- Travis Dodd

It is amazing how fast these past two years have gone by. I guess the old saying "time flies when you are having fun" is quite accurate. Being a new Councillor there was a lot to learn from procedural bylaws to the background information on important on-going issues. It has always felt like there is something more I can be reading into to completely understand the issues at hand. During my election campaign I was devoted to being the voice for youth in our community. Something I still feel extremely passionate about. Youth in our community, is a major long term factor at ensuring the City of Owen Sound becomes sustainable. I have voiced my opinions to Ministers on our region getting a university , as I strongly believe this will help with youth retention and development in our region. I wanted to see a more vibrant downtown core, which is something that is on-going with the downtown revitalization plan which this Council has authorized to help further promote our local downtown businesses. I wanted to see better usage of our parks & green space for our children in the community. Something this Council will undertake in the future to ensure our green space and parkland is meeting the needs and wants of our children today.
COUNCIL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Within the past 2 years this Council has become a "team". Everyone has their own independent ideas and opinions which are important, however we all can work in co-operation and understand that we all are human at the end of the day. One may feel passionate about something and another may have a completely different thought and that's okay. At the end of the day we all are trying to do the same thing, trying to make Owen Sound a better place tomorrow than it is today. For a largely new Council we have faced many decisions some more controversial than others. We have approved the extension of water & waste water services into the Sydenham Heights region. Something that will help grow our tax base for future generations. We discussed Development Charges, and as a Council decided to forego certain fees to help expedite development in our City. Some will agree with it and others will not but we had to try something different to see if it would work. We have undergone an intense service review which will save the rate payers over $800,000 annually through the tax & water levies. We made the decision to keep the transit terminal open in our downtown core, and found other ways to find revenue sources which we have done by renting out rooms to the private sector and brought the Greyhound bus service back downtown.

What have I learned about the City & myself?

I have learned a lot about myself in the past 2 years. I have learnt that being a Councillor requires a lot of time management when you have a full time job. As a Councillor you make some sacrifices that are rarely seen in the public eye. You sacrifice personal relationships, friendships, quality time with your family and of course personal time. But in the end we all are just trying to help make a difference for the future generations to come. I have learnt that solutions or ideas take time to implement. Council has rules to follow, and our City staff who do a remarkable job, have hundreds of daily duties ongoing. So adding more onto the backs of our staff needs to be done in the most efficient manner so they don't become overloaded and burn out. I have learnt that Owen Sound has so much potential in the future and the stronger we as a City stay positive about ourselves and continue to show our pride in our community, Owen Sound will thrive to be the place where you want to live. I said this 2 years ago when I was going door to door. Change takes time, and some of the changes that will occur won't be recognized until future years to come. I still share those thoughts today. In order to see change we can't expect it all to happen in one 4 year term. Just like other parts in life it will take time, trust and patience to be able to confidently see that change is occurring.