Collingwood’s mayor wants to focus on the bigger picture in 2020.
“I’m always skeptical of New Year’s resolutions because you over-promise and under-deliver,” said Mayor Brian Saunderson. “I have one.”
Saunderson recently attended a local health symposium, and relayed a story he heard there.
“The facilitator said that Barack Obama, after his first year in office, said he wished he had looked up and out. He meant that sometimes you get so focused on what you’re doing, you kind of lose sight of the big picture and overall impact of what you’re doing,” said Saunderson.
“I think next year, my political and personal resolution is to look up and look out, and make sure that I am appreciating all that’s going on around me,” he added.
In 2019, Saunderson said he’s most proud of the teamwork that took place at town hall.
“Our council and our staff has accomplished so much and worked together so well,” he said. “When we came into office there were very significant legacy issues, like the judicial inquiry, the sale of the remaining 50 per cent shares of COLLUS and the sale of the Collingwood Regional Airport.”
“We closed those two sales,” he said.
“We’ve evolved as a corporation and I’m just proud of how this council and staff have worked together for the best interest of our community.”
In 2020, Saunderson said everything is on the front burner.
“It’s like a cooking show gone crazy,” he said, with a laugh, adding that the strategic plan refresh, the economic development action plan and the Official Plan refresh will all be major items on the agenda for 2020.
“Green-ing up our operations is a major priority, as well as traffic calming and transportation. There are a lot of things we’re doing on the ground level based on the concerns our residents have expressed,” he said.
“It’s a very exciting time for us, but also a crucial time,” he added.
