Jaime Polmateer
Roger Lapworth
Town Councillor of Ward 4, Roger Lapworth
Oakville News
Ward 4 councillor Roger Lapworth
Running for his third term as councillor of Ward 4, Roger Lapworth wants more facilities in his Ward and plans to have a strong focus on protecting the Merton Lands.
The Merton Lands, a green area near 14 Mile Creek on the north side of the Queen Elizabeth Way, are under threat by potential development and many residents want them to stay as they are.
“Councilor Elgar and myself are very hot-to-trot on this Merton Land issue,” said Lapworth. Allan Elgar is Town and Regional councillor for the same ward. “We’re adamant that we want minimal land development there, if any at all.”
He said Elgar, himself and other members of council really want to defend the use there, minimize development and protect the golf course. There are few courses left in the area and some of them he feels are too expensive for many of his senior constituents.
“To play you’re looking at $250 to $300 a person per round. A lot of seniors in town just can’t afford that.”
As for the facilities, he wants to keep on his promise from previous terms and provide groups in the area with accommodations for they’re various activities. Since he’s been on council they’ve enlarged the Glenn Abby Recreation Center, built the Pine Glen Soccer Facility, resurfaced a number of the tennis courts in the Ward and built the 16 Mile Creek Sports Complex.
Councillor Lapworth has also put his accounting experience to work to try and help the community. He said his first main objective was to get behind the town’s finances and figure out where the town could save money.
“Under the Mulvale budget, which would have been the 2007 budget I believe, me and a couple other people who were lobbying council for better tax rates, we approached the town and said look, ‘The town owns Oakville hydro, the town is the principal shareholder, does that corporation not give us a dividend?”
After considering the question Mayor Mulvale secured a dividend of several hundred thousand dollars that in turn brought the tax rate down substantially.
Lapworth is from England where he worked for an accounting firm and also got some banking experience. He then went into commerce and worked for a building company in Winchester. In 1974 he came to Canada with his family and lived in various towns throughout the GTA before settling in Oakville in 1997.
Organizations he’s involved in include the Retro Rock Lounge, Administrative Services Committee, the Willow Foundation, the Oakville Humane Society and the Bronte BIA.
Contact Roger Lapworth
home: (289) 837-1346
bus.: (416) 894-3054
email: lapworth@cogeco.ca
web: www.lapworth.ca
Position: Town Councillor
Ward: 4
