‘We see the light at the end of the tunnel’: What’s in store for King Township in 2021

Mayor, president of food bank and chamber of commerce president look forward to coming year

Yorkregion.com
Jan. 4, 2021
Laura Broadley

In the unprecedented times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to see what community leaders predict will happen in the upcoming year.

Angelo Santorelli, president of the King Chamber of Commerce, said it’s hard to predict what will come for the business community in King Township.

“We’ll continue to support our small, medium and large businesses as much as we can,” he said.

Santorelli said it’s important that the chamber works with all different levels of government to find support for businesses in 2021.

“We see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Santorelli said.

The second half of 2021 is when Santorelli said people in the business community will see a turnaround, and it’s about getting through the first half of the year together.

“It’s up to us to work together to try and get through to, at least, the other half of 2021 in order to keep as many businesses in business as possible,” he said.

Carol Ann Trabert, president of the King Township Food Bank, said she is predicting a rise in demand as “savings are depleted, and pandemic benefits and EI run out.”

Trabert said the community of King is generous in its support of the food bank, and she is confident that the food bank will be able to meet any increase in demand.

King Township Mayor Steve Pellegrini said council is aiming for a near-zero tax rate increase for 2021 because they know that many people in the community have had financial hardships this year.

“We’ll do our best,” he said.

Another thing residents in King Township can look forward to in the coming year is the opening of the new public library. The King City branch of the library has been under construction and is getting ready to open in 2021, Pellegrini said.

“Our brand-new, fancy, state-of-the-art, gorgeous facility is not just a library, it’s a seniors’ facility,” he said. “We’ll be ready when we’re allowed to open the doors.”

Businesses throughout King Township can apply for help through the Community Improvement Plan in 2021. In previous years, the CIP was just for businesses in certain areas of the township, but council decided to change it to include all of King Township, Pellegrini said.

Pellegrini said one of the major items on the list of to-dos this coming year is King Township roads.

“We’re one of the GTA municipalities, we’re the largest in terms of land in York Region,” he said. “We have over 300 kilometres of roads of which they’re not all paved. And the ones that are paved, some of them are in not great condition.”

Over the last couple of years, council has actively been upgrading and repairing King Township roads, and that will continue into 2021.