Hillier and Barrett confirm re-election bids in CBS

By Craig Westcott

At least two of Conception Bay South’s three at-large councillors are running again with the third strongly believed to also be planning a re-election bid this fall.
Veteran councillor Rex Hillier and first term councillor Joshua Barrett confirmed last week they will be seeking re-election on October 2. The Shoreline has it on good authority that fellow councillor-at-large Christine Butler will also be running, but isn’t expected to announce it formally until later this summer after she has had a chance to spend some vacation time with a family member on the mainland. Council’s fourth at-large seat has had no incumbent since former holder Paul Connors vacated it for a successful foray into federal politics where he now sits as the Liberal MP for Avalon.
“I’ve made up my mind, I’m going to give it another go,” Hillier said. “Right now, I don’t see any reason not to. I’m (still) enjoying it.”
Hillier, a retired educator and Hall of Fame athlete, is the longest serving councillor among the current contingent, and is seen as a steady, sensible hand when it comes to planning and other issues. Hillier said he has enjoyed the past four years, including the leadership style of Mayor Darrin Bent who has brought a sense of collegiality to the chamber.
“We’ve got a good group of people there, it’s a good mixture,” said Hillier. “Nobody is coming with a personal agenda…  We work well together, and I think we’ve accomplished a lot of things.”
Among those accomplishments, said Hillier, is the opening of the new library. 
“A lot of the work had already been done,” he admitted. “But it was nice to be part of that opening. It was a long time coming. I met with a committee back in 2011 or 2012 who were pushing for a library then.”
The completion of the T’Railway to Indian Pond in Seal Cove was also a milestone for Hillier.
“I know from campaigning in that part of town people were looking forward to having the same amenities as people in the east end have,” said Hillier. “And one of the things that has gone unnoticed by many is that as a result of finishing the T’Railway, we put in a new bridge where the old (railway) trestle was and as part of that we redid the sides of the gut. The people appreciating that now are the people coming and going in the food fishery, because there were rocks in the middle of the gut, and the trestle was foundering, the metal was rusting and so on. So as a part of that project it was secondary, but it’s sort of a big deal to those people who have boats there in Seal Cove Pond.”
Hillier is also happy that council was pretty much able to finish the push for sidewalks on roads near schools, especially on Route 60 which is the second busiest road in the province.
Then there’s the new community park behind Dominion Supermarket in Long Pond.
“I’m still not sure it’s in the right spot,” said Hillier. “In the beginning I spoke against it going there – I know we needed it – but what we have put there is first class, and the kids are loving it.”
Hillier noted that just the evening before this interview, as part of the Soiree celebrations, he and his eight-year-old granddaughter Fay attended an event at the park with a crowd of other children.
“They’re making that park their own, which is really nice to see,” he said. 
And that’s what serving on council is about, Hillier agreed, making decisions that will benefit the town’s children and grandchildren, and seniors. But there are still challenges to be met, he said.
“I think the first thing the new council is going to have to look at is tax rates, because assessments went sky high this year,” Hillier said. “Everybody you talk to, their assessed property values have gone up thirty, forty or fifty thousand dollars. That’s going to be a challenge right away, because by the time this election takes place, our staff will be working on budgets for 2026.”
Dealing with climate change is also going to continue to be a challenge, Hillier said.
“During Snowmageddon and the year after that, Manuels beach was breached twice,” Hillier noted. “We’ve done studies to look at how that should be prevented, and we’re trying to put some funding together to get it done. Another thing with climate change is that we know there are more rain events, so we are doing studies on all of our major brooks. We’ve done Upper Gullies River, we’ve done Billy Brook up in Seal Cove, our next one is Kelligrews River coming down from Red Bridge Road. That has to be done.”
But the biggest challenge may well be public transportation. People are looking for it, Hillier noted, and council is going to have to look at it too.
“There are different needs,” he said. “There are those who need to be able to go from Conception Bay South to St. John’s, and there are those who need to be able to go from place to place in Conception Bay South. And Conception Bay South is a big town. You’ve got people living in Seal Cove who need to go to the supermarket, or get to a doctor’s office and who don’t have a vehicle and it’s an issue. And then off Route 60 you’ve got these long roads like Tilleys Road and Middlebight Road, the Foxtrap Access Road. So, its complex and in order to put a plan in place it’s going to take some good hard thought… The other thing that’s dropped off the radar a little bit is our ATV pilot program… We did a pilot last year and I’m not sure where that is at this point in time. I think that somebody needs to be a champion for that and pick it up and run with it in the next council.”
Barrett too is happy with the some of the big-ticket accomplishments of the current council, and like Hillier, also thinking about the issues that will confront the next one.
Barrett said he enjoys the councillor-at-large role as it gives him a chance to participate in issues affecting all parts of the town. The father of two girls also thinks it’s important to bring the perspective of a young parent to the chamber.
“I’m so pleased that in the past term we had gender parity, we have a balance of young families (represented) and some more experienced and established professionals as well,” he said.
If Barrett is known for anything on council, it’s for the number of times he’s highlighted environmental issues and their cost to the town.
“One of the big things when I ran in 2021 was that I wanted to account for climate change in the decision-making process,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud that over the past four years, more so than any other term on council to my knowledge, we have made so many inroads with respect to climate change and the environment.”
Barrett pointed out that about a year ago the Town managed to reach a $15 million funding agreement with the federal government to enhance the shoreline in Long Pond.
“We’ve done so much work with inland flooding and flood risk maps to help our land use planning,” he added. “Aand there’s more that we can do. People love Conception Bay South, they love the coastline, it’s very linear, we love our natural areas, and I believe we need to continue setting ourselves up for success when it comes to these very real impacts that we’re facing.”
Barrett said the rest of council has also been mindful of the impact of climate change on Town infrastructure.
“For us, to protect our environment means protecting our assets,” Barrett said. “One of the first things we did as a council was (approve) an $800,000 to $900,000 contract to repair the wastewater treatment plant (in Kelligrews) because of erosion. That is a very tangible dollar figure on the cost of these things.”
One big thing facing the next council will be the cost-of-living issues facing residents, Barrett said.
“Certainly, it was on the horizon four years ago, but nowadays, particularly with accessible and affordable housing, that is front and centre,” he said. “Whether it’s seniors, or first-time home buyers, folks want to be able to live in our community.”
Barrett said the current council has taken steps to help with that, such as waving building permit fees on accessible and affordable housing units that are under construction.
“But I also believe that as a community there are more things that we can do,” he said. “There’s a lot of funding from both the provincial and federal governments that can help towards these projects. There are things internally that we can put in place to assist with these types of developments.”
As for the message he will bring to voters on their doorsteps this fall, Barrett said he continues to see his role as someone who can bring an educated, diverse voice to council. “I believe I have a track record of getting important things done that we wanted to do,” he said. “If you look at my commitments from last time, it was making private council meetings public, accounting for climate change, and with a lot of these things we have made incredible inroads… I have such passion for this town, for my family and for just really setting ourselves up for success in the future. 
If Barrett is re-elected in October, it won’t be the only major milestone in his professional life. The team lead for environmental services at Stantec Consulting is about to change jobs, bringing his experience in local government and his doctorate in rural studies to the business faculty at Memorial University where he will work as an assistant professor teaching courses on sustainability.