People who believe there are no employment opportunities in Welland are misinformed.
This was one message from Mayor Frank Campion during his fundraiser breakfast at Blue Star Restaurant Thursday morning that was attended by about a hundred people.
During his 30-minute speech about progress in the city, he used an ongoing build at Tamarack Lumber Inc.’s Woodlawn Road facility as an example, a venture bringing in up to 75 full-time jobs when it’s completed.
“That’s something we need to do here in Welland — increase that type of investment for jobs,” he said.
But there are other opportunities across the city as well, the mayor told mostly industry leaders, city staff and representatives from non-profit organizations.
“There are lots of jobs. If you go looking for one, you’re going to find one,” said Campion.
Census data recently showed Welland’s population “expanded dramatically,” and growing by 6.6 per cent from 2016 to 2021.
There are slightly more than 55,000 people living in Welland, and that number is projected to grow by another 27,000 in the next 30 years.
With residential developments popping up all over the city, affordable housing is also a key piece of the puzzle.
Recently approved was a 42-unit building behind the Provincial Offences Court, as well as a 99-unit project at 115 Lincoln St., which will also include a commercial component.
“It’s a perfect thing — housing and business at the same time,” said Campion.
When Campion became a municipal politician in 1990, elected as a ward councillor, a number of prominent industries had closed up shop in the city. This dropped Welland’s industrial assessment.
But it has increased by 103 per cent between 2018 and 2020, which allows the city to ease the tax burden on homeowners and generate new industrial and commercial revenues, said Campion.
It’s a form of the “city investing into the city,” he said.
There is an “awful lot of money” going into infrastructure projects, said the mayor.
In the 2022 budget, Welland is spending $13.7 million on roads, $2.1 million on sidewalks and $2.6 million on storm sewers.
About $10.3 million is set aside this year for facility upgrades, including $6.4 million for a new pool at Memorial Park.
Two fire halls under construction are crucial projects in the city, he said.
The cost for the new Welland Fire and Emergency Services Station 1 headquarters, with a training tower, comes in at $13.67 million. It is being built at 400 East Main St., a brownfield that used to hold a mill on the former Atlas Steels property.
Another station, at the rear of the current headquarters on King Street, is being built at a cost of more than $4.2 million, including demolition of the building.
Campion said investment in infrastructure is vital, as it is the “backbone of the community.”
The mayor thanked city staff for bringing back a pop-up patio program this year that allows restaurants to expand spaces, calling it a “bit of a hangover” from the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s a positive result of having to innovate,” said Campion.
The city is working on a trails strategy to improve connectivity, which will complement its parks and recreation master plan and help the municipality get “caught up” in these areas, he said.
Thursday’s event was a fundraiser for Open Arms Mission, bringing in about $5,500.