In a tear-filed session, council closed out their meeting Monday night by passing a resolution to rename the future Mill Street Parkette after retiring Councillor Moya Johnson. The park is located on the corner of McNabb and Mill streets.
Johnson dropped out of the municipal election race in late August, citing health reasons. She was diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer.
“This is an overwhelming honour,” Johnson said while trying to compose herself. “I only learned of this last week, but I guess my family had been in touch with the mayor quite a while ago. They just told me last week that they had made this request.”
Johnson was first elected to council in 1994, serving almost three decades.
The resolution, which was read aloud by Councillor Bryan Lewis, pointed to Johnson’s “exemplary community service to Halton Hills both as a councillor and a resident.” The resolution asked to waive the requirement that parks be named after deceased people only.
Mayor Rick Bonnette called the move a “special naming for a very special person.”
He named off all of the various committees she sits on, but also made a point to say that she “always stood for the quality of life of people, but also in her personal life, has worked with SickKids Hospital.”
“I can’t think of a better recipient and a better location to honour what you have done for your 28 years that you’ve been around this table,” Bonnette said.
Councillor Jane Fogal laid out the reasons for picking the parkette for the name change.
“It’s a symbol of investing in our older neighbourhoods," she said. "It's in Ward 3, which Moya has served all of those 28 years, and it's also a symbol of us investing in children and investing in seniors and families."
