[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[32:22] So if everyone can get settled in, we'd appreciate it.
[32:25] Welcome
[34:43] to the inaugural meeting of the 2022 to 2026 council term. For those of you who
[34:50] may not know me, my name is Marnie Clecky and I'm the Chief Administrative Officer for
[34:55] the town of Niagara on the lake. I'd like to officially call this meeting to order
[35:00] and ask those who are able to stand to please stand as the Parks Canada Fife and Drum
[35:06] drum corps begins the evening.
[35:08] As the Fife and Drums Corps makes their way to the front,
[35:11] I welcome to the stage our 2022 to 2026 council members.
[35:17] Lord Mayor Gary Zulepa,
[35:20] Deputy Lord Mayor Irwin Wiens,
[35:23] Tim Balaschuk,
[35:25] Gary Burroughs,
[35:27] Wendy Sharapada,
[35:29] Maria Mavridis,
[35:31] Sandra O'Connor,
[35:34] Nick Ruller,
[35:35] and Adriana Vizari.
[36:41] Thank you Fife and Drum for that fantastic performance.
[36:53] I'd like to take a moment to thank council members,
[36:56] their family and friends, dignitaries,
[36:59] retiring counselors, town staff, media personnel,
[37:04] and all guests who are in attendance this evening
[37:06] for this very important and memorable event.
[37:10] Thank you.
[37:12] Now at this time I'd like to invite Juliet Dunn
[37:15] to the podium to perform our national anthem, Juliet.
[37:26] Oh Canada, our home and native land.
[37:35] True patriot love in all of us command.
[37:43] Car ton bras s'est porté les payeux, il s'est porté la croix.
[37:53] Ton histoire est une épopée vieux, des plus brillants espoirs.
[38:03] God keep our land glorious and free.
[38:10] O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
[38:41] Thank you, Juliet. That was beautiful.
[38:46] Now at this time, Reverend William Roberts will offer a blessing for the evening.
[38:50] Reverend, will you please join me at the podium?
[38:58] Indeed, thank you. It will be an invocation.
[39:00] We'll have a blessing at the end of the ceremony.
[39:01] And I might ask you to please be seated for this opening prayer.
[39:10] So greetings to you, Lord Mayor-Elect, and counselors-Elect,
[39:15] and special guests and friends.
[39:18] I'd be remiss also if I didn't acknowledge Andrea Kaiser,
[39:23] regional counselor-Elect.
[39:24] You ran a great campaign, Andrea.
[39:30] Although Paolo and I don't know why the Ontario Municipal Elections Committee don't give us
[39:35] gold, silver, and bronze for our finish on election night.
[39:40] But as all of us who were candidates in the recent campaign, we may have encountered
[39:45] some cynicism and some apathy, but more especially, speaking for myself and I think for all
[39:51] of us, we came to treasure even more so the many people, places, and things all over
[39:56] Niagara and the lake. We came to better appreciate in our town and townspeople many special and
[40:02] sacred values. And as good Canadians I hope we hold to the trinity of civic values of our
[40:10] belief in peace, order and good government. So for these sacred values let me offer this
[40:16] prayer.
[40:20] Throat all of human civilization, courts and councils have met to serve the
[40:24] common good, and to provide wise judgment in the affairs of women and men.
[40:30] So may this council, with all the issues, challenges and matters before them, serve with distinction
[40:37] and applying principles of fairness and collaboration as they deliberate on the directions they
[40:43] take and the decisions they make on behalf of us all.
[40:48] And as people for centuries have gathered in cities, towns and villages to create
[40:53] and share wealth and well-being, some may we enigran the lake with our natural
[40:59] and historic heritage, our villages and farmlands, our flowing creeks and vibrant
[41:06] culture, may we with our new mayor and council flourish in this town, this place
[41:12] we call home, and as leaders in every age have stepped up with vision and
[41:17] courage to meet the needs of those other than themselves, some may our
[41:23] newly elected representatives provide the leadership of service, courage and vision. We need to
[41:28] advance Niagara in the lake in an often uncertain future. And may all that we collectively hold
[41:35] as sacred trusts in these values of peace, order and good government be manifested in
[41:40] our newly elected mayor and council for Niagara on the lake. So be it and amen. Amen.
[41:47] Thank
[41:58] you Reverend. I'd like to now invite Marie Louise, Indigenous traditional knowledge
[42:04] helper to provide a welcoming address.
[42:13] Sego, Scano, greetings. New Oxenota, Marie Louise. I am Marie Louise and I am Irish Scottish
[42:22] Mohawk of Aquasocene in Ghanawaki. I am here to provide an opening to bring our minds
[42:28] together and to acknowledge creation. It's in our ways to acknowledge and
[42:33] greet every day so today we say Nyaue thank you for this day and this
[42:37] opportunity to come together and we bring our minds together and we look to
[42:41] our beautiful mother the earth and we acknowledge our mother the earth and all
[42:45] that she does for us and all that she provides and then we look to the water
[42:49] as we look to that Niagara River that Oniagra that vein that connects
[42:52] Lake Ontario and Lake Erie and we give thanks for that water around us
[42:56] and that water within us. We say thank you. And then we bring our minds and we
[43:01] acknowledge and we give thanks for all of creation, for the water life, for the
[43:05] fish, for the salmon that still go up the creek and do their role and
[43:09] responsibilities. We acknowledge and we give thanks to all the critters and
[43:13] all the creatures. We acknowledge and we give thanks for the animals, for the
[43:19] four-legged, for the deer that are here for us and supply all that
[43:24] and also for the four legates, our pets that have helped us get through these trying times
[43:28] during these past three years.
[43:30] And we also like to acknowledge and give thanks for the birds.
[43:34] The birds, and it's their job to wake us up and give thanks in the morning.
[43:38] And now it's a different time of season where we don't hear them as much as we did in the spring and the summer,
[43:42] but they're there, so we acknowledge them when we give thanks.
[43:46] And then we also look to our gardens.
[43:49] gardens. You know, we just passed that season for our gardens and our fruits and our vegetables
[43:54] and we happen to be in the most fruitful part of probably Ontario here in Niagara. So we
[44:00] want to acknowledge not only our gardens but the workers, the workers that come here
[44:06] to do this work and to serve our community. I'd like to acknowledge and give thanks to
[44:10] them. And then we also like to bring our minds together and we acknowledge and we
[44:15] We give thanks for the trees, for the trees provide our substance, they provide our homes,
[44:20] they provide our drums, our rattles, and our traditional regalia, so we give thanks for
[44:25] some of the trees and the medicines that they bring to us.
[44:29] We also acknowledge and give thanks for all the directions, the North, South, the East
[44:32] and the West, and within each direction of creation there's also the people in
[44:37] those directions, the Red Nation, White Nation, Black Nation, and Yellow Nation, so we
[44:42] acknowledge and give thanks for all those directions and all those peoples and all those
[44:45] teachings.
[44:47] And then we look and we look to our brother the sun and the morning our brother the sun
[44:51] will rise in the east faithfully without the sun there will be no life.
[44:56] So it's in our ways every morning when we wake up that we give thanks.
[45:00] Thanks. And we acknowledge the son or brother as he travels across the sky and sets for us
[45:05] in the western door. And when we look at those beautiful sunsets here in Niagara on the lake,
[45:10] we're extremely blessed with the beautiful sunsets that oversee the water. So we acknowledge
[45:15] that beauty. Then we look to our moon, our grandmother moon. It's in our teachings that
[45:21] when our grandmothers go to spirit that they're in the moon and they watch over us. And those
[45:26] Because the moon also controls the cycle of life, our menstrual, our birth, and all
[45:32] of creation is through the moon.
[45:34] So we say thank you to the moon.
[45:37] Then we look to the stars.
[45:38] There's a lot of teachings on the stars, and I often think about that northern star that
[45:42] journeyed our brothers and sisters here to this safe place of freedom right here
[45:46] where we stand upon.
[45:48] So we give thanks for the stars and all the teachings that are within those stars.
[45:52] There's many teachings.
[45:52] They tell us when to hunt, when to fish, when to plant.
[45:56] They tell us what direction to go.
[45:58] So we say thank you for the stars.
[46:00] And then I look and I think about our spirit guides and our sacred helpers known to us as angels or ancestors.
[46:08] And I ask them to come with us today to bless and to guide our leadership
[46:11] so that those ancestors that came before them can help them as well do this work
[46:16] not only for today, but for our next seven generations.
[46:20] Because as indigenous people, we don't just think about today.
[46:24] We think about the next seven generations and how the world is going to look for them.
[46:28] So I ask our angels and our helpers and our spirit guides to guide and protect this process,
[46:34] to help our leaders, that they keep that good mind in that good way,
[46:38] and that we can come together and continue this good work that we're doing.
[46:43] And then I look to our Creator, that good God, that great spirit, that mystery, so go and diesel.
[46:48] And I say in Yahweh, thank you to that Creator for all of life and all of creation.
[46:55] And if there's anything I've forgotten, it was not my intention.
[46:58] But you have that ability within your good mind and within your heart to give thanks
[47:03] and to acknowledge creation in the way that you do in your own ways.
[47:07] So once again, thank you very much for inviting us here as we walk in truth and reconciliation
[47:13] and we do this work together in our community.
[47:16] and I also want to just send an extra layer of love and light to all of the
[47:21] people because many of us are impacted by the the findings of the 215 children
[47:29] which has raised over 11,000 at this time so this is good work that we're
[47:34] doing and I want to thank the mayor and Niagara on the lake for inviting me
[47:40] here so that we continue to do this work together and to honor our true
[47:44] we'll want them and those treaties that were created right here in this land that we walk
[47:48] upon. So I encourage you to continue to do this work and to just keep our good minds.
[47:55] Nyawe, thank you, Chi-Mikwetch.
[48:06] Thank you, Marie. I would also like to take a moment to begin this ceremony by acknowledging
[48:13] that the land on which we gather is a traditional, highly significant spiritual place of the
[48:19] Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee peoples, many of whom continue to live and work here today.
[48:25] This traditional gathering place is covered under the Upper Canada Treaty
[48:29] and is within the land protected by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Agreement.
[48:35] Today this gathering place is home to many First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples,
[48:40] and acknowledging reminds us that our great standard of living is directly related to the
[48:46] resources and friendship of indigenous peoples.
[48:49] We recognize our responsibility to the past and future
[48:53] and the rights and needs of both individuals and community.
[48:57] Thank you.
[48:59] I would now like to call upon Victoria Steele,
[49:01] our acting town clerk,
[49:03] to administer the Declaration of Office.
[49:11] Thank you, and good evening.
[49:13] I'd like to ask that the Lord Mayor and each counselor
[49:16] please stand to read the first sentence
[49:18] of their Declaration of Office
[49:19] and then altogether members of council will read the remainder of the declaration provided.
[49:27] Thanks, Victoria.
[49:29] I, Gary Zalepa, having been elected or appointed to the office of Lord Mayor
[49:34] in the municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake, do solemnly promise and declare that
[49:41] Irwin
[49:45] Wiens, having been elected or appointed to the office of Councillor
[49:48] in the municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake, do solemnly promise and declare that
[49:52] I,
[49:56] Wendy Sharapada, having been elected or appointed to the Office of Counselor in the
[50:00] Municipality of Niagara-on-the-Lake, do solemnly promise and declare that.
[50:09] I, Nick Ruler, having been elected or appointed to the Office of Counselor in the Municipality
[50:14] of Niagara-on-the-Lake, do solemnly promise and declare that.
[50:21] I, Sandra O'Connor, having been elected or appointed to the Office of Counselor
[50:27] the Municipality of Niagara-On-the-Lake.
[50:30] Do solemnly promise and declare that.
[50:36] I, Tim Ballasook, having been elected or appointed to the office of
[50:40] Councillor in the Municipality of Niagara-On-the-Lake,
[50:43] do solemnly promise and declare that.
[50:48] I, Marama Vridas, having been elected or appointed to the
[50:52] Office of Councillor in the Municipality of Niagara-On-the-Lake,
[50:55] Do solemnly promise and declare that?
[51:00] I, Gary Burroughs, having been elected to the Office of Counselor in the Municipality of Niagara and the Lake
[51:07] to declare solemnly promise and declare that.
[51:13] I, Adriana Vazari, having been elected or appointed to the Office of Counselor in the Municipality of Niagara and the Lake
[51:20] do solemnly promise and declare that?
[51:23] Okay, all together. This is what you've been waiting for. I will truly faithfully and impartially
[51:31] exercise this office to the best of my knowledge and ability. I have not received and will not
[51:38] receive any pain and reward or promise or other for the exercise of this office in a bias,
[51:45] corrupt, or improper manner. I will dispose any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect,
[51:52] in accordance with the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act, I will be faithful and bear
[51:58] true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, and I make this solemn promise and declaration
[52:06] conscientiously believing it to be true and knowing that is of the same force and effect
[52:11] as it made under both.
[52:15] It is with great pleasure that I announce the 2022 to 2026 town of Niagara Lake Council.
[52:22] Councilors please.
[52:37] Lord Mayor and Councillors please be seated and sign the declaration
[52:40] of office in front of you.
[52:54] I'd like to now invite Lord Mayor Gary Zulepa
[52:57] to the podium to accept the town of Niagara on the lake chain of office.
[53:48] Okay, so first order of business. They need a mover and a seconder from a council
[53:52] and I have a mover from Councillor Charopita and I know Councillor Burroughs wants to second
[53:57] that and that's the bylaw number 5460-22. That's a bylaw to appoint Erwin Wiens as Deputy Lord
[54:06] Mayor and I'll ask the clerk to read the bylaw aloud. Congratulations.
[54:11] Thank you, Lord Mayor.
[54:22] To make it official, bylaw number 5460-22, a bylaw to appoint
[54:27] Erwin Wiens, Deputy Lord Mayor for the Corporation of the Town of Niagara on the Lake for the
[54:32] Council Term of 2022-2026. We're at a first, second and third time and past this 22nd day
[54:39] of November 2022.
[54:41] Great. Thank you, Madam Clerk. And we'll call the question. All those in favor? Any opposed?
[54:48] Seeing none. Congratulations, Deputy Lord Mayor.
[54:56] And now we need a resolution to adopt
[55:00] the committee chairs and vice-chairs for the Committee of the Whole, and I'll ask the clerk
[55:05] to read the motion allowed.
[55:08] A mover for the motion.
[55:12] Councillor Ruehler.
[55:14] Councillor Mevridas.
[55:15] Seconded.
[55:16] Thank you.
[55:16] Thank you, Lord Mayor.
[55:18] Whereas the list of chairs to be nominated by the Lord Mayor and approved by Council
[55:22] to act as the preceding officer at meetings of Committee of the Whole, therefore be
[55:26] resolve that council approve the list of committee of the whole chairs and vice
[55:30] chairs as listed in front of you each of the members the first being counselor
[55:34] Erwin Wiens as chair and counselor Tim Balachuck as vice chair for December
[55:39] 2022 to February 2023 read a first second and third time and past this 22nd
[55:45] day of November. Thank you madam clerk and we'll call the question all those
[55:49] in favor that's carried thank you congratulations committee chairs okay
[55:59] Okay, proceedings by-law, this was always my favorite.
[56:02] We need a mover and a seconder for the proceedings by-law council.
[56:05] Can I have a mover?
[56:07] Councillor Mivridis, seconded Councillor Tirapada.
[56:10] Thank you very much.
[56:12] And we have a proceedings by-law 5461, proceedings by-law to conclude the business portion
[56:17] of our meeting and ask the clerk to read the by-law.
[56:21] All right, thank you, Lord Mayor.
[56:23] By-law number 5461-22, a by-law to confirm the proceedings at the council meeting
[56:28] of the corporation of the town of Niagara on the lake,
[56:31] held on November 22nd, 2022.
[56:34] We're at the first, second, and third time
[56:36] and past this 22nd day of November, 2022.
[56:39] Thank you, Madam Clerk.
[56:41] And we'll call the question, all those in favor.
[56:44] That's carried.
[56:45] Thank you very much.
[56:46] Thank you.
[56:51] Sure.
[56:52] Make sure that we do things right.
[56:54] We need the introduction.
[56:55] Oh, we're right, all right.
[56:56] So first of all, it's lovely to see
[56:59] so many familiar friends and faces.
[57:01] Thank you so much for spending some time with us tonight and as you can see we're pretty
[57:06] excited to get going and we've got a great group here.
[57:11] So I wanted to take a few moments to allow Council and myself to introduce some of the
[57:17] special people that we have here with us tonight.
[57:21] And I'd like to first acknowledge your elected regional councillor, Councillor Kaiser.
[57:27] So Councillor,
[57:34] and really looking forward to working with you and looking forward to many good things ahead.
[57:43] I'll start with introducing my family, and we've got my family in the front row.
[57:48] So first of all, my lovely wife is with me, Tammy.
[57:53] And Tammy is the first person I asked permission to do this.
[58:00] And I don't think there's any going back on that now.
[58:04] But I wanted to explain our boys, our two boys, are not able to be with us tonight,
[58:10] because my oldest is all the way over in Victoria, British Columbia.
[58:17] And he's made us very proud in being commissioned Royal Canadian Navy officer,
[58:23] and he's serving in a squimalt.
[58:25] and he can't be away because there are important things this country is doing, and he's doing
[58:30] them. And so, right Tony? And so he's watching perhaps with his machine. And our other son,
[58:40] our youngest, Benjamin, he's away at university and he has a physics exam this evening. And
[58:48] And you wonder, how did the physics student come from my family?
[58:53] And that's because of my wife.
[58:56] And so we're very proud of him as well.
[58:59] And I know he would like to join us, but he's joining us virtually as well.
[59:04] And so thank you, Tammy, for everything that you do to get us here and to keep our house
[59:12] running all the way.
[59:13] It runs so smoothly as it appears to be, right?
[59:16] My sister's here, Allison, and her husband Joe and my nephew Peter, and you think, you know,
[59:24] you can't live close enough to family. They live right across the street from us. So they have
[59:31] an eye on us. But seriously, we wouldn't be standing here tonight if it wasn't for my sister
[59:38] and her family and all the hard work to get us here and all the support. So thank you,
[59:44] Ali, Joe, Peter. Appreciate it. And my cousin's here. Where's my course cousin, Evan? Oh,
[59:50] there he is, right beside Peter. So we do have the Texas Entourage here from Austin,
[59:56] Texas. He's probably the newest resident to Niagara on the lake.
[1:00:00] Like, he's a dual, he's Canadian citizen as well, so he's here tonight, it's great to
[1:00:05] have Evan here, and I know we've got his family all across from Florida and mom and dad back
[1:00:11] home, and I just saw last week, which was great to see them, and it's nice that you could
[1:00:16] be here with us too.
[1:00:18] And so, and not the least important, not the last, but mom and dad, and for our otherwise
[1:00:25] I want to be here seriously, fit her figuratively.
[1:00:30] And so, you know, what can I say?
[1:00:33] I really appreciate all your support, all through my life.
[1:00:38] I had the great opportunity to work with my dad for a pretty long time.
[1:00:44] And I think when you're doing that, I'm taking too much time,
[1:00:47] but I think when you do that, you don't really quite appreciate when you're in the moment.
[1:00:52] And so, you know, I probably don't tell my dad this, but I really appreciated all that.
[1:01:00] And yeah, it was a lot of fun.
[1:01:03] And I know we always had our moments.
[1:01:06] But anyways, I never really get to say thank you, but thanks, dad.
[1:01:11] So make sure you tell your dad that.
[1:01:14] And now, I'd like to move and allow council to introduce their family members that they
[1:01:21] have here tonight and we'll start maybe at this end of the table.
[1:01:25] Councillor O'Connor, go ahead please.
[1:01:28] Thank you very much, Lord Mayor.
[1:01:31] Tonight I'm very happy to have with me my brother, Carmen Kelly and his family, sister
[1:01:40] Minister-in-law Christina and my niece, Sophia, and family member Louise Leyland.
[1:01:47] In addition, virtually, I should be having my daughter, Kelly O'Connor, and son-in-law
[1:01:57] Christian Medina from Bogota, Colombia, they're watching tonight.
[1:02:03] So thanks to all of my family for their support and for being here.
[1:02:08] Councillor Ruehler. Thank you. So I'm pleased to introduce my wife,
[1:02:15] Lita, and our four children also on my campaign team, Max, Anastasia, Sophia, and Sammy.
[1:02:28] Councillor Charopita.
[1:02:31] Thank you, Lord Mayor. I'd like to introduce
[1:02:33] my nephew and godson, Keaton Charopita, and his long-time lovely girlfriend, partner,
[1:02:41] My brother Brian is here.
[1:02:43] My brother Tim, my niece Kaylee was supposed to be here
[1:02:48] but they were exposed to COVID.
[1:02:50] So they're not in the room, unfortunately.
[1:02:53] But hopefully they're watching online.
[1:02:55] I'd also like to introduce a couple of really close
[1:02:59] friends that are often like family and have been
[1:03:01] very supportive.
[1:03:02] And I'd like to acknowledge Kerry Robinson.
[1:03:05] Everyone should know a wonderful 21-year-old who
[1:03:08] is well-educated, who knows how to communicate
[1:03:10] knows how to put together a great website and social media, even though I didn't take
[1:03:15] enough photos. I'd also like to thank Claire Cameron, she's in the room, Benita, Cindy
[1:03:22] Lepp, Fab, Diane, and Robin Garrett. I think her husband, Wayne, might be here as well.
[1:03:29] Thank you very much for all your kindness, your love and your support through the campaign
[1:03:34] and always. Thank you Councillor Wiens. Thank you. I'd like to introduce my wife
[1:03:41] first Dorothy. My mom and dad, my brother Al and his wife Lisa, good friend Karen and
[1:03:50] daughter Ingrid and my colleague Baraka Allen and in the back is one of my oldest
[1:03:55] friends in the world, Perry McFicker. Thank you.
[1:04:03] Thank you. I'd like to
[1:04:06] introduce my good friend, Jude, who's here.
[1:04:09] She's representing the St. David's crowd.
[1:04:12] My sister, Alicia, who's here, who supported me
[1:04:15] throughout the entire campaign, along with my sister,
[1:04:18] Daniela, who is watching virtually,
[1:04:21] and my four children, Loretta, Matthew, Antonia, and Gigi.
[1:04:27] Stand up, guys.
[1:04:32] And to my husband, Corey, you also have to stand up.
[1:04:36] up because he kept us all together for the last month and for the next four years.
[1:04:43] So thank you.
[1:04:44] I love you and I'm so grateful for all of you.
[1:04:48] Councillor Hurwitz.
[1:04:50] Thank you.
[1:04:51] I'm on my own tonight.
[1:04:53] All my family are online.
[1:04:56] My wife is not well but watching and my Calgary family, my daughter Alex and her family are
[1:05:03] watching and my daughter Josie from Oakville and her family are watching so we're an online
[1:05:10] family tonight.
[1:05:11] Thank you, Councillor.
[1:05:14] Councillor Mavridas.
[1:05:16] Thank you.
[1:05:18] I have my dad and my stepmom here this evening.
[1:05:22] My daughter Hope is also here and some amazing supportive friends, Agatha, Richard and
[1:05:30] Betty.
[1:05:31] Thank you.
[1:05:31] Thank you.
[1:05:32] Thank you.
[1:05:33] Councillor Balasuck.
[1:05:36] So of course, my biggest support system in life, Michelle Reynolds, she's a wonderful,
[1:05:44] wonderful woman that has done measurable things for me over the years.
[1:05:48] 15 years, we just spent our anniversary together, together for 22.
[1:05:57] We are best friends first, and we have a wonderful time together.
[1:06:01] Also joined by my parents, Ron and Pat Balashuk,
[1:06:04] dad, lifelong resident, born across the street
[1:06:07] from Niagara District High School.
[1:06:09] These are the people that really have molded me
[1:06:12] to be who I am today.
[1:06:14] Also joined by good friends, Brayden and Jolene,
[1:06:17] the Coles family.
[1:06:18] They are there for me through thick and thin
[1:06:21] and someone who sort of came out of the woodwork
[1:06:24] at the beginning of this to really support me,
[1:06:26] Vita Gully, she's been unbelievable through all of this.
[1:06:31] She was really the icing on the cake for this,
[1:06:33] and was like, you really should do this.
[1:06:35] Municipal politics is for you.
[1:06:37] And her husband, yeah, Nino Fasulo, great guy.
[1:06:42] These are my boys, Braden Jolene and Vita and Nino.
[1:06:47] You guys have been great.
[1:06:48] Look forward to many nights talking about municipal politics.
[1:07:01] Before I give the stage back to Marnie, to our CAO, I just want to recognize regional
[1:07:07] chair Jim Bradley who's in the room.
[1:07:10] I just saw Jim in the back of the room and Jim really appreciate you being here in Angrily.
[1:07:14] Please stand.
[1:07:15] Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Bradley.
[1:07:27] Thank you Lord Mayor and Councillors for introducing your lovely families.
[1:07:32] I look forward to meeting those I have not yet met this evening but we have the lovely
[1:07:36] reception that follows. So on behalf of town staff, I am very eager to begin working with
[1:07:42] this new council to achieve our strategic plan and accomplish some great things for the town
[1:07:47] of Niagara on the lake throughout this term. Now I have the opportunity to introduce my
[1:07:53] family of sorts. I'm going to introduce my work family. And I'm going to make them
[1:07:59] stand up as well. I'm looking at them now. So I'd like to introduce you to the
[1:08:04] the town's four directors who are present here tonight,
[1:08:06] as well as the town clerk who you have already heard from.
[1:08:10] These roles are essential to the foundation
[1:08:13] of the corporation, and I am so proud of the team we have
[1:08:16] at the helm of this organization
[1:08:18] to help council achieve their vision.
[1:08:21] So with us tonight, we have Rome DiAngelo.
[1:08:28] He is our director of operations.
[1:08:31] We also have Kyle Freeborn, town treasurer,
[1:08:38] And he is our town treasurer and also our director
[1:08:41] of corporate services.
[1:08:43] We have Kirsten McCauley,
[1:08:50] and she is our director of community
[1:08:52] and development services.
[1:08:54] And we have Jay Plato,
[1:09:02] as many of you will know he's our fire chief
[1:09:04] and community emergency management coordinator.
[1:09:08] And finally, we have Victoria Steele, our acting town clerk.
[1:09:17] Thank you all for your hardworking commitment
[1:09:18] to providing services each and every day.
[1:09:21] I'm sure they're delighted to get to sit back down now.
[1:09:25] I'd like to take a moment as well
[1:09:27] to recognize our retiring members of council.
[1:09:31] These members have given a significant amount of time,
[1:09:34] energy and expertise to their various roles
[1:09:37] and I appreciate this opportunity
[1:09:39] to have worked with them this past term.
[1:09:42] So our retiring council members include Norm Arsenal
[1:09:46] who served as a counselor from 2018 to 2022.
[1:09:50] Alan Bisbeck, who served as a counselor from 2018 to 2022, Claire Cameron, who served as
[1:09:57] Deputy Lord Mayor and Counselor from 2018 to 2022, Claire is with us today, and Betty DeSero,
[1:10:05] who served as a counselor from 2014 to 2018, and then as the Lord Mayor from 2018 to 2022.
[1:10:13] The former Lord Mayor is with us today as well.
[1:10:16] And
[1:10:23] I would be remiss if I did not mention our former Councillor John Wiens who served as Deputy Lord Mayor and Councillor from 2014 to 2018.
[1:10:32] And then again as a Councillor from 2018 to 2022. So thank you to all of our retiring Council members. It was wonderful to work with all of you.
[1:10:49] Now it is time for our Lord Mayor, Gary Zalepa, to once again come to the podium for his formal address.
[1:10:56] So it is with immense pleasure that I invite you to join us again and give us a few words.
[1:11:09] Thank you, thank you, Marnie. Really appreciate that.
[1:11:12] And it's my I'm really pleased to be here tonight with everybody.
[1:11:17] And again, I already saw so many familiar faces and I see so many recognize so many friends
[1:11:22] and I really appreciate everybody's efforts to get us here.
[1:11:27] So this evening is the first opportunity for myself and for Council to address the community
[1:11:35] and address Council.
[1:11:38] And so with my remarks, I'm really hoping to capture what I feel is the appropriate
[1:11:44] tone and establish the marker for which we're all going to begin this journey on
[1:11:50] is termed together. Staff, council, residents, friends and family. So I took a look at a
[1:11:59] bunch of kind of famous inaugural speeches. I'm a bit of a history, I say amateur history
[1:12:09] historian. I looked at Prime Minister's speeches, Canadian. I looked at some British ones.
[1:12:14] I looked at some from India as well. I looked at U.S. presidents. And I landed on the words
[1:12:22] and the address of Thomas Jefferson from 1796. So I'm not going to read his address, but
[1:12:31] I'm going to weave in some thoughts that I think are very relevant. And it may seem
[1:12:37] historically insensitive. You know, a U.S. president, you know, being that, you know,
[1:12:43] we were occupied here in 1812 and we dealt with that. But I think we've kind of gone
[1:12:50] past that. And so I'm hoping that there's some great insights from Jefferson and that
[1:12:56] I believe are amazingly relevant in how we consider the future of our town.
[1:13:01] So, Jefferson declared that we are called to undertake the duties of counsel with sincere
[1:13:11] consciousness of the task and the responsibility.
[1:13:17] We are a rising community spread over a fruitful land.
[1:13:21] And indeed, Niagara and a lake is blessed by our past successes, by our beauty in geography,
[1:13:31] and our richness of our heritage and our history.
[1:13:36] Jefferson continued, recognizing the hopes of the community we as council are humble
[1:13:46] before the magnitude of the undertaking.
[1:13:51] We shall find the wisdom, the virtue, and the zeal upon which to rely.
[1:13:59] That is my commitment.
[1:14:01] It was Jefferson's, and I hope it's all of ours.
[1:14:06] I'd like to, I know we did some thanks, but I'd like to bring some thanks to past council members
[1:14:12] and those retiring, some of those re-elected.
[1:14:19] for their service, entire list dedication, for the betterment of our community.
[1:14:26] As we all know, public office is not the easiest, but it's very rewarding,
[1:14:32] and we really appreciate all of their efforts.
[1:14:37] I'd like to thank all those that volunteered in elections, staff members.
[1:14:45] Candidates, all the residents we engaged with, for you voting, that very important franchise
[1:14:53] that we have, the local media, appreciate your role in participating.
[1:15:04] I want to thank our team. Many are here in the room, and I said I would make a list because
[1:15:13] I would be nervous and mess up. Steve Watson, appreciate everything you did. Cindy Laforte,
[1:15:21] Holly, you're awesome. Rick, where's Rick Shirk? Rick, see you're in the room somewhere.
[1:15:27] There's Rick. Rick Shirk. For the hideaway at Rick's place. My sister, Allison. Ed Plitt,
[1:15:35] I don't think he's joining us maybe virtually here. Holly Dowd. Thank you, Holly. Where
[1:15:40] are you, Holly? Oh, there you are. Hi. Thanks, Holly. And Tammy, of course. So
[1:15:47] So I want to thank, I introduced family, but I also want to thank them because they're so
[1:15:52] important all of them and how we conduct ourselves and why we're here today.
[1:15:58] But all of the aforementioned, you know, residents, council people, those returning
[1:16:06] councillors, the public, all the residents in our community, we all worked for a common
[1:16:11] and purpose and a common passion that being this place we live, this place we call home.
[1:16:19] It's so important and integral to our lives.
[1:16:23] So I just want to talk a little bit about some plans that I have and I'm going to talk
[1:16:28] in two steps.
[1:16:29] First process and then some more details.
[1:16:33] So the past month, it's been my privilege to meet with each of these fine people.
[1:16:38] one-on-one, including Councillor Keiser, and all of us discussed how the Mayor's office
[1:16:49] could support them each in their role. We discussed what was important and concerning
[1:16:56] for them in our community, and we discussed the value and importance of strategic planning
[1:17:03] and what our process going forward could look like. From those conversations, I was able
[1:17:12] to relay those ideas and thoughts to staff in providing input to what we have begun
[1:17:21] as a fairly robust orientation and training program. Counselors are already begun it.
[1:17:29] I think we had a really interesting joint orientation session organized by the region
[1:17:35] and Chair Bradley of all the councils across Niagara meeting for the first time in an orientation
[1:17:44] session and many of our counselors were there.
[1:17:47] And so that's just the beginning.
[1:17:49] The program is going to continue into January and I think being orientated and updated
[1:17:56] and how things how you can function properly is really important. So our
[1:18:02] strategic planning program that will begin soon. Council will be forced or
[1:18:08] forced. Council will be tasked with focusing. That must have been a
[1:18:14] subliminal thought.
[1:18:17] Gary, you had my back, right? Will be tasked on focusing
[1:18:22] on core strategic items and delivering a value-driven action plan for staff to implement and a report
[1:18:33] to council on the progress.
[1:18:37] The process is going to include feedback and sessions and public engagement from across
[1:18:44] all our villages.
[1:18:46] The strategic plan will inform our future committee structure and in the next few weeks, the first
[1:18:55] step for our committee process will begin. With call for volunteers, we're going to begin with
[1:19:02] the statutory committees and that process will include a skills-based qualification
[1:19:09] selection process with council making the final decisions. A new activity that we
[1:19:17] will introduce into all this was an idea supported and heard in my one-on-one
[1:19:22] meetings with council. That's the creation of a village open forum. These
[1:19:29] sessions will be conducted regularly in each of the villages over time and the
[1:19:35] Your focus will be on improving communication and transparency.
[1:19:41] More listening, less talking might be hard for some of us.
[1:19:46] More listening.
[1:19:48] So some of the priorities that I'd like to put on the floor.
[1:19:52] Economic development.
[1:19:56] I plan on working with Council to actively seek employment creation investments for
[1:20:01] our town.
[1:20:02] jobs for our kids, jobs for our residents. We need to leverage the strength and the
[1:20:10] reputation that we have in our agricultural sector, and our strategic
[1:20:15] location with strong transportation assets, including Niagara District Airport.
[1:20:23] Tourism strategy. We will bring residents, industry, the arts, and the
[1:20:31] town together in a process to work together on building the path ahead for our community's
[1:20:40] tourism strategy.
[1:20:43] Niagara Lake is a world-class destination, and it's also one of the best communities
[1:20:48] in the world with which to live.
[1:20:51] We all know that.
[1:20:52] Service excellence, a priority will be to improving the town's capacity in responding
[1:20:59] bonding with resident service requests, planning files, including heritage preservation, environmental
[1:21:10] sustainability files, and additionally raising our profile with other governments, governments
[1:21:19] in Niagara, at Queens Park, and in Ottawa, making sure that what is important to you
[1:21:27] is communicated to these governments.
[1:21:32] Another item is improved public amenities and services.
[1:21:39] Council will need to ascertain the gaps that we have in services and amenities
[1:21:44] and build a plan for future community needs.
[1:21:48] And this is essential.
[1:21:51] Recreation assets need to be planned for.
[1:21:54] more. Capital budgets need to be assigned and allocated. Funding models like development
[1:22:01] charges need to strategically be attached to those assets so that we can plan long term
[1:22:08] in our community and deliver our future, our children, the kind of amenities they expect
[1:22:14] in a world class town.
[1:22:18] Better access to health care, public health care services.
[1:22:21] services. This is an item that was addressed in the past. We need to continue to move forward
[1:22:27] with this and find ways to improve these services to be delivered in our town. Transportation
[1:22:34] services. As a region enters into the first year of an amalgamated regional transit organization,
[1:22:42] NiagaraLink needs to advocate for increased services, greater linkages for our residents
[1:22:50] to transit in and around Niagara on the lake and into linkages around Niagara
[1:22:57] region and into the greater Toronto Hamilton area. Housing
[1:23:03] attainability. Attainability to housing is dysfunctional. We're truly in a
[1:23:10] housing crisis. We can find solutions and public support to adequately address
[1:23:17] us. I believe we must provide an opportunity for seniors to age in place, for our youth
[1:23:28] and local workforce to acquire dwellings that are actually in our town. Dwellings also for
[1:23:38] residents that struggle to meet core housing need.
[1:23:43] Housing is a historic problem. But
[1:23:46] we have a generational opportunity to deal with it.
[1:23:50] So in closing, as the head of council,
[1:23:53] I pledge to strengthen and grow the relationships.
[1:23:58] Build trust and provide leadership for council.
[1:24:04] I pledge to listen and seek positive outcomes.
[1:24:09] We all accept that democracy,
[1:24:12] I denote some multitude of opinions.
[1:24:14] That's a good thing, it's essential.
[1:24:16] But democracy also comes with a corresponding covenant, and according to Jefferson, that
[1:24:23] those governing must adhere to the principle that being rightful must be reasonable.
[1:24:32] So to counsel, it will be my priority to ensure that together we provide our CAO with our
[1:24:42] vision, our clear strategic direction. I will support each of you as we build this going
[1:24:51] forward. To our staff, CAO, myself and Council will partner with you and give you tasks and
[1:25:04] the resources to accomplish it, to deliver on the goal and vision of Council.
[1:25:13] We will support you and provide you with a healthy, professional environment to thrive
[1:25:20] upon which to build your team and succeed on behalf of our residents.
[1:25:27] So to the public,
[1:25:30] I'll refer back to Jefferson's words.
[1:25:32] words, we commit to listening with the goal of decision making through transparency and
[1:25:40] through uniting our community in common efforts for the common good.
[1:25:47] Your support is a welcome gift and I thank you for that.
[1:25:53] Our promise is to retain your good opinion, conciliate that of others by doing all the
[1:26:02] good that is in our power to do and to be instrumental in the happiness and
[1:26:07] interest of all our residents. So I look forward to the term ahead with
[1:26:14] anticipation. I remain focused on the outcome, ensuring that those taking their
[1:26:20] oaths tonight return to you in four years, stating emphatically that they
[1:26:27] enjoyed their experience on council, that their opinions made a difference, they
[1:26:34] accomplished what they set out to do, and given the choice they would do it again.
[1:26:41] So thank you very much. Marnie, thank you. Thank you everybody. And I look forward to having a drink.
[1:27:15] Thank you for your very inspiring words Lord Mayor. You will see that I took a copy of your
[1:27:21] speech because I believe it is also my to-do list starting now. So thank you
[1:27:27] again. It is now time to call Reverend William Roberts back to the podium to
[1:27:33] begin the conclusion of the evening with the benediction.
[1:27:42] Wow. So thank you
[1:27:44] Marnie and such Jeffersonian ambitions Gary, but I must attest at a personal
[1:27:51] level, both Gary and Tammy, the devotion that these two have shown in the community
[1:27:57] and the church and now as our mayor and the council together. I don't know that we need
[1:28:02] to bless you, but I'm going to give you a blessing anyway. Would you please stand?
[1:28:11] And for this closing blessing, I want to borrow from the Jewish tradition, because
[1:28:16] in the Jewish tradition, they're interested in blessing what they call berachach is both
[1:28:22] the way of setting apart for special care and attention, certain people placed in things,
[1:28:28] but also acknowledges that we in turn are being blessed by them and by the goodness and the
[1:28:36] benefits that they share. So may wisdom, courage and humility abide with Lord Mayor Gary,
[1:28:52] with
[1:28:52] and Deputy Mayor Irwin, and may goodness and grace be with Marnie, and Victoria, and all
[1:28:59] the town directors and staff. And may Council and staff together be blessed with caring hearts
[1:29:05] and steadfast wills, and that in the many responsibilities to which they bring their
[1:29:10] best selves, they will be for us an example and a blessing to all of us, and to lift
[1:29:16] us all up so that together we can all say Amen. Amen. Now we're going to sing for the first
[1:29:24] time in my life, I think God Save the King. So let's get ready to sing cheerly. Let's
[1:29:34] sing it together. Yes, thank you and congratulations to all of you. Honored to be here today.
[1:29:41] God save our gracious King Long live our noble King
[1:29:51] God save the King Send him victorious
[1:30:00] Happy and glorious. Long to reign over us. God save the king.
[1:30:28] Thank you, Reverend, and thank you, Juliet. Lovely.
[1:30:32] Okay, please be seated, everyone.
[1:30:35] This
[1:30:38] is the point where we begin to conclude the 2022 inaugural council meeting.
[1:30:44] I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone for joining us tonight, both in person and
[1:30:49] online.
[1:30:50] A special thanks to those who worked really hard to plan and prepare for tonight's meeting.
[1:30:56] I'd like to acknowledge the customer experience and communications team at the town for their
[1:31:01] wonderful oversight of this event.
[1:31:03] They planned all of the details.
[1:31:09] Thank
[1:31:15] you to Queens Landing and Vintage Hotels for catering the food we are about to enjoy
[1:31:21] and our many local wineries and businesses for donating the beverages.
[1:31:32] So now we would like to move into the reception portion of this evening.
[1:31:36] The reception will take place next door in the John Darrow Pole immediately following
[1:31:42] the Fife and Drum Corps procession.
[1:31:44] So, once the Fife and Drum Corps have exited this room, please feel free to exit at your
[1:31:49] leisure, and I hope to see all of you at the reception for complimentary hors d'oeuvres
[1:31:54] and beverages.
[1:31:55] So, thank you very much, and congratulations again to the new council.
[1:32:03] Please stand as the procession begins.
[1:33:31] I don't have it but I can chat with him and see if he wants to share it with me.
[1:34:04] You