Sault Ste. Marie’s next City Council will have three familiar faces and one that is new.
Veteran city councillor Marchy Bruni was returned in Ward 4.
“I want to keep our taxes as low as possible, for our seniors who have limited income, but from there I want to be involved with our local boards and committees as a representative of the city,” said Bruni, a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Region Conservation Authority board and the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board.
“I think, by sitting on these boards, you’re representing the city and representing the best interests of the taxpayers.”
Bruni, speaking to SooToday as Monday’s municipal election results clearly showed him returning to his council seat, said he will keep working with stakeholders to generate economic development to create opportunities for youth and help to address local housing shortages and mental health issues.
Addressing infrastructure needs is crucial, Bruni said.
“Our infrastructure is deteriorating at a rapid pace.”
“I think it’s very important that we put more money into our infrastructure. That’s one of the key areas we must work on.”
Bruni has been working on addressing flooding issues for Ward 4 residents and intends to continue to do so through an environmental study.
“We’re in 2022. Some people have had flooding issues prior to 2013. It definitely is a hardship to these people. I don’t think they should have to go through this process. It’s very disturbing.”
Affordable housing and the opioid crisis were two issues that arose repeatedly in the city’s 2022 municipal election campaign.
“I think it’s important to bring social services and all agencies together, including the police, to come up with a plan and communicate it to the public. We have to be more transparent in that to show the people that things are being done. Sitting on these boards and committees, I think I can bring that to the table.”
Joining Bruni on the Sault’s next city council will be newcomer Stephan Kinach.
“I did a lot of door to door canvassing and I'm glad to see it panned out.”
It’s been quite a year for Kinach, a Sault native and foreign trained dentist who has returned to Canada from war-torn Ukraine and is now elected to public office.
Kinach said he sees some issues that he wants addressed in Sault Ste. Marie.
“I saw the opioid crisis flaring up and the crime rate going up, the aggressive driving and the needless projects happening downtown.”
Looking ahead to serving as a rookie city councillor, Kinach said “the main issues in Ward 4 are really critical infrastructure issues where there is yearly flooding.”
“Something needs to be done with the drainage system,” said Kinach, adding road issues need to be fixed in his ward.
“Another thing is the elimination of the Korah Branch library. It would be nice to have a satellite pick up and drop off spot because people are used to having a Korah Branch.”
Apart from issues specific to Ward 4, Kinach said he wants to see more success in local physician recruitment efforts for the Sault.
“Who’s going to move to Sault Ste. Marie if you can't get a doctor?”
Meanwhile, Corey Gardi and Matthew Scott were re-elected in Ward 5.
“For Ward 5, I’m fully committed to improving the infrastructure for those people who live in the most westerly portions of Sault Ste. Marie, to continue to work with the police service to see what we can do about speeding in the west end, and we’ve got some ditching and culvert work to get done,” Gardi said.
“I’ll be fighting for our share of things in the west end,” Gardi said, looking forward to more road work and the west end splash pad.
City wide, Gardi said he’ll continue to work to make the Sault the centre of the Canada Water Agency and push Sault MPP Ross Romano and Sault MP Terry Sheehan for more help on various files, including affordable housing and the opioid crisis.
“We have a lot of roads that are well beyond their useful lifespan that need to be redone,” said re-elected Matthew Scott.
“Ward 5 still has a ton of roads that are actually gravel roads and we’ve been told for years that they would be upgraded to asphalt. I’d like to see some more amenities brought, like an outdoor rink to Ward 5. Hopefully we can see another library presence in the west end.”
In a broader sense, Scott said he would like to see crime, public health and affordable housing addressed city wide.
Scott, a Sault Area Hospital data analyst, said he would also like to see easier access to City Hall data for citizens.
“They could potentially come up with solutions to problems that we’re having, like more efficient city transit routes.”