‘You have to be willing to try new things to see what will work,” says Paradise Mayor
By Mark Squibb / June 23
Paradise Mayor Dan Bobbett spoke to a crowd of Mount Pearl – Paradise Chamber of Commerce members and town staff this Wednesday on all things Paradise at a luncheon held at the Woodstock.
Bobbett presented the community, often touted as one of the fastest growing in the province, as a community of choice, and expressed his desire that young people growing up in Paradise today will choose Paradise tomorrow.
For roughly 30 minutes, Bobbett highlighted many of the town’s recent successes and endeavors. He touched on many of its recent infrastructure projects, including the construction of the new Lift Station Number 10.
“We are making significant investments to replace Lift Station 10,” said Bobbett. “Back in 2019, the lift station had an equipment failure, something no municipality wants to go through. The station is one of the largest in the province and handles the largest volume of waste in town. At the time, the necessary repairs were completed, and the station returned to full operation. When faced with such an incident, it is incumbent on council to thoroughly review what happened, and ensure all mitigating measures are taken. Engineering consultants explored all available options —repairs, redundancies, upgrades, or a new facility. The current Lift Station 10 is reaching the end of its service life, and replacement is the best solution. The new lift station is designed to serve for 50 years, including meeting continued growth, and will have several improvements and updated features to serve the town. Work started in January and is expected to take 24 months to complete.”
As an aside, council was not unanimous in the decision to replace the lift station when it came to a vote back in January due to an exorbitant price increase that saw the project cost nearly double over the original estimate. While original pre-tender estimates came in at $12.6 million and a secondary estimate accounting for inflation came in at $16.9 million, the lowest bid the Town received came in at $23.6 million, well over initial estimates. Councillors Larry Vaters and Glen Carew voted against constructing the new station due to the price increase, with both suggesting the Town consider alternative options.
Regardless, the work is well underway. Approximately 8,000 cubic metres of material, including 3,700 cubic metres of rock, have been excavated and removed from the site, and 700 metric tonnes of concrete has been placed in the base slab.
Bobbett also assured residents there is no safety concerns with the giant crane operating on sight.
The mayor also touched on the Town’s water and sewer priority list, which numbers 10 streets, including Stephens Road and Neary’s Road, for which design work has begun.
“We will continue to complete streets as we receive funding for these kinds of projects,” said Bobbett. “Over the past decade, the Town has invested 20 million to complete water and sewer projects on the priority list. For all this work, the Town has been fortunate to receive funding, and now, more than ever, in the current fiscal climate it’s incumbent upon us to explore all avenues of funding when we do these projects.”
Bobbett said while the goal is to complete the list as the Town receives funding, that funding must be balanced throughout all the Town’s departments.
“Councillors and senior management are working with consultants, Intelligent Futures, to determine our priorities to guide us over the next five years,” said Bobbett. “That includes a comprehensive public engagement process. There was an online survey, Future of Paradise workshops, youth engagement, employee surveys, and community outreach. We appreciate the input from all of our partners, as it helps ensure that we have a well-rounded strategic plan, one that is designed for Paradise to meet the needs of our residents, businesses, community groups and organizations, so we can continue to be a municipality of choice for all those who call Paradise home.”
Bobbett said the strategic plan will be unveiled later this summer.
He also addressed the Town’s efforts to curb speeding and illegal ATV usage.
“Over the past several years, neighbourhood quieting has been a focus area for council,” said Bobbett. “We’re addressing speeding concerns, improper ATV use, and (hope to) improve overall safety throughout our town. We repeatedly hear from residents about these concerns, and council certainly echoes those views. Addressing this issue is not a ‘one size fits all’ approach, because we know there is no one solution that can address the concerns of all neighbourhoods.”
He said the Town has put several measures in place to address these concerns, including crossing guards near elementary schools, installation of speed radar signs, pedestrian islands, and other speed reduction infrastructure, and has granted municipal enforcement officers the right to ticket ATV users for improper use.
The Town will also be installing bike lanes along certain sections of Elizabeth Park in the near future and have purchased rubber curbs to create temporary traffic solutions.
“We can test things out in certain areas so that if it works, we can design the permanent solution later,” said Bobbett. “They’re like Legos, you can make whatever shapes you want out of them. So, we’re pretty excited about those. The thing is you have to be willing to try new things to see what will work.”
Bobbett said he was pleased Paradise was one of the first municipalities to be selected for a provincial government speed camera pilot project, announced some weeks back.
“Our long-term goal is to be able to ticket individuals travelling above the posted speed limit,” said the mayor. “The Town of Paradise has long been an advocate for traffic cameras, and working with the provincial government to pilot this initiative is the next step in improving road safety.”
Bobbett also spoke to the Town’s efforts to build recreation within the community, including the recent construction of Noah’s Place, Farrell’s lookout, and ongoing work on Elizabeth Park and on the town’s trail systems.
“The trail system is well used in Paradise year-round, from our youngest to our young at heart,” said Bobbett. “It’s one of the many amenities which makes Paradise a community of choice.”
He also touched on the ongoing process to construct a community boathouse on Octagon Pond in collaboration with the Avalon Dragons.
“We have secured the location at 1717 Topsail Road, we’ve completed the public consultation, have had many meaningful discussions with the Avalon Dragons, and we now have our concept drawings, and this year we will finalise the engineering plans for that facility,” he said.
Bobbett also spoke briefly about ongoing public consultations regarding the Paradise Park Master Plan.
“The public engagement process is underway, and includes an online survey, pop up events, a Walk and Talk in the park, and a community designed workshop,” said the mayor. “Paradise Park has the potential of 70 acres to develop and is a cornerstone of our town’s outdoor recreational spaces, and we want to ensure that we have the right balance of amenities, features, and programs for this area.”
The park will be the site for Beach Volleyball during the 2025 Canada Summer Games.
“We’re thrilled to be involved in this national sporting event, and in just a couple years, we’ll be welcoming athletes and spectators from across the country,” said Bobbett. “It’s going to be exciting.”
Bobbett said the Town has been approached by businesses over the years that want to buy the land for use as an RV park.
“But we held fast, and said that the park is there for everybody,” said Bobbett, who likened the situation to the City of New York’s fortitude in refusing to sell Central Park, which is now a national attraction.
Lastly, Bobbett touched on the Town’s Green Goal project, which launched this May.
“The Green Goal maps out our recommitment to progressive waste management and environmental sustainability by encouraging residents and businesses to do their part to help the environment,” said Bobbett. “The importance of protecting our environment is a global movement, and here in Paradise we need to step up and do our part.”
And it turns out that recycling is not just good for the environment — it’s good for the Town’s treasury.
“Tipping fees are increasing for all municipalities at the Robin Hood Bay landfill site,” said Bobbett. “Tipping fees are much lower for recycling than for garbage, and so going green has many benefits.”
The problem, however, is that Paradise residents aren’t recycling — at least not enough.
“We undertook a waste management study with the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board which showed that the waste reduction and recycling rates in the town are extremely low,” said Bobbett. “In fact, I’m not going to sugar coat it; our rates are among the worst. But I know that our residents can do better. They want to do better. It’s just a matter of realizing all that we can do to reduce, reuse, recycle, and repair.”
The event ended off with a preview of upcoming Chamber events.