Ward 4 Councillor Nick deBoer to chair Planning and Development committee

Regional Councillor, Wards 4, 5, and 6 Mario Russo appointed as vice-chair

By Zachary Roman

Town of Caledon Council met for its first Planning and Development committee meeting on November 28.

The first order of business was determining who would be Chair and Vice-Chair of the committee for the 2022-2026 term of Caledon Council.

Regional Councillor, Wards 1, 2, and 3 Christina Early put forward a motion to appoint Ward 4 Councillor Nick deBoer as chair and Regional Councillor, Wards 4, 5, and 6 Mario Russo as vice-chair. Council unanimously voted in favour of Early's motion, and deBoer and Russo were appointed as chair and vice-chair, respectively.

“Thank you, members of committee. I'm quite honoured to be back here as chair,” said deBoer, who also served as planning and development committee chair for the 2018-2022 term of Caledon Council.

An orientation workshop, “Planning 101: An Introduction to Planning”, was presented to Council by Caledon's Director of Planning Antonietta Minichillo, and Manager of Legal and Court Services Alexis Alyea.

When the presentation was done, deBoer said he wanted to thank Minichillo and Alyea for their presentation, noting how important planning is for a municipality.

“I probably spent a couple of years with a couple of senior planners upstairs in the wintertime when I wasn't as busy learning firsthand,” said deBoer. “Don't be intimidated… staff are very open to helping you understand because as far as planning is concerned, other than the budget, that's one of the biggest topics that we're going to have. And it's the one that actually leaves the legacy of your Council.”