Hamm back as Fleming mayor

October 16, 2012, 4:02 am
Adam Wightman

After deciding against running again, Mayor Phil Hamm had a change of heart and has been re-elected as Fleming's mayor by acclamation.

Hamm, 60, has served as Fleming's mayor for 15 of the past 39 years, from 1975 to 1980 and from 2000 until the present. And besides his commitment with the mayor's position, he is very busy with the charitable organizations that he volunteers for.

So with the town's financial situation in good shape and there being solid progress on a number of issues facing Fleming, he thought it was time for him to let someone else take over as mayor.

"I just thought that it's nice to have continuity, but it's also nice to have change. So I thought it would be time for a change, just to ease off a bit."

But no one wanted to ease in. The Sept. 19 mayoral nomination deadline came and went without anyone handing in nomination papers.

Hamm talked to some people in the town who contemplated running for the job, including some councillors, but no one wanted to take the position.

"The timing isn't good for any one of them."

So he felt obliged to take the mayor's position for four more years, he said. With his doctor advising him to cut things out of his jammed schedule, he will have to take a break from some of the other activities he is involved in.

"Currently I'm on the board of directors for the Southeast Health Ability. That's probably one of the ones that I'll give up."

In the long run, though, he thinks that some of the new residents who are getting nestled into the town's fabric will be in a good position to run for mayor in 2016.

In the meantime, though, there will be many issues that he expects to come up during the next four years. With a population of only around 80 people, Fleming has seen things pick up significantly in recent years, he said. For a long time the town saw a net loss of people, mainly resulting from those leaving, but in recent years there has been an uptick in housing developments, he said. The town sold some property just two weeks ago to someone planning to build immediately, he said.

"We're kind of excited about it. There are more things that have happened in the last three years than in any time that we can remember."

And his council has been right on top of it, he said. When he was re-elected into office in the 2009 mayoral election, the town was facing a financial squeeze. A number of people in the community were not paying their property taxes, but his council and administration aggressively went after those with delinquent taxes and instituted a program in which "there will be no excuses or exceptions"for those who don't pay them.

"Taxes are either paid or the property goes through tax enforcement."

Now, the town's finances are on are solid ground, and because of that he throws large praise onto last term's council members.

"I give full credit to the former council, because when things were very tight for the community, these people gave us a lot of consideration and effort."

Another thing that he and the town councillors did was to go after those who left their lawns and properties in rough shape. They tried to encourage Fleming residents, solely on a voluntary basis, to keep their lawns neat. But when there were still a few messy properties scattered throughout the town, the council began enforcing a bylaw that required owners to keep their properties in order. If someone doesn't keep theirs in good shape, by not mowing their grass or by letting trash accumulate on their lawn, the town has the authority to send in workers to clean it up-and give the owners the bill.

"Most of the people do a great job on that, so it's not fair to them if others aren't keeping their property neat and tidy."

For the coming term, the biggest issue that he and council will face is in fixing the town's sewage lagoon. It was built in 1982, in a location too low, making it susceptible to being flooded. The gates of the lagoon's two cells do not function properly, so heavy rain has caused the sewage water to leak out into nearby farm fields, which changes the soil's pH unfavorably.

"It is not a huge problem in Fleming, because we don't have a large population, and so we don't have a lot of grey water going out to the lagoon, but under the new (provincial) environmental guidelines, something has to be done."

There are four councilors who have been elected by acclamation to town council and whom will be sworn into office on Wednesday, Nov. 21. Gary Lawrence, who is in his 40's and has been a Fleming councillor since he was 19, will be back again for another term, as will the incumbent Loren Raab. Matthew Demas and Stephanie Lange will be the new faces on the council, and Lange will be its only female voice.

"Between Stephanie and Helen (the town's administrator), they'll make sure the four men on council don't get carried away."

Hamm said that he has enjoyed his time on council, and it has forced him to learn how to take the opposition from those who have criticized him in the past, although most are positive towards him as mayor, he said. In general, things are looking up for Fleming, he thinks.

"With new people coming in and making sizeable investments in the community, it is encouraging. To see the spirit of the newcomers as well as people who have been around a long time, to lend a hand and make the community better-it is all good."