As part of the Voice's focus this week on both the actual and perceived effectiveness of Pelham's new mayor and council, six months after taking office, the newspaper reached out to each town councillor, requesting statements, in their own words, on their impressions of the job so far. Councillor Mike Ciolfi responded with the following commentary on behalf of all of council, which he wrote in consultation with his colleagues.
Looking back at the last six months, council hit the ground running, meeting weekly in closed and open sessions up to eight hours at a time.
December 2018 to end of May 2019, total meetings: 51
We were able to knock off a lot of tasks from the to-do list. We as councillors have worked very hard to build positive relationships and trust from the residents and the local papers.
Some of our accomplishments to date:
■ Review line-by-line operating and capital budgets
■ Approve both budgets
■ Complete strategic plan
■ Resolve old litigation issues
■ Plan ahead for future East Fonthill land sales to reduce the bridge loan
■ Establish new community committees such as Cannabis Control, Utility Sustainability, MCC User Group, MCC Hospitality, Audit
■ Re-establish Beatification committee.
■ Approved capital projects: Poth Road and Pelham Street North
■ Approved $25,000 for the gypsy moth spraying
■ Approved the re-construction of the arches
Like anything in life, in order to be successful you need a good, sound plan in place prior to making major decisions that could have an impact not only now but in the future.
As for mandates that we were given, your councillors are working diligently and together to achieve the results that all of the residents expect.
■ Paying off the bridge loan.
■ Adopt policies for reserves, debt, and cash management.
■ Controlling the cannabis issue that we all experiencing.
■ Reducing expense at the MCC.
■ Reviewing MCC contracts.
■ Updating infrastructure.
■ Trying to manage the overall debt.
■ Establishing new community committees.
■ Re-opening Poth Street
■ Investigating options with Sulphur Springs Road
■ Implementing cost savings measures.
Just to name a few!!!!
We are proud to be part of a great team who are extremely dedicated to make Pelham a great place to live, work, and visit!!!!
Councillor Mike Ciolfi
