Andy Wolff- Current River Candidate
1.Businesses are frequently the targets of crime and on the front line dealing with societal problems in the area; what steps do you think should be taken to ensure businesses are protected and our community is safer to explore, shop, work and play in.
What we need to do is establish an environment that is conducive to the development and implementation of prosperous businesses in this area. This will never happen until we address the serious issues of homelessness and addictions. This means we need to replace members on the District Social Services Administration Board who have been weak in directing administration to resolve these issues.
With a strong board we will achieve the following goals:
- finding the solution of homelessness by consulting with municipalities successful in this area like Medicine Hat and other municipalities
- eliminating homelessness by find facilities that will house our present homelessness citizens
- ensuring that everyone in need has the proper social assistance to afford to live decent quality of life
We need to address the policies we currently have with our by-law department as they are failing to assist new businesses starting up.
- What is your impression of the Fort William Business community? What is one thing that is done well and what is one thing that needs to improve?
I view the Fort William Business community as one that continually faces an uphill battle that has no help from our municipal government. What is done well is that businesses in the area continually persevere, despite the opposition from the city in their endeavors. What needs to improve is the city’s attitude towards businesses and help them prosper, rather than hinder their progress.
- With the revitalization of downtown Fort William project underway there is no planned community center for the area after the project is completed. Victoriaville provided an important and safe gathering place. What vision do you have to recreate a similar environment for community connectivity?
The problem with Victoriaville is that it continually needs maintenance that equates to nearly hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. I’m wondering if this is by design, rather than incompetence. If a new facility is to be developed to accommodate what Victoriaville is doing, the following must be considered:
- A facility that doesn’t hinder traffic flow
- Consideration for renovating a present building, as opposed to reconstructing a new facility
- ensuring the contractor guarantees no ridiculously priced annual maintenance and make them accountable to the work they have completed.