As we approach the 2022 municipal election, Global Kingston caught up with each of the 39 candidates seeking a seat on Kingston city council. Here we asked them about why they’re running and what issues matter most to them. Below is the question and answer for the candidates in Collins-Bayridge.
Lisa Osanic
Why are you running?
In my opinion, there is still lots of underutilized lands that can be developed responsibly. I would like to see the city be more proactive in directing development into appropriate areas using every possible policy and tool available. The Official Plan is up for review starting in 2023.
What needs improvement in your district?
Traffic calming has been requested for many streets in the district. Vehicles are just driving too fast in the local residential neighbourhoods. Westwoods is a pilot project as a community safety zone of 40km/hour. There are other school areas in the district that have seen the success of Westwoods and they want their areas to be traffic calm too such as around Bayridge Public School and John 23rd School. There are local roads with so much traffic on them, the roads are wearing out faster than the city can get them in the queue for resurfacing. The city tries to coordinate road resurfacing with Utilities Kingston’s water main relining. Watermains don’t need relining until after 40 years. The problem is that some of our local roads are needing repair at only 35 years. The city doesn’t want to cut up a road twice in a short time span. Road cuts are needed to tie the roads over a few years until the water main relining.
Why do you feel you should represent that district?
I have 16 years of experience and history working for the residents in the district. I have a track record of being responsive, hard-working, and dedicated. I have lived in the Collins-Bayridge District for 24 years as a homeowner and taxpayer. I care about the district. I know the importance of customer service. My constituents are my customers and I work for my constituents. It is my job to try to solve their problems and keep them as happy as I can.
What is the most pressing issue in all of Kingston?
Affordable apartments are key. We need apartments that our young people can move into, paying reasonable rent to still give them the ability to save money for a down payment on a house one day. We need apartments also that our unhoused population can transition into from the shelter system. Studio or micro-apartments would be ideal.
What do you hope to accomplish as a city councillor?
At the district level, I hope to see more traffic calming measures implemented. Speed enforcement cameras will likely be necessary. I hope to see the roads with fatigue cracking repaired through either resurfacing or road cuts. City-wide, I hope many more apartments are constructed, infilling in a smart way and saving our green space.
Joel Thompson
Why are you running?
We are in the middle of a housing crisis. A number of the current councillors think they are “pro-development” when they say the city has greenlit approximately 4,700 new residential units over their past term which is a significant increase above any council before them. However, we are doing a great job as a City advertising the benefits of calling Kingston home; and we are not building to keep up with the growing demand for housing that has far outpaced the current supply of resale and new development homes available for purchase or rent. We should have been approving 10,000 to 15,000 or more new residential dwellings in the last term of the council.
Additionally, local development is also currently focused on student housing and large-family homes. I decided to run for Kingston City Council because the time for change is now. We can not prioritize councillors’ special interest projects instead of growing the tax base and approving purpose-built development for social housing, young professionals, first-time homeowners and retirement living.
What needs improvement in your district?
1) Housing Affordability & Availability – “affordable housing” is a hot topic across our municipality, the province and the country. However what residents want is accessible housing for all and to close the gap between housing types on the property ladder including rentals, first-time homeownership, family homes, and retirement living. There is also a growing concern for our homeless citizens and the crisis within a crisis they face. It is simply not just about putting a roof over their head, the City needs to take a leadership role in offering social services, rehabilitation and housing in partnership with other local charitable and not-for-profit organizations. Homelessness is not just a downtown issue – there are more and more encampments popping up in the west end of Kingston now as well.
2) Road Maintenance & Traffic Calming Measures – Laneways in subdivisions have become unsafe with speeding cars and roads requiring significant maintenance and many communities not having sidewalks. Our current council is reactive to national news headlines and the sudden death of a young child instead of being proactive in road repairs and traffic calming measures. When someone dies in our community we are too late. This same principle applies to our emergency services. The city has grown immensely over the last five years and we do not have the staffing or infrastructure in key locations to meet response times for fire or paramedics.
3) Cost of Living – From gas prices, groceries, rents, property taxes and interest rates life has gotten very expensive for residents. Residents are maxed out and need their city to be spending tax money wisely to maximize services and minimize annual increases.
4) Health Care – A number of residents do not have access to family doctors in our district or in the municipality. The City must take a leadership role in owning and operating walk-in clinics and hiring family doctors on staff to meet the growing population without access to family medicine. I have spoken with a number of medical residents and specialists who when faced with the decision of opening their own practices after they finished their formal education or taking a job at another clinic, hospital or academic institution – all voted in favour of working for someone else instead of taking on the additional debt and responsibilities of owning and operating their own clinics. If the City were to own the clinic then they would be the ones responsible for running the day-to-day operations and doctors would be employees and not owners who can focus on the important work of seeing patients and not on billing the province, human resources, and all other business-related operations that take away time and resources from seeing patience.
Why do you feel you should represent that district?
Kingston City Council needs fresh new perspectives. The time for change is now. I bring a wealth of knowledge and negotiation skills to the table that can be put to work on representing the district of Collins-Bayridge and working on sub-committees including planning, heritage, tourism and more to represent the City as a whole. The job is not just to be a good councillor and represents the interest, concerns and ideas of the district but we need strong city councillors in this election to face the city-wide challenges and opportunities we face ahead of us all.
What is the most pressing issue in all Kingston?
I have committed to knocking on every home in my district. As I am going door to door and meeting with families the number one topic of discussion is disappointment in the way we have improperly spent money in the budget on projects that should not have been prioritized. For example, the city financed a $1.3m turtle fence, which was championed by our current councillor, instead of using those funds to fix our roads and implement new traffic calming measures. This job is not about one particular special interest group, it is about our constituents and fiscal responsibility.
City-wide, housing is currently the most critical issue. Housing has become inaccessible at all levels through limited availability and lack of affordability.
Our average home price in January 2020 was $407,814. The average sale price now is $598,468 (August 2022); down from $722,957 in February.
Currently, Kingston focuses on student housing and large-family homes. We need a strong voice on City Council to stand up to the anti-development activist groups and represent the residents properly and advocate for housing for all.
Several kinds of housing needed to be developed to support all members of our community. These required developments are social housing, student housing, professional rentals, first-time homeowners, family homes, downsizing/retirement, and assisted living.
What do you hope to accomplish as a city councillor?
Early in the new term of office, we will be asked to take part in a strategic planning process. I would like our strategic planning needs to focus on five key elements: climate action, housing, transportation, economic development and citizenship.
As a council we need to apply the following guiding principles to shape decision-making, policy development and resource allocations over our term of office:
• Environmental sustainability and stewardship to safeguard future generations;
• Fiscal responsibility and accountability to create efficiencies and synergies, balance tax and non-tax revenue, and manage debt effectively;
• Promotion of social, economic and health equity;
• Balance urban and rural services appropriately across the regions;
• Encourage public engagement to collect diverse perspectives and to act fairly, sustainably, responsibly and equitably on behalf of our citizens;
• Effectively measure service standards to ensure high-quality service delivery;
• Leverage innovative approaches and new smart technologies to support fiscal management; and
• Promote a positive and inspiring work environment to attract and retain talent.