EloraFergusToday asked candidates in the upcoming municipal election to tell us a little bit about themselves and their platform.
Name: Kimberley Jefferson
Occupation: Owner of Joanie's Gifts & Stained Glass Supplies since 2001
How long have you lived in Centre Wellington? Since 1974
Do you reside in the ward you are running in? Yes
Why are you running in this election? I have an interest in serving our community and believe that my experience and work ethic would be beneficial at Council
What qualifies you to represent your ward? I have been working the past 4 years to gain the knowledge and experience to be the best councilor I can.
Experience:
-Member of the CW Economic Development Committee
- Vice-chair of the CW Community Services Advisory Committee
-Board member representing Elora and Fergus on the Regional Tourism Organization Zone 4 Board (RT04)
-Fergus BIA chair for past five years and event organizer of Twilight at Templin.
Why should people vote for you? I am dedicated, hardworking and able to listen and understand the community's needs and represent them at Council.
What do you see as the main issues facing residents of the ward? Ward 2 is having substantial commercial and residential growth, and need to recognize our lack of affordable housing. There is a need for parking and our aging infrastructure and roads need to be rebuilt or replaced. Recognition of all of the farms and agri-businesses in our ward and what we can do to help them be successful.
What do you see as the main issues facing residents of Centre Wellington on a broader scale? Need to repair and replace aging infrastructure, pave and fix our roads and trails, assess our water and sewer situation for future growth with an environmental awareness of impact.
We need to be in front of our growth to control our sprawl and work on infill development and create accessible housing. Affordable housing also needs to be encouraged within our new developments.
What is the most important thing you want to see changed in Centre Wellington? I would like to see CW become more proactive in decision making and policies than reactive. We need to see what is coming in the next few years and adjust now to deal with it.
What services need to be improved in Centre Wellington? Would like to see services improved for kids and teens...more facilities to do physical activities or the arts. Need to expand available services for seniors at our senior centre, as it is is often fully booked.
Is Centre Wellington growing too fast, just the right amount, or not fast enough? I think it's growing faster than we can keep up with as we come out of COVID. Township is short staffed and things are taking longer than normal and some services are not able to keep up with the demand of a growing population.
What can be done at the local level about the rising cost of housing? Work on more infill development, change zoning where necessary to allow for more residential development and increase residential above commercial. Work with Developers to include more condos, townhouses, duplexes or small homes into their plans.
Do you support building a new $27 million operations centre? I believe that CW has grown beyond what Township is able to do with what it has. Having an operations centre will streamline things and set us up for success to deal with our projected growth. Our current facilities are past the point of being able to affordably repair them.
How do we make Centre Wellington an even better place to live? Encourage businesses to come to CW, so we can can live and work here!
Any link to an election website or social media account: kimjefferson.ca