Gosse seeking re-election in CBS

By Mark Squibb

Conception Bay South deputy mayor and ward two councillor Andrea Gosse will seek re-election in the upcoming municipal vote.
“I’d really like to have the opportunity to serve another four years,” said Gosse. “I feel there is work I would like to be involved in the next four years … I’m very passionate about Conception Bay South. I have lived here my whole life. I’m committed, and I’ve made myself available to residents and supported and advocated for residents in anyway that I can.”
Gosse said that if elected she would once again put her name forward for the position of deputy mayor, which is selected by a ballot vote of council following the election.
“Being the support for the mayor gave me additional opportunities to be involved in things happening in the community,” said Gosse. “It is a little bit of extra work, there’s an extra demand there, but it is really rewarding, and I really enjoyed being that representative for the community.”
For example, as deputy mayor, Gosse had to fill in for Mayor Darrin Bent when the Town negotiated with the Province for funding for the new community centre. Because he works for a sports group that may end up using the recreation dome, Bent stepped aside to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The Town secured $8 million in provincial government funding for the project.
“This is a really big project for us, and I’d really like to be a part of the council that sees that plan come to fruition,” said Gosse. “It’s scheduled to open, we’re hoping, in the fall of 2026, and I would like to be a part of that.
The deputy mayor said issues such as traffic calming, public safety, water and sewer infrastructure, and road work remain at the forefront of the public’s mind, and council has invested in those areas year-over-year.
“That’s the only way we can do it — year-over-year, a little bit at a time,” said Gosse.
She said residents are also concerned about the impact of climate change on the town’s coastline, noting the breakwater in Long Pond suffered significant storm damage in 2021.
“This council contracted a consultant to do an assessment of our coastline, and our harbour more specifically,” said Gosse. “And that report is to guide us and help us focus on shoreline stabilisation. So, we were very fortunate to secure 10 years of federal funding to the tune of $15 million for the work of shoreline stabilization, to protect residents and businesses and our breakwater and our harbour, which makes us so unique here in Conception Bay South.”
Gosse said while council is finalising it’s municipal plan review, some of the work will carry over into the next term.
“It’s a huge piece of work that speaks to the growth in our community and the changes that need to be made to accommodate the growth,” said Gosse, who argued her background in the construction industry gives her valuable insights into how the Town should proceed with future developments.
As Ward 2 councillor, Gosse is the point of contact for residents from Manuels Bridge to the east side of Foxtrap Access Road and to the east side of Peacock Place, Peachytown Road and Delaneys Road. One of the more contentious issues in her ward was change made to the intersection of Dunn’s Hill Road and Route 60. In response, some drivers began using the All-Saints Anglican Parish parking lot as an alternate connection, much to the ire, and danger, of parishioners.
“One of the things that’s really hard to predict is driver behaviour,” said Gosse. “And I’ll be honest — if we had great driver behaviour, we probably wouldn’t have too many traffic calming programs, But the unfortunate thing is that when that project was implemented, it created some issues with people cutting through the church parking lot to avoid the longer route to Greeleytown Road. In hindsight, we saw a significant increase of traffic on Greeleytown Road, and residents felt it very negatively impacted them, and the church was negatively impacted, and there were concerns for public safety. So, council revisited it and decided to do a modified pilot whereby we changed the format, and you can turn left on Dunn’s Hill Road, which was part of the safety issue, because it still is very much a blind turn. And that’s to be finalized yet. The infrastructure there is not permanent, it’s temporary infrastructure. Very likely that will be for the next council to review and make the final decision there, and I’d really like to be a part of that.”