Bay Roberts mayor outlines a busy agenda for council in 2026

By Olivia Bradbury / Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour is looking forward to council building bridges with the newly elected federal and provincial governments in 2026.
In a year end interview and look at the year ahead, Seymour said he learned a lot about the responsibilities of his position by serving as acting mayor during the leadup to the fall municipal vote. Seymour took on the chain of office early in 2025 when Mayor Walter Yetman took a leave of absence to run provincially. When the municipal election came round in October, Seymour won the position in his own right by acclamation.
“There’s a lot of demands on your time for sure,” he admitted. “Attending events, representing the town – so that’s really been an eye-opener.”
But he admitted there is a sense of satisfaction that comes from being the official mayor rather than the fill-in for an absent one.
As for the challenges of the past 12 months, Seymour said the biggest one has been the ongoing tax arrears issue, which goes back several years. Council made the large amount of outstanding taxes from previous years a priority for collection this past year. It has had to state for residents the repercussions that might come from having unpaid taxes, but also made it clear the Town is willing to work with those who are struggling. As a result, there has been some improvement with the issue.
“Getting that message out there was the key,” said Seymour, “that we’re willing to work with you, but you’ve got to make an effort.”
Seymour said he wants to see continued progress in collecting the outstanding taxes.
“I mean, at the end of the day, the onus is on everyone, individuals and businesses, to pay their municipal taxes because that’s what we use to deliver services, fire protection, recreational services, and infrastructure,” he noted.
Speaking of infrastructure, Seymour said the town made a lot of progress on various projects in the past year. These include Phase 2 of the Shearstown water and sewer upgrades, the re-alignment of the Shearstown intersection, and Phase 1 of work on Water Street.
Council and Chief Administrative Officer Dave Tibbo are preparing long-term and short-term plans for more such work.
“Once that’s done, we’ll know what our priorities are,” Seymour said.
One of them will be improvements to the Bay Arena, a facility which serves not just Bay Roberts, but many communities throughout Conception Bay North. The building is 40 years old, and upgrades will be costly, Seymour allowed but added they will be possible if the Town partners with the provincial and federal government.
“I don’t see how we do it without it,” the mayor admitted. “You’re looking at a multi-million-dollar project.”
Building strong partnerships with the new provincial and federal governments is a priority of council, he added.
“For us this is key,” said Seymour. “If we want to continue to do development in the town to benefit people, then we’ve got to make sure that we can access government funds that are out there for us to use.”
Another project on Seymour’s agenda for 2026 is development of the business park and the attraction of more businesses to the town.
“We’re committed to getting that moving one way or another,” he said. “We think it can work. The studies we’ve done say it can work. We’ve just got to attract a big box item, and then others will follow.”
Seymour noted the local fire department was a big priority in the 2025 budget and will remain so next year. The department has just acquired a used ladder truck and will get a new pumper in 2026. “That was secured through the provincial government with help of our MHA Pam Parsons,” said Seymour. “That was cost-shared to a degree.”
Another big budget item will be a new dump truck for the department of public works.
“For 2026, public works is going to be a focus for us,” Seymour said. “While we’re going to make sure all departments work better, public works is an area where we’ve got to do some investment.”