Edmond Hétu, Conseiller/Councillor District 6

In the first six months of its mandate, council has been extremely busy and working hard with city staff to get a better sense of the nuts and bolts of how things work at the municipal government level while adjusting our own expectations of what we want to do and how soon we want to do it. For one thing, we've all learned that things move slower than we'd like -- not for any evil reason -- simply because there are complex rules governing how a city is run. The rules are, for the most part, good rules that provide checks and balances and ensure fairness and transparency. Like require council to hold public meetings where proposed bylaws are read and adopted. But when council only meets once a month, it means that even simple things like asking for a derogation so that you can build a garage 6 inches closer to the road than allowed, you might wait a few months before permission is granted. This is why council is now meeting twice a month -- so we can deal with urgent issues if required. The meeetings are not public but we can call a special public meeting on those days when required. This is good for Chelsea -- its citizens are getting twice the work out of council and it doesn't cost them a dime.

We've got a lot of things on our plate -- from the Meredith Centre to looking at various development proposals to sewer and water projects. These are all big projects involving much work from city staff and a lot of navel gazing on the part of citizens so that their visions of the future are shared with those who have the ability or the mandate to shape it.  I won't presuppose any outcomes because I know how complex some of the issues are and how co-dependent many of them are. One thing is for sure...it's both a scary time and an exciting time to be a councilor. I feel that my town is on the cusp of a transformation -- its spinning the fibers of its coccoon and, with some nurturing, will emerge as something wonderful.

At a district level, we're working on several projects -- reducing traffic on Kingsmere road, especially in the summer; the potential linking of roads in several areas to increase public security; the ownership of the dam on Beamish Lake in Hollow Glen; the safety of pedestrians and cyclists on Notch road and the parking problems on Mine road. These are all issues that involve provincial laws, several city departments, other jurisdictions (like the NCC, the province, the city of Gatineau) and, above all, the wants and needs of citizens who, after all, want to enjoy the warmth, comfort and safety of their homes and neighbourhoods. I hope to make progress on all the projects in the coming months but I've come to realize that much work is needed and things are almost never going to proceed as quickly as I would like them to. But that's fine with me, as long as we're moving forward.

Please contact me if you have any questions or suggestions. Email is best (see address below)

Edmond

The municipality is making a donation box available to any person who wishes and is able to donate cash for the Haiti relief effort. A box has been set up at City Hall, 100 rue Hotel de Ville at the reception desk. The box will be in the library (regular library hours) when city offices are closed. All money collected will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross and earmarked for the Haitian aid project.