First of all, I would like to thank my Council colleagues, Town staff and residents that have extended their well wishes to me as I welcomed my new daughter to the world. I’ll admit, it was a bit funny. We have a Committee of the Whole meeting at 4:30 prior to Council, and come 4pm I was getting ready to go, and my wife said uh uh, I don’t think so. Needless to say, she made the right decision, and our baby daughter Lorelei came 3:53am the next morning. Mom and baby are doing fantastic. So once again, thank you for everyone that has reached out, it’s truly appreciated.
Much of my discussion is a bit of a recap from last meeting, but I wanted to bring it up again because I feel it is important. First of all, I want to say the LAV III Monument Dedication Ceremony was truly a moving experience. It was a great reminder of the sacrifice many CBS residents, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and Canadians as a whole made as an act of duty for our country. I’m honoured we get to host this important monument at our town hall and I have a newfound appreciation whenever I see it after attending that event.
We have officially welcomed our second year of Council for this term, and similar to Mayor Bent I wanted to highlight a couple of things we’ve accomplished that I’m particularly proud of. We’ve opened up our committee meeting minutes to the public; we’ve reduced our speeds in school zones; we have a very positive relationship with our local MHAs, MPs, RNC detachment, and other local organizations; we’ve enhanced accessibility across the Town, whether it’s at Topsail Beach or our squash courts. Climate change: we have been required to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair damage as a result of climate change, but we’ve also taken proactive steps to mitigating the impact of climate change in our community, whether that’s incorporating climate change considerations into our municipal plan or launching our new sustainability hub. The list could easily go on. It’s been a lot of learning but also a lot of working and I want to commend both Council and staff for the amount we’ve accomplished so far.
As we end October, we are entering budget season, and I’m sure the new year will present a lot more opportunities. For me, one of the top things I’d like to see incorporated in our 2023 budget is funding for an economic development plan. Anyone following me during the election knows that this was at the top of my list, and despite all of the good work we’ve done thus far there’s still more to do. An economic development plan helps you realize your community's economic vision and take control of your economic future. It can help bring together community residents with private and public sectors. Together you can choose economic development goals and outline how to accomplish those goals. So I’d like the public to be aware that I am promoting funding for an economic development plan this coming budget cycle.
Until next time,
Josh Barrett
Councillor At-Large
Conception Bay South
90% of success is just showing up. Get there and start working. You're not going to feel perfect everyday. - Joe Rogan
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