Prince Edward County rang in the new year with the annual New Year’s Levee, the first held in person since COVID-19.
Almost a full house joined Mayor Steve Ferguson and council in the Rotary Club hall in Picton.
Mayor Ferguson delivered a speech about the coming year.
Prince Edward County Mayor Steve Ferguson delivers a speech at the 2023 New Years Levee.
During his speech, Mayor Ferguson spoke about the many challenges facing Prince Edward County in the coming year, including repairing aging infrastructure, doctor retention and recruitment, and building affordable housing.
He specifically mentioned rising inflation as a pressing challenge, noting that municipalities across Ontario have to do more, with less.
He also congratulated the road crews who worked hard to clear the roads during and after the recent blizzard.
You can read his entire speech below.
Prince Edward County council greet guests at the 2023 New Year’s Levee.
Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome.
After the two-year hiatus imposed by the pandemic, it is wonderful to gather again for the New Years Levee. Thank you all for coming. We gather here today on traditional land that has been inhabited by Indigenous peoples from the beginning. We thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land for thousands of years. We recognize and deeply appreciate their historic connection to this place. Today, Prince Edward County is still home to many First Nations and Metis people, and we are grateful to have an opportunity to meet here, work and continue stewardship on this land. On behalf of the Members of Council, and our staff, I wish you all a very Happy New Year and a healthy and prosperous 2023.
I want to thank the dedicated Councillors joining me up here today whom you met in the receiving line. At the conclusion of these remarks I hope you will have more time to chat with them over some refreshments. For those who didn’t get through the receiving line, let me introduce your Councillors for the 2022 to 2026 term:
Sam Branderhorst – Athol
Chris Braney – Hillier
Corey Engelsdorfer – Wellington
Sam Grosso – Ameliasburgh
David Harrison – North Marysburgh
John Hirsch – South Marysburgh
Kate MacNaughton – Picton
Janice Maynard – Ameliasburgh
Brad Nieman –Bloomfield/Hallowell
Roy Pennell – Ameliasburgh
Phil Prinzen – Bloomfield/Hallowell
Phil St. Jean –Picton
Bill Roberts – Sophiasburgh
There is great potential within this Council to make a real difference in our community as we work together as a team. We won’t always agree, but by keeping an open mind and striving to build consensus, I am confident that we can maintain the momentum and accomplish our goals over the next four years.
Thank you all for attending
I would also like to welcome the elected officials from neighboring municipalities
Mayor Neil Ellis of the City of Belleville
Mayor Jim Harrison of the City of Quinte West, and his wife Jane.
Mayor Brian Ostrander of the Municipality of Brighton (and a former student of Mayor Harrison)
Bob Mullin, Warden of Hastings County and Mayor of the Township of Stirling-Rawdon
Rick Phillips, former Reeve of the Township of Tyendinaga and former Warden for Hastings County.
Chief of the MBQ R. Don Maracle
Councillor Garnet Thompson of Belleville
And Quinte West Councillors Shelley Stedall and Jim Alyea
Also here today is former Mayor Robert Quaiff, Vice Commodore and Dock Master of the Prince Edward Yacht Club
Thank you all for attending today and thank you to representatives from many community groups and organizations who have joined us.
Regrettably, our MP, Ryan Williams, and our MPP, the Honourable Todd Smith, could not attend today, but I thank them for continuing to be dedicated advocates for Prince Edward County and the region on Parliament Hill, and at Queen’s Park, respectively.
I am appreciative of the strong working relationships and partnerships we have formed with our neighbouring municipalities and our upper levels of government, and I look forward to continuing on this path over the next four years.
Before I continue, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank my assistant, Joy McLeod, Lisa Lindsay and her staff for the considerable work they put into organizing today’s event, Sandy Latchford and the Friends of the Museum volunteers for providing today’s refreshments, and our piper Steve Sprigings. Thank you all so very much.
The previous four-year term was rewarding in many ways, but it was interrupted by the unexpected challenges of flooding and the lingering pandemic. A great deal of credit must go to our municipal staff who adjusted to changing responsibilities and working conditions and performed magnificently in the face of unprecedented circumstances. We have with us today the members of the municipal Leadership Team. Please raise your hands. It is these municipal employees, led by our CAO, Marcia Wallace, and all the members of staff that report to them, who deserve our thanks for maintaining municipal operations during what have been extraordinary times.
Council has already completed its rigorous orientation program involving presentations by the leaders of all municipal departments, and a general introduction to municipal policies, procedures, by-laws, and provincial & federal legislation. There will be additional presentations in the coming weeks, and early this year, we will identify and communicate our priorities, with criteria for measuring our progress over the four years of our term. Many initiatives – the new hospital build, physician recruitment, our Affordable Housing Corporation’s focus on affordable and attainable housing, internet and transportation expansion, improved local education opportunities, and attracting external sources of funding – are well underway and will continue.
Further deliberations will involve tourism management, childcare, our aging infrastructure, water management and environmental stewardship of our community. And we know we need to do all this in a financially prudent manner. Drafting a multi-million-dollar budget is never an easy task. And I expect this year will be no different, especially given that municipalities across Ontario are being asked to do more with less in 2023 and beyond. Rising inflation and interest rates will continue to strain many in our community over the next several years. We owe it to everyone to ensure their hard-earned tax dollars are invested wisely in the areas that matter most, something that will be top-of mind when we deliberate the capital and operating budgets in February.
If we have learned anything over the past three years it is that the unexpected happens quite regularly.
I daresay no one knows that better than three members of our senior staff who joined the organization weeks before or after the pandemic was declared. Marcia Wallace, Kyle Cotton and Adam Goheen not only had to adjust to their new positions but also had to manage their parts of the organization in the midst of a global pandemic and a declared state of emergency.
More recently, the Blizzard of ’23 tested the skills of our operations department. We were the most affected municipality in Southern Ontario by this storm, and we owe a debt of gratitude to Manager of Infrastructure, Jeff Bryans, and all the road crew personnel who did such an extraordinary job over their Christmas break.
Such unanticipated circumstances will arise again, whether as a result of climate change or something other, and we must plan ahead and be prepared to adapt accordingly.
Similarly, during the municipal election campaign, I’m sure all of us who ran for office heard many great ideas about the future of Prince Edward County, but we also heard many concerns about the County’s future.
In my mind, the best way to protect that which we hold most dear about Prince Edward County is to plan for that future. I believe that right now is the ideal time to continue those discussions in a broader and deeper way as we chart a direction for the County over the next several years. And as we face unprecedented growth in the County in the next 3 to 5 years, it’s critical to have this conversation now with the public.
That’s why we are rekindling the strategic planning process that began in 2021 during the previous term of Council.
With the assistance of the highly respected firm StrategyCorp, we have already undertaken an analysis of the municipal and community strengths, areas that require improvement, the anticipated challenges as well as emerging opportunities.
That research has informed what we call five “conversations” we will have with the community over the next several months. These include:
Fostering Meaningful Public Engagement and Effective Local Government
Ensuring a Thriving, Inclusive Economy in a Historic Setting
Aligning Priority Infrastructure Renewal with Responsible Fiscal Policy
Balancing Tourism and Housing Affordability
Thinking Global and Acting Local on Climate Change
What we hear from those conversations will help lay the foundation of a community plan that will guide us over the next 10 years.
There will be in-person town hall meetings and smaller focus groups with business representatives and community organizations. People from all walks of life can come together and share their vision for the County.
As a community, we need to figure out the solution or solutions that work best for Prince Edward County.
We need to do this in ways that are transparent and ensure that you — as residents of this community — have meaningful opportunities to share your feedback. I urge you to please check the municipal website for ways to participate in these conversations, town halls or surveys.
You will be hearing a lot more about this in the coming weeks.
We have invited the consultants back to give a presentation and refresh Council and the community about the 5 conversations. Watch for that at the January 10 Council meeting.
As a council, we are ready to face 2023 as a stable, strategic organization able to deliver the quality service that County residents and businesses require. I want us to build our reputation as a community where you can get things done efficiently and well. We mustn’t be here to tell people what they can’t do – the focus must be on finding creative ways to help them achieve their goals and dreams.
We can’t and won’t do it alone.
Please ask yourself: how can I make this community a better place to live, work, and play? The application window is now open to enable you to apply to serve on a variety of committees. Please consider doing so and lending a hand to assist council to make informed decisions. Let’s explore all these possibilities together in 2023. We have an extraordinary municipality, unlike any other, and I am excited, motivated, proud and honoured to be your mayor.
Groups of guests begin to arrive and mingle before Mayor Ferguson’s speech at the 2023 New Years Levee
