have, attract new business, and address the changing economic conditions. To that end, we are updating the Economic Development Strategic Plan for the City of Belleville as it will drive a broad range of economic development priorities for the next 4 years.
It is important that we leverage past investments in infrastructure and community improvements —2008 until now— and continue to invest strategically in order to attract not only new businesses but people who can live, work, play, and invest in Belleville
There are some other exciting things we have to look forward to this year. The sale of an 18-acre industrial parcel along Highway 401 in Belleville’s north east industrial park is to be finalized later this month. The construction of a 380,000 square foot manufacturing, assembly, and warehouse facility will start in the spring.
The completion and opening of the expanded Vision Transportation warehouse on College Street East is set to happen in the autumn. This 380,000 square foot addition will expand their location to over 1.2 million square feet.
Project Toro is in the process of adding over 1,000,000 square feet to the industrial warehousing inventory in Belleville and is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2023.
Not to mention the first phase of the Farnham Road reconstruction will also be beginning this year.
The Environmental Assessment process for the expansion of the north-east industrial park will also get underway in 2023. This is the first step in servicing more than 400 acres of additional industrial land that will service Belleville’s industrial land needs for the next 5–10 years.
We will also be planning for roads and sewer and water services for the Loyalist Secondary plan area. This will be the main growth area for the city in the future, accommodating anywhere from 24,000 to 29,000 people and will facilitate expansion of Loyalist College Campus as well.
The Bachelor of Science nursing scholarship will welcome their first scholarship recipients in January, 2023. This will provide financial assistance to support 20 new registered nurses as they complete their degree.
I am looking forward to seeing all the new year will bring, and I hope it will be filled with mutual respect, collaboration, inclusive leadership, and empowerment. I am grateful to be part of the 2022-2026 Belleville City Council, and I’d like to once again welcome our new council members. Looking around, I see nothing but potential and endless possibilities.
The Belleville Concert Band provided music at the Levee. (Photo: Quinte News)
