By Pepper Parr
November 21st, 2018
BURLINGTON, ON
It might have been a little confusing to Martha Street residents who attended a proposed development meeting at the Lions Hall earlier this week.
The room was full; representatives for the developer were on hand to explain what they proposed and get feedback from the area residents.
Lisa Kearns – not waiting until she is sworn in to represent ward 2.
Where it might have been confusing was: who was the ward council member? Lisa Kearns, elected to that job in October gets sworn in on December 3rd. She stood up and introduced herself to the audience as the council member and she was there to work for them.
Sitting on the other side of the room was the real ward Councillor, Marianne Meed Ward, who was also the Mayor Elect. Marianne was able to chuckle at the confusion.
In the past Meed Ward has called meetings when there was a new development being proposed in her ward.
Marianne Meed Ward, current Councillor for ward 2 gets up-staged by Councillor elect at a ward meeting. Meed Ward did get to speak as the Mayor Elect.
She would invite the community and the developer and chair the meeting.
The rules have changed. Meed Ward’s practice was made part of the development process. The Planning department will not accept an application until the developer has met with the community – that requires a developer to hold a public meeting. The developer chairs the meeting.
That left Meed Ward who is the ward Councillor and the Mayor Elect sitting at the back of the room waving her hand in the air to get heard.
At the end of the meeting Kearns stood by the exit door shaking people’s hands and thanking them for coming. Nothing shy about this woman.
It sounds like she was doing a great job for her new Ward and is taking her role seriously. This is what we want to see from our counsellors! I think the residents of the Ward know enough to not be confused by this at all…potential confusion should not be the focus of this story. The great new counsellor that the ward has should be.
Editor’s note: The role of a wise voter is not to laud the person they elected but to hold that person accountable and demand transparency. Respect rather than blind support is what is needed.
I thought Councilor elect Lisa Kearns was wise to make her presence known and to introduce herself, that’s what good councilors do. Mayor elect Marianne Meed Ward and Tami Kitay Manager of Development Planning, both added valuable insights, especially as it relates to density and to the current and proposed OP’s as well as by laws. That information was missing at the 441 Maple session as that developer used a different format.
I believe we have dug a very deep hole for ourselves where downtown parking is concerned.
Lisa as our new incoming Ward 2 Councillor is genuinely interested, concerned, and very capable in bringing forward the strong points that her constituents feel about the downtown overdevelopment crisis. Shyness is not what we need, and we have a strong gal that is very capable of presenting herself with confidence and pride.