Chatham-Kent, Ontario

Thibert: “We are currently completing and improving our two most active industrial business parks. One is in Blenheim and the other, called the Bloomfield Business Park, is in Chatham, right off Hwy 401. We’ve been moving forward to provide the necessary infrastructure required to accommodate all the new developments coming in to complete those business parks. And we’re constantly upgrading existing infrastructure throughout the municipality to accommodate future growth and development. Most recently, we’ve installed a set of traffic lights for a new mega Catholic school development in Chatham. We’re always looking to prioritize all our different assets and infrastructure – that goes hand in hand with continuing to support and build on our Asset Management Plan. “We have implemented a fiber team to find efficiencies and streamline the process for third-party fiber telecommunication companies, to allow high-speed fiber internet to every home and business in Chatham-Kent, as soon as possible. We’re also exploring opportunities to introduce a twin-pad arena in a multi-use recreational facility, taking advantage of some government funding to bring an exciting venue like that to our community.” BVM: What is happening with “green” initiatives? McAllister: “Flooding has become an issue along the Great Lakes in the last year, and we’ve partnered with the federal government through Natural Resources Canada on a multi-faceted study looking at the impacts of climate change on the Great Lakes, specifically Lake Erie, for us. The hope is that adaptation techniques that come out of that study could be transferrable to other coastal areas across Canada. Through budgeting over the last year, council has hired a climate change technologist, environmental scientist, and environmental planner. And we’re currently putting together terms of reference for an overall climate change Action Plan.”