I have quickly realized it's impossible to write a 3-minute introduction speech for a municipal election debate as it's simply not enough time to talk about your resume and point out a few issues.
Here -- therefore -- is my compiled speech for the debate held last week at UNIFOR Hall. I think I managed to get about half my opinions / ideas in. I want you to read it to learn more about me as I certainly won't receive this much space in The Sentinel-Review either and it's integral that voters learn about the candidates.
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THE TIME IS NOW!
The Time Is Now to elect Mark Schadenberg to Woodstock
City Council.
In recent years I feel I’ve accumulated quite a resume
of community volunteering and have gained the expertise needed for a seat on
City Council.
The Time Is Now!
My city involvements truly begins and also ends with the
Recreation Advisory Committee with a lot of accomplishments and many agenda items.
I’ve been a member of this volunteer committee for 18
years, including the last 5 as chair. Our committee coordinates the inductees
for the sports wall of fame and the annual Rec and Leisure Fair in early March.
Our topics of discussion range from playgrounds and
trails to all recreation facilities, user fees, and municipal policies.
Besides those currently on City Council, no other candidates currently sit on a local advisory board.
As chair of the rec adv committee I thank Shawn Shapton
and Todd Poetter for their participation over the past 4 years. Terrific
participation and input to our group.
The Cowan Fields ball diamond complex is a very
significant win-win by the rec advisory committee. I spoke as a delegation on 3
occasions to council to promote this project and still have my power point
saved on my computer. (Bill Bes and Paul Plant from previous councils also greatly assisted.)
Cowan Fields ball complex, parks such as Shanna Larsen
and David Lowes, the Southside Aquatic Centre renovation and community complex
improvements were all important agenda items.
The rec advisory future will most certainly continue to
include Cowan Park indoor soccer, Pittock park land acquisition, Southgate
Centre expansion, the Downs at Cedar Creek golf course, trail connectivity in
Burgess Park and the Civic Centre Arena.
The Relay For Life event held every June for the
Canadian Cancer Society at CASS high school has been a personal project for the
past 8 years. After volunteering in marketing and publicity areas of the event
for a few years, I was Co-chair the past 2 years with Don McKay (Mayor of EZT).
We raised over $133,000 for cancer research this year and next year will be the
20th year.
Lions Club of Woodstock. Currently a director on
executive. My annual hard working tasks include organizing the special occasion
permit for both Cowapolooza and Canada Day which both accumulate significant
dollars for our club to be turned into good deeds for the community in what the
Lions call ‘charitable response’.
I've enjoyed a career as a Realtor for almost 20 years – dating back to Jan of
1999. Immense knowledge has been gained in areas such as plans of subdivisions,
variances, building permits, in-fill construction, right-of-ways and maybe most
important is zoning and the official plan.
Woodstock will continue to grow but we need smart
growth. The city has recently seen residential intensification in areas where
homes did not exist before, including the site of a church on Devonshire,
another former place of worship at Athlone and Finkle, and the site of the
former Ecole Marguerite Bourgeoys school on Huron Street.
We can’t forget the Dundas St apartment complex at the
corner of Clarke Street south.
Additional pieces of land should be redeveloped before
and during future subdivision or boundary expansions. I’m referring to the former St
Mary’s Church lot on Oxford Street and the prime location at the corner of
Lansdowne and Nellis.
My connections to the sports scene of Woodstock truly
began in a 7-year span of the mid-1990s as Sports Editor of The Sentinel-Review.
I developed an extremely intense work ethic in a profession all about
interviews, writing, photography, copy editing, page layout and maintaining local
sports standings. No time for writer’s block back then. Today everyone talks
about riding a zip line as an adventure. As sports editor of the Sentinel it
was in an era of saving head shots and team logos on a zip disc. Remember them?
As a grad of Fanshawe College in radio broadcasting, I
worked 5 years in radio full-time ranging from on-air to advertising sales.
Remember K-102? I was in the studio in 1986 when Woodstock’s AM station
officially switched to FM.
My hobby has also been Broadcasting – volunteering
volunteering and more volunteering in community access shows locally as a
reporter, and play-by-play for Navy Vets hockey. My background evolved to
include London Majors baseball, the Ontario curling championships, Western Mustangs
football, and up until this past spring as host of London Knights hockey. For a
dozen years I worked on that program it was a paid role, but certainly required
– lots of homework and research.
I want you to know -- as a given -- that the same
research I have used in any facet of life will be the same dedication you will
receive when I’m on city council. Boy scouts may call it ‘Be Prepared’. I can
ensure you that it’s impossible to do live TV without being ultra prepared.
In real estate I have always used the slogan Discussion Direction Determination Destination
Next 4 Years
Here are some topics of point for City Council for the
next 4 years.
Financial responsibility. Woodstock has more than 400
employees and through various sources collects well over $100 million per year.
That’s quite a financial responsibility.
Terrific bookkeeping function is the city’s 5-year
rolling budget to track future needs especially in areas such as road
rehabilitation.
In 2018, the residential taxpayers will submit
$51,503,150.00 in property taxes. Total collected is about $93 million.
Total revenue from all sources is $115 million. From taxes, 64% goes to the
City, 24.5% to the County and 11.5% is raised for education.
Woodstock citizens already pay quite a large dollar
amount to the County, but topics such as affordable housing and public health –
both County responsibilities – are paramount issues. Should the City be paying even more into affordable housing to top up what is received from
Tillsonburg, Ingersoll, the townships and higher tiers of government? Since
Woodstock has the subsidized services such as transit, should the townships
contribute more because let’s face it Woodstock is the magnet for Oxford’s
lower income residents.
Boundary adjustments as Woodstock must increase its
residential needs, especially for the many exceptional local builders. I think it's time the neighbourhoods of Anderson and Canrobert streets etch their way into Southwest Oxford township.
Here's a point for discussion in many directions. I would like to clump together the needed Southgate Centre expansion versus possibilities abounding for recreational uses at the
Cowan Park indoor soccer complex and gymnasium. There are now more people in Woodstock over the age of 65 than under 14.
Staying with parks, what does the next 4 years mean for
the sliver and the square. The City has acquired 2 significant land pieces from
the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. There’s a great plan formulated to re-open
access over the dam for a pedestrian trail walking, and for the conservation area's
day-use park to be a free municipal park, but how exactly will this look in 5
or 10 years. I want to be part of the exciting process. Woodstock already has a tremendous trail system when you factor in Roth Park to County Road 4, and Burgess Park / Standard Tube lands, which are trails for exercise but also the beauty of nature along the Thames River.
NOW IS THE TIME to elect Mark Schadenberg
Another dept of City Hall which I have always had a
close interest to is the economic development office. I love Woodstock and I’m
a Realtor and a news (media) person, so I follow with great interest the excellent work
of Len Magyar and Brad Hammond. Everyone remembers the hysteria of the spring
of 2006 when Toyota made its big announcement and the autumn of 2008 when the
RAV4 facility began production.
I have spent a lot of time reading the on-line
newsletters and reading the press releases.
The recent Boshuko addition – this year in fact – is double good news as its more employment for Woodstock and the expansion was
built by Sierra Construction of Woodstock.
Be sure to vote on Oct 22
Be sure to vote for myself – Mark Schadenberg
The Time Is Now!
This past summer my family and I did a Bucket List trip by standing at the very south point of Canada at Point Pelee.
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