Featured Candidate | ROB HARGRAVE | Ward 6 Whitchurch Stouffville

Rob Hargrave

905-642-6343
rob@robhargrave.ca
www.robhargrave.ca

ROB HARGRAVE (incumbent), WARD 6

I would like to welcome both old and the new residents of Stouffville to this website. We live in the best community in York Region.  For those of you who do not know me, I’m Rob Hargrave the current Ward 6 Councillor. I have lived in Stouffville for 26 years. I have been married to my wife Debbie for 27 years and have three children Ryan (23), Laura (21) and Sean (15). 

I would like to take this time to outline some major planks in my platform as it pertains to town finance, development, seniors, youth and Ward 6 issues.

Town Finances:

• Over the past 4 years I have not agreed with some of the spending decisions that council made.  We need to get back to controlled spending on all fronts; capital projects and operating cost. Now is not the time to point fingers, now is a time to be proper debt managers.
• I would like to see the creation of a town Finance Committee. This committee would consist of the town’s Treasure, two councillors and six members of the public. This committee would meet once a month and review town finances. It would report back to open council every quarter.  
• The current spending allowance for Directors is $75,000 without council approval. I would like to see this dropped down to $10,000. 
• I would like to see a detailed review of the current tendering process. Do we have the correct procedure in place when we tender projects? Why are we constantly going over budget on capital projects? Do we have the correct methodology?

Development:

• I would like to see the formation of a Development Advisory Committee. This committee would consist of the Director of Planning and residents. The committee would review all existing and future development.  It would also act as a watch dog for the orderly progress of a neighbourhood build out. They would hold the builder responsible for keeping the build- out clean and would make sure that the completion of the building is done on time.

Seniors:

• The Silver Jubilee is past it’s time. I would like to see a new senior center put in to the 2011 capital forecast. Let’s begin to accrue the funds to build a new senior center. The location for the center must be accessible to all seniors, possibly beside the Lebovic Centre. 

Youth:

• I believe there is a need for a youth centre in Stouffville. A place where the youth of Stouffville can get information pertaining to part-time jobs and career opportunities. It would also act as a social networking center.  I would like to see what current facilities that the town owns that would best suit this need.
• We need to keep the skate park at its current location. The park needs to be expanded and the town should invest in new equipment. These two initiatives that I’m proposing should have input from the users, the youth of Stouffville.   

Ward 6:

• Memorial Park is a very unique green space within the community of Stouffville. We need a detailed master plan to ensure that facilities in the park are completed correctly, on time and on budget. I would like to see a series of public meetings to review and discuss the master plan for Memorial Park.  This is the resident’s park.  We need your input!
• Preserve the outdoor pool in Memorial Park. If we can build a new arena, we can preserve a Stouffville landmark. 
• The farmers market is a success. It needs to move…..not the location but the day. I would propose to move the farmers market from Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning. This would allow more residents access to Stouffville’s great produce.
• I would like to see the immediate installation of traffic lights at Hoover Park and Reeves way. I would also support the installation of lighted crosswalks at the train station in early in 2011
• We need to continue to support the downtown retailers.  I would like to see if we could offer additional tax incentives.

Communications:

• To improve communications, I would like to see Whistle Radio broadcast council meetings at least once a month. The town should pay for this service.  Whistle Radio is an important voice for the residents of Stouffville. 
• Move council meetings to 7pm to allow greater access for all residents to attend meetings.

In closing the next council should be proactive not reactive. Decisions on council should be solution based. 

On October 25^th I’m asking the residents of Ward 6 to re-elect Rob Hargrave as your voice on council.    

Learn more about Rob’s message to Ward 6 residents by visiting his website, www.robhargrave.ca or e-mail Rob at rob@robhargrave.ca .  His home phone number is 905-642-6343.