Tecumseh mayoral candidates Gary McNamara and Joe Bachetti took their campaigns to the airwaves on CTV Windsor’s sister station AM800 Tuesday. On housing, McNamara wants more choices for residents. “The entry level market is very expensive for first time home buyers,” McNamara told radio host Kyle Horner. “You’ve got the senior community now that are looking at downsizing and many of them are leaving our community because they just don’t have the mix of housing to deal with.” McNamara said there was an opportunity to take $3.2 million in government funding through the Housing Accelerator Fund which contributed to being denied another $14 million for development. Bachetti was in the majority who voted against the Housing Accelerator Fund which would require four by right zoning. He wants to secure government funding that has no strings attached. “We received $15 million for the Housing Enabling Fund but there were no strings attached. We were able to put pipes in the ground for the Tecumseh Hamlet, so I think that’s how we need to cooperate,” he said. Bachetti feels there will be other programs to lean on. “The Canadian Building Homes, there’s other programs that we can tap into and so we’re going to focus on that and develop our community in that regard.” Both see the Tecumseh Hamlet, located south of the E.C. Row Expressway and east of Banwell, as key to the town’s growth. “Those seniors and youth that want to be able to afford a home, or diverse home, have that opportunity to stay in Tecumseh so it’s a win-win for all of us protecting our established neighbourhoods but also offering diverse homes for people that want to move into Tecumseh,” said Bachetti. McNamara says all aspects of a whole new development of greenfield need to be looked at. “You need the stuff to support it. You need commercial nodes. You need schools. You need recreational. So, there’s a whole host of things and developing basically developing another small community within the community,” McNamara said. “It takes time. When you look at the Banwell corridor or the Manning Road corridor you’re looking at land banking opportunities for the next 20 years.” Here’s what they had to say about taxes. “Last year the consolidated was 2.36 per cent, which was running at inflation, and I believe that we can continue to maintain our taxes, fair taxation, in and around inflation rate,” said McNamara. However, Bachetti countered. “But the water rates quietly went up three per cent. Our wastewater charges spiked five per cent, so when you stack those up along high grocery prices and interest rates, families are hurting,” he said. Both discussed traffic congestion around town including Tecumseh Road between Banwell and Lesperance. Bachetti wants something down and is open to limit parking on Tecumseh Road for a period, while McNamara wants to look for a plan to help the flow of traffic. They each would also like to see an overpass on E.C. Row Expressway at Manning Road as well. “We know what needs to be done there. We’ve got money set aside. I’m confident that at some point in time we’re going to get it,” McNamara said. “I’m saying it’s closer than we think it’s going to be. I really feel that. They [the federal government] see the value to help support.” Bachetti says lobbying with the Minister of Transport is well underway for the overpass. He feels the overpass needs to be built in the next two to five years. “It’s one of the highest traffic intersections in Windsor-Essex and so we need to do something especially since the E.C. Row/Banwell overpass is [almost] completed. That is our next focus,” Bachetti added.
