Four regional councillors from West Niagara want to connect to residents so they’re hosting a virtual town hall meeting the week before Christmas.
At the virtual town hall, the four regional councillors that include Diana Huson, of Pelham, Wayne Fertich of Grimsby, Albert Witteveen of West Lincoln and Rob Foster want to hear from West Niagara residents.
Regional councillors are the elected representatives for residents of each municipality at the Niagara Region. Each city, town, or township elects a regional councillor along with their local municipal mayor and council. Along with the mayor of each area, the councillor brings local issues that can be impacted at the regional level to be resolved, discussed and debated.
For example, the region operates municipal waste collection, which this fall switched its garbage collection frequency to alternating weeks in a bid to improve recycling and reduce landfill. The region also has a public health unit that deals with health issues such as COVID-19. The Niagara Region’s acting medical officer has been under fire from restaurant owners and workers over an order he issued in recent weeks.
Huson explained that the four councillors joined forces for the virtual event because they “have noted the difficulty in staying connected to our residents at this time. Normally we’re fully immersed in community events and interact with citizens on a regular basis.”
The Niagara Region is also undergoing a budget process that has introduced some new projects so Huson said the councillors would like to discuss the initiatives and listen to residents’ concerns or comments, and answer questions.
“We also recognize that we each specialize in an area of focus and can speak more strongly to certain things versus others,” she explained.
Huson is the Region’s Chair of Planning and Economic Development. Witteveen is heavily involved in agriculture issues. Foster is the Region’s Chair of Corporate Services. And Fetich has a strong background in finance.
“Having the four of us represent Niagara West will help provide a more comprehensive space in which we can speak to regional issues. We’re hopeful residents will find this of value and that we have a good response,” she said.
The event will be held in a Zoom web conference room Wednesday, Dec. 16 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. EST. Get more information here: https://www.facebook.com/events/825042591616919/.
Zoom information to be provided soon in an update to this article.
