By Darren Lum

Published Dec. 13, 2018

 

If
you came late to this year’s Haliburton County inauguration you would
be hard pressed to find a seat let alone much standing room at the back
of council chambers in Minden.

 

The large crowd welcomed the county’s new warden, Algonquin Highlands Deputy Mayor Liz Danielsen on Tuesday, Dec. 11.

Danielsen thanked all the people “who helped me in so many ways.”

 

During her prepared speech Danielsen laid out her intentions for the upcoming term.

“My
approach for the year will be to listen to advice from you all and to
look to each of you to offer your individual strengths and knowledge. It
doesn’t matter who sits at the head of the table, chairing our
meetings. We each have an equal voice, collective goals and a lot to
bring to the table in way-finding the solutions to the challenges we all
face,” she said. 

Among the challenges
she referred to were streamlining services, expanding on broadband,
transportation, preparation for extreme weather events, and expanding
joint purchasing, among others.

 

Amalgamation
is not the “best answer” for the county because of geography and the
“uniqueness of each of our four municipalities,” she said.

Danielsen said cost savings from amalgamation “may not be a reality.”

“I
prefer to think we can find a made in Haliburton solution, but how we
proceed isn’t up to me. It’s up to all of us as a team,” she said.
“During our initial planning discussions we must try to reach an
agreement on our priorities and how we will move forward to reach
conclusions in this regard. One step at a time and considering our
decisions must to the best of our ability benefit all four
municipalities equally. I promise to keep you fully informed regularly
on activities I take part in on your behalf. I will be open to any
thoughts or concerns you might have, particularly if it will make our
jobs a bit easier as we go forward. Once again thank you to everyone in
the room. I sincerely mean that.”

She
was honoured by the unanimous support of the incoming county council,
who also took their declaration of office just before Danielsen was
named warden.

 

This year’s council
includes Highlands East Mayor Dave Burton and Deputy Mayor Cec Ryall,
Minden Hills Mayor Brent Devolin and Deputy Mayor Lisa Schell, Algonquin
Highlands Mayor Carol Moffatt, and Dysart et al Mayor Andrea Roberts
and Deputy Mayor Pat Kennedy.

Danielsen
takes over from last year’s warden Suzanne Partridge. This will be the
third term Danielsen has served for the county. 

Danielsen was nominated by Roberts and seconded by Burton. 

She
was the only candidate for warden in advance of a late October
deadline. Each year, county councillors select from among themselves who
will serve as warden. Haliburton County council is comprised of the
mayor and deputy mayor of each of the county’s four lower-tier
municipalities.

 

The deputy warden will
be sworn in during a meeting in January. On Wednesday, Burton put his
name forth for consideration for the position. He was the only one to do
so. The deputy warden assists in representing Haliburton County when
the warden is unavailable.