Meeting focuses on solutions as local politicians also address town leadership
Communicating with residents was top of mind when Mayor Jeff Wright opened the Oct. 13 council session.
“I think it’s important for us to note that not everyone has Facebook. Not everyone has social media. There’s no longer a weekly paper. Thank you to the River Valley Sun for doing what they do, but it’s a monthly paper and some of the information isn’t getting out to the constituents in a timely manner,” explained Wright. “We have a quarterly council report. Once again, quarterly is not necessarily the answer. We have Voyant Alert, and I think if you talk to people out there, and I actually asked a question today at town hall, what percentage of households in our community have Voyant Alert? I think it’s right around 20 per cent. 20 per cent is not a very high number when it comes to that type of thing.”
Wright noted that council is “seeking alternative options, ways that we can get information out to the constituents.”
He encouraged community members to email the town with ideas and suggestions on how the town can communicate more effectively and better reach all constituents. If you have any suggestions, you can reach the town at info@WoodstockNB.ca
“I believe that communication and education are important,” said Wright.
Mayor Wright also asked his fellow councillors to consider the two most pressing issues they want to advocate for.
Inspired by a recent seminar he and other councillors attended, where they were told that shorter lists consistently had a better chance of success at all levels of government than longer, less focused ones, he challenged them to each return with their tw priorities.
He challenged all the councillors to each come back with their two things, and together they will try to wittle the list down to the two to three most pressing matters they really want to focus on working with the government to tackle.
Valley Food Bank
CAO Allan Walker asked council and the public to think of the local needs of families this fall.
“As you come in, you would have seen a bin by the reception desk for the Valley Food Bank. What we are doing for October, November and December is offering public skating at the AYR Motor Centre free with a donation to the Valley Food Bank of cash or a non-perishable food item,” said the CAO when he updated council.
“We’re hoping this program will both raise awareness of the needs and work of the Valley Food Bank and supplies as demand on the services continues to increase.”
Recently, the Woodstock Town Council toured the food bank and donated 726 pounds of food and toiletries. They were surprised to learn that amount would last only about four days. Mayor Jeff Wright encouraged everyone to support the Food Bank in any way they can, noting the community’s increasingly desperate need, especially with the recent closure of the Nackawick Pulp Mill.
“It’s an amazing operation,” praised Walker. “The work they do there, with the amount of staff that they have to do it and with the demands on them increasing and supply decreasing, anything anybody can do to help that food bank is worthwhile.”
Waste disposal update
CAO Walker highlighted the waste by-law 609, pointing out changes since its last reading at council.
“Each dwelling may place a maximum of two waste disposal receptacles with a combined capacity of 600 litres each collection day. The municipality will review the maximum number and size of receptacles on an annual basis and reserves the right to reduce the number and/or capacity of waste receptacles upon two months’ notice to residents,” said Walker.
“There is no limit to the number of recycling receptacles that may be placed at each recycling day,” he stressed.
Since the waste by-law changes began, the town has received a lot of feedback from the community, especially about the amount of garbage residents will be limited to compared to the years of unlimited disposal pick-up they were accustomed to.
During the Oct. 13 meeting, Mayor Wright explained that these changes began with the previous council. The new Council inherited the file and continued the work where the previous council left off.
“I understand the rationale behind it. The rationale was, let’s cut down on garbage because we’re spending almost $600,000 a year on garbage collection and it costs us nothing for recycling. So we want to encourage everyone to recycle more and cut down on garbage,” said Wright. “If we can save $200,000 a year in garbage collection, that’s $200,000 more a year that we have to lay asphalt or other things we might need.”
Mayor Wright said he felt the by-law change process was working as it should. Between each new draft and reading of the by-law, there is a pause of a couple of weeks to give residents a chance to voice their opinions to the town, and the town has made adjustments based in part on the feedback they recieved.
“Third and final reading won’t happen for another two weeks, and I’m sure we’re going to get feedback from the residents again,” said Wright.
Other changes made to the most recent draft of the by-law were the removal of references to the collection of organics because they aren’t set up for composting yet; they will no longer plan on providing waste receptacles to each new residence as constructed, and they added an option for Type B residential properties (properties with five or more dwelling units) to arrange for the collection and delivery of their own waste at their own expense to designated facilities. Council passed the by-laws’ second reading.
The last of the waste bins were to be delivered by the end of Oct. If you would like to view the most recent draft of the by-law, check out the link below:
Provincial, federal politicians visit
Council heard from Tobique-Mactaquac MP Richard Bragdon and Woodstock-Hartland MLA Bill Hogan.
“It’s an honour to serve as a member of parliament for this region, and I can now say Woodstock is the largest municipality within Tobique-Mactaquac with the new boundary change,” said Bragdon. “Woodstock has that distinction now, and it’s a joy to be working with you again.”
He and Hogan promised to work collaboratively, wherever they can, to support each other and their community.
Bragdon spent some time discussing the confusion many constituents have about which branch of government is responsible for different things (provincial, federal, or municipal) and gave the council a list of examples for each branch. He also spent a little time highlighting some programs the municipality might want to continue to take advantage of.
Hogan also mentioned programs that could benefit the area, including efforts to help seniors live independently in their own homes for as long as possible, affordability, tariff relief for struggling companies, and the ongoing need to advocate for proper local healthcare.
“Not having a family doctor is a problem. It’s a challenge in New Brunswick,” said Hogan. “We, I, continue to encourage the government to actively recruit. I know the municipality has always taken an active role in recruiting health care professionals to the area.”
Their presentation ended with friendly renewals of support to encourage communication between the different levels of government so they can help and support each other and the communities they serve.
