Ward 4 Councillor Dan Joyce: the man with the blue folder and a vision for change

This is the fourth 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.

Wherever he goes, Councillor Dan Joyce has his road file with him to show that he understands a common concern his constituents have in Ward 4.

Pulling the blue folder out while on a driving tour with Kawartha Lakes Weekly, Joyce explains his method. Every April, he drives every paved road in the ward, which encapsulates Oakwood, Manilla, Woodville, and Little Britain, and does his own assessment. Good roads don’t get marked down, but the ones that need attention get a rating of extremely bad, bad, or poor.

“When I show my constituents (the road file) and they see the detail that I’ve gone to, it makes them happy. At least I’m aware,” he said. The rating of each road helps him determine which ones to push for repairs sooner.

One accomplishment he’s proud of is part of what he calls “101 myriad of things.” White Rock Road used to see many gravel trucks going 80 km per hour. Since a few houses along that road have no sidewalk, residents were forced to use the road to walk – making it dangerous when the trucks passed by at high speeds.

When this concern was raised to Joyce, he went through he steps to get the speed lowered to 60 km per hour. Collecting all the data to show there was a speed problem and then getting residents to sign a petition, was a lengthy process. “It took almost a year, but we got it done.”

Another issue that Joyce has encountered in his ward is talk of tearing down arenas and community centres. The thought behind this is that not every small hamlet needs a community centre, but Joyce strongly opposes this stance, saying they are the heart of a community. “Under my watch, that’s not going to happen. In fact, what we’re going to do is we’ve reinvested in these arenas.” Little Britain recently received a renovation, with Omemee’s community centre being renovated later this year, and Oakwood getting their turn in 2028.

He gets frustrated and wishes that the smaller villages would get more attention when pilot projects are introduced, “I understand they look at the largest communities. Woodville is number five on the list, but it’s parked way out here and never seems to get on that pilot study kind of list,” he said.

One project he and other council members helped introduce was the Source Separated Organics Program, which works to divert waste from landfills to extend their life spans. He has hopes that the project will expand into other parts of his ward soon.

Something else close to his heart is the family doctor shortage. He says while it’s a provincial issue, it’s turned into a municipal one. Each municipality is now one-upping its prices to incentivize family doctors to practice there. “If you’re a doctor and agree to set a practice here, that’s a four-year agreement. Our bet is that you’ve planted roots, your kids are going to school, and you’ll stay,” he explained.

Joyce has enjoyed being a councillor and is looking forward to learning more every day he’s on the job. “I’ve learned so much, what I knew about roads before it was a pittance, and I still have a lot to learn.”