A first term town councillor will take over as Mayor of Smooth Rock Falls next month. Patrick Roberts captured the seat by five votes over incumbent Sue Perras, in one of the closest votes in the region in many years. Roberts says there are many items on his to do list from the Canada Nickel mine project, a day care for the community, and to help with the nursing shortage at the hospital.
“They are offering amounts of money for a couple years to come and be in the hospital here which is hard on the hospital to afford that kind of incentives,” he said. “We also need a seniors’ place and if we would have built it three years ago we’d be okay but at the price it is now, you have to be clever at how you do things now.”
Roberts says he’s an old school type of guy and would like council meetings in person instead of virtual.
“Town meetings where residents can talk openly of what they wanna see and what’s going on in the town they’d like to see changed, have a voice,” he said. “That’s not happening in a lot of places for residents and businesses to come and voice their concerns.”
