We have a small tax base, aging infrastructure and rising costs. Roads still need repair. Buildings still need replacing. Water and wastewater systems still need maintenance.

Those bills are coming whether we grow or not.

That’s why the three parts of my plan are connected.

Make Callander a place people choose.
Improving our downtown, waterfront, parks and public spaces does not directly lower anyone’s tax bill. The point is to make Callander a place more people want to live, visit and invest in. More residents and businesses mean more people helping carry the cost of the community.

Grow carefully.
We need more homes and businesses, but we should not lose our small-town charm as we grow. And we should be smart about where growth happens by starting with infill and places where roads and services already exist.

Make smart infrastructure decisions.
We need to know what major costs are coming, plan for them years ahead and understand the full cost before making big commitments.

Council also has to keep a close eye on spending. Some costs, like insurance, policing and certain outside agency costs, are largely outside the Municipality’s control. That makes it even more important to manage the costs we can control and plan ahead for the big ones we know are coming.

So when I say I want Callander to be a place people choose and can afford, I mean this:

Bring more people and businesses into the community to help share the costs, grow in places where it makes financial sense, protect the small-town character people already value, and plan ahead for the big expenses we know are coming.

There isn’t one fix. That’s why the three priorities work together.

The lagoon did not suddenly get bigger or gain more physical capacity.

Several years ago, the Municipality found that a lot of groundwater and stormwater was getting into the sewer system through what is called infiltration and inflow, or I&I. That extra water was being treated along with sewage and was using up capacity. Rainfall, snowmelt and groundwater infiltration can all increase the amount of water entering the lagoon system. 

Staff were given a list of problem areas to address, and work has been done over the years to reduce how much of that unnecessary water gets into the system.

The lagoon still has capacity for development, but we need to keep a close eye on how much is being used and how much future growth would require. Callander’s Official Plan also says development cannot be approved beyond the available capacity of municipal infrastructure. 

Council has now taken a step-by-step approach.

First, get a clear picture of the I&I work that has already been completed and what still needs to be fixed.

Then look realistically at how much development could happen and how much wastewater that growth would produce.

With that information, Council can decide whether the existing system has enough room or whether a larger expansion or Wastewater Master Plan is actually needed.

My view is simple: get the information first, then spend the money if the evidence shows it is needed.

I agree that Callander has outgrown its current library and needs a new one.

I served as chair on the Ad Hoc Museum/Library Committee. We reviewed more than 25 possible sites across the Municipality and scored them using a set of criteria. When everything was tallied, the Community Centre site scored highest, followed by the north end of Centennial Park.

What the committee did not do was a full feasibility review of each site. Things like zoning, floodplain issues, servicing and site preparation still need to be looked at before Council can make a final decision.

One reason the Community Centre scored well is that water and sewer have already been upgraded there, the property is large, and other community services are being developed at that location. The Municipality describes the Community Centre as a hub for recreational activities.

That said, I agree that a downtown location would be ideal.

We still need more information before deciding where the library should go, but I have no doubt Callander needs a new facility.

There is no disagreement from me that both buildings are needed.

The Operations building did not move forward this year because the cost came in much higher than expected at a site that was originally expected to be the least expensive option. We also learned that not every possible site had received the same level of investigation before the comparison was made.

This is a major investment for Callander. We have one chance to get it right, and we will live with that decision for decades.

I want to see the potential sites properly investigated before Council makes the final decision.

My preference would be to have the Fire Hall and Operations building on the same site, if that proves practical, because there may be opportunities to share some costs and infrastructure.

For a project of this size, long-term borrowing is one of the financing tools available to municipalities. We also need to keep working with the provincial and federal governments and be ready to pursue funding opportunities when they become available.

Whichever location the studies point to, I would like to see the project moving ahead in 2027.

Housing is part of it, but growing the tax base cannot only mean building more houses.

Yes, we need more homes. But where and how we build them matters.

A new home on an existing street can add to the tax base while using roads and services we already maintain. A new subdivision can add taxpayers too, but it can also bring new roads, pipes and other infrastructure that the Municipality will be responsible for maintaining for decades.

That’s why I think we should first look for opportunities to make better use of land where roads and services already exist. Callander’s planning policies already encourage intensification and redevelopment where municipal water and sewer are available.

There may also be opportunities for rural residential growth where it makes sense and does not create major new costs for the Municipality.

But the tax base is bigger than housing.

We also need more local businesses, more downtown investment, more home-based businesses and more reasons for visitors to spend money in Callander.

And there is a marketing side to growth too.

We can make land available and improve the rules, but people still have to want to live here, invest here and open businesses here.

That’s what I mean by making Callander a place people choose.

For me, the two ideas work together: make it easier for growth that makes financial sense to happen, and make Callander the kind of place people actually want to choose.

I believe Callander needs to grow. But I don’t want us to lose what people already like about living here in the process.

That means protecting our small-town feel, the lake, our shorelines and natural areas as new development happens.

It also means being thoughtful about the scale and location of development.

Growth should fit the community rather than forcing the community to change around it.

At the same time, we should be smart about the order in which we grow. Start with infill and places where roads and services already exist before taking on expensive new infrastructure.

Callander’s own Strategic Plan talks about growing thoughtfully while preserving the community’s natural charm and local character.

That’s essentially what I mean by grow carefully.

Speeding continues to be a concern in Callander.

I created Take it Slow for Callander as an annual awareness campaign, and I also pushed for the Share the Road lane on Main Street South.

But I think awareness campaigns and signs can only take us so far.

The next step should be looking seriously at physical traffic-calming measures.

That could include permanent “Your Speed” signs, seasonal centreline posts that make a road feel narrower, and looking at whether things like pinch points or chicanes make sense in particular locations.

There isn’t one solution that will work on every street. We need to look at the actual speeds, traffic patterns, road design, cost and the people who use each street.

Callander already has a general 40 km/h speed limit on most municipal roads, with specific exceptions. 

The next question is how we design our streets so drivers are more likely to actually travel at a safe speed.

That is where I think the next phase of this work needs to go.