{"id":27249,"date":"2020-08-13T18:48:37","date_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:48:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=27249"},"modified":"2020-08-13T18:48:44","modified_gmt":"2020-08-13T22:48:44","slug":"emergency-made-aurora-come-together-as-community-humfryes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/emergency-made-aurora-come-together-as-community-humfryes\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency made Aurora come together as community: Humfryes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Councillor eyes Library Square, heritage for fall<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The global pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone, but, from the perspective of Councillor Sandra Humfryes, it has brought out the best of Aurora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the Town grappled with the rapidly evolving reality of COVID-19, the Town sprang into action looking at ways to help residents navigate these uncharted waters. Councillor Humfryes says she is very proud of what she and Council have been able to accomplish in the first half of 2020 and hopes that momentum will continue into the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting down with The Auroran last week, Councillor Humfryes shared her views on Council\u2019s accomplishments in the first half of an unprecedented legislative year and how the last few months will help shape the issues Council will tackle in the fall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs things started, I was fortunate enough to be asked to join the Aurora Cares committee and through that committee I got to meet a lot of different individuals of all ages who volunteer in Aurora \u2013 from the Aurora Food Pantry, Salvation Army, Southlake, Neighbourhood Network, CHATS and I felt this team was really able to make a difference to help people during this time of crisis \u2013 particularly those who don\u2019t have the funds to get through this or even know where to go,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they worked together on Aurora Cares, they decided to compile a list of important resources for community members \u2013 and not just a list but a living document that will stand the test of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since they launched the document this past spring, Councillor Humfryes says it was quickly apparent it met its objectives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have seen it work; we have seen some single moms in terrible situations access it and send us thanks,\u201d she says. \u201cThis turned out to be a really wonderful, exciting time. Everybody pulled their weight and more, and I felt that was one of the most significant things we were able to do for our community, not just now, but for the long haul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to the Aurora Cares team, Councillor Humfryes also served as a member of the Arts & Culture Roundtable, which provided support for a sector that has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of their first tasks, she says, was creating a music video featuring representation from Aurora\u2019s Arts & Culture community intended to not only remind residents that the industry was still there but also to provide the Town with a bit of inspiration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was difficult to ask because the community is hurting so badly, so how are they going to give? They are just trying to survive and make sure they\u2019re here,\u201d she recalls. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t easy, but they did come up with an incredible video of support, of strength, of inspiration, courage and working through together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to have some really great memories on how we got through this and came together as a community. For me, that is just super incredible. I am so proud of Aurora.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Council\u2019s liaison with the Aurora Farmers\u2019 Market, Councillor Humfryes says she\u2019s proud of how the Market team came together to salvage the Market season. Although they opened a bit later than usual as they awaited health and safety directives from the Province, they were one of the first Farmers\u2019 Markets in Ontario to re-open for regular \u2013 albeit socially distant \u2013 foot traffic, and their efforts became a template for larger communities, including the City of Toronto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSmall-town Aurora came up with some pretty cool ideas for this really rough time,\u201d she says. \u201c[I experienced] shock and dismay, and I suffered some depression through [COVID-19] for sure but the community coming together allowed me to accept what\u2019s happening, embrace the positive, get through the negative and continuously strive for a better future.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A better future, she says, includes the redevelopment of Library Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Councillor Humfryes concedes she has received a lot of questions on whether the Town will follow through with the $50+ million project during a time of economic uncertainty, and it is something she says she has considered \u201clong and hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI ran on it in my platform and it is something I still believe in very, very much,\u201d she says. \u201cI did a lot of research and investigation with our Director of Finance in terms of best and worst case scenarios and through all that I still believe we have an obligation to make sure the Town of Aurora has that future ahead of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, we need to make the dream move forward and I don\u2019t want to see it stopped. Some people might feel a little disappointment with my looking at this in a fiscally responsible way, but I believe with the background I know at this time that we\u2019re still in a very strong position to move forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know, without a doubt, we\u2019re not going to be in this financial position forever. In very short time, we have done a great job as Canadians in following the rules; continue to follow the rules and businesses will open and thrive. I feel like getting back on track and moving forward is important, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In moving forward, it is also important to look back and this fall Councillor Humfryes says she wants to renew efforts on establishing a heritage district in the southeast quadrant of Yonge and Wellington, particularly in the area of Town Park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not a new concept, but one which fizzled in the last term of Council, but it is a concept which still has value, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really feel there was some misinformation at that time,\u201d she says, referring to feedback from residents at the Council podium questioning whether the legislation, for example, if passed, would mean the Town would own their homes and if they would lose the value of their properties. \u201cThe neighbours were pretty upset with misinformation from a communication perspective and I want to knock on doors to see if there is an interest. I want to get direct feedback from residents, amalgamate that information and, if there is enough [support] for seeing this protection happen, I would love to bring that forward again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I get negative feedback, it is not going to go anywhere. It has to be positive at the beginning and then we will move full force to move it forward. I really pray it happens because I do walk those neighbourhoods all the time and the ones that shouldn\u2019t be there stick out like a sore thumb and the ones that you want to make sure they are there 100 years from now, you hope they will be. This is the one way to hopefully get that buy-in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Councillor eyes Library Square, heritage for fall The global pandemic has been a difficult time for everyone, but, from the perspective of Councillor Sandra Humfryes, it has brought out the best of Aurora. As the Town grappled with the rapidly evolving reality of COVID-19, the Town sprang into action looking at ways to help residents […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":27240,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/2020-08-13-04.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-75v","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 06:51:58","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}