Upgrading and maintaining St. Clair Township’s infrastructure — by seeking upper-tier government grants — is one of Pat Brown’s goals if he’s elected Oct. 22.
“I hope to work closely with our MP and MPP to make this happen,” the retired pipefitter says. “Maintaining services and infrastructure upgrades, while keeping taxes low is a challenge that I’m up to.”
It’s not the former Chemical Valley project coordinator’s first kick at the political can. Brown served as a councillor on the former Moore Township council in the late 1980s, and St. Clair Township from 2006 to 2010, so he knows what he’s getting into.
“I enjoy serving the public and giving back to the community,” he says.
Infrastructure issues — including badly needed Internet upgrades — are top priorities, he says.
Fixing up the aging Moore Sports Complex is another. Brown will work on finding partnership dollars to upgrade the facility — a complex he says should be a top-notch draw. His own children, he says, go to Petrolia’s Y, for family outings. “These upgrades are needed without creating a tax increase,” he notes. “Who knows? Maybe we can explore naming rights with an organization like Lambton College,” he says.
If elected, Brown also wants to push for the completion of a heavy-haul over-sized load corridor so local companies and tradespeople can “easily move” large industrial jobs through the area.
Keeping St. Clair Township residents’ safe is another of Brown’s concerns. He’s served on the local OPP board.
“One of our focuses was on drugs and where they are coming from,” he explains, adding policing needs to be effective for all residents.
Brown wants to showcase what his home township has to offer, including its slower-paced lifestyle. “The waterfront parks and the St. Clair River Trail make for a relaxed pace of life outside of congested city life,” he says.