Linden developing under present council - Mayor Holland

Linden developing under present council – Mayor Holland

Aug 31, 2017 News

Despite the negativity by many Lindeners, Mayor Carwyn Holland said that Linden is developing.

Mayor Carwyn Holland

During a media conference Tuesday in the board room of the Town Council, Mayor Holland said that he believes that it is the duty of the council to inform the people of Linden about the developments within the township.
“We are answerable to the people of Linden, we have to provide answers when necessary; nothing should be hidden under the bed. The people of Linden need to know what is going on.”
The Mayor said he is proud of the achievements of the municipality, noting the state in which they had received it .He claimed it was hard work because the last council was faced with a lot of challenges. “Considering the circumstances, we were able to come in and make things better for Linden. Simple things were affecting the council such as personality clashes. However, I am proud to say that the councilors are happy with the achievements heading into 2018. I am happy o say that staff are now being paid the minimum wage and all those below have been brought up to that from next month (September) and we want to go further than that to make their lives as comfortable as possible so they can be rewarded for their hard work and efforts.”
The Mayor noted that in terms of infrastructure, although they do not have enough money to repair roads and the staff does not have the expertise to undertake road projects, one of the things the council does is to lobby for roads and last November/December five roads were done in the town and for this year ten roads were done. “We did not oversee or supervise the project but we played our part by ensuring there is development within our township.”
According to Holland, the contract was signed recently to upgrade the landfill site and the Christianburg cemetery was upgraded by paving the walkways between the tombs and the Day Care Centres are also being upgraded.
“We also played a role in the diversification of services such as the Passport Office, the Magisterial District, the Small Business Bureau to have a desk set up at the Council and the Council is in talks to have Birth Certificates processed in Linden. I had a personal involvement.”
Chairman of the Environmental and Waste Management Committee Waynewright Bethune noted that a lot of negative things are being peddled in the public that things are not being done.
“Over $5M a year is used for maintenance of the Christianburg Cemetery and the council gets less than 20 percent in returns. In terms of Waste Management, we still don’t have the capacity to fully serve the entire town; but there are a couple of things that we are putting in place for the development.”
Bethune noted that the Kara Kara dumpsite is being set up at a cost of $18M.
It will be completed in two weeks.
He also said that the council secured $20M to upgrade the Centennial Arch, which was erected last November for the 100th year of mining Bauxite in Linden.
Councillor Devin Sears noted that Linden is on the rise and can be promoted as a tourist destination.