Mayor Armitage and Councillors Earle, Harkness, Maynard and Pateman with senior staff participated in three separate sessions to set out the priorities for the municipality over the next year and a half.
“For our municipality to make progress there has to be a clear set of goals and priorities. For local governments, the agenda can change quickly as issues come and go in the community. The town recently had a bi-election which resulted in a new Mayor and Councillor, making it necessary to undertake a Priority Setting exercise.
Council needed to determine which goals and objectives will be acted upon during the remainder of their term. Council has set the following priorities with the expectation that regular progress reports will be provided on the status of each of theses priorities. Mayor Armitage said, “Council is very pleased with our priorities and this process which keeps us focused as we move forward as a council and community.”
During the working sessions a long list of projects were generated but Council needed to narrow the scope to fit within the constraints of budgets and staffing capacities. Council and staff have already begun work on most of Council’s priorities and they look forward to reporting the status of these priorities on a regular basis.
Community Development: (Supporting Health Care)
• Advocate for health care services for the Town of Princeton
• Lobby and participate in working groups for 24/7 Emergency Room Services
• Actively support and assist with physician recruitment and locum recruitment
Financial Governance:
•Explore and increase local government revenue sources to offset increasing infrastructure expenditures
• Look at marketing opportunities to sell Industrial Park lots
Land Use Planning:
• Development of a new Zoning Bylaw that will regulate land use to achieve long range direction set out in the Official Community Plan Bylaw No. 808,2008
• Focus on objectives for sustainability and innovation that will provide the most benefits for the town. Look at opportunities to reduce Green House Gas emmissions, improve water and air quality through revisions to the Zoning Bylaw
Parks, Recreation and Culture:
• Develop a long range Strategic Planning document that will help with the management and development of parks and recreation services over the next 10 years
• Focus on identifying needs, opportunities and priorities
• Ensure community input is incorporated in the process
Civic Infrastructure: (Courthouse)
Investigate the structural integrity of the municipally owned Courthouse Building
• Explore the functionality of the Courthouse building as a Town Hall Office
• Renovate the building to present building code standards, keeping with the historic theme of the building
Mapping Infrastructure:
• Develop Geographic Information System (G.I.S.) mapping of the Town’s infrastructure; water, sewer and storm water. This will improve the day to day maintenance and reduce costs associated with operating the Town’s underground infrastructure
• Develop G.I.S. for mapping of the Town’s Cemetery
