Chatham-Kent’s mayor believes the community has what it takes to “be epic,” but says there is work to be done.
The catch phrase was repeated several times at Thursday morning’s Mayor’s Address at the Retro Suites in Chatham, hosted by the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce.
Mayor Darrin Canniff touted a number of positive things happening around the municipality, including new attractions, such as the regional park being created on Bear Line in Chatham, investments in health care, and public art projects in communities across Chatham-Kent.
Canniff says the municipality is growing with roughly 5000 new residents, bringing the population to over 109,000, and 300 new businesses calling CK home.
“We lost a bigger employer because they said ‘We don’t think you can provide a big enough workforce.’ So that’s the beauty when they see the stats and they see that we are growing, that makes it more attractive for business to say ‘I can come here and there and there will be a workforce.’”
Canniff says the municipality is not without its challenges, as with most communities in Ontario – mental health and addictions, homelessness, and affordable housing. He says if there was an easy solution, it would have happened by now, but Chatham-Kent needs support from upper levels of government.
“We need to provide more affordable housing, that is the base part. As we bring more opportunities for jobs, it helps as well. People, if they can’t afford it…we need better jobs, so we’re working on that as well.”
Canniff says new affordable housing projects will be geared towards those who need it most.
Canniff also used Thursday’s address to hint at future development along Highway 401 at Bloomfield Road, saying Chatham-Kent needs to be more visible.
“We need a presence out there. Ideally, we would be wrapped around the 401 so when you drive through you can see all of the communities, but we’re not. (Bloomfield Road) is the most obvious spot. We need to have that coming in, that’s going to be the growth area moving forward.”
Canniff says the plan is to create more commercial, residential, and industrial areas to pull potential visitors off the highway as they pass through.
The municipality is also going to be doing some rebranding in the near future to better promote the community in a positive light. Canniff says to keep an eye out for more “epic” ways to put Chatham-Kent on the map.