Over a year into the current council term, Town of Vermilion Mayor Robert Snow said there’s been plenty on council’s radar so far.
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In a June 25 interview with the Meridian Source, Snow reported the town is dealing with challenges such as housing.
“Like every municipality, housing is a challenge,” he said. “Last term, we looked at how we increase housing. We looked at our Brennan North area and a need for infrastructure. We need trunk lines and trunk mains to get there. We started that process last year.”
Work is already underway to help move housing along in the community.
“This term in our budget, we committed $2.25 million to extending that sewer trunk line to get it closer to Brennan North so we can get houses,” Snow said.
While work is underway, he said this is a long-term goal. On top of the work being done to attract residential developments, the town has also seen success filling some of its vacant lots.
“We have our Yellowhead East Industrial Park, it’s just about full,” he said. “If you drive over there, there’s buildings going up everywhere and it’s great to see that growth and development.”
The airport has also become a major focus for council.
“The other one is our airport — it’s a big one,” Snow said. “This term, we’ve really taken that to heart and said, ‘We need to get the airport so it’s maintained for the next 20 years.’ We’ve applied for funding with the province for support to resurface it.”
The town has already begun putting money away for the facility.
“Equally, we’ve started putting a reserve away,” he said. “This year, we’re doing surface repair, so, crack filling. The long-term goal is to resurface the whole runway.”
He noted a major benefit of the airport is the health-care opportunities it provides.
“We always focus on the health-care side of the airport,” he said. “Medevacs come in, and every time a medevac comes in, that means we get to keep an ambulance in our area.”
Snow said businesses are also utilizing the airport, pointing to a June 10 Bradley Airspray event aimed at raising awareness.
“But economic growth, we’ve seen a few businesses come into the airport and they’ve told us, ‘This airport has huge potential,’” he said. “We understand the value and the size of our airport.”
Another project closely on his radar is the historic CN building located in the provincial park.
“A goal of mine is working with the province to get our CN building in our provincial park restored and open to the public,” Snow said. “With the years, it needs a lot of care.”
He said they are currently collaborating with the province to get it back up and running.
Moving to council chambers, Snow said the team has been solid so far.
“We have a lot of really good discussions,” he explained. “This council really takes the time to look at some questions and get the feedback from administration.
“This council’s been really good at having good, healthy debates. We might disagree, but we’ll debate it and we’ll come to a consensus.”
He added there is value in seeing councillors vote differently depending on the item presented.
“We should see a variance in how people are voting because that shows we’re representing the concerns that we’re holding, that people elected us for,” he said.
The current council is composed of three returning members — Coun. Paul Conlon, Deputy Mayor Kevin Martin and Mayor Snow — who are joined by former mayor Bruce MacDuff and new councillors Sherry Martin and Kellen Snelgrove.
“I’d say we have a very diverse group of people,” Snow said.
In addition to the new council, a new administrator is helping shape the future of the town with the arrival of CAO Shannon Harrower.
“One year in with us and she just shines, she’s been awesome,” he said. “Elected officials are elected to represent a voice; we don’t manage the town. Our CAO manages the town very well and we have a very strong relationship.”
He explained that his office hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays give him an opportunity to connect with administration to discuss challenges and opportunities.
Snow said moving from councillor to mayor this term has been a significant learning experience.
“The learning’s been like a rocket ship.”
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