by CONNIE TABBERT
Editor
COBDEN — Whitewater Region Mayor Hal Johnson is hopeful the positive changes in the municipality over the past year continue in 2016.
The current council was elected in October 2014 and took office in December 2014. Members are, Mayor Johnson, Reeve Terry Millar and councillors Charlene Jackson, Dave Mackay, Daryl McLaughlin, Chris Olmstead and Cathy Regier
“The changes, I feel, have made us more available to the public,” the mayor said while having coffee at a local restaurant.
Making the township more available was accomplished in two big ways at the municipal office, he said. The first was video-taping council and committee meetings, which allows residents opportunity to hear the discussions.
“We also made the entrance to the township office people-friendly,” Mayor Johnson said. “We took away the glass.
“The ladies in the office set up armchairs and a table,” he added. “It makes it a friendly place to come into. People enjoy coming in now. It’s a friendly place.”
Mayor Johnson believes the involvement of council with the senior clubs, historical society and library has been improved. These are very important organizations within the municipality, he said.
The volunteers within the municipality have also been thanked by council whenever possible. Mayor Johnson recalled the recent presentation of a thank you certificate to a tourist booth volunteer.
He also believes there have been “great strides in bringing the communities together. People are talking to each other. The people feel like they are part of something exciting.
“We have stopped the negativity of territorial misconceptions,” he said. “People are pretty proud to be from Whitewater Region, and they should be.
“We’re as good, if not better, than a lot of different areas.
“Our farmers, builders, constructors, families, volunteers, and entrepreneurs are some of the best. We can be proud to be from Whitewater.”
Looking at the make-up of council, Mayor Johnson noted there are seven people with varying business acumen and technical backgrounds who have come together. The one thing they do have in common is the importance of teamwork to achieve the best for Whitewater Region, he said.
“We have the traditional let’s be careful,” he said. “We have the traditional let’s get it done. We have the traditional talk to the public.
“We have some very strong personalities at the council table and it’s my job to keep them blended together. I feel our people have blended well. We have a super council.”
The council members talk to each other and talk to the public, Mayor Johnson said. They make good decisions based on what they believe is best for the township after thinking the question over, he said.
“We do not argue, we debate,” the mayor said. “When you debate, you are looking for the best method of answering a question. You are offering your best, you are picking out other people’s best and then you can make the right and best decisions.”
That is why at times decisions made at a committee meeting can be different than what is finally decided at a council meeting. This is because different ideas were discussed and there is that chance to mull everything over one more time before making a final decision, he explained.
While there are some people who believe they can not quite tell the truth to council or “try and pull the wool over our eyes,” council can tell the difference, he explained.
“In my opinion, we have the best working council in Renfrew County,” Mayor Johnson said. “I don’t know many other municipalities in Ontario, so I can’t say in all of Ontario.
“We have an extraordinary group of people who look for ways to promote economic development, and who want to help committees and our people achieve what they want to,” Mayor Johnson said.
There have been changes internally to ensure the township is operated as efficiently as it can be, the mayor said. One internal change for council and staff was the improved communications. It’s important the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) be kept informed of everything that is happening within the municipality. That wasn’t happening before, he added.
Another important aspect of communication is the coverage in the local paper, whitewaternews.ca, the mayor said. When interviews are asked for, they are granted, he said. The paper covers the meetings and reports as much as possible, he said.
“That’s important to our community,” he said. “People need to be kept informed of what we do.”
The council members also participate in anything they are asked to, the mayor said. Council members can be seen at various community events. He doesn’t expect every council member to attend each event, because they have lives outside of council as well, he explained.
Looking to 2016, Mayor Johnson said the first business is to get the strategic plan completed and begin working on the goals listed. While not all the goals may not be achieved, he said this plan will help the township with economic development, which is so important to Whitewater Region.
“We have to know how to be a partner in development and regain partnerships with various companies,” he said.
There has been much work put into the township’s business plan by the mayor and council members.
“I feel our efforts will be fruitful and we will see our business plan move forward,” Mayor Johnson said. “We have to sell Whitewater Region to businesses. We have to talk them into coming to Whitewater Region instead of going to larger centres.”
The recent video completed for the township is one way of enticing people to move to the municipality, he said.
“It portrays what we have to offer the group we are going after,” Mayor Johnson said. “We want to attract young people to come back here or to move here. We want the entrepreneurs to come here. We want to bring in the millenials. We want to promote Whitewater as a place to live and then to work.”
Millenials are those born between 1976 and 2004. There are those people here right now but more would be better, he said. The owners of Whitewater Brewery are examples of millennials, he said. They moved here and then started a business.
“Those are very, very important people,” he said.
Mayor Johnson said immigrants will also be important to our municipality because many of them could help with our farm labour force. He said farm land will not be sacrificed and with new people moving to the area, they could go into farming.
“We have to grow and bring the people in,” he said.
Another very important thing to council is getting cell service to the Beachburg/Westmeath areas of the township.
“We’re hoping to get somebody to do something with cell service,” he said.
While Bell Canada says there is no blank spaces between Mattawa to Ottawa, Mayor Johnson disputes that.
The problem is there isn’t the number of people in that area required to support cell service, which means there has to be government support, he said.
Council was disappointed when it found out Cogeco was only installing internet fibre optics and not cell service, he said. When the grants were first announced for Cogeco and the lines were being installed, it was with the assumption there would be both internet and cell service, he explained.
There is always hope NRTCO in Beachburg will one day get a tower in the Westmeath area to service those people, he said. This company has been very good to Whitewater and if council can help it in any way, it will, he said.
“Council wants to see cell phone saturation in this township,” he said. “It’s hard to get people to come live and play when you don’t have cell service.”
Mayor Johnson said he has enjoyed the past year immensely. While he has worked for the township before, being mayor gives him a lot of options to help make it a better municipality.
“One of the most amazing things is through this position, I have the right to ask questions on behalf of the residents,” he said. “I get action. There is no other position I have had that has allowed me to ask the questions. It opens the doors. Behind the scenes, I have made quite a bit of difference.”
However, wielding a lot of power is scary, he said.
“I have to be constantly watching that I never abuse it,” he said.
Mayor Johnson said one of the most important things he is aware of as mayor is that the position must get the respect it deserves. He believes he has achieved that respect by putting in the work required as the mayor of the township. And he believes because of that the people of this municipality have become proud of the township.
“I don’t want to be feared and I don’t want to be laughed at,” he said. “I want the name to be respected, but that can only be earned. No matter who you are, respect has to be earned.
“When I’m introduced to (provincial) ministers, I want to be known as somebody who should be respected.
“I hope when I call somebody, they will pick up the phone,” Mayor Johnson said.
