Joining the ranks at the Town of Huntsville straight from Halifax is new municipal planner Blaine Yatabe.
Originally from Ontario, Yatabe described his planning career as one that has taken him on a circuitous route, from being a planner in Orange County in New York State to Newfoundland, Saskatchewan, Halifax and now the Town of Huntsville. He officially joined the Town on March 1.
Asked how much he knows of Huntsville, he said growing up in the GTA he always considered the area as cottage country, a place for recreation. He said he also spent some time canoeing in Algonquin Park, which is one of the things that attracted him to the area.
Admittedly, he’s been here just a short time but said he’s noticed that the Town of Huntsville seems to be thriving and noted its importance as the gateway to Algonquin Park.
His last post was a term position with the Halifax Regional Municipality.
Asked what motivates him as a planner, he said he likes the idea of having the ability to influence how a community grows. “As a planner, we’re always trying to be forward thinking and putting the community first for quality of life,” he said.
Yatabe was at Huntsville’s March 16 Planning Committee meeting observing the proceedings.
Welcome, Blaine, to our geographically large and diverse municipality. We look forward to your ideas on, and implementation of Huntsville’s overarching Green Plan, aka the Unity Plan. Planning for community long-term Resilience in the face of increasing energy poverty will be vital to our survival. Your experience will undoubtedly teach us how to plan for new generations who will live very different circumstances. I wish you every success and happy times here in Huntsville.