Owen Sound Recognizes Departing Members of Council and a Legacy of Community Progress

The City of Owen Sound recognized four departing members of Council during a Celebration of Public Service held before Monday’s Council meeting.

City Manager Tim Simmonds recognized Mayor Ian Boddy, Councillor Travis Dodd, Councillor Jon Farmer and Councillor Marion Koepke for their public service and contributions to Owen Sound.

Together, the four elected officials will have completed 44 years of service on Owen Sound City Council by the end of this term.

The event was also an opportunity to reflect on the role of Council and how decisions made at City Hall affect the services, infrastructure and public spaces residents use each day.

Municipal projects often take years to complete. They may begin with an identified community need, followed by public input, research, planning, Council decisions, budgeting and staff work. Some projects span more than one Council term.

Council sets priorities, approves policies and adopts the City’s budget during public meetings. City staff provide professional advice and carry out Council’s approved direction. Each Council builds on work that came before it and makes decisions that can shape Owen Sound for years to come.

Mayor Ian Boddy

Mayor Ian Boddy concludes 16 years in elected office, including one term as a Councillor and three terms as Mayor.

Before being elected to Council, Boddy served on the Georgian Bay Folk Society’s board for five years, including two years as Board Chair. He also chaired Owen Sound’s Sesquicentennial Homecoming Committee in 2007 and served on the City’s Operations Advisory Committee. Mayor Boddy was elected to Council in 2010 and Mayor in 2014. 

As Mayor, Boddy led Council through a period of significant change, including the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period of ongoing, unprecedented health crisis, the City continued to deliver essential municipal services while responding to changing public health conditions.

During Mayor Boddy’s final term, the Province of Ontario also changed how some municipal decisions could be made. On May 1, 2025, the Province designated Owen Sound as a Strong Mayor municipality. The new framework gave the Mayor added authority in areas such as the municipal budget, senior staffing and certain decisions connected to provincial priorities. 

Mayor Boddy responded by issuing formal Mayoral Decisions that delegated powers back to Council and the City Manager, supporting Owen Sound’s established approach to collaborative, Council-led decision-making. 

Mayor Ian Boddy’s time in office concludes during a period of significant development activity. As of September 2025, the City had recorded $214.5 million in year-to-date construction value, compared with the previous six-year high of $67 million in 2020. Construction value is the estimated value of construction work identified through building permits, and a measure used to track development activity.

Councillor Travis Dodd

Councillor Travis Dodd concludes his third term and 12 years of service on Owen Sound City Council.

When he first ran for Council in 2014, Dodd was notably the City's youngest candidate. His early priorities included opportunities for young people, economic development, downtown revitalisation and Owen Sound's parks.

Over three terms, many of the issues Councillor Dodd championed developed into tangible changes and continued areas of focus across our City. His years on Council also illustrate a reality of municipal government that residents do not always get to see: meaningful change takes time. Ideas require research, community input, financial planning and sometimes years of incremental decisions before residents see the finished result.

Throughout his time on Council, Councillor Dodd maintained a focus on serving the community and the responsibility Council carries when determining how public dollars are invested.

Councillor Jon Farmer

Completing his first term on Council, Councillor Jon Farmer was recognized for his commitment to listening to residents and encouraging meaningful public engagement.

Councillor Farmer entered Council after campaigning on housing, affordability, the needs of people experiencing homelessness and climate change. 

Throughout his term, he encouraged Council and the community to ask difficult questions, consider how other municipalities are responding to similar challenges and listen to different perspectives when determining what makes sense for Owen Sound.

His approach reflected an important part of municipal leadership: elected officials do not always need to arrive with the answer. Sometimes their most important responsibility is asking better questions and ensuring different voices are part of the conversation.

Councillor Marion Koepke

Councillor Marion Koepke leaves City Hall following a significant career in municipal public service, including 12 years as a member of Council and more than 26 years working for the City of Owen Sound.

Before being elected to Council, Marion Koepke made history as Owen Sound's first female City Clerk.

That depth of municipal experience shaped her approach to Council. She consistently brought attention to infrastructure, roads, municipal operations and fiscal responsibility, the essential services and investments residents rely on every day and that form the foundation of a well-run city.

Councillor Koepke also advocated for the introduction of civil marriage ceremonies at City Hall, recognizing an opportunity to provide a service to the community while creating a source of municipal revenue.

After nearly four decades connected to the work of the City, Councillor Koepke leaves a considerable legacy of public service.

Progress Built Over Time

The end of a Council term is an opportunity to look at changes across Owen Sound and reflect on how those changes came about.

Municipal accomplishments are rarely the work of one elected official. Council makes decisions as a group. City staff carry out approved plans. Residents provide input. Community organizations, businesses and other governments may also contribute funding, knowledge and support. Over this term of Council, some of the highlights include the following:

Future Owen Sound: Vision 2050

Public input played an important role in the development of the strategic plan for the City: Vision 2050. Nearly 1,000 surveys were completed, and more than 5,000 qualitative responses were recorded through the engagement process. Multiple in-person community engagement sessions were held, with representation from across demographic groups in our City.

Council approved the final 25-year plan in October 2025. It identifies seven priorities for Owen Sound’s future:

·         A Prosperous City

·         A Green and Resilient City

·         Celebrating and Embracing Culture

·         City Building

·         A City That Moves

·         A Safe City

·         Fostering Mutually Beneficial and Respectful Relationships

Vision 2050 shows how residents can help shape the City’s long-term direction. Council remains responsible for making decisions in public, while future budgets and annual work plans will help turn the long-term vision into action.

10th Street Bridge

The reconstruction of the 10th Street bridge is one example of a major project that spanned more than one Council term. Work began on October 2, 2019. The approximately $8.8-million project replaced the former 109-year-old bridge with a new five-lane structure with wider sidewalks. The Province of Ontario contributed $3 million through the Connecting Link programme.

The bridge opened on December 11, 2020. As the first vehicles crossed, drivers honked and flashed their lights while people gathered nearby waved and applauded.

The project shows how major infrastructure work can require years of planning, funding, approvals and construction before residents see the result.

Green Bin Program

The City’s approach to waste collection has also changed.

Council approved weekly Green Bin collection in June 2024. The programme grew from Council’s goal to improve waste diversion, staff planning and public input into the City’s Waste Management Strategy, approved in 2023. 

The City delivered more than 7,000 bins to eligible properties before weekly collection began in June 2025. Green bins are collected each week, while garbage continues to be collected every two weeks.

Collected food scraps, soiled paper and other accepted organic materials are turned into compost instead of being sent to landfill. 

The Green Bin Program demonstrates how a community priority can move through public consultation, staff planning, Council approval and budget decisions before becoming a service at residents’ curbs.

Community Improvement Plan

The City has also used its Community Improvement Plan to encourage investment and improvements to properties.

Council adopted the plan in 2020 as a long-term tool to support community renewal and private investment. The entire city is designated as a Community Improvement Project Area, with the downtown and harbour identified as a focused sub-area. 

The current plan offers five grant programmes for eligible projects:

·         Façade and structural improvements

·         Accessibility improvements

·         Start-up space and leasehold improvements

·         Landscaping and property improvements

·         The conversion or expansion of vacant buildings

The programmes are tools the City can use to help encourage eligible private investment and property improvements.

A Chapter in our Community’s Story

A reconstructed bridge, green bins at the curb, improved properties, new construction and thousands of responses helping shape a long-term community vision may appear to be separate changes.

Together, they help tell the story of a changing Owen Sound.

They also help explain how local government works. Residents identify needs and share ideas. City staff research options and provide professional advice. Council discusses those options in public, sets priorities and makes decisions. Staff then carry out the approved work and report on results.

Not every issue can be resolved during one term. Not every community priority can be funded at the same time. Council must balance service needs, infrastructure, affordability, legal duties and available resources.

Progress does not belong to one person or one term of Council. It is built through public participation, open decision-making, staff expertise, partnerships and continued investment over time.

The City of Owen Sound thanks Mayor Ian Boddy, Councillor Travis Dodd, Councillor Jon Farmer and Councillor Marion Koepke for their public service and contributions to Owen Sound.

For more information, please contact the Communications Team at 519-376-4440 ext. 1207 or email communications@owensound.ca

Quotes:

“Public service has taught me that building a community is never the work of one person or one Council. It takes people who are willing to listen, work together and make decisions that may not show results for years. I am grateful to everyone who has shared an idea, challenged us to do better or worked alongside us to move Owen Sound forward. We have tried to govern for the present while planning and preparing the City for the future. Serving as Mayor of my hometown has been one of the greatest honours of my life, and I am excited to see where Owen Sound goes next.”
– Mayor Ian Boddy

“The progress residents see in their community is rarely the result of one decision, one person or one term of Council. It is built one meeting at a time through public input, Council leadership, the work of City staff and strong community partnerships. Mayor Ian Boddy, Councillor Travis Dodd, Councillor Jon Farmer and Councillor Marion Koepke have each contributed to that work, and I thank them for their years of dedicated public service.”

-Tim Simmonds, City Manager

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