By: Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Essex Free Press
Connecting with residents has always been something Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy has prioritized to gather feedback and provide information that matters to them.
Last Thursday morning, the head of the local municipal decision-making table used her social media account as an online tool to host her first “Ask and Answer” connection event.
“I really want to give as much information to the community as possible,” Bondy said, noting she plans to host forums like this again.
When Bondy went live with her online video, she was able to answer a series of questions residents submitted prior to the event regarding any municipal-related matters they may have had.
One question regarded the plan for sidewalks along Maidstone Avenue West in Essex Centre.
This has been on the Council radar for likely three-terms, as the area is being built up and there is a need for sidewalks to head from the high school down towards the new residential areas and commercial district.
“There was a lack of forethought before in getting some developments [in] that area to put money into sidewalks. But, in the newer Terms of Council, we have made sure that as a development comes in…we are actually getting money from those developers to put an active transportation trail in there,” Bondy explained.
Not only does the Town need to be on board and working with developers, so does the County of Essex, as Maidstone Avenue is a County collector road.
“It’s not an easy project,” Bondy relayed. “It’ll be a very expensive, complicated project.”
The Town of Essex does have a Five-Year Capital Plan, and through this document the sidewalk along Maidstone is scheduled to be completed in two phases; the first is planned to take place in 2027, with the second phase in 2029.
The portion from Talbot Street to Bell Avenue is planned to be constructed this year, as Council approved completing full reconstruction of the Talbot/Maidstone intersection for $3M.
Bondy noted that over the past few years, the Town has been looking to expropriate land from some of the corners, so a bigger intersection could be built due to growth.
“We’ve gotten a lot of complaints about ‘I want to turn left and it is backed-up.’ We hear you, we are working on it,” Bondy assured, noting the Town has applied for a grant and is still waiting to hear back. If successful, it would push the project up on the timeline.
Bondy was also asked if there was a plan for parking outside the Iler Lodge Extendicare LTC and Retirement Home.
This was discussed at the December 1 Council meeting, when Doug Hay, Executive Director, asked for seven or eight parallel street parking spots on Iler Avenue, adjacent to the property. This would be for visitors only, and would be for a two-hour max.
At the time, he noted staffing levels have increased and it has contracts with St. Clair College, where Iler Lodge receives students four times a week.
It was discovered that there was an amendment made to the Parking By-Law to prohibit parking there in 2004, likely because of rutting caused because it is a grassy area, or it may have had to do with sightlines, it was noted during that Council meeting.
Council received the delegation, and directed Administration to go on site to take a look at where parking could be potentially placed. Then they can report back as to what can be done in terms of on-street parking and at what cost.
The Town is also trying to encourage Iler Lodge to develop an additional parking lot in a space available on its property, Bondy relayed.
The Five-Year Capital Plan was something this Term of Council adopted through its Strategic Plan.
“I am incredibly proud of it,” Bondy said, noting in previous Terms of Council she asked for such a document to be created and there was not enough support to develop the plan. The plan can change.
If re-elected, in the new term Bondy would like to host a standalone meeting on that Capital Plan where Council could discuss road priorities. The document is formatted by administration, who are engineers and recommend what should be done.
The Five-Year Capital Plan for roads is available for viewing at Essex-based libraries and at https://www.essex.ca/en/build/resources/5-Year-Capital-Plan—Library-Version—Final.pdf
In 2026, the Town will hire a company to survey all of its municipal roads, which will provide a report indicating which ones are in good, moderate, or poor shape.
When it comes to road reconstruction, the Town tries to do it when it makes sense to repair all of the underground infrastructure underneath, as well, so the road is not dug up twice.
“There is never enough money for roads,” she said.
Another question asked if the Town offers a snow angel program where volunteers are linked up with individuals who need their driveways shoveled. Bondy noted that program is not offered currently in Essex, as there isn’t enough staff to take on a project like this. It is a program Essex Community Services used to manage when it was operational.
Bondy tries to match seniors with those who are willing and able to volunteer to help shovel driveways and bring out their large blue bins.
The Town is looking to put a volunteer registry on its website.
The Town is currently expanding its Town Hall footprint to better accommodate its staff and provide a larger Council Chambers. One individual asked if an open house could be held when it is finished. Bondy loved the idea and will work with administration.
Another topic brought up was protecting farmland. Bondy said each Town has an Official Plan which indicates how much growth in terms of homes and industrial land is needed. The only municipality in Essex County that got new residential land was Leamington, she noted. The rest need to fill pockets of land that are vacant.
She does not want to take away farmland for homes.
Bondy urged residents to subscribe to the Town of Essex agendas to learn what will be discussed at each meeting. If residents feel the need, they can sign-up in advance to be a delegate to speak to a matter.
Residents can also connect to all council members by using councilmembers@essex.ca.
Residents were also urged to reach out and engage with their ward reps with municipal issues they may have. Doing so allows her to focus on high-level files.
The Report a Problem online portal is a great tool residents can use to let the Town know of any municipal issues. This tool can be used to report non-working street lights, which Bondy and administration have been tracking.