Hanover Mayor Sue Paterson (image via the Town of Hanover)
Hanover’s mayor says that she’s proud of the work that happened in her municipality over the past year.
Sue Paterson says that the town was able to accomplish some great things in 2025, and help Hanover look toward future growth and development.
In an interview with Bayshore News, Paterson outlined some of the accomplishments over the past year, including opening a few fire hall for the community which will help meet future demand.
“The official opening of Hanover’s new fire hall was truly a Hanover Proud moment, as we unveiled our state-of-the-art facility ready to address fire, emergency response, training and educational demands for the next fifty years and beyond,” she explained. “It excels in design, functionality, and climate stewardship. It’s a net-zero building, generating as much energy as it consumes. It’s a cutting edge facility and we’re very proud of it.”
There has also been groundwork laid to turn the former fire hall, which was located in Hanover’s downtown, into a new facility for the Hanover Police Service.
The redevelopment is a part of the community’s strategic plan, which was a list of 56 actions that were taken on by council. By the end of 2025, 52 of those 56 actions were in progress, or fully completed. The remainder, Paterson said, will be achieved in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Town of Hanover is moving along with an agreement with the Municipality of West Grey, which is focused on boundary adjustments along the northern, eastern, and southern borders of Hanover.
A Memorandum of Understanding has been established, and Paterson said that the next step is to submit Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack.
“This mutual prosperity boundary adjustment will help bring additional investment into our community, creating increased assessment for homes and new employment opportunities for Hanover, West Grey, and Grey County. And this agreement also aligns with the province’s goal of building more housing and expanding job opportunities.”
She added that to have the framework in place was an exciting prospect. “It’s exciting times to lay the foundation to prepare for this growth. Communities cannot be status quo.”
The town also got to see the addition of a second water tower, which will help ensure a stable flow of clean, treated water for use by residents and businesses well into the future.
The funding for the $9-million cost of the water tower project was covered 46 percent by the provincial and federal governments. The remainder was covered by Hanover itself, but was taken from reserve funding — meaning that the entire project was paid for, without increasing the municipal tax levy.
“It is more than critical infrastructure, it’s a beacon of investment.”
Looking ahead for 2026, and knowing that there is a municipal election coming this fall, Paterson said that the town’s leadership is excited for what the new year will bring.
“I’m very proud of what this council and our staff team have accomplished. With the strategic plan as our guideline, there was a lot of input that went into that from residents, from council, from staff, so we had a guideline of where we wanted to go and we’ve almost completed everything. We’ve got a few to accomplish, but that will happen in 2026.”