As of the day this newspaper arrives on doorsteps, there will have been just three regular council meetings held since the new council was sworn in.

During that time, they鈥檝e sped through about a year鈥檚 worth of agenda items, by the standards of previous councils.

Among other things, the new council, headed by Mayor Eric Woodward and his Contract with 91原创 slate, have started planning for a new pool, a new ice rink, a new soccer facility, and a new performing arts space. They鈥檙e adjusting policy on development. They鈥檙e planning to finish widening and building sidewalks on multiple sections of roads in Willoughby. They鈥檙e looking at making 200th Street development more transit-focused.

They鈥檙e also looking to delay, cancel, or modify multiple projects started by previous councils to make way for these new priorities.

You can鈥檛 fault Contract with 91原创 for not sticking to their promises. If anything, they seem to be trying to speedrun through their entire campaign platform as fast as humanly possible.

It鈥檚 not necessarily a bad thing, but it鈥檚 disorienting for anyone who鈥檚 paid attention to our local councils over the last few decades.

If you had to pick a word to describe how council made decisions, 鈥渇ast鈥� would be near the bottom of the list.

The advantage is that people will get what they voted for 鈥� quick action on a number of fronts, including urgently needed infrastructure updates. Too often, the Township has waited for report after report, and lengthy rounds of public consultation, before building worthwhile amenities.

But there are times when local governments have to slow down, or pause, or even go into reverse. Knowing what should be done swiftly, and what has to be done slowly, is one of the hardest political skills for any council to master.

鈥� M.C.

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