Image: Goderich Mayor John Grace
There are only three days left to submit ideas for a memorial, honouring Goderich’s late Mayor.
The President of the Goderich Lion’s Club, Don Edward, had submitted a letter to council calling for the town to recognize John Grace.
It was recommended that the dialysis unit of the Alexandra Marine & General Hospital be named in his honour, and Mayor Myles Murdoch reflected on the option to name the dialysis wing after his predecessor.
“John did a tremendous amount of work orchestrating it, and then on two different occasions arranged for funding and donations… and where would we be without it if we didn’t have that in our community?”
Deputy Mayor Trevor Bazinet also suggested that the beach front boardwalk be named for Grace, because of the late mayor’s efforts to make it become what it has, saying “We all know how instrumental John was with the waterfront, and all the work that was done at the waterfront, in particular the Boardwalk. And there’s a section of the Boardwalk, that when I walk it, I think of John, because he was the one that really put together a nice plan for behind our water treatment plant.”
He also recommended consulting with the late mayor’s family.
Other suggestions for consideration included potentially re-naming the Maitland Rec Centre, as well as the Court House Park.
Council moved to accept the motion, and town staff will be looking to consult with the public at a later date.
Grace passed away suddenly in August of last year following a boating accident on Pickle Lake, near Thunder Bay.
He served as a councillor and as deputy mayor for 17 years, before being elected mayor of the town in 2018.
The town is asking that ideas to honour be submitted by Friday, July 14th at 4:00 p.m..
They can be sent to Clerk Andrea Fisher at afisher@goderich.ca, or delivered by hand to Town Hall at 57 West Street.