Ron Ashmore leads Ward 6 forward with Omemee Beach revamp, townhalls, and push for transparency

This is the seventh story in an anticipated eight-part series where Kawartha Lakes Weekly is sitting down with councillors from all eight wards about the issues most important to their residents.

Ward 6 Councillor Ron Ashmore is slowing returning to his full-time council duties after a devastating loss this past January when his son died in an ATV accident.

“Politics really doesn’t matter really too much when something like that happens, everybody unites behind you,” Ashmore said, thanking the community for their support during this difficult time.

He said he knew he wanted to get back into council quickly, saying having a tragedy like that occur “makes you want to make sure that you’re going to do good for him, and he wanted (me) to go on, and that’s what I’m doing.”

Sitting at the Omemee Beach Park with Kawartha Lakes Weekly, Ashmore talks about major work that will start this fall, “we’re going to be restoring the beach back to its old glory,” he said.

There will be volleyball nets installed, the skateboard park will be redone, and the parking lot will be paved. One addition that Ashmore is excited about is a new splashpad that will be built. He’s been advocating for upgrades over the past six years.

One thing Ashmore is hoping to see a change in is giving councillors direct access to the city’s road database. “I think that council should have access to the roads database,” citing that the database has more information about each road, such as specific materials used in construction, that council should know about. This information could help them to make more informed decisions about what roads need to be done sooner.

As well, Ashmore says, the current case file system has made it hard for him to fully understand issues happening in his ward, which includes Omemee, south Bobcaygeon, everything along Pigeon Lake and south of Sturgeon Lake.

He says councillors do not have access to these files and he said he would like that to change. “When it comes down to looking at roads and whatnot, we need to have that information. It’s really critical to have.” It’s hard to be able to address residents issues without these case files accessible.

Ashmore is also hoping for more direct communication with city staff. In Dunsford they had a contract with a snow removal company for 10 years, then Ashmore says he found out the contract had ended, and snow removal was now being done by the city. He says he was never made aware of this change and all he wanted was for someone to say, ‘we’re looking at bringing it in-house.’

Councillors don’t have direct contact with the different departments at the city, which can lead to this lack of communication. Ashmore would like to see councillors be able to speak directly with department supervisors, not to contact them for minor things, but to be able to have access when things need to be done, and to be made aware when changes are made.

Despite some of these challenges, Ashmore is proud to see the changes that have happened in his ward recently. Another notable upgrade are the renovations currently being done to the Emily Community Centre, a $2 million investment. These upgrades include improving accessibility, upgrading the HVAC systems and installing LED lighting.

In the last year and a half, he’s hosted three townhalls. The total attendance between those in-person and on the livestream between 2,500 to 3,000 people. He has plans to hold more in the future because he enjoys seeing his constituents face-to-face. “You have to be out there and just show that you’re listening to people.”

Despite being a tough year, Ashmore is looking forward to getting back to serving his community.