Mayor Greg Wilson began his presentation with a portion of a report which had been requested by our Member of Parliament Bob Nault.  The Trudeau Liberal government was looking for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects.
 
Wilson said, “Dryden has fallen behind with its infrastructure plan, and they are looking forward to working with the Federal government and community stake-holders to get back on track.”
 
As a result Wilson told Rotarians, the city is writing a 10 year infrastructure plan.
 
“While Dryden is in a unique financial situation,” Wilson said, “More and more communities across the country need to reach out to the Federal government for assistance with infrastructure.”
 
“It’s a balancing act to meet the third/third/third funds (Federal, Provincial and Municipal governments) to put toward infrastructure. In order to ensure our portion, we have to become more efficient in the services the city provides.” Wilson added.
 
One of the applications which was accepted is the twinning of the water intake from the Wabigoon water systemto ensure that we have water supply if something was to happen to the one line we currently have.
 
However, an application to refurbish Van Horne Ave. was rejected.
 
A second major initiative Wilson said is that “Our Municipal government is trying to become more transparent.” He gave as an example the budget open house held the previous week.
 
In December the city came up with a Mission, Vision, and Values statement.
 
Mayor Wilson also described his trip to the Pickering Nuclear plant and the round-table discussions held in Toronto, with the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, and the opportunities the storage facility presents. He also reiterated the importance of listening to the scientists on this topic.
 
Wilson concluded with a summary of the budget. “We can,” he said, “ have a balanced budget, with a zero percent tax levy increase.”  Service levels will remain the same, while the repayment schedule is on track.
 
Mayor Wilson says he wants to run a lean-mean machine but then corrected himself by saying “maybe not that mean!”
 
During his thank you speech Past President Brian Braid presented Mayor Wilson with an honorary Rotary membership.
 

Two Dryden Rotarians Find Each Other While Touring Australia

Rtn Norm Bush an d his wife Sarah succeeded in their quest to find Will and Marj Vermeer while they were both touring “Down Under”. He and Will had a Rotary makeup meeting on Feb 19th in Cairns, Queensland.
 
Rtn. Will, Marj, Sarah, and Rtn. Norm