GuelphToday asked those running for city council in the Oct. 22 municipal election to supply a brief biography and outline their platform and/or why they are running.
THE PERSON: Bob is definitely “Made in Guelph.”
He is a graduate of the old Central Public School, Victory, and GCVI, plus holds a degree in mechanical engineering from Queen’s University. After graduation Bob worked overseas for five years and then returned to Guelph to work for local businesses as a manufacturing engineer.
He has managed the development of several large manufacturing facilities and understands how to make strategic plans and manage large scale capital projects. Bob has owned his own manufacturing business, the Wike Bicycle Company, for the last 20 years and his bicycle products are enjoyed by thousands of families around the world. This year Wike was awarded the Gold Prize from the European Bicycle Industry. Bob’s products are manufactured on Stevenson Street in Ward 1 and most of the Wike employees are residents of Ward 1.
He served as a Big Brother for eight years and has been a 20-year advocate for cycling and walking trails.
First elected in 2006, Bob has served three terms as the city’s Ward 1 councillor. His record clearly indicates that he does not participate in block voting. He considers each issue on its merits and votes according to what he thinks is best for the city in the long term. Bob holds the redevelopment of the W.C. Wood site and other brownfields as his best achievement during his time on city council. He has worked hard to attain goals that are both a benefit to the community and the developer. He also brings business and technical expertise to city council.
THE PLATFORM: Bob has always and will continue to hold the tax dollar with the greatest respect. He believes that municipal infrastructure should be the first priority of every budget, not the afterthought of an additional levy. Bob is not a supporter of the ”bigger is better” philosophy and believes that city taxes should not increase faster than municipal income. His focus for the next four years would be as follows.
1.Trails/Roads: He would like to see the city take control of the reformatory parklands from the province in this term of council. Rebuilding York Road along with minor re-zoning along the corridor would create additional opportunities for commercial development in the east end. Trails are relatively inexpensive to build and cost little to maintain. They are enjoyed by the young and old, contribute to personal health and appeal to all demographics. This parkland redevelopment would improve trail connectivity by connecting the Eramosa River Trail to Watson Parkway through the reformatory lands. Connecting the east side sports fields to Guelph Lake would complete the long imagined east side trail loop. A rebuilt and rezoned York Road would open the door to other commercial development and allow the East End to move forward without Zehrs/Loblaws.
2. Transit: Transit network improvements: We need to provide residents with a better transit route network. We have invested heavily in new buses, bus stop pads and route upgrades. But ridership has not improved. Bob believes we need to move toward a grid system with east-west and north-south routes that will take people to and from work quickly. He does not support allowing non-productive routes (empty buses) to continue and believes that a ridership model where bus frequency is higher and routes are more direct will be the pathway to better Guelph Transit.
3. Social Services/Housing: Bob would like to see housing and homelessness have a higher profile at city council. In order to achieve this he would like to see city councillors return to their previous positions on the Social Services Committee at the County of Wellington. This would give councillors a more direct connection to the problems faced in the community and would help educate councillors of the ongoing issues. He would also like to replenish the housing reserve fund. The reserve fund is almost empty and the demand for housing has never been higher! The city is currently undertaking the re-development of the Imico property to affordable housing. This will require capital from the reserve fund.
4. Downtown: There is hope that Baker Street re-development will move forward with a new library in the medium term. The potential financial burden on the rate payers that Baker Street redevelopment will bring has not yet been determined and it is certainly worth the discussion in early 2019. The new multi-year budgeting process will help us understand the number of major projects that can be undertaken simultaneously. Our downtown, although far from perfect, has weathered the last decade well with Carden and Wilson rebuilt. Bob would like to see the Macdonell streetscape modernized in this coming term of council
5. Traffic: Bob has supported traffic calming measures throughout the city. Examples of these measures are reduced school speed zones and more visible pedestrian crossing at intersections. Bob would support broadening the areas of reduced speed and stronger enforcement of speeding and red light running which could include cameras and radar with automatic ticketing.
