Cake, coffee, chocolate milk, fruit punch, free skating, live entertainment, balloon twisting - the Mayor’s Levee, held at the Bradford West Gwillimbury Leisure Centre on the first Sunday in January, offered residents all of the above, plus an opportunity to talk informally with the mayor and members of council.
Conversations ranged from New Year’s wishes and congratulations on the results of the 2018 municipal election, to discussion of current issues and concerns.
Among the topics that came up: the future of the old Bradford High School on Queen Street.
The designated heritage building was purchased by the Town of BWG in 2016, and it has been sitting vacant while council decides on its future use.
“We know it’s a priority. We talked about it at our strategic priority session,” said Mayor Rob Keffer. “There’s interest in it. We know it’s just sitting there, deteriorating.”
“It’s rotting away,” Coun. Gary Lamb said. “I would like to see it become useful, and pay taxes, and host needed facilities for the residents of the town. That could be health, that could be daycare.”
The mayor also spoke about the committees of council, now looking for interested applicants. These include the Accessibility Advisory Committee and Committee of Adjustment, applications for which closed on Jan. 2.
Keffer noted other committees will be looking for members within the community, including a BWG Heritage Committee.
A consultant hired by the Town of BWG initially suggested that heritage could be rolled into an over-arching culture committee, but, Keffer said, “it’s too large a portfolio… It’s too important. There will be a heritage committee.”
While members of council and leisure centre staff served up slices of cake at the Mayor's Levee, singer Russ Clayton and the local band Kurtis + the Crosswinds entertained. Residents took to the ice rink for an hour or two of free skating, and celebrated the new year with their council representatives.
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