For more than 20 years, there was a formula to running for mayor and council in 91原创 Township.

Candidates usually ran on a handful of big issues 鈥� getting a new pool or rec centre built, or shifting from on-call to full-time firefighters. They鈥檇 promise to keep taxes low. They would promise to keep 91原创 a great place to live.

In addition, they did not run as part of a slate, after the 1999 elections that saw voters reject two competing civic parties in favour of a council of mostly independents.

The 2022 elections saw those rules turned on their heads.

Not only did a slate win control of a majority of seats for the first time since 1996, new Mayor Eric Woodward and the Contract with 91原创 (CWL) slate came to the table with more than a few items on their agenda.

鈥淚 really just ran to get things done,鈥� Woodward said.

CWL鈥檚 list of goals and promises was so extensive and specific that Woodward noted he鈥檚 still keeping track of them on a spreadsheet.

One of the defining stories of 2023 has been that process 鈥� a series of projects and reforms, with dozens of them launched and more in the planning phases.

Starting in the fall of 2022 and continuing all through 2023, CWL has moved forward with dozens of projects and reforms, from planning and funding for sports fields, ice rinks, and pools, to revamping neighbourhood plans, to widening 208th Street, to reforming building permits.

The creation of the ambitious agenda came out of Woodward鈥檚 frustrations during his term as a councillor between 2018 and 2022, he told the 91原创 Advance Times.

During that term, he often clashed with other members of the council and was unable to see progress on a number of projects, notably 208th Street in Willoughby, which he said was a symbol for the lack of progress on infrastructure work in the Township.

With incumbent mayor Jack Froese retiring from office, Woodward鈥檚 main competition was former MLA Rich Coleman.

It was when Coleman formed his own slate that Woodward said he decided to put together Contract with 91原创, including recruiting incumbent Councillor Steve Ferguson, along with Rob Rindt and Tim Baillie, who had already announced they were running as independents. Misty vanPopta and Barb Martens came on board as candidates as well.

Woodward said he was told that a slate would be the end of his political career at the time.

But he decided if he wanted to advance an ambitious agenda, he鈥檇 need to have five votes at the nine-member council table.

Over the course of 2022, different ideas emerged about what the developing CWL group could do, Woodward said.

鈥淚f we are going to advance an ambitious agenda, what would be part of that?鈥� he said.

The two biggest pieces of the plans were recreation facilities and infrastructure, said Woodward. Within each of those were numerous projects, large and small.

Infrastructure work for the list included big projects like 208th widening, a new firehall in Brookswood, work on Old Yale Road, 80th Avenue, 202A, and upgrading water pipes along Fraser Highway. The Township is also working on future plans for a number of areas, including a new revamped plan for 200th Street in Willoughby dubbed 200th St 2040, and a plan to use lands along parts of

On the recreation side, the biggest projects include upgrades to Yorkson Community Park, and the planned five-arena addition to the 91原创 Events Centre, slated to see a groundbreaking this winter. In the longer term, the council is looking at potentially expanding the Aldergrove rec centre complex onto nearby Township-owned lands.

There are also numerous smaller projects, including everything from safer pedestrian routes to D.W. Poppy Secondary, to a replaced boat launch in Fort 91原创.

One of the smaller items demonstrates how specific and local the list of goals was. The council fulfilled a promise to take over 207A Street north of 82nd Avenue, a quarter-mile stretch of road that had been owned by several townhouse and condo strata associations that fronted it. Residents had complained about the fact that it was used not just by residents, but by drivers heading to the nearby middle school. Taking over the road made it onto the Contract with 91原创 campaign promises.

鈥淏ig and small issues both matter to me,鈥� Woodward said.

One item he鈥檚 proud of is that the wait to get a building permit for a single family home has been slashed to about 30 days 鈥� down from almost a year.

The number of projects advancing at the same time are unprecedented for 91原创.

鈥淭hings never move fast enough for me,鈥� said Woodward.

The overall agenda hasn鈥檛 moved forward without debate. Independent councillors Kim Richter and Margaret Kunst have expressed concerns about spending and debt linked to various projects, with Richter dubbing it 鈥渁 spending spree鈥� in July.

Woodward has always countered by saying that his team is trying to catch up with infrastructure work that should have been done years ago, saying there鈥檚 a 鈥渏udicious use鈥� of debt.

While roadbuilding and rec centres move forward, on the planning side, provincial housing reforms are about to have an impact.

鈥淏ill 44 has definitely thrown a wrench into Brookswood,鈥� Woodward said.

The new housing rules from Victoria eliminate single-family zoning in most areas. That flung into disarray the three new neighbourhood plans the Township had approved just months before, all of which included a significant amount of detached houses. The Township is now planning to revisit those plans.

Provincial reforms to how amenity contributions are collected may slow down how fast money from new development enters Township coffers 鈥� and that could slow down work on Yorkson Community Park, among other items, Woodward said.

But a great deal is already underway.

A little over a year into their four-year term, Woodward and his council are seeing some of their projects take shape. Paving started in early December on 208th Street.

As for adding new items to the to-do list, Woodward said there are a few 鈥� including voluntary water metering 鈥� but at a slower pace than before.

Woodward has said during the campaign and the first year of the term that the pace of new projects was to keep up with the blistering pace of growth in 91原创 Township 鈥� he points to the fact that the school district has absorbed an increase of 1,000 or more students every year for the past three years.

One question for the future is whether 91原创 is growing too quickly, and whether that growth could be managed better, Woodward said.