Street studies up in hopes of another term

By Chris Lewis/September 9, 2021

Kimberley Street has sat in the Paradise council chambers for the last two years and hopes to add another four years to that record.

She was first elected during a byelection in Paradise in 2019, after then councillor Paul Dinn resigned from council to seek the provincial seat as MHA for the district of Topsail – Paradise.

Street said she thoroughly enjoys her role and council hopes to continue it into a full term. She said she brings a strong passion for both the present and the future of Paradise.

“I want to provide strategic leadership that will put Paradise on the map,” Street said.

She noted she has enjoyed the municipal experience so much, she recently took the opportunity to complete a Dalhousie University course on local government leadership.

Street described the course as being pretty intense as she balanced her studies, work, family life, and council responsibilities, but said it was a very positive experience and something she is quite proud of now that it is completed.

“It was a lot of work, but it was a really great course to take,” she said of the four-month online offering. “We did a lot of work on understanding system thinking and social innovation concepts. Strategic alignment, leveraging community and external resources, all of those things were covered. I think the biggest thing I took out of it was learning to develop practical solutions, and action plans that can be applied to our community. It’s all about building relationships and being collaborative during the process.”

Street said she has been able to apply much of what she learned to her duties as a councillor and feels it was one of the best things she could have done for herself when it comes to a career in municipal government.

She sees herself as a good fit for council.

“The two years I’ve spent on council have taught me that this is exactly where I want to be,” Street said. “I’ve always been the type of person that wanted to help, and find solutions for people’s problems, so I really do think it’s been a great fit for me.”

Street said one of the big things she hopes to tackle next term is nailing down a definitive end-date for those residents in the Town who are still waiting on water and sewer services, all while enticing new developments to move ahead as well.

“Supporting economic growth is important in our town,” she said. “But there’s a lot that needs to be looked at, like traffic calming measures around our schools, that’s an important one for me. And, building on our accessible transportation for seniors and any others who need it.”

Street said plenty of things have come to fruition on council the past two years that she is proud to look back on. The Town’s multi-sport turf complex is one of them, as well as council’s holding the line on taxes.

“I’m also proud of our increasing the budget on street rehabilitation. Our roads need to be cared for, and that’s a big concern for people that I’ve spoken to,” she said. “People spend a lot of money on their vehicles, so being able to go out and not worry about having good roads to drive on is a big one.”