Aurora council candidates suggest ways to improve communications, environment, recreation, transit

Yorkregion.com
Oct. 9, 2014
By Teresa Latchford

You deserve more when it comes to communication, environmental and transit services according to your council hopefuls.

Aurora’s current population of 56,000 is projected to grow to 75,000 by 2031, which will mean more and more demand for services. When asked what one service they would boost if elected and how they would fund the enhancement, municipal election candidates had different ideas.

“The one service I would enhance is communications with the residents of Aurora,” councillor candidate Thomas Plamondon said.

With little cost associated with today’s communication technology, he would encourage residents to subscribe to a general email in order to receive monthly digital newsletters.

It would allow residents to review the month ahead and note important dates, such as council meetings and community events, along with other information at their own convenience, he said.

Sponsorships would cover the cost of any staff time needed to maintain the email list and prepare the newsletter, Plamondon added.

Councillor hopeful Linda Stephens would look to sports and recreation.

She would recommend an updated assessment of current facilities and programs and public consultations to find out what the town and local families really need to enjoy their time together.

“I would want to look at operations for efficiency in existing facilities and look at additional streams of revenue while considering future demand,” she said. “There are always ways to find great efficiencies to redistribute allocation of funds.”

Alice Lalas and David Heard both said environmental services would top their lists for enhancement.

Lalas suggests private companies with an interest in advertising could fund green spaces and small farming patches in schools.

Heard would specifically target environmental cleanups. He feels it could be a grassroots movement with the establishment of a foundation in Aurora that would help fund cleanups of derelict lands with waste that could contaminate groundwater.

The funding needed would come from charging the property owner for the cleanup, much like a bylaw fine, he added.

While transit isn’t the direct responsibility of the municipality, Carl Barrett and Barb Barker both say a stronger transit system should be advocated for on the behalf of residents.

“I would like to see Aurora try and get more bus routes and more flexible schedules,” Barrett said. “For a lot of us, it’s the only way to get around and it’s a limited service. Try to get a York Region Transit bus late at night after some of our residents finish work at restaurants and bars.”

Barker would lobby the provincial government to increase Go Transit services, which would in turn alleviate some of the road congestion in town.

“By working together with the Go Transit commission, province and town, schedules and expenses could be offset,” she added. “I feel that we are mandated to make Aurora grow then they should be on the hook to give us something back.”

If the province isn’t willing, at least it could assist with getting shuttles up and running in town, she said.