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COMMITMENT
Nick Papa is committed to work hard for every resident of Ward 5 for the next 4 years of office and is responsible for providing you with the best service possible while keeping the property tax down. The residents will receive straight facts, no personal hidden agendas, no politics. Strictly business for the best interest of every resident of Ward 5. Nick’s philosophy is, that “for every problem, there is a solution”.
Nick and his wife Ines have been married for 42 years, they have 2 children and a grandson. Nick and his wife moved to Richmond Hill 36 years ago because of the location, the greenery, open space and the charm of the residents. They saw a great future in this Town where they could live, raise their family and prosper. They still see the same good things today. His daughter Natalie has owned a dance studio in this great Town for the past 10 years and she also believes Richmond Hill is a great place to grow, raise a family and prosper.
EXPERIENCE
Nick has 14 years of municipal experience with the Town of Richmond Hill Council. His first job was working with the Toronto Transit Commission in the Internal Audit Department. Later he was hired as a Human Resources Manager by a large corporation. He studied real estate and eventually opened up and owned a small real estate company operating mainly in Richmond Hill. He also studied accounting for several years. Later on he became Partner and a Coordinating Manager with a construction company involved in Purchasing, Managing and Financing projects. He is also a fairly good musician as he played in a band for 25 years and if you look close enough at your wedding pictures, he could be there somewhere.
Nick Papa says that his vast experience in many fields will give him an advantage in negotiations, budgeting and in dealing with people. He knows the Town well and has a good working relationship with Town staff to get the job done.
Nick has lived in Ward 5 since 1974 and since then, he has always been involved in the community in one way or another. He is one of the founders and a past president of Richmond Hill Italian Social Club formed in 1979 and still in existence today. He has coached youth soccer clubs. He has organized many social functions for many years including raising close to $750,000.00 while being Councilor with the Town.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Nick Papa is a successful fund raiser. He chaired the Grand Gala for “The Love of The Arts” fund raising event and with the funds raised, we were able to buy a Steinway Grand Piano for The Richmond Hill Centre for The Performing Arts. In 2009, he chaired the Super Grand Gala for “The Love of The Arts” and close to $200,000 of the funds raised were also given to the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts to promote the Theatre world wide in bringing in performance from every part of the globe. He was the Chairman of the Communities in Bloom competition program in 2003 when the Town won the national competition and with that program he raised funds for many of the beautification projects that you see around the Town today, such as the feature entrance at Hwy #7 and Yonge Street, the landscaping around the Central Library, around the Town Hall, the parking lot around the Theatre and planted more than 2,000 trees around the Town with the help of the Boy Scouts and the Girl Guides. We were also able to replicate the bell of the McConaghy Senior Centre which was taken down years ago and now is resting at the fire station on Major Mackenzie drive. The bell was replicated in England, brought back to Richmond Hill and mounted on the Seniors Centre’s tower where you can hear it ring today on special occasions such as the Heritage Village Day Festival.
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Nick helped to raise funds for the Mayor’s Endowment of the Arts program promoting local artists with start up funds. He also raised funds for the York Central Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society.
VISION
Nick has a great vision for this Town, he wants to see it vibrant, safe, clean and create a pleasant environment that residents can enjoy. Nick got involved in politics because he wanted to see the building of an Art Centre and yes, the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts is there today. He wanted to see the relocation of our Town Hall at the corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive and you are right, it’s not there. He has not given up his hopes yet. He still believes that we should relocate to that location. He wanted to see a senior centre, he wanted to see that the programs in our community centres were provided to accommodate and reflect our growing multicultural population. He wanted to see changes in which services were provided, delivered and distributed equally throughout the Town. He wanted to see new community centres, new fire halls, new arenas, being built to serve the needs of our growing population. He wanted to see that the Town was run efficiently and that the property taxes were increased only if needed, even if the increase was for $10.00 a year.
In the year 2000, when everybody was making predictions for the next Millennium, Nick was working to reduce the property tax by 3% and with the help of his colleagues that was achieved. For many years, while on council we were able to keep the property tax at 0% increase while still managing to keep the town in a good financial situation and provide excellent services. This can still be done because our Town is in a good financial position. Nick also wanted to see that the development around the Town was made to respect the environment, the heritage, the existing neighbourhoods and yet look into the future for future generations. Many of these things and more have been accomplished, many have not and that’s why he wants to be there for the next 4 years to make sure that those projects and others will come to fruition.
FUTURE
Nick wants to make sure that the Viva Rapid transit in the middle of Yonge Street compliments the area with a proper landscaping plan, with flowers, trees, sculptures and surrounded by classy buildings with mixed residential and commercial uses and yet not too close to the street so we can enjoy the fantastic view of the church steeples while coming up Yonge Street. He wants to make sure that the subway is extended to Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive in the near future. He wants to see that the reconstruction of Carrville Road is not reconstructed just to be another highway, instead he wants to leave it as it is, with the middle island, just improved. He wants to see the building of the new Town Hall also on the corner of Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive with a people’s piazza surrounded by boutiques, restaurants, impressive architectural designed buildings and with amazing landscaping with flowers, trees and sculptures, rockeries, fountains, etc. that will reflect the past, the present and the future. Nick wants to see that the David Dunlap Observatory lands are protected to the maximum against the aggressive developer and also that the Heritage buildings are protected for generations to come. Finally, once the rapid transit is completed, if the present traffic problems at the southern part of Richvale still persist, he will ask the Town and the Region to conduct a traffic study to rectify the problem. Finally, he will deal with anything which comes his way with an open mind.
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