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FROM: Sandra Iseman
Dear Fellow Prescottonians,
I am grateful for the opportunity to provide my answers to the questions put forward by our
fellow residents at our All Candidates Meeting. First off I’d like to say that I share the concerns
our residents have regarding our empty storefronts. I have a few ideas on how we can address
that. First we need to sit down with our landlords and figure out what would make it easier for
them to fill their buildings with mixed use. We don’t only want to fill storefronts but the offices
and apartments above should also be filled. Currently our landlords receive a provincially
mandated tax break on any property once it is vacant for 90 days or more. Let’s partner with
other municipalities (such as Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa) to lobby the Province so that we can
opt out of this tax break.
But in the mean time, let’s work with landlords and utilities to figure out how we can facilitate
short-term and seasonal leases to entrepreneurs. I know utility hook-ups can be costly, so if we
can avoid that being a burden to our landlords or budding entrepreneurs, then perhaps we can
reduce the risk for everyone. I believe if we can get more of our storefronts filled, it will
increase the value of properties on King, which means landlords could ask for higher rent from
potential tenants, which means we have greater incentive for those landlords to fill those
storefronts. However, I believe that helping landlords fill their whole building from storefront
to upper apartments will be far more cost beneficial than their current 30% vacancy tax break.
As for arts and culture, I would love to see more artisans and artists coming to Prescott to
support our heritage industries of stained glass making and woodworking. We could ask some
of our King Street landlords to convert storefronts and overhead apartments into ateliers
(which would help solve the vacant building problem also). A communal gallery would help
provide a showcase for our talented locals and be a draw to day-guests, such as Ottawa
residents who come to walk along our waterfront, this would provide an additional activity and
economic opportunity. We also need to join the artistic network of the area and identify
ourselves as part of the Brockville/1,000 island artistic community. Also, hosting a preShakespeare theatre festival could provide additional momentum to our already popular
festival, and make us a theatre destination for more months out of the year.
Every initiative and issue we face, however, needs to be examined from the perspective of
youth as well. Economic development and downtown rejuvenation is also a youth issue. Our
arts and culture industry is also a youth issue. WIFI, policing, illegal drug use, etc… most issues
our residents brought forward also tie into our youth. We have a youth centre where children
of all ages are welcome after school and weekend days, but we have nothing for our teens to
do, especially at night, that fosters their independence, provides them with new skills, and
promotes youth entrepreneurship. A Youth Initiative Centre, where teens get to explore selfdirected collaborations and activities means they’ll not only learn with and from their peers,
but they can have a hand in creating a youth festival, organize workshops inviting local experts,
and help run and direct their own community – all of which looks great on job and school
applications.
I just want to briefly touch on the other issues that were raised at our All Candidates Meeting.
Some people are unhappy with the condition of some multi-family units in the Town. This is a
by-law issue, and if someone notices a by-law or building code violation, they are welcome to
report it to the Town and it will be investigated. If someone feels safety or another issue isn’t
sufficiently being addressed by current by-laws, they are welcome to come to Town Council
and bring the issue forward for discussion.
In regard to introducing online customer access and on-line promotion of the Town, I believe
that being connected to our communities through the internet is important. I would like
council to explore the possibility of providing WIFI to town residents either publicly or in hot
spots – this opens up opportunity for jobs, business, and education as well as an array of
services for our residents. We can also provide all residents with an internet Town account
where all resident information, taxes, bills, appointments, library info, etc can be stored and
accessed, making it easy to keep track of all Town-related activity. Having WIFI accessible
throughout the Town also makes us more attractive to visitors and tourists.
An explosion at the proposed wood pellet plant could be the source of tragedy. While these
explosions do not occur often, when they do, the outcome can be disastrous. It is extremely
important that our first responders receive proper training, including our firemen as well as
paramedics, in order to know what to expect and how to deal with explosions and the resulting
impacts. We can learn best practices and share information with our neighbours who have
safety protocols already in place. We should also update our own emergency and disaster
management strategy, outlining clear emergency routes, possible evacuation plans, and how to
effectively communicate with plant workers and adjacent residents. Lastly, we should come to
an agreement with the Plant owners regarding proper compensation, but also sufficient funds
for our emergency resources.
Our police are doing a wonderful job, but street safety is still an issue of concern. Our
pedestrians and motorists are being hit, and it is due to a lack of attention being paid, speeding
motorists, and general lack of concern for safety. While we may not need to improve our
policing, we do need to improve our road/street safety. We should increase the number of stop
signs and traffic lights as well as implement other traffic calming strategies such as speed
bumps and decreased speed limits. On King, we may want to consider having pedestrian-only
crossing scrambles, where during every traffic light cycle, 1-2 minutes are dedicated to
pedestrian-only use of the intersection.
The issue of waste management was also discussed. I support council exploring an updated
waste management strategy that could include a green bin program, updated recycling, and
more regular yard waste and special items pick-up.
If you’d like to learn more about my platform and my background please go to my website:
www.TownofPrescott.ca. I also have a link to my survey on my website and would love to hear
from everyone regarding what we can do to improve our local economy and our livability.
Thank you for your questions and I hope you’ll vote for me on October 27th.
Sincerely,
Sandra Iseman