Acchione holds forth annual Woodstock District Chamber breakfast

City of Woodstock Mayor Jerry Acchione. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

‘Grandpa JJ’ is often also ready for a nap after spending time with his two-and-a-half-year-old granddaughter at one of Woodstock’s many public parks.

“It’s exhausting, but some of the best memories of the past year have been in the moment with her,” smiled Mayor Jerry Acchione - aka Grandpa JJ, an evolution from the original ‘Uncle JJ’ (Jerry John) courtesy of his nieces and nephews - following his 2026 Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce’s (WDCC) Breakfast With The Mayor State of the City Address on Tuesday, April 28th, inside the city’s expanded Southgate Centre.

“It’s a personal connection that reminds me of why I do what I do on a daily basis for all the families and the decades to come.”

WDCC General Manager Mike Crabbe looks forward to an event that brings together the business community, council, and city staff, reflecting on past successes while looking towards the city’s future. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada was represented as the title sponsor and Reis Informatica as meal sponsor, but along with the heavy hitters, so too were what Crabbe refers to as SME, small and medium enterprises that collectively lie close to the heart of the city’s financial foundation.

“These are our friends, these are our neighbours, and they’re investing their livelihood into growing businesses which in turn, create opportunity and allow our community to grow.”

Beyond breaking the news that Finger Eleven will be part of Cowapolooza 2026, Acchione’s far-reaching address touched on the mayor’s task force on social well-being, council’s adherence to nine foundational points laid out at formation, and metrics on industrial growth. Also, in recognition of the event host and the role businesses, large and small, play in both founding and growing a community, he spoke to Woodstock’s future growth and those driving it.

“I love looking out and recognizing so many business leaders who are active members of the chamber of commerce,” he said later. “I’m thankful we have this collaboration on so many levels in the city of Woodstock.”

Business is a crucial aspect of any community, said Acchione, in terms of broadening a stable tax base and providing employment, importantly, the kind of good-paying jobs Woodstock offers.

“When business grows, jobs grow. When jobs grow, families put down roots. And when families put down roots, communities grow, a process fuelling opportunity, creating jobs and attracting investment.”

He added growth is not abstract; it’s about people choosing to build their lives here and businesses choosing to invest here.

There are 53,000 people in Woodstock, a population projected to grow at a rate of 1.6 per cent annually. By the year 2061, there could be a population of 90,000.

“That kind of growth brings opportunity, but it also brings serious responsibility. The choices we make today will shape the quality of life for ourselves and those who call Woodstock home for the decades ahead.”

Growth is about infrastructure, said Acchione, but also about people, creating a stronger, connected community.

“While retaining values that connect us as the friendly city.”

Post-address questions from the crowd included ongoing concerns around homelessness and continuity, given 2026 is an election year. White deferring to answer the latter definitively, Acchione did concede he hoped this mayor’s breakfast wouldn’t be his last.

He also fielded a query on the proposed North Woodstock Complex, a projected $85-million facility with two ice pads, a pool and multi-use space located behind the baseball diamonds along Devonshire Ave.

“The need definitely exists, and Woodstock is planning on beginning to dedicate funding toward that goal. However, its timeline is predicated on provincial and federal funding, along with a significant price tag.”

He was also asked about balancing growth within the constraints of the city being surrounded by prime agricultural land.

“We’re at our boundaries,” Acchione confirmed, emphasizing a priority on growing within those boundaries in the short term, infilling, medium and higher-density development, and doing better with what the city currently has. A proposed 22-story high-rise was mentioned as part of that equation.

“Twenty-two stories in the City of Woodstock - that’s double what we have.”

Growth is inevitable, and as Acchione pointed out, it can provide mutual benefit for the city and adjoining municipalities.

“But we have to do it together,” he emphasized, citing a very purposeful approach and noting that while the province does dictate the broader framework, the last thing wanted is direct provincial involvement. “I would rather talk to our neighbours and work together.”