Springwater Citizens Forum

Growth Plan-Staff Salary Increases-Council Report Card

2012-01-26T15:50:00.000-05:00

I attended the ministry briefing on the Amended Growth Plan for the Simcoe Sub Region in Alliston on January 19th. The ministry and growth secretariat have provided a document that if properly implemented and followed will in fact allow the area to grow at a sustainable rate. But like all documents and regulations of this nature, it will be the County and local Springwater’s application of the Plan that will determine whether it will be sustainable. The final regulations I hope will clarify some gaping holes that the development community will drive through if the local and county councils fail to do their jobs.

I commented previously that our local council has the full authority to approve the way it wants the township to grow. The Amendment confirms that. They must take control and not be overwhelmed by developers, planners, engineers and lawyers with ideas that may be counter to the health and welfare of Springwater.

Springwater could amend their Official Plan and restrict development to the 6,400 people that the Province has proposed. Springwater is not a primary residential growth area or urban node. So if the council of Springwater does their job, they will follow the wishes of most the residents and control the growth in our communities. The large developments around Midhurst are not envisioned in the growth plan as most of the criteria are not met as outlined in the Growth Plan for the Golden Horseshoe.

I hope our Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors read the Toronto Star on the failure of Mississauga’s Development Charges to keep up with the cost of required infrastructure and services. The residents there are facing a 7% increase even with cutbacks in services. This is what I have warned against in my numerous articles, even though many on council and senior staff are convinced we can stay ahead of the costs with development charges.

I was reviewing the presentation for the final 2012 budget that was presented to council. One thing on slide 28 jumped out at me. It read “Salaries are slightly higher - Some downsizing done but offset by Council approved position changes”. If we reduced staff at the top administrative level and combined functions and increased efficiencies and use of manpower in operations, how can the staff costs be higher? I have requested information on the rate increases of the senior staff and I suspect they received much more than the 3% that the rest of the township staff received. It begs the question, “if we are asking department staff to do more and only receive 3%, is it not fair that the executive group do the same”? It sounds like the senior staff may have received significant increases which I estimate may be anywhere between 5 and 10%. Is that fair? It is unfortunate that these matters are settled behind closed doors.

Deputy Mayor McLean made a good suggestion at the last council meeting. He suggested that there should be a council report card on how they are doing. Unfortunately it sounds like they will evaluate themselves. I have many students I teach that would love that concept. So I will do a little report card of my own based on their strategic plan and some other matters that are important. I base these rating on my presence at most council meetings. I will give the council a P for pass, N for needed improvement and an F for failing and explain my reasoning.

Transparency

Meetings P Good effort allowing questions at council and planning meetings but could be a little more open to comments also

Town Hall Meetings N No regular ward meetings with council to discuss local issues

Economic Development

Economic Development Committee N Only internal committee, no new jobs, few times discussed at council

Economic Development Strategy F Very little done with the almost $30,000 study done by previous council

Promotion of Elmvale main street N Some support but not much as Elmvale is still losing main street businesses

Springwater Brand P Signage is underway

Promotion and development of existing businesses F No purchasing policy for preferred local suppliers of services

Growth Management

Growth allocation F Following developer lead strategies rather creating its own phasing strategies

Sustainable Infrastructure

Improve Roads and Bridges P Dedicating investment in previously ignored need

Drinking Water N Still problems with some of the municipal water in small developments

Financial Management

Long Term Capital Plan P Asset management appears to be in place

Creation of Finance Committee P Budget Committee did a good job

Procurement Policy N Develop local business preferred list for products and Services

Green Agenda

Renewable energy N Need some say in local initiatives

Environmental Impact N Fleet selection, car pooling,

Growth decisions F Create growth in existing walking communities like Elmvale

Recycling and Waste N Become test area for some alternatives rather than just relegating to County

Review Potential of Alternate Energy for township buildings P Studies to be undertaken

Community Partnerships

Board of Education EDHS P Shared facilities at Arena

Health Services P Shared facilities at Knox building

Food Bank P Shared facilities at Knox building

Volunteerism and recognition P Good programs in place

Recreation P Good support for local facilities

Communication

Ratepayer response N Allow more interaction with councilors and constituents rather than controlled messaging

Council Corner P Nice addition under this council

Reporting of Council initiatives P Adequate information

Overall I would give this council a passing grade. Most councilors do their home work and are truly interested in making Springwater a better place for all of us. We do have some on council that need to pull up their sox and be better informed of matters on the agenda so they can make improved decisions with township matters. I do see a disconnect between what communities want to see and some of the council’s direction and decisions. More dialogue and town hall events could easily correct that flaw.

Growth in Simcoe County - Good Effort but not Great

2012-01-19T19:49:00.000-05:00

Province eases restrictions on municipalities

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe January 19 2012

The Ontario government has bowed to local municipal pressure by easing restrictions on how much growth can take place in Simcoe County.

Flexibility is being touted as the hallmarked of Amendment 1, new provincial legislation governing growth in Simcoe County that goes into effect today.

The question is whether municipalities will hold to the population numbers established by the province now that tough enforcement measures proposed by the province over a year ago have been removed.

AWARE Simcoe is holding a meeting on Saturday at the Angus Recreation Centre, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., to discuss the issue of sprawl and what effect the new provincial policies will have.

Today at the Nottawasaga Inn, several Simcoe County mayors expressed optimism that the changes put them back in control of development in their municipalities.

“Thank you for listening,” Innisfil Mayor Barb Baguley told provincial officials at the morning technical briefing, attended by over 200 people. Some 350 attended a $60 lunch hosted by the Alliston Chamber of Commerce.

Cheryl Shindruk, vice-presdent of Geranium Corporation and chair of the Simcoe County chapter of the Building Industry Land Development Association, also expressed appreciation.

Changes that are welcomed by municipal politicians and developers include:

-Removal of “interim settlement boundaries,” a measure by which the province aimed to draw back boundaries in cases where councils had approved excessive development.

-Addition of Alcona in Innisfil as a primary settlement area (a term that replaces ‘urban growth node,’ the terminology used to date.) This means that major growth is to be directed to seven areas - Barrie, Orillia, Collingwood, Midland-Penetanguishene, Alliston, Bradford and, now, Alcona.

-Greater flexibility for approval of development in settlement areas.

-Municipalities may request that the minister review decisions relating to uses and boundaries of four strategic employment area – in Bradford West Gwillimbury, Innisfil Heights, the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in Oro-Medonte and the Rama Road district.

The province also announced a provision that will sunset in five years for an extra 20,000 of population to be allocated by the County of Simcoe.

The new polices in Amendment 1 do not apply to the rest of the Greater Golden Horseshoe area which, along with Simcoe County, fall under Places to Grow planning legislation

“This is a strong statement that Simcoe is significantly different to other parts of the Greater Golden Horseshoe,” Infrastructure Minister Bob Chiarelli told a crowd of politicians, lawyers, developers, planners and citizens at his announcement this morning.

“The Simcoe area is unique in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, with important sensitive environmental resources, complex growth challenges, and intense development pressures,” Chiarellii said. Two key environmental assets identified in ministry documents are Lake Simcoe and high quality agricultural lands. (Some expressed disappointment that the Nottawasaga watershed was not mentioned.)

Unchanged are the population and growth forecasts established by the province in 2006, when Places to Grow came into effect – a total population, including Barrie and Orillia, of 667,000 by 2031, and a total employment figure of 254,000.

“What has changed,” said provincial development facilitator Paula Dill, “is the increased flexibility for Simcoe County municipalities to approve development if they have historically designated lands that would accommodate growth... The aim is to direct growth to areas that offer municipal water and wastewater treatment."

Dill explained that a new policy allows development in settlement areas in excess of what is needed to accommodate the forecasts, provided that the development is on lands designated for urban use as of today.

“This added flexibility will address much of what we heard through the consultation. It will mean that even if a municipality has lands that were designated for urban development 20 or 30 years ago where growth has not proceeded, the municipality may continue to approve new development, provided that those lands are in a settlement area, and are designated.

“Furthermore, the county may approve, adopt an official plan or amendment that redesignates rural lands as urban land within a settlement area. The total amount of urban land approved under this policy cannot exceed the amount of land that could accommodate 20,000 people across the county. This policy will sunset in five years.

“In all cases, approvals must demonstrate that they meet the planning tests such as contributing to achievement of density and intensification targets and any applicable requirements that relate to the Lake Simcoe Protection Plan.”

Dill said municipalities will be encouraged to achieve greater efficiency and conservation in energy, water and wastewater management through building and community design.

And, she added, “the County of Simcoe and the lower-tier municipalities shall establish and implement policies to ensure the orderly and timely progression of development on lands for urban uses.”

Bill French of Springwater asked Dill what is to happen in the case of a small municipality that has a forecast increase of 6,000 people people between now and 2031, and yet on the books the township is adding 30,000. "How are those two going to meet?"

Dill replied: “The amendment says if you are in a settlement area and designated urban, the municipality can approve... What this is doing is recognizing that there are a lot of old, old approvals that are taking up a lot of room. We are trying to direct growth to where it should be.”

French didn’t name Midhurst but continued with details of the Midhurst situation: "Is it possible that, given that the population growth is limited to another 6,000 people between now and 2031, that in fact it may meet some of the criteria, that in fact 30,000 people would be allowed in that area? It’s not an urban node.”

Dill: “It depends on the amount of population that is allocated to that municipality.If the allocation is 6,000 and it is designated to be urban development in a settlement area, the municipality may indeed approve in excess of Schedule 7 if it is designated urban. If it’s not urban then it doesn’t qualify.”

French: “Well right now it’s a designated settlement area, but it’s agricultural.”

Dill: “It’s got to be within settlement and it’s got to be designated urban.”

French: “If it’s not zoned for residential or whatever, then it’s not permitted.”

Dell: “It may not be.”

French then asked, referring to the 667,000 population forecast for the county in 2031: “The 667 number - is that a solid number?

Yes,” Dill said. “At this point in time.”

Asked whether Dill’s report would be released, deputy minister Drew Fagan said, “it’s not actually a formal report.” Dill said the advice she provided to the minister is reflected in the amendment.

Midhurst-Hillsdale-Centre Vespra Development

2012-01-04T11:08:00.002-05:00

I mention these three settlement areas in the heading of this article as they appear to be indicators of the new type of development growth our small communities are facing in Springwater. They are also signs of unwanted change.

Hillsdale received approval of a development of about 500 homes two years ago after local residents dropped their OMB appeal because of fears of a lawsuit from the developer.

Centre Vespra are nearing the end of the planning and approval period which will see another 500 homes added to their small quaint rural area. There is a large residential group assembled trying to restrict the size of the development.

As far as Midhurst everyone knows that if the secondary plan is approved after the OMB hearing sometime this year, up to 10,000 homes or around 30,000 residents could be added over the next ten or more years. A very large resident group is coming together to fight this plan.

These new subdivision plans represent the largest developments that Springwater has ever seen. In all cases, a majority of residents in these areas reject the plans. That is a new phenomenom. However not one person I spoken to objects to development in principle. They simply believe, as a rural area, Springwater needs carefully designed and complementary developments that will not destroy the reason people moved here. The three developments certainly do not meet that criteria.

Why is this happening?

In many small municipalities such as Springwater, local councils have been hoodwinked by large developers and their planning consultants and lawyers. Instead of local councils planning their community’s future, they are allowing the developers to dictate how and when areas will be developed. There is no question that many of these developers are quite good at designing communities with attractive housing, green spaces and general land use. Unfortunately most of the community designs are great for urban centres like Barrie, but not conducive to rural living. The missing link is that the local council is the party responsible to say when and how many houses will be built in an area, not the developers. Councils like Springwater should be enhancing their official plans and dictating to developers what the municipality wants and how they would like it phased in over specific periods of time. This is totally within their jurisdiction and would allow both the community and developers to reach amicable resolutions. This next comment may surprise you. Even though I have been accused of being anti developer, I don’t find the actual problem with the developers. Some have been heavy handed, but so be it. Generally they are simply maximizing the use of landholdings they have secured as any good capitalist would do. Their shareholders expect nothing less. The real problem in my view is the lack of knowledge and lack of visionary leadership in the local councils. I encourage you to ask any of our Springwater elected officials if they have read the provincial documents that guide development growth including the Provincial Policy Statement, Places to Grow and the more recent Proposed Amendment 1 of the Growth Plan for the Simcoe County area. Ask them if they understand how they apply to Springwater. Also ask them if they have actually read the township’s own Official Plan or the By-laws that control development. Nothing requires them to do so. For the most part, by what I hear and see at the council and planning meetings, they haven’t studied them and simply depend on staff to direct them and recommend resolutions to pass at council and planning meetings. To read all the documents I mentioned would take them no more than a day if they dedicated the time. That is why we elected them.

Springwater Council needs to understand that they are not just a board of directors for the township but in fact are the executive management committee and must get their hands dirty. The mayor is the CEO according to the Municipal Act and has the same authority to provide direction as any corporate leader would provide. Of course the council will take advice from bureaucrats, but the elected officials are supposed to be at the helm, not the bureaucrats. The Springwater Council needs to take charge of where it is going with development in general. It should outline a master development plan and inform those land owners and developers in designated settlement areas of how they want them to proceed. In this way they would have much more control of the developments and the associated capital costs for infrastructure. By allowing smaller and controlled development in chunks the township would be able to adjust development charges to meet the increasing costs of the services and avoid deficits or unfairly passing on some of the costs to the general taxpayer. Even though councils always say that all the infrastructure and associated costs of new development is born by the developers through (DC’s) development charges, that is simply not true as all costs can never be anticipated. As an example, when I was reviewing the Midhurst Secondary Plan costs to date I was dismayed that even before we get into the actual development stage we are already in a $104,000 deficit position for the secondary plan itself. Ultimately if the OMB rejects the Midhurst Secondary plan that $104,000 deficit will be made up by the taxpayer either directly or indirectly. The cost for the plan to date is about $175,000 and we have only collected $71,000. That is just for the plan and not any associated services such as roads, sewers or water works. This is an example of the tip of the ice berg and how quickly things can get out of control with poorly controlled development. Talk to your friends in Barrie. Barrie has had huge developments for decades but the development charges never seem to stop the increase in their tax levies. Unbridled development is not the panacea that our mayor, deputy mayor and most of our councillors think it is.

I applaud the resident groups in Hillsdale, Centre Vespra and Midhurst for taking a stand to protect the character of their communities and that of Springwater as a whole. I would like to see some of our key farmers speak out against the loss of some of the most valuable farmland in Springwater as these developments proceed. I can only ask that our elected officials take the time to better understand the irreversible harm that will be done if development is not controlled by the council and planning committee.

This council did not create this crisis, but they must now take charge and start the rebuilding process and put Springwater on a new land development heading. Springwater needs and can sustain about a 2% growth rate or about 200 plus new homes a year. That should be part of new master plan. That controlled growth may help reduce the cost of development land as large speculators may not be as enticed to tie up 1000 acres of land if they know the township is only allowing 200 to 300 homes a year to be built. It would help resurrect the small builder that has been annihilated in the last 20 years as land would be sold in smaller parcels and more attainable by the local builders. These builders typically employ local tradesmen, supplies and services which would add to the Springwater economy. This type of orderly development could help lower our mill rate and truly make Springwater a sustainable community.

I ask you to challenge your Mayor, Deputy Mayor and councilors if you want to retain the rural character of Springwater. Without input from you, this council will follow the easy path that the three councils before them followed. As we are now seeing that path is not sustainable and could be very costly.

The first step in a positive direction would be for this council to make a decision to stand aside and allow the County and Province to resolve the OMB appeal on the Midhurst Secondary Plan. Some would say why won’t the township spend the money and oppose the plan instead. In simple terms Springwater would expose itself to millions in lawsuits as the councils before them lawfully (rightly or wrongly) approved these settlement area plans in Hillsdale, Centre Vespra and Midhurst. However there is no need for the township to spend up to $200,000 in our money to fight for something most people oppose. The OMB fight is between the County and the Province and that is where it should be resolved.

In the case of Springwater Smaller is Better.

Where is the Openeness and Transparency from our Mayors and Deputy Mayors

2012-01-02T19:39:00.000-05:00

This is a letter sent from AWARE Simcoe to the Warden

To Warden Cal Patterson and members of Simcoe County Council

Dear members of County Council,

Issues of open government were at the core of the foundation of AWARE Simcoe in 2010 and were central to the 2010 municipal election in which an unprecedented number of new councillors were elected.

Every new councillor – and many incumbents - campaigned on promises to ensure openness and transparency and we believe that the profound change that occurred in October 2010 reflected the electorate’s strong desire for increased accountability and greater public involvement in municipal decision-making.

That is why we were dismayed when County Council decided on November 27 2011 to hire John Maddox of JGM Consulting as its closed meeting investigator, rather than use the Ontario Ombudsman.

Since 2008, when the Sunshine Law came into effect, it has been mandatory to have an independent investigator to review the decision of a council or committee to meet in secret, when requested by a member of the public. If none is appointed, the Ombudsman becomes the default investigator, if needed.

In our view, the choice was between an independent officer of the Legislature, at no direct cost to the local taxpayer, and a consultant at $100 an hour plus retainer. County Council chose the latter, in sharp contrast to at least three councils in Simcoe County that chose the cost-effective and arm’s-length option: Bradford West Gwillimbury, Midland and Tiny have all appointed the Ombudsman to be their closed meeting investigator.

In this they join some 200 other municipalities. Another 136 have picked Local Authority Services Limited, a subsidiary company of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which also bid for Simcoe County’s business. Only 50 municipalities have retained John Maddox.

But cost is not the main reason for our dismay. We believe that in an important test of their commitment to transparency, 24 councillors chose to ante up taxpayer dollars in order to maintain control of the process and minimize the possibility of embarrassment or “fuss” by having to disclose matters they don’t want to discuss in public.

The position in favour of the consultant was articulated starkly four years ago by Midland Councillor Bob Jeffery (at that time Midland voted to retain John Maddox). The Ombudsman was like having the fox in the henhouse, he said. “Our guy is here to do our bidding.”

As citizens, we like to have the fox looking out for our interests, and we don’t care to fork out for the guy who will do council’s bidding. We thank the ten councillors who voted for maximum transparency and information-sharing as had been promised at election time.

We feel County Clerk Brenda Clark was unwittingly reflecting the culture of secrecy that has prevailed for so long in this area when she said that the feeling among clerks in Simcoe County was that the Ombudsman “may have reported more than was really necessary.”

We do not fault the Clerk for this. Staff may advise but it is up to council to show leadership and direct staff on issues relating to the mandate they – particularly the newly elected cohort – have received from the electorate.

We were surprised that no member of council questioned what the Clerk meant by “too much information.” As an officer of the Legislature, we would expect the Ombudsman to release as much information as is allowed by the Municipal Act, no more. And no less. That is all a member of the public who questions a council decision to go in camera can ask for.

A couple of days after the meeting we learnt by happenstance that the Simcoe County Clerks and Treasurers Association had written a letter to the Warden and county councillors. Dated November 18, it strongly argued against having the Ombudsman as the closed meeting investigator.

This letter, signed by SCCTA president Carey deGorter, deputy clerk with the City of Barrie, was not part of the materials in the Nov. 27 council agenda, neither was it tabled as an on-desk item, neither was it mentioned in debate.

The assertions made in the letter are startling.

We are surprised that County Council did not afford the Ombudsman an opportunity to respond before making its decision on such a serious matter– the public’s right to know.

AWARE Simcoe contacted the Ombudsman and received further information on some of the points being made by Ms deGorter.

For instance, the claim that the Ombudsman’s definition and scope of a “meeting” that could attract an investigation is broader that is commonly accepted is made in the context of South Bruce Peninsula in which councillors gathered at Tim Hortons. It should be noted that the courts, not the Ombudsman, have established that gatherings of a quorum of council that advance the business of council constitute meetings under the Municipal Act of which notice should be given.

Ms deGorter does not mention that in the South Bruce Peninsula case, the Ombudsman found no contravention of the Municipal Act or illegal gatherings. However, he did caution councillors to be "careful" about such gatherings in the interest of openness and transparency, because the gatherings at Tim Horton's had sparked considerable negative speculation and innuendo within the community.

Another example cited by Ms deGorter concerns a meeting of the City of Oshawa’s development services committee that was closed for "education and training,” which is allowed under the Municipal Act. But the meeting was attended by officials of a recycling company that was the subject of complaints about odour and there was discussion of zoning changes. This was ruled illegal.

Ms deGorter complains of “provocative” language used by the Ombudsman in relation to procedure involving a draft report on which the City of Oshawa and the investigator disagreed. This is a matter of perspective. From our perspective, when the process involves establishing the public’s right to know is at stake, it may on occasion be necessary to call a spade a spade.

But the clerks and treasurers have a different perspective by virtue of their position. When a council goes in camera, it is generally on the advice of the clerk or CAO. When a member of the public asks for a review of that decision, we feel it is preferable for the investigator to be at arm’s length from those being investigated. But the argument being made by the clerks and treasurers’ association is that it is preferable for council to retain control over the process, “to prepare the terms of engagement” as Ms deGorter puts it.

We seriously question whether it is appropriate for the Simcoe County clerks and treasurers association to be lobbying on the issue of who will provide oversight with regard to decisions in which they play such a pivotal role.

We also question what occurred at the Nov. 27 meeting. In effect, the advice of the clerks and treasurers that the Ombudsman not be the closed meetings investigator was given behind closed doors and we would not have found out about it had we not been vigilant in our role as citizen watchdogs.

This all adds up to a questionable process in which information was withheld from the public until after a decision was made on an issue of major public interest for taxpayers and residents.

That’s why we hope that you will see the advantages of revisiting this decision.

We urge you to re-examine the claims made in the Simcoe County Clerks and Treasurers letter, to educate yourselves as to the services provided by the Ombudsman, and to vote with the interests of the public in mind, not the convenience of councillors and staff.

Springwater Council Update

2011-12-06T19:53:00.000-05:00

Budget-Blood Specimen Clinic-Elmvale District High School-Midhurst

I think generally the Springwater council did a good job at the 2012 budget for the Township of Springwater. They basically kept the operating budget flat by cost cutting measures without impacting the service levels. The budget committee and efficiency committees that were established seem to be working. I agree that the roads and bridges must be dealt with since they were ignored repeatedly by previous councils. That is a big expense and will only increase over time. The borrowing of over $2 million next year for roads and possibly for each of the next 5 or 6 years does concern me however. The CFO notes that after this initial borrowing the township will only be at 25% of its debt capacity. However based on the compounded spending the township could well be at 50% of its debt capacity by the end of this council’s term. With an uncertain economy, that could be a problem. Ultimately we will pay for it.

I was very impressed with the approach to staff wages that council took last year in the budget. Those at the lower end of the scale received a higher percentage increase than those at the top. Extra dollars at the lower end impacts the overall economy when placed with the lower wage earners as they are able to afford that newer car or small renovation in their house which adds to local businesses. Money goes back into the economy. This year council went back to the flat percentage, effectively negating the good work they did last year. Mayor Collins, Deputy Mayor McLean and others argue that if there is a higher rate given at the lower end of the wage scale it will close the gap between the high and low wage earners and does not reflect the value of the higher educated workers. I don’t agree. As a matter of fact a fixed percentage approach widens the divide between the low and high wage earner. If you earn $30,000 and receive 3% that amounts to $900 annually. If you make a $100,000 that represents an increase of $3,000. In one year you broaden the gap by $2,100. Even though not well identified in their sit-ins, this is the very reason for the recent Occupy movements. Early industrialists like Henry Ford, Dupont, Vanderbilts and others realized that a healthy economy only works if you give a better wage to a broader base of the population as it immediately goes back into essential goods and services. I would have preferred that the council had continued with its creative approach used last year. It appears this council is falling into the routine of the councils before them. Possibly a visit to the Elmvale Food Bank would make our councilors aware that it is no longer just the unemployed that use their services but they now provide support to those on lower income who just can’t make ends meet. I guess when you have two former civil servants now heading council that are used to automatic and indexed pensions, giving fixed percentage increases probably all makes sense to them. Unfortunately about 70% of us don’t have any of that automatic indexing in our savings or pensions.

I am concerned with the delay in the establishment of the blood specimen clinic in Elmvale. I am concerned it came as such a surprise to the mayor as noted in a Barrie Advance column. With such an important local service, it would seem advisable that a status report be tabled at every council meeting to ensure things don’t go awry as it seems to have happened. Hopefully this is a short term delay for those in desperate need of the service in Elmvale. I think we need a little more focused approach by council considering the township has invested in improvements to the Knox building to facilitate the service.

It also appears to be time for the council to ramp up its efforts and support for Elmvale District High School as once again it could be a potential victim of short sighted School Board members. The moratorium has been lifted and again EDHS could be closed based on the previous arguments of age, efficiency etc. The mayor and local trustee should be working together with the board, and our MPP to protect this important part of our township. Aside from actions initiated by the former council, not a lot has been said or done by this council for EDHS.

At the same time as I make the foregoing comments, I agree with some statements that councilor Rick Webster has made at the recent council meetings. As municipal tax payers we should not be burdened with the cost of health care or education as that is a provincial responsibility. But to protect the welfare of Springwater, we must do what we can to retain health services and the high school in our community. It is a difficult challenge and balancing act that the council is faced with and no easy answer.

I attended the Midhurst Ratepayers Meeting last week, and this council may have another Site 41 type issue on its hands. It is unfortunate that the position of the residents of Midhurst has not been heard even though it has not changed since the introduction of the growth strategy in 1996. A majority of the residents, except those that own the development land, are against the building of 10,000 homes and an increase to 30,000 people over the next 20 years. It is unfortunate that most of the current council support this development and think it is good for the township. The residents complained in 1996 that there was little discussion, public input or information provided to the residents. The same complaint is being heard today. I know Michael Jacobs made a comment in his editorial about the fact that the last council motivated by personal interests moved the publishing of township information to the Barrie Advance for over a year. Most people do not turn to the Advance for Springwater information. Unfortunately this was the time period when there were a number of meetings held to outline the mega plans of development around Midhurst which explains why most Midhurst residents were unaware of it. I just hope the council does not waste over $100,000 of our tax dollars to fight the Province’s appeal of the Midhurst Secondary Plan as it is wasted money. Being a small township, we cannot sustain a growth rate of more than 2% a year which has been a manageable trend over the last 20 years. We do not have the staff or resources to sustain what effectively would be a compounded growth rate of about 5% a year based on the Midhurst and Centre Vespra growth plans. Even a more curious question is the lack of focus of building out Elmvale in recent years. Elmvale and Midhurst were identified as the major residential growth areas in the 1996 growth strategy. It is ironic that most of the development was focused on Midhurst. Since Dan McLean our current deputy mayor was part of the planning committee that approved the 1996 plan, I suggest Elmvale residents should challenge McLean and councilor Clement on why the township has put little focus on the growth of Elmvale. That is where growth of another 1,000 people over 5 years would make a huge difference to both the Elmvale economy and probably bring jobs and people to Springwater. We know that most of the dollars of future Midhurst residents will go to the Barrie economy, not much help to Springwater.

I will say it again as I have repeated a number of times. Get involved with your township. Come to a few council meetings and planning meetings a few times a year. I have observed, that unless something is of particular interest to a group of residents, most of the time it is only me and one or two others that are monitoring your council. That is a sad reflection of the democratic process that we seem to now take for granted.

Midhurst Residents Must Attend Meeting

2011-11-21T09:19:00.000-05:00

MASSIVE

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

PLANNED FOR MIDHURST!

“Midhurst Secondary Plan” to develop our

village from 3500 to approx. 30000 people!!!

Almost 10 X the size!!!

Are you concerned?

Want to learn more?

Please attend an informational meeting on:

Monday, November 28th @ 7:00 pm

Midhurst Community Centre, 74 Doran Rd

Hosted by:

Midhurst Ratepayers Association

massivemidhurst@gmail.com

Midhurst Residents in Shock with Lack of Answers

2011-11-20T22:32:00.000-05:00

Village is to absorb and exceed all Springwater’s projected growth

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe November 18 2011

More than 100 people turned out for an information session on a plan that will make Midhurst larger than Gravenhurst in the short term, and the size of Stratford in 20 years.

No one spoke in favour. Some said they were in shock.

“It changes what the community is drastically, when you’re growing a community 10 times in a matter of 15 years,” said Kim Hand, who moved to Midhurst two years ago because of the “small-community atmosphere.”

There was a curious icy calm to the meeting, held Monday in Minesing.

Nervous township staff, although subjected to tough questioning, were treated politely and members of Springwater council, who kept quiet at the back of the room, were not challenged to answer for the plan. Residents questioned why the secondary plan that has been hanging over the community’s head for so many years suddenly gained approval from Simcoe County last month.

(The Ontario government immediately appealed the plan to the Ontario Municipal Board because of provincial policy that directs growth to six urban nodes in Simcoe County - Barrie, Orillia, Collingwood, Midland-Penetanguishene, Alliston and Bradford - and projects a rural character for Springwater.)

At odds with province “Is there any way you can elaborate on why decisions were made to pursue a plan that doesn’t fit within the province of Ontario mandate for healthy appropriate growth of communities?” Hand asked. “Why would we at the local level continue to create a plan that doesn’t match provincial planning guidelines?” “The plan was drafted while considering all the provincial policies that are in place,” planning manager Brent Spagnol replied. “I would never have imagined that something like this would have been planned,” Hand said.

Resident David Strachan asked the meeting for a show of hands in favour of the plan. One person put his hand up. Against? Almost every hand was raised. “This whole thing comes as a bit of a shock to me, because we were trying to get away from congestion,” said Strachan, who moved to Midhurst 18 months ago. “It’s an absolutely charming, beautiful little village… We elected a council – why is the council doing something that’s not in the interest of the public?”

The expansion has been looming since the former Vespra council (building on its delusional Bayfield St. development fiasco, in which it defied the Bill Davis provincial government and lost) first designated a vast settlement area covering prime farmland far beyond the boundaries of Midhurst.

‘Lay down our arms’

But it wasn’t just new residents who felt blindsided. “I’ve lived here since 1986 – 25 years I’ve lived here and I’ve been very interested in growth and development around here,” said Fred Graham. “I did not know this was happening and I pay attention to this type of thing.”

Graham added that back in 2008, when the Midhurst Secondary Plan was finalized by Springwater Council the approval was similarly under the radar. Spagnol explained that if the township had not created a secondary plan, the developers would have produced one. “That is the genesis of the secondary plan – to ensure that that municipal component is there,” he said.

“Okay, so that sounds like we’re scared of fighting the developers, so let’s just lay down our arms and surrender, but maybe get a couple of things on terms,” Graham commented, to applause. “But now instead of fighting the developers, you’re fighting the province of Ontario, correct?” “There’s an appeal,” Spagnol conceded.

“Right, and you’re going to be opposed to the position taken by the province of Ontario which wants to see you conforming to Places to Grow, correct?”

“The basis of the appeal is to argue that, yes,” Spagnol said.

Graham pointed out that the province wants 26,000 people as the 2031 population for Springwater which presently has 18,000 residents. Instead, he said, the secondary plan will bring 31,000 people to Midhurst alone, which means at least 45,000 people in the township, assuming no growth in Elmvale or Hillsdale (the two areas, beside Midhurst, that are designated for growth in Springwater).

Cost of OMB appeal Spagnol was reluctant to say that Springwater is pitting itself against the province.

Graham was insistent. “As it stands, will we be spending taxpayer money to oppose the province of Ontario at the OMB?”

“That decision of council has not been made,” Spagnol replied. “Are you saying that is an open possibility, that council will side with the province at the OMB?” Graham asked. “Ultimately, council’s determination will be what role the municipality will play during the OMB process.”

Graham asked that the township notify those who had signed up of the meeting at which council decides whether it will side with or against the province on the appeal.

The discussion seemed a little surreal as Mayor Linda Collins was a member of the council led by Tony Guergis that approved the plan in 2008, and she spoke in favour of it last month prior to it being approved without debate by the county. Ward 5 Councillor Jack Hanna said a few words at the end of the meeting. “We inherited this issue,” he said, asking residents to send him their concerns and he would “advance them to council.”

Public works and planning director Brad Sokach had served notice at the start of the meeting that the evening might produce “very few answers” because of legal advice. “We’re not able to debate the merits of the plan with you because it’s before the OMB.”

Spagnol stressed that there are front-ending agreements so that developers, not existing taxpayers, will pay for all infrastructure. After two years, however, the township assumes ongoing maintainance and other costs. Graham pointed out that studies of such developments show that they are, at best, revenue-neutral for a municipality but, more likely, the associated costs will drive taxes up.

“How is this in the public interest?” Graham asked. “Who are we trying to help here?”

The answer was left unspoken.

Midhurst Plan appealed-Now what?

2011-11-06T14:28:00.000-05:00

Midhurst Growth Plan-With the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing appealing the County of Simcoe’s approval of the Midhurst Secondary Plan, what impact does that have on the rest of Springwater?

The important thing to remember is that a change in one area of Springwater affects everyone especially where it hurts the most, our tax bill.

There are some immediate decisions the County of Simcoe and our Springwater council must make which could result in costing hundreds of thousands of dollars.

An OMB appeal is expensive costing at least $10,000 a day in Lawyers and Planning Consultants for a simple appeal which I have experienced personally. This OMB hearing is not simple and could run into multiple days or weeks because it will involve the County of Simcoe, Springwater Township, The Land Owners Group and other parties. The reality is that the County and Springwater will not go into the hearings on a budget, so double the cost. I could see Springwater spending $100,000 to $200,000 as their portion of the cost (the 2012 budget includes $150,000 for OMB legal costs!) The County will spend more than double that but in the end all of the township and county costs come from our tax dollars. Remember the $250,000 that the County wasted in its PR attempt to push Site 41 forward? So don’t be surprised if you see your township/county portion of assessment take a hit because of it.

In the case of Springwater, the reality is that the Township did its job (rightly or wrongly) and passed the Midhurst Secondary Plan in 2008. They did not and could not guarantee that the County or Province would approve the Plan. The first thing we all should do is phone, write or email your councilor not to waste all this money that could go to other needs of the township. It seems ludicrous that on one hand councilors like Ritchie, McConkey, Hanna and Webster fight hard to keep the overall budget at a low level and then possibly turn around and waste $200,000 to fight something that no one seems to want in the township. My guess is that the Mayor and Deputy Mayor are aggressively speaking with the councilors to gain support to fund Springwater’s Party Status at the OMB hearing. Encourage your councilor to think this through. One party line is that Springwater is obligated to support the Midhurst Secondary Plan at the OMB appeal or risk being sued by the Land Owners Group. That is simply not true as Springwater completed its obligation by approving the Midhurst Secondary Plan in 2008. No further action is required by the Township unless approved by a new Council resolution. The argument will be that they spent upwards of $100,000 to develop the Plan and that investment needs protected. A Crock! Taking an expensive position at the OMB is sending good money after bad.

I am glad the Province is appealing the County’s decision, as an individual appealing the Midhurst Plan would have a difficult time finding a Planning Consultant to criticize the Midhurst Secondary Plan. The reason is simple. Planners bill thousands of hours preparing plans for developments and without developments there would be no need for planners. With this in mind it would be difficult to find anyone that would criticize the Midhurst Plan at an appeal since it would jeopardize getting work from developers in the future and that is where Planning Consultants make all their money.

I want to stress that I agree we need development in Springwater, but it must be balanced, orderly and in a fashion that compliments the rural character of the Township. The Midhurst Secondary Plan does not meet those criteria. If you look at the last 20 years, the developments in Springwater for the most part, have been orderly and do not negate the character of the communities where they were built. It is only in the last decade where large land holdings have been locked up by a few mega developers has a problem crept in.

Ironically we have more than enough development land in Hillsdale, Elmvale, Fergusonvale, Apto, Anten Mills, Minesing, Centre Vespra, Snow Valley and other small pockets that meet the needs of the Township for the next 10 years or so based on the building demand we see in Springwater. If no one wants to build on those lands which are available why is the Township developing a further plan for a mega development? Who is going to buy these homes after we destroy over 1,000 acres of prime agricultural land? Let’s build out the existing areas that require no further infrastructure. For example if 500 homes were built on the already approved land in Elmvale there would be no requirements for infrastructure upgrades which ultimately would reduce the user fees for everyone that is on municipal water and sewer services in the township.

I suggest you attend the information session on the Midhurst Secondary Plan that will be held at the Springwater Administration Centre on Nursery Road on the 14th. Ask questions and strongly recommend that your councillors stand back and leave the OMB appeal to the Province and the County of Simcoe to sort out.

In particular lean on the Mayor and Deputy Mayor as they are the County Councillors who approved the plan at the County level. They will be pushing to spend all that money to defend their position at our tax dollar expense.

Since I became a conspiracy theorist in recent years, do some digging and see what long time term residents and former elected officials will benefit from pushing through the Midhurst Secondary Plan approved by the County. It is far reaching. To me that is the real issue.

Midhurst-A Pawn in a Game of Chess with the Province of Ontario and Simcoe County

2011-10-24T21:58:00.000-04:00

On Oct 12, the County of Simcoe approved the greatly flawed secondary plan for Midhurst. The official plan amendment passed through the Council of Springwater on Oct 28, 2008 and has lingered at the County since then. Multiple appeals by the land owners group most likely prompted the approval by the County even though it goes against, its own growth document and official plan which has been rejected by the Province as it is contrary to the Provincial Policy Statement 2005 , The Places to Grow Growth Plan 2006, Places to Grow Built Boundaries 2008 and the recent Proposed Amendment 1 to the 2006 Growth Plan.

Building 3,850 homes in the first phases and then adding another 6,200 in future years will do great harm to not only Midhurst but the Township as a whole. How can a small municipality like Springwater effectively control the development in an orderly fashion without sacrificing its unique rural based infrastructure and way of life? The simple answer is, it cannot do it.

About 75% of this new Springater council is under the false impression that the development charges will allow Springwater many more amenities than it has today. The major consulting firm that has provided services to both the County and Springwater admit that at best development charges are revenue neutral and in most cases will not cover the extra services required with the dramatic growth as proposed. Beyond the infrastructure required in the development itself which is paid by the developer, there will be many unforeseen costs associated with rapid development.

If development charges provide all this extra cash as viewed by the Springwater Council why is Barrie’s mill rate increasing each year even with dramatic cuts being undertaken by its current council. The economies of scale that are normally gained with “more is better” does not work with development charges as the amount that is charged must be projected based on best guess estimates and is regulated under the Municipal Act. Think about it, the last report to Springwater Council from the consultant estimated the water and sewer treatment infrastructure to be about $119,000,000 up from $100,000,000 only two years prior. So what will it cost when it is actually built 5 to 10 years from now? Maybe $150,000,000? That alone would be $15,000 in development charges per dwelling going to one service. Now when you add roads, parks, recreation, transportation, libraries that could add another $10,000 per dwelling. That becomes very pricy. Who will move to Midhurst for the lower end planned housing? If you are on the lower end of the economic scale you depend on easy walking or bus transportation. It will be a long time before any of those services will be available, unless Springwater wants to take on debt to fast track the services. Currently for every million in debt, it represents a one percent increase in your tax bill. Talking about debt, let’s review just one issue that has come to the surface. Unfortunately for us the taxpayer, the township councils since amalgamation have neglected our road and bridges and allowed them to fall into disrepair which now requires a thirty to fifty million dollar correction over the next 10 years . That cost alone will increase your tax bill by 4% compounded annually. In other words to correct the road and bridge infrastructure it will increase your tax bill by 50% in the next ten years. That does not include any other normal increases that will occur in that period of time. Add some unforeseen costs with this unprecedented development in Midhurst and every tax payer in Springwater could see their Township tax bill double.

It is time for you as Midhurst individuals and possibly as a group to speak up before it is too late. Take a lesson from the Site 41 protestors. The Mayor mistakenly stated after the Planning Meeting on October 24 to some local Midhurst residents that the Midhurst secondary plan is a done deal and will proceed. That is simply untrue if you want to change it. You can appeal to the OMB based on the fact that the approved plan by the County contravenes the above policies I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

I write this article because I am concerned about the future of Springwater. Even though most of the voters in Springwater did not cast a vote in my favour last October, I am still concerned about the health and well being of every resident and the Township itself.

The County of Simcoe by passing the Springwater Midhurst Official Plan Amendment is playing Russian roulette with your life style and tax dollars. They are challenging the Province to appeal their decision. If the province for political reasons backs off because of their minority status, we will all be in trouble. You have until November 2, 2011 to speak up by appealing the decision to the OMB or prepare to face the consequences.

In closing I am surprised that all the Springwater councillors except for two who favour these huge developments have not properly researched the long term impact on every resident of Springwater. That I find disappointing.

Bill French

Grenfel

Development and Council Reports

2011-06-28T19:02:00.000-04:00

Local Politics – My View – Bill French

Development talks are ongoing in Springwater and the County of Simcoe. The frenzy and desire for more development amazes me. The municipalities in general including Springwater all think that development charges from new development is a magic bullet. The reality is that the consulting experts whom Springwater, along with other municipalities and the County have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars have confirmed in various reports that at best development charges are revenue neutral and in most cases are revenue negative adding a tax burden to the rate payer for added infrastructure because of unforeseen costs.

The fact that Springwater established settlement area boundaries years ago did not include a guarantee that they would ever be developed. It simply pointed the way where future development may occur if the demand and growth required it. There was never a commitment to automatically rezone the land or provide building permits when a developer presented a site plan and subdivision agreement. The fact that a few large speculators locked up all the acreage around Midhurst and Hillsdale is not the township’s problem. Anyone that invests in the market and expects it to grow cannot complain when the market goes down.

Springwater grew quite orderly for many years by controlled development by small builders. It also created badly needed local jobs and provided business to the local lumber and hardware outlets. The fact that a majority of future development land is now controlled by some large investors is not Springwater’s issue. These areas have not been rezoned from agriculture for residential development and even though municipalities seem to be frightened by threats of developers and their lawyers at the OMB, the fear mongering is unfounded. It is time for Springwater and its council to let these out of town developers and their high paid legal teams know that Springwater belongs to us and if these developers are respectful and contribute to the well being of Springwater then maybe some development may be permitted. I would prefer more focus on bringing real businesses to the Bertram and Flos 4 East industrial areas allowing more Springwater residents to live work and play in the township. Instead of fighting with the County or Province about the numbers allocated to Springwater, a lot of time and effort could be spent on other more urgent and worthwhile needs. The Province has said the numbers will not change and I support the Provinces view.

Councillor Ritchie made a notable remark at the May planning meeting when he commented that there is far too much duplication of efforts at various levels. He was referencing the application for funding to do cultural mapping of the area. His observation that Tourism Ontario should be the agency to provide this as part of the big picture efforts is quite correct. Unfortunately he was the only one that voted against the resolution which will cost the township about $6,000 if the application succeeds. We have the same issue with Planning and Economic Development. The County has spent tens of thousands of dollars on an Economic Development Strategy and so have most of the municipalities. It makes no sense, as only the municipalities have the land for growth and new businesses. Now the local municipalities including Springwater will have to ensure that their economic development strategy does not conflict with the County plan. Wasted money and another roadblock to fast tracking jobs in Springwater.

Is there a loss of focus from the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) that is charged with watershed protection? Some people and many local councils think so. They need to get back to basics as their credibility is suffering from a few poorly misguided reports. They too want to duplicate the efforts of the MOE and MNR at times. Too many swelled heads in cushy jobs building empires is my take on it. The NVCA must stay focused on its primary mandate of floodplains in the municipalities they serve. The NVCA have the expertise to do the job, which is greatly needed if we truly want to protect our water, as we undertake new residential and commercial development.

It is time that those leading the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority get back to basics and read their own mission.

OUR MISSION - Working together to value, protect, enhance, and restore our watershed resources, for a healthy sustainable future

Objectives

To achieve our mission, we have five major objectives to consider, including:

• Protect, enhance and restore water

• Protect, enhance and restore land

• Protect life and property from flooding and erosion

• Provide educational and recreational opportunities for the public

• Partner with our Watershed Municipalities, provincial/federal agencies, Conservation Ontario, and other interested stakeholders to achieve mutual goals.

It is not easy being a member of council. Feedback from each of us on a regular basis is essential if we want to see Springwater succeed and grow as a unique rural and agricultural based community. Take the time once a month or even a few times a year to come out and see your council in action by attending either the Planning or Regular Council Meetings. We in Springwater need to become more involved. Very few people attend the council meetings. If you can’t make it, at least read the agenda on line and call your councillor if you have questions.

Keep informed follow Twitter @LocalAdvocate or follow my blog http://springwatercitizens.blogspot.com/

Local Politics

2011-06-05T20:10:00.000-04:00

My View – Bill French

I mentioned in a recent article about a suggestion from Springwater Councillor Rick Webster inquiring about possibly rethinking the way we did our snowplow routes to reduce the number of people and equipment required. After a number of reports and meetings it was decided that a reduction from 12 to 11 routes was possible and still have employees well within regulatory controls for safety and hours of work. This is an example of what all organizations have done in recent years with economic challenges. It is called LEAN. That doesn’t mean you are being cheap, it simply means everyone is looking out for ways of improving both service and quality at a less expensive price. The extra benefit is that the purchase of a new truck of close to $250,000 has been deferred saving us some money on our tax bill in the short term. I am confident that other savings and ways of doing business will be implemented by this council making our township more effective and responsive to the needs of the residents. I was amused how long it took Webster to get a straight answer however.

Each year most municipalities have Mayor Sponsored Golf Tournaments for charity. I also understand that most people enjoy a day on the links and I have nothing against a little relaxation. I am against these events as they typically involve a lot of hours of coordination by municipal staff and let’s face it, the tournaments are meant for those that have money. I would like to see a broad based event that could engage more of the residents of Springwater and help build the community everyone talks about. All of our local councils should get out of the fund raising business and focus on the job at hand. Leave fundraising to the experts like the Lion’s Club, Rotary etc.

On a positive note this council will keep the funds raised from this year’s Mayor’s Golf Tournament within the township instead of sending it off to other communities. Councillors Webster and Jack Hanna emphasized the need to keep the funds in the township. Hanna suggested the implementation of a CAP (Community Assistance Program) fund and use the fund for those that may have a special need or circumstance. Councillor Clement suggested the funds be used to improve health care and assist in doctor recruitment. I am pleased to see this kind of local focus as the previous councils sent most of the money out of the township.

This next subject is sensitive depending on where you may live. Municipal water and sewer services are varied throughout the township. A number of years ago a previous council decided to pool the revenues and operate under one large fund. The reality is that the water and sewer systems in Elmvale are much more efficient and cost effective as compared to water systems in Anten Mills, Midhurst, Patty Dunn Circle, Vespra Downs, Minesing and Hillsdale mainly due to design, residential density and simple economies of scale. There is a serious aesthetic quality with the water in Snow Valley lowlands caused by high concentrations of magnesium which has existed for years. The MOE says it is safe to drink but I would not be a fan of drinking brown water. The cost to upgrade the system in Snow Valley is a couple million dollars which under the current system can either be charged to all municipal water users in the township or a user pay to the residents of Snow Valley. There is a recommendation to provide some direct funding for water treatment equipment in each of the homes affected. The money will come from the general pool so those other users of municipal water will effectively pay the freight. The township planning and public works needs to put some strong language in upcoming developer built service agreements to avoid this unnecessary expenditure by the township once the municipality assumes the new developments. Currently all the users are penalized by poorly designed water systems and that is not fair. With all the developments on the books for the next few years the township could find itself in deep financial trouble if not dealt with properly at source.

It is not easy being a member of council. Feedback from each of us on a regular basis is essential if we want to see Springwater succeed and grow as a unique rural and agricultural based community. Take the time once a month or even a few times a year to come out and see your council in action by attending either the Planning or Regular Council Meetings. I was pleased when I attended a Tiny Township meeting last week to see at least 50 people in the gallery. The residents there take their municipality seriously and let the councillors know when things are not to their satisfaction. We in Springwater need to become more involved. Very few people attend the council meetings. If you can’t make it, at least read the agenda on line and call you councilor if you have questions.

Keep informed follow Twitter @LocalAdvocate or follow my blog http://springwatercitizens.blogspot.com/

Aware Simcoe Annual Meeting

2011-05-24T21:37:00.001-04:00

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING - SATURDAY May 28, 2011

9:30 A.M. – 12:30 P.M.

Big Bay Point Golf and Country Club

WATER

A VITAL CONNECTION

Panel speakers:

Beverley Else, founder of Celebrate Lake Simcoe

Dr. William Shotyk, Professor of Geochemistry at the University of Heidelberg in Germany and founder of the Elmvale Water Festival

Jeff Monague, teacher & councillor, Beausoleil First Nation

Darren White, Deputy Mayor of Melancthon Township and a leader in the fight against the Mega-Quarry

Agenda includes - 9:30-10:15 Nominations and Election of Directors

- 10:30-11:45 Panel discussion

- 12 noon-12:30 New business, open forum, networking

Refreshments provided, including home-baked goodies

BRING A FRIEND!

More info: t 705-812-0643, email: aware.simcoe@gmail.com

http://www.aware-simcoe.ca/

https://twitter.com/AWARESimcoe

DIRECTIONS: 3912 30th Sd/Rd & Big Bay Point Road in Innisfil - 705-436-1378 From Painswick (Hwy 11 South of Barrie) go East on Big Bay Point Road to stop sign at 25th Sd/Rd. Turn left and follow almost to the end and then turn left on 30th Sd/Rd.

HELP US MAKE LOCAL GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENT, ACCOUNTABLE & RESPONSIBLE

Springwater Council after the Honeymoon

2011-04-22T00:03:00.000-04:00

The Springwater councillors have now been exposed to the numerous training and orientation sessions pertaining to the various activities that they were elected to oversee. Most are doing well and I would say only one councillor appears to be struggling with reading the many reports prior to the meetings. The reason for this observation is the questions from this councillor typically make no reference to the reports provided and normally come from left field. Being a councillor takes at least twenty hours of week if not more. I am sure the councillor can adjust over time.

On a positive note, for the most part the Councillors are doing their homework and challenging the things they should, especially in matters where hundreds of thousands of dollars are being spent. The new councillors challenge and question the reports with good questions in a very respectful manner. There is a tendency for the returning members of council and the new deputy mayor to lean toward what staff thinks is right rather than engaging in the debate and moving the township forward. Springwater has a competent staff and provide good input, but the direction must come from the elected officials which is starting to happen.

One example from the April 18th council is the discussion on the request for a new fire truck for close to a quarter of a million dollars. The existing truck is about 20 years old has 45,000 km and according to the chief can be put back into top operating shape for about $5,000 and might last another 4 years. Councillors Hanna, Webster, McConkey and Ritchie all asked appropriate questions that were not really answered. The threat of an unsubstantiated increase in residential insurance rates and the possibility of losing a special deal swayed the McConkey and Ritchie vote with only Hanna and Webster seeking a deferral of the resolution until more information was brought forward. The motion to purchase the $238,000 vehicle was supported by all members of council except Hanna and Webster. First of all the age of the trucks is only one part of the weighting factors for changing the fire insurance protection rating of a municipality. Proximity, number of firefighters and training have more impact on rates than the trucks. The second point that this was a special deal is baseless. Every specialty equipment manufacturer’s orders have been down for the last 3 years. To retain key staff and keep operating the companies are building a variety of products on speculation and if this deal goes by, I can assure you there is a better one not far down the road. A proper report of the actual insurance rating impact should have been received before approving the purchase. I feel the council prematurely approved a huge expenditure which may have been delayed a few years reducing our tax bill without compromising the safety and security of the residents.

The good news is that the second request for a new snowplow truck, again just shy of a quarter of a million dollars, was deferred with a good scenario presented by Councillor Webster where he challenged public works to rethink the way they have historically done their plow routes. This is why we have councilors to represent our interests. Kudos to Webster for his idea. That doesn’t mean it will work but the fact that it is being considered is positive.

The most detailed and thorough report, with no missing gaps, was from Ron Belcourt the Director of Recreation. I know Ron knows where all the bodies are buried in Springwater but his complete analysis of the cost of township supplied lawn maintenance versus subcontracting is one of the best reports I have seen presented to council in the last 5 years. I took some of his numbers, and I have done a lot of this analysis in my career, and I was within a few dollars of his calculations. If every manager provided information as Ron did, the council meetings would be easy. I am sure we will see more reports like that from the key staff, as it makes a councillor much more confident in their decision making.

I am still dissatisfied with the lip service given to public transparency at the council meetings, which all candidates promised to institute during the election. Providing a time at the end of the council meetings after the adjournment is not transparency. There is no requirement for the comments to be recorded in any official minutes. The public comment and question session should be a limited time within the actual council meeting, not outside of the meeting.

Even though it may surprise some, I disagree with the fact that council did not include themselves in the modified salary increases as somewhere down the road there will be a huge adjustment. The two tiered percentage increase system council adopted for this year is creative and allows the lower salaried groups who have been most hard hit with HST and gas increases a little more income, while limiting the increases at the higher income levels where it is not felt as much. I also do not agree with a total cutoff of the provided food for long meetings for either staff or councillors working into the evening hours after spending a good part of the day in meetings.

But enough of that. The good news is that this is a fairly cohesive and dynamic council with many differing positions which is quite healthy and adds to the dialogue and debate. Gone is the groupthink mentality of the last three councils. Bullying would not bode well with this group I can assure you. The mayor even though frustrated at times, because of the many questions, allows the members to speak and has been able to keep control which is a feat in itself. This council is being cautious of spending which is a good lesson for all levels of government.

So far so good would be my assessment.

Who will pay off the debt?

2011-04-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

It will be difficult to decide who to vote for in this election. The parties promise similar spending habits with some more agressive than others.
No one talks about how to pay down the long term debt that now represents a debt owing by every man woman and child to the tune of about $16,500 per person. That is in addition to the personal debt of over extended Canadians.
Ask your candidate how they will not only retire the deficits of the last number of years and the ones projected for the next 5 or 6 years. Ask them how they plan to reduce the over 2/3's of a trillion dollar nation debt that grows every minute.
To view Canada's national debt go to this link.
http://www.debtclock.ca/ticker/widget.html

Inadvertant Creation of Poverty

2011-03-29T12:06:00.000-04:00

First of all the mayor and councillors did a thorough job of vetting the budget for Springwater and did so in a prudent manner. I have no quarrel with the process or the results for the most part. However, the Springwater budget and the County’s future direction are unfairly burdening the low income families and their lower assessed properties with a higher proportion of the tax.

Let me explain the overall impact on your township portion of the 2011 tax bill. If you own a $400,000 dollar home you will pay $19.00 less; a $300,000 home $17 more; and if you are at the bottom of the heap trying to make ends meet with a $200,000 home you will pay almost $53 more. How does that make sense?

Part of the problem comes from the way the Springwater policing charges are being assessed in 2011. In the past everyone paid a $70 flat fee plus a mill rate based on property assessment. In 2010 you paid the following for policing based on assessment value, $155.11 for $200,000 home; $197.66 for a $300,000 home; $240.22 for a $400,000 home and $282.77 for $500,000 home. People with more disposable income in their $500,000 home paid about $130 more than someone in a $200,000 home. Sounds fair? In 2011 everyone will pay $194 regardless of assessed value. The new system adds a $40 burden to those that typically lack the means and are on fixed income, while those that have plenty will save almost $90. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I attended some of the budget meetings and heard the discussion and actually agreed with the logic that everyone should know what policing costs. I did not think of the actual impact of a flat rate approach on those that are less fortunate.

Both the Township and County appear to heading towards more user fee based systems rather than factoring it into the mill rate (sounds like a typical downloading scheme that we have seen with both the Federal and Provincial Governments). This will destroy those at the lower end of the scale as they will be overburdened with added costs. They already have less because of the impact of HST on the necessities of life such as heating and electricity. Everyone seems to punish them for being less fortunate. Does that mean that in the future road maintenance, snow plowing and recreation buildings will be fully funded by flat rate charges on the tax bill rather than part of the mill rate? That is definitely a departure from the concept of a cooperative community based tax system.

Keep an eye on Waste Management at the County as they move to a $2 per bag fee in 2012 rather than the costs being absorbed as part of the general tax bill. Again those at the bottom will pay proportionately more than those that can actually afford it.

I suggest you contact the Mayor, Deputy Mayor or your councillor and ask them to revisit their move to separate charges on tax bills for various services. Services such as policing and waste collection should be provided within an overall tax mill rate. Our country was built on the concept that those that have will subsidize those that do not. Picking up on a line from Michael Jacob’s last editorial in the Springwater News, I believe we are our brother’s keeper.

Springwater Council – moving forward

2011-02-14T12:05:00.002-05:00

I want to correct a misperception I may have created in my last posting. Councillors Webster, McConkey and Hanna approached me at the last council meeting and mentioned that I left the impression in my last article that this council was focused on percentage in the budget deliberation. This is not true. There was a brief discussion at one of the early budget meetings on whether a simple percentage approach should be taken and it was rejected. The new Springwater Council has went through the line items and are cutting costs where possible and at the same time trying to avoid any service delivery disruption. They will be tabling the budget at the next meeting and I am sure the residents will appreciate the thoroughness of the process. When I reread my posting I realized I failed to separate the process that was used by the County and the Township. The County was more focused on the percentage approach. My point in the budget process is that it should only include what is needed to meet the needs of the tax payer. It should not include unneeded expenditures such as outside consultants doing the work that staff are paid to do or that could be done with key stakeholders and volunteers in the community. The council in the budget deliberation has been very effective in this area and should be congratulated.
With 5 of the members of Springwater Council being new, they did an excellent job at the 2011 budget and I am sure next year will improve their efforts and give us more value for our hard earned tax dollars. A positive move on this front was from Councillor Jack Hannna who suggested the establishment of a budget committee at the Feb 7th Council meeting under Items for Future Consideration. It received support from the other councilors which illustrates there is an eagerness by all to better serve the residents of Springwater from a fiscal perspective. This Council is getting things done by planning ahead and the addition of the Items for Future Consideration on every Council Agenda is quite effective in having new ideas brought forward. It prompts the council to think into the future. It is subtle, but you are now seeing a council driven agenda rather than a staff led exercise which I find quite refreshing
I was also pleased that the Council has passed a resolution to allow the Elmvale Foodbank to move to the unoccupied Knox Building and use the old Council Chambers. This should have been undertaken by the past council as the need was stated clearly in a deputation last May.
My next comment is truly a personal perspective and is not a concern for most people. Councillor McConkey asked about adding a public portion to the Items for Future Consideration section of the agenda before the closed session part of council. Deputy Mayor McLean and Councillors Webster and Clement spoke against the idea and were not interested in opening the actual council agenda up to open dialogue which I find disappointing. I think the reasons stated for not doing it were weak and not well discussed as few people attend the meetings. The good news is that there is an opportunity to ask questions and make comments at the end of the meeting after the adjournment which I guess will suffice for most people. Wasaga Beach have used an open 15 minute question period in the body of the Council Agenda for some time and have not encountered any of the fears expressed by Deputy Mayor Dan McLean. I do find the council position a little disappointing and contrary to what everyone stated at the public debates during the election campaign.
I also have one minor complaint which is easily corrected and was probably a simple oversight. I addressed a point to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council via email. Two councilors phoned me and we discussed the issue which is great. The disappointment is that the written response I received which told me things I already know, which I found condescending, was provided by staff. If correspondence is addressed to council it should be responded by someone from council and most likely the Mayor. If it is a highly technical issue than the response from the elected official should say something to the effect that the matter was referred to that person, but the response should come from the elected official. If you check the correspondence that the council received on their agenda at the Feb 7th meeting, Premier Dalton McGuinty provided a written response to a letter from the Mayor and Council regarding the specimen collection issue in Elmvale. That is common courtesy.
I know this council has only been at it for 3 months and still in the honeymoon stage but it is great to see individual ideas are encouraged and yet still able to retain a common purpose of doing what is best for the Township of Springwater. I hope when we start addressing the real challenges such as growth and development that this council will dedicate the same energy to those important and difficult issues.
Council can only be as responsive to the needs of the residents of Springwater, if they know what they are. Come to the Council and Planning Committee meeting as that is where the future of Springwater is shaped. If you cannot do that email or write to your councilor and tell then what you think is important in your area. Far too few of us speak up and simply grumble behind the scenes. That is not effective or productive.
Since I follow it diligently, I know that we do have a council, that I think can get the job done and has a lot of fresh ideas and few personal agendas. That is what we wanted and that is what we got. I can only hope that the openness I have seen with the individuals remains for the next 44 months. Effective councils will have a healthy level of conflict. That is good as it challenges the individuals to do their job and not rest on their laurels. They can only do that, if they are held accountable and yes supported in those things that matter.
Keep abreast of what is going on in Springwater. It is our community, so let’s be part of the solution.

Township and County Missed Opportunities

2011-02-06T17:12:00.002-05:00

I was pleased that a few more people were out for the January 24th Springwater Council meeting. You can see that the councilors are beginning to build their confidence and taking charge of their responsibilities. I have great hopes for this council and I think they may take our township to a much more successful level over the next 45 months.
At Monday’s meeting the only thing that I thought was shortsighted or not fully explored was the response to a simple request for a donation to the Annual Simcoe County Plowing Match that is being held in Beeton in August. There was a request for a $300 donation as the previous council had made in the past. I appreciate the focus on controlling costs but I can guarantee there is an easy $300 to save in administrative costs that could be better utilized supporting the core part of Springwater’s economy, farming. Mayor Collins was the only person to speak against the motion to turn down the request. I am surprised that councillors, Ritchie, Webster and McConkey did not support the request as many of their constituents are farmers. I should also chastise the author of the request as it was addressed “To Whom it may Concern”. If the Plowmen’s Association hasn’t taken the time to know the new council members, then maybe they don’t deserve the support. Common courtesy would have the letter and request addressed to mayor by name and the council as a whole. One good piece of news is that there is now an open session at the end of each council meeting for the public to ask questions. This is your chance to bring issues to the floor for future consideration. I hope our two County Representatives, the mayor and deputy mayor suggest a similar procedure at the County Meetings.
The other matter that concerns me, both at the township and county level, is the focus on the percentage increase in spending rather than the actual expenditures. Springwater Councillors have been doing a good job at questioning the line items which I find refreshing, but there is still too much focus on making the decision based on percentage. I agree that most people will be pleased with a 1.5% increase in their overall taxes, but in business we always strived for lower costs year over year. There are continually new technologies that assist in improving efficiencies, better ways of doing things such as a continuous improvement programs that can ultimately deliver the same quality of services at a much lower prices therefore reducing the overall operation of the township. I don’t think there is a lot to find in savings for those people that actually do the work like plowing our roads, keeping our recreation facilities in order, or protecting our safety, but as business has discovered in the last ten years, bureaucracy needs to be the focus and reduced. Council may feel they have done their job by holding taxes to a 1.5% increase, but did they really do the complete job? They can be excused this year as a budget has to be finalized and time is of the essence. I just hope next year they really look into all aspects of the cost of running this corporation. There are many capable minds on this council that have the business background and experience to do so.
I attended the Simcoe County Council Meeting on January 25th and it was also a refreshing change with a new attitude. There was little condescension, negative comment or people simply pushing their agendas. Many good questions and comments were forthcoming and I was pleased to see Mayor Collins and Deputy Mayor McLean engaged which is no easy task as they are new on this 32 person council. The previous council definitely lost the respect of the general populace because of the arrogance and high pressure tactics of both the head of council and a few bureaucrats during the Site 41 fiasco. The quarter million dollar public relations campaign did very little to fix it. One thing that would have went a long way to heal some of the ill feelings was missed at the meeting. Ray Millar the Tiny Mayor tabled a motion to add Gord McKay the Midland Mayor to the Waste Management Committee. The committee positions were appointed when McKay was absent. Gord is one of the most well read and researched person on the council when it comes to understanding the big picture of waste strategy. The motion was defeated as the old guard that supported Site 41 still has a lot of influence which is not conducive to rebuilding trust. This could have been a giant step forward and provided a new voice and perspective on this pressing issue.
It is important that we make ourselves aware of the actions of council. In 2011 over $20,000,000 will be spent by the Township of Springwater and over $400,000,000 by the County. Most of that comes out of our pocket.
We are the shareholders of these operations. If we do not engage, or ask questions then we have no right to complain. Come out to a few Springwater Council and County of Simcoe Council meetings and see how your elected representative is working for you.

First Council Meeting of 2011

2011-01-13T17:32:00.002-05:00

I attended the first Springwater Council Meeting of 2011 on Monday January 10.
This is a different council and my impression from the meeting is that they are not a bunch of puppets as we witnessed in the previous council. I just hope that more than Jackie Ritchie and I will monitor and follow this council over the next four years. If more of us participate we can build a fine township and move into the future together.
All the councillors asked good questions and did not rubber stamp reports or other agenda items. It sounded like they did their homework and actually read the information provided to them. Yes, that is their job and I hope they keep it up. There were a few rough spots but growing pains are natural and healthy.
I liked their questioning things like the actual line item expenses on the payables register and not just approving it. They questioned spending money on the Knox building to prepare for a possible doctor but with no guarantee from the recruiters that any will come. They questioned the costs to renovate the basement of the library when we have a vacant Knox building. That is good common sense fiscal management. I hope this council drives the bureaucrats to more accountability in the term and moves away from a somewhat country club atmosphere that existed at the Admin Centre. That is not totally staff's fault as they lacked leadership and direction from the former council. So far this counciil appears to understand that it is their job to run the township and get the job done by providing clear direction to staff. That is the way it is supposed to work.
The meeting went to 10:30 which signifies that they are doing their job. I won't expect to be home by 7:30 or earlier as I did in the last term of council.
So far we are getting our money's worth from this newly elected council.
Our new mayor Linda Collins did a good job in controlling the meeting which is no longer an easy task as these new councillors think for themselves and do want to make a difference. They also appear eager to be engaged on behalf of their constituents.
Good work and good luck to them all.

New Host - Rogers Politically Speaking Collingwood

2011-01-04T18:44:00.001-05:00

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22, 2010 (COLLINGWOOD, ON) - Bill French is joining Rogers TV Collingwood as host of Politically Speaking Collingwood. As a recent Mayoral candidate for the Township of Springwater, Bill’s commitment and passion for local politics positions him well as host of Politically Speaking.

Bill began his career in broadcasting in the late 60’s honing his management skills and deciding on a career in business. This provided the opportunity for him to lead some of the finest entertainment related businesses, nationally and internationally in senior executive positions. They included HUCHM Productions, AP Video International, Sierra Communications all in Canada, Cinram POP DVD Centre in Los Angeles, Trace Optical in Boston and Cinram International in both Canada and Europe.

Currently, Bill operates a management consulting company Lordwill Enterprises Inc. that focuses on strategic planning, business development, interim management and executive training. Bill also teaches business courses at Georgian College on a regular basis. He is a regular contributor to Springwater News providing commentary on local politics and other issues.

Bill is pleased to host Politically Speaking, Collingwood and to discuss matters like the economy, job creation, growth management in the region, waste management and the environment with local MP’s, MPP’s and elected officials from Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, and Clearview Township.

“Having spent the first part of my career in local television, it is with great enthusiasm that I can now bring local political issues to the public in this interactive show format”, states Bill.

Politically Speaking is a LIVE call-in show allowing local residents to call in with questions, comments or concerns. Bill will host his first program on Wednesday, January 5th, 2011, LIVE at 8:00 pm only on Rogers TV, cable channel 53.

Rogers TV is a unique TV channel where community members take an active role in conceptualizing and producing programming for local audiences. Our staff and volunteers produce informative and entertaining local programming, reinforcing Rogers’ commitment to the communities we serve. Rogers is Canada's largest provider of wireless voice and data communications services and one of Canada's leading providers of cable television, high-speed Internet and telephony services. Rogers TV is only available to Rogers’ customers, including the company's 2.3 million cable customers in Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. For more information on Rogers Communications Inc., visit www.rogers.com. For more information on Rogers TV programs, visit www.rogerstv.com.

Locally, Rogers TV, cable channel 53 serves the cities of and surrounding Collingwood, Wasaga Beach, Creemore, Stayner, and Elmvale.

-30-

For more information:

Lucille E. Dalziel, Publicity and Promotions Coordinator

(705) 737-4660, ext. 6977 (Simcoe County)

lucille.dalziel@rci.rogers.com

www.rogerstv.com

What People In Springwater Say about Development

2010-12-10T12:40:00.001-05:00

Development In Springwater-This is what the people think.

During the election campaign, many people expressed a desire to see the Township of Springwater retain its enviable lifestyle of rural and small urban living. Many stated that they moved to Springwater because of the proximity to Barrie but also the ease of access to a quieter and simpler style of living. Most acknowledged that they were willing to forego some of the amenities offered by the larger urban centres, if they could retain the open space, small community atmosphere and access to nature.

To better understand the wishes of the residents I signed up to use an online survey tool and constructed a brief survey for residents to complete if they so desired. A number completed the survey and here are the results of that survey.

The questions were simple and easy to follow.

Most people have thought about the potential of uncontrolled development especially in the Midhurst and Hillsdale areas.

The fact that 80% of people feel that development must be controlled goes against the concept that developers are the best ones to decide how to build the future of Springwater.

It appears that most residents feel that Springwater is an area where smaller developments are in order that are complimentary to the mainly rural nature of the township. There are obviously a lot less conflicts with agriculture if we continue at the pace we have experienced over the last many years.

The 500 plus proposed development projects are contrary to all provincial planning policies in non growth areas and definitely not something that is desired by most of Springwater residents. I am sure the two respondents in the 500 or more homes a year represented some of our larger development community.

It is interesting to note that Midhurst and Hillsdale with two official plans and the township’s focus for larger developments are out of sync with what the electorate feel is appropriate. We know the largest developments on the table comprising about 5,000 homes over the next 20 years are focused around Midhurst.

It is interesting that many residents including those in Midhurst think that is poor planning and inappropriate for Springwater. The Province in its guiding policies would like to see development in areas that already have complete infrastructure. The only fully serviced community and only complete community is Elmvale. I find it interesting that the general public have put more thought into future development than all the expert staff and previous council members.

This next issue doesn’t need to be regurgitated but is interesting. If you want to really understand how poorly the rates were established and implemented speak to Fred Archer.

I witnessed the mixed messages he received from the previous elected officials during his number of appearances at planning and council meetings earlier this year. I understand that the whole development charge matter will be one of the first things this council will address.

The employment land focus is the Hillsdale Flos Four West/CR 93 area, Snow Valley and Bertram Business Park, which are all good areas for industrial growth.

However, there seems to be little done to promote Elmvale employment lands where there is access to an excellent labour force and a number of support services that could be an incentive for companies that want to locate in Springwater.

When it comes to development, it is the people of Springwater that should decide. There is a misconception that development will mean a new stream of revenue for a municipality. If you read the Hemson report that was prepared for the County prior to their most recent Official Plan, it suggests that there is no proof that new development of any kind provides addition free cash from the actual development charges or the new assessment. The expenses for new and added services that accompany development typically equal or exceed the new revenue stream. At best development is revenue neutral.

Everyone I met during my campaign, except for a few developers and land speculators, believe that Springwater should grow at a slower and more orderly pace then our big neighbor to the south. Springwater is not a designated urban node growth centre and its allocation of another 6,000 people over the next 20 years by the province in its Growth Plan Amendment would allow the township to address the needs of its residents in a well planned fashion without incurring a major debt servicing. That would mean about 150 homes a year on average which would be easily incorporated into the existing services and infrastructure.

Talk to your newly elected officials and emphasize the importance and urgency of the need for the township to develop its own concise plan for future development. It must be our elected officials that create the long term vision and plan for orderly growth, rather than the paid staff or the large developers. They should be viewed and used as advisors. They should not be the decision makers. My experience as a committee of adjustment member for 5 years suggested that some staff have a distorted view of good planning which is not necessarily in the best of the township.

Springwater’s residential, commercial and industrial growth must be complimentary to the rural nature of the township. This allows our settlement areas to live in close harmony with the mainly agricultural landscape of Springwater.

Keep informed and attend the Planning Meetings whenever you can and attend public meetings on Planning issues when they arise.

Everyone on this new council appears to be open and interested in a more transparent approach to government in Springwater. Keep informed and spend the time to talk to this fresh group of individuals. They have the ability to move this township out of its adolescence and be an example of an efficient, visionary municipality.

Bill French

Grenfel

Springwater Council Inauguration

2010-12-10T09:57:00.000-05:00

Dec 6, 2010: With rather inclement snowy and windy weather, over 200 people braved the elements and attended the first inauguration of a Township Council at Springwater’s new Administration Centre that opened in the Fall of 2009. The new council includes Mayor Linda Collins, Deputy Mayor Dan McLean, Councilors Dan Clement, Perry Ritchie, Rick Webster, Sandy McConkey and Jack Hanna.

The atmosphere was different this time around. There was a fresh, positive and upbeat expectation from the crowd that gathered. Most of the new council were surrounded by friends, supporters and members of the public that have made Springwater a very special place to live, work and play.

Justice James C. Crawford who officiated the Oath of Office and Oath of Allegiance commented that as a criminal court judge he seldom has the opportunity to conduct such positive and uplifting ceremonies.

Most of the new councilors thanked those that had assisted in their campaign and all acknowledged the support of family in the campaign and in public life.

Mayor Collins in her first address as Mayor repeated her campaign promise of building a team of trust and cooperation. She thanked the previous mayors of Springwater including Coutts, Brown and Guergis for their dedication and different styles of leadership which has brought the township to where it is today. She acknowledged the enthusiasm of the new council and I think there is a general agreement that this new council is different from the councils before it.

It appears that all new members of council want to engage the public and all seem to be easy to talk to. I was told that the council will implement changes that will allow public comment and engagement in the near future. That will be positive for both the residents and will better inform the council of various issues of the electorate.

I am sure it may have been a result of the timetable or a simple oversight, but a number of people that contribute to the well being and orderly operation of the township were not appropriately recognized. It would have been a gesture of goodwill if all those that have applied and been accepted on the 9 boards and committees had been recognized rather than just a call for the newly appointed members to stand. These are the committees and their members. Accessibility Advisory Committee, Denise Calvert, Natalie McCarthy, Marg O’Neill, Peggy Norton-Harris and Deputy Mayor Dan McLean; Committee of Adjustment, Gregory Barker, Cor Kapteyn, Tami Kitay, Gerald Sullivan and Robert McClung; Fenceviewers, Jim Lalonde, Charlie Renaud and Gerald Sullivan; Heritage Committee, Peter Archer, John Beaulieu, Ruth Byers, Greig Stewart, Don Molloy, Philip Saunders, Marlene Hilton Moore and Councillor Sandy McConkey; Library Board, Lisa Buchanan, Margaret Campbell, Helena Howell, Donna Kenwell, Nancy Kuikman, Reet Skelton, Dave Snedden, Brenda Stride, Monique Winter and Councillor McConkey; Livestock Valuers, Reg Cown, Charlie Renaud, and Bernard Terry; Recreation Advisory Committee, Carl Luoma, Jill Robertson, Karen Ritchie, Doug Kirton and Councillors Dan Clement and Jack Hanna; Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, Councillors Perry Ritchie and Rick Webster; Community Policing Committee, Councillors Webster and Hanna. All these people need our support in these important positions.

During the campaign there were a number of references to the township being young and like an adolescent. I believe this newly elected council will finally bring the township to a level of maturity where self serving interests will be set aside. Having chatted with all the new council members, I do see a focus will be placed on what is good for both the Township as a corporation and the 18,000 residents that call it home.

Congratulations to the new council and those many people that have accepted the positions on the local committees and boards.

Is it fun to lose? NO!

2010-11-02T13:29:00.001-04:00

Is it fun to lose? NO! My reflection on Running for Mayor in Springwater Township

With that said, I would not have missed the opportunity of meeting so many people in Springwater over the last two months. Travelling around our vast township, I was encouraged and inspired by the hundreds of people I was able to speak with. I personally visited about three thousand homes in Elmvale, Phelpston, Hillsdale, Anten Mills, Snow Valley, Centre Vespra and Minesing areas. Securing 33% of the votes attest to the fact that people did want change in our Township. I was disappointed I could not crack the deep rooted political force led by some of our previous municipal leaders. The real problem the group had with me was their feeling I had not paid my dues by working my way through the ranks. I think that was a narrow view. I ran on experienced leadership that has been so lacking and exemplified by recent self serving heads of council. But as they say that is politics.

I enjoyed our town hall meetings, even the one in Minesing where the former deputy mayor spent more time defending the old council instead of being an effective moderator. It became clear after he interrupted my first question at 30 seconds that he was out to disparage me. The good thing is that people are not stupid and recognized his petty politics. I really enjoyed the live Rogers TV debate in Barrie and was a little disappointed that my two opponents did not want to engage in another televised debate from Rogers in Collingwood.

When I review everything I did during the campaign, I cannot think of any real changes I would have made. My platform was clear and the people I spoke to supported it. Transparency and Fiscal Management are important to everyone in the township and I hope this council follows through.

I was amused by one fact. If you recall, the past council spearheaded by the two former heads of council (complaining about Michael Jacob’s editorials) passed a unanimous motion to move the Township information page to the Barrie Advance from the Springwater News for a year because they wanted more effective communication. Isn’t it ironic that every one of those candidates running for council (including the outgoing mayor) ran ads in the Springwater News and none in the Advance. To me this illustrates the petty politics of the last council which I hope is gone for good. I must give a special plug to the Springwater News . Many of the people I spoke to during the campaign asked if I was the Bill French or C. William French that wrote letters to the editor and business articles in Springwater News and the answer of course was yes. Many commented on the campaign ads I ran and asked good questions prompted by those ads. This little home grown newspaper is read in all areas of the township. Why? Because people want to know what is going on in their municipality. I hope the new councilors pick up on Michael Jacobs’s offer to publish comments from the new councilors in the Springwater News on a regular basis. You will notice that the local MP’s and MPP’s file regular columns and actually pay for them because they find the paper a valuable communication link.

Would I do it again? The simple answer is yes, but based on the newly elected members of council, it will most likely be unnecessary. Even before this last campaign, I approached our new incoming deputy mayor after he filed his nomination papers and asked him if he wanted to consider stepping up to the Mayor position. I contacted him as his first newspaper ad seemed to be in tune with my thinking. I told him that if he wanted to run for mayor, I would most likely withdraw and support his efforts. I ran because I felt and still feel that I was the only candidate for mayor that had actual leadership experience and could lead this council and the township to a new level of performance. The good news is that there are a number of new councilors that have the background and experience to seek the top job in the next election and I believe will push to make the changes I outlined in my campaign during the new term.

In the end I did not get the job I sought but I am pleased that more voters engaged in the process. We the voters have brought new faces and a fresh approach to the next four years of council. We definitely got change and rid ourselves of self serving interests.

In closing I must thank the more than 50 people that volunteered and assisted in all aspects of my campaign. A special thanks to the encouragement I received from people like Keith and Ina Wood and God’s blessing on Donny Nelson who I promised two weeks before his passing that I would challenge the position for mayor. Another special thanks goes to the lady I call Super Trooper! She knows who she is.

Bill French

Grenfel

Collins Wins with a Decisive Margin

2010-10-26T10:09:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Linda Collins on her victory on Monday Night.
The people have spoken and have entrusted you to put Springwater back on track following many years of poor leadership.
I wish you well.

Bill French

Development-But at what cost?

2010-02-25T10:42:00.003-05:00

The more I read about residential development, I find it interesting that most of the potential development land in Springwater Township is held by a few speculators under different corporate holding company names. At Council and Planning meetings it sounds like the council feels obliged to respond to their bullying tactics and grant them development rights. Many of the designated residential growth areas are not yet zoned for development and most are still agriculture. There is no rush to build on these designated lands. In the Midhurst area most land designated for future expansion is actually prime agricultural land.
I for one, am not for fast and large residential development as it is not complimentary to the rural nature of Springwater. Large developers have their place in the world and work very well in larger urban centres like Barrie for example. The size of their developments in the 2,000 plus homes would not be unusual and would bring little attention as they would be in keeping with other developments in the area. As a comparison a 2,000 home development would mean about 5,000 extra residents in Barrie or a growth of less than 3%. If you take that same development size and place it in Springwater that would be a 30% increase in population. There are two developments of that size planned for Midhurst by one developer. That to me is uncontrolled growth that the township is not capable of properly controlling or servicing. I prefer the orderly development of the smaller developers and builders that has occurred in Elmvale, Anten Mills, Phelpston, Snow Valley and Minesing. The developments to date in the Midhurst and Hillsdale area have also been orderly, but that could change dramatically if some mega projects proceed.
It appears that both developers and council at times pick and choose their particular take on provincial policies. The one thing that is ignored is more jobs closer to home. The idea of compact accessible communities as dictated by the province attempts to reduce the dependence on the automobile. That means there must be more jobs closer to residential development. The intent of the province was not to create more bedroom communities. I was intrigued to read the agenda for the Feb 25th Springwater Planning Committee meeting where one developer is attempting to re-designate land from Employment to Commercial some distance from the residential clusters of Snow Valley or Midhurst. I am sure it simple economics. It is tough to find a job creating Manufacturing or Service enterprise, but probably easy to find another tenant for a strip retail plaza. The agenda says the request is from Geranium through its various land holding companies. I was pleased to see that planning has recommended no action on this request.
Don’t get me wrong, I believe in progress and growth but at a reasonable and cautionary pace. I know we can’t stand still and I would be the last to suggest such a thing. I plead with residents to get involved, talk to your councillors and come to the planning meetings. Without your input the councillors at times feel they have no alternative but to give into the pressure of these large corporations that do not understand or care about the rural nature and character of Springwater Township. We are the stakeholders of this Township. If we do not express our views, we will get what we deserve, unbridled and poor development. We are at that precipice in development in Springwater. In the end, if we fail to engage, we will be paying higher taxes for infrastructure long after these opportunists have went on to pillage the next small municipality

Very Very Very Frustrating Experience

2010-02-09T02:35:00.003-05:00

This article is not as refined as I would like, but I felt needed to be published on this site as a cry for help.
There is no other way I can describe the County of Simcoe Waste Management Strategy information session I attended in Alliston on Monday night at the Nottawasaga Inn. The County politicians and staff continually complain that they do not seem to be able to get the message out to the taxpayers. What they seem to be missing is that the message they are sending is either unclear or to put it more bluntly unacceptable.
It becomes painfully obvious that neither the County nor Stantec truly understand waste management. When questioned, the Stantec mouthpiece stated the best approach to waste management is diversion. That is the fundamental flaw in the strategy. There was nothing outlined on any of their boards that even remotely suggested that the aim in the long term is the elimination of the necessity for waste management. It won’t happen over night, but that has to be the goal. In other words there is nothing in the plan to eliminate waste at the source, except for supporting the initiative that the province may undertake in its Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) direction and some education to encourage consumers to make better choices.
The end result of this $200,000 plus Stantec contract, which will now be in excess of $250,000 in my estimation (because of these pesky taxpayers that want to be involved in the process which was not planned), will recommend more diversion, less pickups, more user pay fees and so on. Same old stuff as we have seen for the last 20 years since the County became responsible for waste management.
The open house itself spoke loudly to the County and Stantec’s lack of environmental understanding or awareness. Do they not realize that waste management is an environmental concern as it impacts our water and air. Here are some examples of environmental ignorance. The large display boards were all mounted on foam core which is Styrofoam based (very difficult to recycle or reuse). When asked, no one could tell me if the printed material that was distributed was recycled. I would say it was not, based on the feel and finish. There were free shirts and bags handed out to the attendees. The bag was re-useable, but the expense was a waste. I assume this was advised by their $250,000 PR consulting firm. This could have been eliminated and no one would have been disappointed. The survey booklet asks whether the County itself should undertake a “green procurement” policy. Most companies including the large auto manufacturers have done this for years as part of their ISO 14000 environmental responsibility certification which was first published in 1996. How can the County suggests it’s a leader in waste when it has not even attempted it themselves.
People please get involved. The County and Stantec are attempting to fast track a plan that in my estimation may be worse than what led to Site 41. Millions of dollars again could be wasted on another 20 years of misdirection. The Strategic Plan should not be finalized until the province concludes its long term direction or we will be in the same situation as we now find ourselves with the growth plan for the County. Phone, email and write your Mayors and Deputy Mayors (they are the County Councillors and decision makers) and have the process slow down so proper vetting can take place. I know former warden Guergis would like to add a completed waste management strategy to his resume as one of his accomplishments before the next election, but an ill conceived strategy will do very little good for us the taxpayers. We will be paying long after Mr. Guergis rides into the sunset at the next election. Please threaten your local politicians with political loss if they fail to take control and truly develop a well thought out plan that the County of Simcoe can be proud of.
Please attend either the meeting Tuesday Feb 9 at the Wasaga RecPlex or the Wednesday Feb 10 meeting in Midland at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre from 4:30 to 8:00. The presentation and Q & A is at 7:00. Have your voice heard.
I was recently reminded that if we fail to participate in the democratic process we will be governed by those that do.

No Wonder People are Frustrated

2010-02-08T10:11:00.005-05:00

I read the attached article by Stephen Ogden. (Just click on the title above and it will take you there).

It is almost unbelievable that county politicians and staff are so isolated in their thinking on waste management. It is clear that this vision written 20 years ago was an actual plan, not some spin created by a county bureaucrat through their consultant stooge. This only reinforces the importance of residents attending the information sessions on waste management that I posted recently. Please come out and support those who are truly trying to correct a travesty that is only being amplified by our county politicians and senior staff.

We Need Your Voice on Waste Management

2010-02-06T10:03:00.004-05:00

Do Not Miss these Meetings:

On Monday Feb 8, Tuesday Feb 9 and Wednesday Feb 10 next week, the County are hosting information sessions. It is imperative that as many people as possible engage in this exercise. For the skeptics like me, the open houses are a charade. However it will do us no good not to participate. We cannot allow the arrogance of the county bureaucrats to control the destiny and continue with their ill fated plans for waste management. Your attendance will certainly be uplifting to those people on the Waste Management Strategy Advisory committee who are working hard for a visionary and long term sustainable solution.

Please come out closer to the 7:00 p.m. time slot as that is the only time there will be an open forum for questions. The first two and half hours is window dressing where the county's stooges will try to lull you into a false sense of security. Don't buy it for a second.

The following information is lifted directly from the County website.

Seeking your input...

We all generate waste. At the County of Simcoe, it is our job to manage your solid waste. To do this in the most environmentally and fiscally responsible ways, work has begun on a waste management strategy.
The strategy process will consider options to deal with your waste including:
• Ways to further encourage waste reduction and reuse
• Ways to encourage waste diversion
• How garbage, organics and recyclables will be collected
• Options for the processing of recyclables and organics
• How waste is transferred
• How do we dispose of garbage in the future
Before we move forward, we need to discuss the many options with YOU and get YOUR input. That’s why the County of Simcoe is hosting a series of public consultation sessions to get your thoughts on how we can work together to manage your waste.
Join us at the following locations to share your perspective. For more information, please visit wastestrategy.simcoe.ca.
Feb. 8
Nottawasaga Inn 6015 Highway 89, Crystal Ballroom
Alliston
4:30PM to 8:00PM

Feb. 9
Wasaga Beach RecPlex
1724 Mosley Street, Oakview Room
Wasaga Beach
4:30PM to 8:00PM

Feb.10
North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre
527 Lens Self Boulevard, Bill Thompson Room
Midland
4:30PM to 8:00PM

Same Old County Approach

2010-01-20T12:48:00.003-05:00

I attended the Waste Advisory Committee meeting in Midhurst on Monday.
It now appears that the motion by the former Warden to form the committee was more about positioning and control rather than really finding new leading edge solutions for waste.
It appears that Stantec have been given a mandate to keep going in the same direction with some lip service that the County is a leader in waste management. Now that is a joke.
In business, we would at times establish a steering committee and they would discuss where we wanted to go in general terms and decide on a general vision. If the vision required outside expertise such as a company or consultant like Stantec, then so be it.
In the case of the County they engaged a consultant, directed them to come up with the vision and then established the Waste Advisory Committee. That is backwards and fundamentally flawed. That doesn't make sense as the vision, by all the documentation, has been established by the consultant Stantec prior to the first meeting which I believe are simply marionettes of the County's bureaucrats. In summary they propose to do the same as they have over the past number of years but try to divert a little more waste. It was stated by councillor Little that Site 41 might even become a transfer station. Did any of these guys at Stantec or at the County Administration work for GM?
The committee have excellent lay people with expertise and passion to really make the County a leader in Waste Management. It is unfortunate that their thoughts and ideas are somewhat dismissed in the dialogue.
I am also surprised that the County did not learn from its attempted control of the information session prior to the Site 41 County Moratorium back in the Spring of 2009. Within ten minutes the moderator (a high paid Lawyer) lost control and the meeting turned into what it should have been, an open dialogue and question period of the panel. The motion passed at the committee on Monday is suggesting an open house with displays and an opportunity to write out your questions or discuss your concerns one on one with the representatives from the consultant. Instead of expressing the flaw with this approach in my words, Kate Harries has said it well. Here is what she said about the proposed open house information sessions.

" Those of us who have experience of other public processes know that the open house format is designed by consultants to benefit consultants.
They control the framing of the discussion.
They can discard any awkward questions as being outside their view of what the discussion is about.
They can keep quiet about any inconvenient information that a member of the public may elicit
They control the record keeping.
They control the selection of comments to be reported from the open house... and
They control the manner of the reporting.
The process is fundamentally undemocratic. We call on the Warden and Council to intervene and ensure that proper public MEETINGS be held, so that people can come together as a community and hear what the County is proposing and what their neighbours have to say. The process needs to be transparent, fair and objective. The Steering Committee needs to be at the centre of the process. The consultants should be there for technical support. Members of the Steering Committee should attend the public meetings so they can hear from the public and answer questions. At each public open house there needs to be an opportunity for questions to be asked and answered in a recorded public forum. The minutes would then become part of the public record for the benefit of the Waste Strategy Steering Committee and the public at large."

This says it all.

If the County is serious about regaining any level of credibility before the next election they must be more transparent. The information sessions for their Waste Management Strategy is a good place to start.

Zero Waste Simcoe

2010-01-16T12:05:00.003-05:00

The County of Simcoe has established an advisory committee to work with the County Staff and the consultant Stantec to develop a twenty year plan for its waste management. The initial report by Stantec appears to be more of the same with an uncomfortable slant to landfills as a big part of the solution. For some reason this approach still seems to make logical sense to the senior bureaucrats at the County who are directing the exercise.
I attended a meeting in Midland last week which was a town hall format and chaired by Gordon McKay from Zero Waste Simcoe (http://www.zerowastesimcoe.org). Even though it was an eclectic crowd, many consistent concerns where tabled, which Gordon will take to the next meeting of the waste advisory committee on Monday.
Waste is a growing problem and all of us are part of that problem. We must become part of the solution, if we really want to abandon the use of landfills in the longer term.
I encourage people to get involved with Zero Waste Simcoe and support their efforts and attend the County meetings which are open to the public. We saw what can happen when the citizens put pressure on the politicians to change their stance as happened with Site 41. Let us avoid another insane approach to waste management by putting pressure on the County as they develop the plan. This may help avoid spending 10 to 15 million dollars of our hard earned tax dollars on another debacle like Site 41.
Your presence would be appreciated on Monday January 18th starting at 9:00 a.m in the Council Chambers at the County Administration building in Midhurst. Please be involved and help us as a community come up with a new leading edge and inventive solution rather than follow the path of mediocrity in our long term waste solution.

EDHS Important Meeting Tonight

2010-01-12T09:51:00.002-05:00

The following is a brief overview of the current SERVE status. I encourage all to attend this important meeting tonight.

The Springwater Elmvale Rural Voices for Education Committee (SERVE) and the Township of Springwater have been working together to try to save Elmvale District High School (EDHS) from potential closure.

At the Simcoe County District School Board meeting of May 21, 2009, Mayor Guergis presented his strategy to create the community of Elmvale as a Campus, now referred to as the Community Campus Partnership Strategy (CCPS).

Mayor Guergis has met with the School Board on several occasions regarding the CCPS and has received significant interest in the development of this strategy. The Elmvale Campus has been adopted as the key strategy that SERVE and the municipality are working on to help keep EDHS in Elmvale.

We are now asking for your partnership to support the CCPS.

With 18,000 + residents and growth to 26,000, the community has an ever present need for a secondary school and community use facility. Partnership opportunities surely exist right in our own community. You, your business or organization may be one of them!

A SERVE meeting will be held at the Springwater Township
Administration Centre Nursery Road
Tuesday January 12th, 2010 at 7:00 pm.

Anyone with partnership opportunities or ideas is
invited to attend this public meeting.
NO IDEA IS TOO BIG OR TOO SMALL!

Waste Management Strategy-My View

2010-01-05T14:11:00.002-05:00

I follow with interest the developments at the County of Simcoe as it relates to its Waste Management Strategy.
I am very suspicious in the fact that an outside agency Stantec is to develop a Strategy for Waste Management for the County rather than the senior bureaucrats undertaking their own research and at least providing a vision for the future. Have county staff only directed their thinking to landfills as a solution for waste? The County was certainly not a trend setter or leader when it came to general recycling or green bin collection and simply followed others. In recent years I have become a believer in conspiracy theories as I have observed the antics of our County Elected Officials and staff, especially in its Site 41 saga.
Anyone spending five minutes on Google will most likely provide the same conclusions as Stantec will provide after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars for their consulting expertise..
The reality is that waste management is not brain surgery, provided we as the consumer step up to the plate and provide pressure. The most effective waste management is elimination at the source. Just review the packaging that accompanied your Christmas gifts. Some of the heavy plastic shrink-wrap and vacuum seal material required the use of a chain saw to open the enclosed item. None of this material is recyclable or is virtually useless in its secondary use. Dad's and Oreo cookies, which I really love, are in my no purchase zone as they represent a growing problem. I was pleased up to about three years ago that the packaging was entirely recyclable using a paper bag and a corrugated divider. Today it is made from a non-recyclable plasticized bag and a plastic divider. There are many products that have shifted to this type of packaging over recent years. The reason is simple. They want to be able to have the product last longer and have it shipped from greater distances under the guise of efficiency. These changes add to the green house gas problem rather than reduce it. The problem is at the source and unless we focus on elimination, we will never contain the growing waste epidemic. Zero Waste Simcoe get this and hopefully the ears of the County are listening. Unfortunately it will take our efforts lobbying the government to impose regulations on the producers. Yes we may have to pay a few pennies more, but is it not worth it? This Christmas I received a remote controlled helicopter that was made in China but to EU specifications. Aside from two small plastic bags containing small parts, all the packaging was recyclable corrugated. If you read the waste management plans for Europe, because of lack of space for landfills, they are much more serious about addressing the problem than we in the West. And yes like us, they are accepting it slowly.
The second approach to waste reduction and more preferable than recycling is reuse. We finally have recognized the major problem we created at land fills and recycling with that little toxic disposable water bottle. Why don't we simply eliminate them. Until about ten years ago they didn't exist. Yes, we created a billion dollar industry compounded by scares like the Walkerton tragedy, no longer trusting our community water supplies. The small and large plastic bottles of water were deemed the answer. Years ago, most products like jams and peanut butter came in glass jars that everyone reused for canning and storage. What was wrong with that? I can recall when I was President of a company in the 80's and the awareness of the growing volume of landfill waste became a prime concern, we as a company wanted to do our part. The first step was the elimination of styrofoam packaging from supplies shipped to us. We shifted from the use of styrofoam popcorn packing to recycled paper based material. We asked our suppliers to eliminate their brands and logos from their packaging, so we could reuse the boxes for our shipments. Aside from reducing the amount of recycling and waste we saved money. We chose Barrie's Moore Packaging for our corrugated supplies as they were a leader in recycling corrugated eliminating all of our landfill destined corrugated material. We had one major supplier redesign the shipping containers for a high volume raw material we purchased, so that it could be returned and reused. Based on a longer term agreement they agreed. As a result, their market share increased when some of our competition realized we were developing a competitive edge by emphasizing waste reduction in our business philosophy. That was well over twenty years ago.
The next choice of course is recycling. Too many think this is the answer to the world's waste problems. It should be a small part of the solution. The unfortunate thing is that many plastics become unstable in their reuse and are used for various products that may have been made from a more environmentally friendly longer lasting material originally. I think of the two garden hose reel holders I bought in the last 10 years. They were manufactured from recycled material but failed within a couple of years after sunny summers and cold winters. Previously, most holders were made from steel a much more environmentally friendly product. They virtually lasted forever. Some of the recycling we do may in fact be more detrimental to the environment we profess to be protecting. It is part of the bandaid solution.
I don't know enough about composting except for the large pile we have down by our garden which provides us with very rich and usefully garden material each Spring. I think more emphasis needs directed to home composting combined with the balance of green collection. Unfortunately some people no longer use their backyard composter and simply dump all their food waste into the green bin on collection day. I am not sure that is a step forward.
To forever eliminate the possibilities of another Site 41 fiasco, we need to do our part. It will cost us time and money, but it will be all worth it. The priorities for waste reduction in order of importance must be established; Elimination, Reuse, Recycle, Compost and then less preferable Incineration and then as a last resort Landfills.
I urge people to support the efforts of Zero Waste Simcoe. They have the right idea but we as the residents must fully support their efforts if we truly want to reduce the environmental footprint that each of us leave everyday as we climb into our high powered sports sedans, SUV's and pick up our morning coffee at Tim Horton's Drive-Thru in a disposable cup.
The County may lack vision and try to pawn off their responsibility to a third party like Stantec, but in the end we are all responsible for the mess we are in.
For more information on what the County is doing go to this link and view both the Stephen Ogden and Gord McKay clips on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/user/simcoeregionchapter

EDHS - More than a High School

2009-12-26T13:58:00.002-05:00

Over the last year I became more familiar with the threat of the potential loss of Elmvale District High School. The closure appeared to be driven by the Simcoe County District School Board's search for efficiency and cost reduction. I had not been aware that the Accommodation Review Committee (ARC), a group mandated by the Ministry of Education, had spent over a year of work and 26 meetings to file its report. To then have the board's bureaucrats simply ignore the report and propose a totally different solution, was quite shocking. The education of students, length of travel and effectiveness of the schools themselves appeared to be secondary in their deliberation. It seemed that the ARC exercise was lip service and the board already had decided the direction it wanted to take. To become better informed I attended three of the meetings at the Board in the late Spring and early summer. Since then I attended an information night at EDHS in October and more recently a SERVE meeting in Elmvale in early December.
Currently I see two perspectives amongst the former ARC members and the SERVE group that is attempting to retain the high school. Some have been encouraged by the Board's decision to delay the decision, whereas others are quite suspicious and are keeping guard on developments.
It is surprising that the thought of closing a local school in a community such as Elmvale would be even considered, as it goes against everything the province is attempting to do in its approach to having complete communities which is clearly outlined in both their Places to Grow and Provincial Policy Statement documents. In Springwater Township, Elmvale is the closest you will find to being a complete community as defined by the Province. The only thing that it lacks is public transit. Part of the Provinces vision is already fulfilled by Elmvale with the fact, that because of the good design and layout of the village (built around a centre core), you can walk or bicycle everywhere. Elmvale, in its present state, could be used as a model for the building of new communities. Removing the only high school in the Township, would actually dismantle this model of excellence. It is unfortunate that this council saw fit to build the new administration in the middle of nowhere, rather than in Elmvale, as it would have further enhanced the complete community concept. To me the local school board either is out of sync with the province or think they know better. Like we saw with the County of Simcoe and Site 41, the elected School Board officials are being misguided by out of control bureaucrats.
I have been pleased that the Township of Springwater has stepped up to the plate and are actively involved with providing solutions and assistance to the SERVE group and are taking a lead role. The concept introduced by the Mayor at the Board meeting back in the early summer, speaks well to the matter. The vision of a Campus approach with Elmvale is a creative and thoughtful way of swaying the minds of those short sighted Board Trustees. It will hopefully bring the support of the higher levels of government including the province. By partnering with various stakeholders such as business, agriculture and manufacturing, new opportunities of learning may be brought to the Elmvale Campus and facilitated by EDHS attracting more students to enhanced learning offerings.
The school board's distorted view and misdirection certainly applies to more than just our beloved Elmvale District High School. The City of Barrie, our neighbor to the south seems to have a dysfunctional growth plan and continues its urban sprawl which is contrary to the provincial policies. Having spent time in Europe, it was interesting to see the rebuilding of city centres with the desire to attract new residents with the vision of reducing sprawl and traffic. The City of Barrie certainly needs to promote its city centre growth with a mix of residential and commercial development before it enters a new level of decay. The School board's review and recommendation of the closing of Prince of Wales School and now rumours of closing Barrie District Central Collegiate, can only be considered counterproductive to a positive future for Barrie's downtown.
I encourage you to contact your local School Board trustee and implore them to support these well established schools that serve our community well. These schools have contributed greatly to the health and well being of the communities they serve. The Board should be encouraged to spend the money and refurbish these great institutions rather than building large schools that better resemble “education factories”, rather than "places of learning" which they are meant be. As I have said before, in the case of Elmvale, if EDHS is allowed to close through the short sightedness of the Board, our entire community will be affected. None of us in Springwater wants that to happen.
You have a voice. Speak out now!

CBC News - Money - Tax Harmonization: Frequently Asked Questions

2009-12-07T13:18:00.001-05:00

If you are trying to better understand the new harmonized sales tax in Ontario, this article is an easy read. The bottom line is that it will cost us all more money on most things we purchase.
It is an easy tax grab by the provincial government.

CBC News - Money - Tax Harmonization: Frequently Asked Questions

Olympic Torch Relay Coming to Elmvale

2009-11-20T23:48:00.002-05:00

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Springwater Township! The relay will visit Elmvale on Tuesday December 29th, and everyone is invited to come out and be a part of Olympic history!
The community-wide celebration includes multi-generational family-oriented sporting events, and an 'Olympic Race' around the Elmvale Community."We encourage all residents to come out to Elmvale on the morning of December 29th to help welcome the relay," said Mayor Guergis. This is a chance for everyone to be a part of Olympic history, and to get an up-close view of the torch as it passes through our community.
Springwater's Jason Harris will be a part of Olympic history as he carries the Olympic Torch in Elmvale on its way to the winter games in Vancouver. Jason is co-owner of Orr Lake Golf Club in Springwater Township, and was named a Torchbearer by iCoke, after making a commitment to be more physically and environmentally active.
"I’m excited to be a part of the 2010 Olympic Torch Relay," said Jason. "Carrying the torch in my own community will make it even more memorable."
Let's show our support for this important event and join in the celebration.
Check out the Township website www.springwater.ca for more information.

Help Springwater Council Develop a new Township Motto

2009-11-18T23:34:00.003-05:00

Our Councillors are struggling with choosing a new motto to accompany the new logo they approved a couple of months ago. To me, none of the proposals speak to the unique rural blend of tight communities and agriculture that makes Springwater special. It is unfortunate that the council did not make this an exciting competition open to the residents of the township. I am sure quite a few people may have provided suggestions.

Here is what the experts at Y Factor suggested.

United Today for Tomorrow
The Star of SimcoeCounty
Routes for Life
Connect with Neighbours and Nature
The Heart of Simcoe County
In Harmony Today and Tomorrow
Past, Present, Future in Harmony
Scenic Vistas and Friendly People
Nature’s Junction
Live Here –Naturally
Traditional Values in Modern Communities
A Perfectly Balanced Lifestyle

If you have an opinion, contact your ward councillor or the Mayor with your suggestions. The Mayor was quite annoyed that council did not confirm "The Heart of Simcoe County" at Monday's Council Meeting. He lobbied hard at the last meeting to get it passed. Maybe you can help the impass by providing some ideas.
On the other hand, at the meeting in Elmvale back in the Spring, I mentioned that I saw nothing wrong with the motto former Mayor John Brown had chosen. Even though "A Refreshing Experience", sounds like a bottled water company it spoke better to what Springwater is, compared to the list above.

A Vision for Sustainable Communities

2009-11-06T15:15:00.000-05:00

Dr. Michael Powell on behalf of the Elmvale Foundation, in a very articulate and impromptu address to the Corporate Services Committee today, outlined a visionary approach to grow towards a sustainable future by involving all the stakeholders. He emphasized the need to focus on the key elements of air, water and soil in our plans for the future. We must seek the cure rather than just focus on the bandaid solutions of land fills and incineration when it comes to waste and recycle management.
It was somewhat disappointing to see members of the committee talk about reasons of why it won't work rather than embracing the concept. Some even suggested that maybe someone else should try it first.
I was disappointed that the committee only received the report rather than passing a motion to have the Elmvale Foundation directly involved with developing the waste strategy of the future for our County.
I would hope Dr. Powell would consider a similar delegation to Springwater Council as it may be an ideal municipality to undertake his visionary approach.

G-Force Misfires this time

2009-11-04T15:59:00.001-05:00

The Springwater Council was quite civilized on Monday Nov 2. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor were quite cordial, so I don't know what will come of the fireworks from Oct 15th where Deputy Mayor Hope challenged Mayor Guergis on a number of items.However it appears that Mayor Guergis was about to pull one of his usual tricks when it came to Item 2 on the correspondence/action items under the heading "Resolution from the Township of Essa regarding the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority", requesting an independent review of services and fees. On the surface it sounds harmless and could even be considered being good stewards of the taxpayers money. When it appeared that council would not be supporting the resolution, Mayor Tony pulled out his delay weapon, THE DEFFERAL. He suggested the matter should be deferred until a later time when more information was forthcoming. In real terms what he meant, "Let's not record that we are not supportive of the Essa Resolution where my brother Dave is Mayor".For those that have been following the saga with the NVCA, Mayor Dave Guergis in Essa first attempted to have it disbanded. When that approach failed, he seems to be doing everything he can to put stumbling blocks in their way to prevent them from doing their job. I am not saying the NVCA is perfect but its the best we have to prevent uncontrolled growth on questionable flood plains such as the undeveloped property beside the No Frills store in Angus. I wonder who owns that property?
Anyway, the Spingwater Township Councillors after months of being dragged down by his one man Site 41 show, ignored the mayor's deferral request and passed a resolution to "not endorse" the resolution provided by Essa. It was good to see the Springwater councillors stand up to the Mayor's rather persuasive ways. I think we will see more of that independent thinking for the rest of the term.

More Wasted Money at the County of Simcoe

2009-10-31T14:46:00.002-04:00

County of Simcoe New Solid Waste Management Strategy-
Stantec Hired to Develop 20-year Strategy for Waste Diversion and Disposal

I read with interest the above titled Oct 27 release from Rob McCullough and Allan Greenwood.
The County Environmental Services staff continue to amaze me. They appear to be a department out of control and not answerable to anyone. I also know that there are many other departments and staff that are quite dedicated and work hard.
In business from time to time you need specialized services from outside agencies and consultants as they are short term requirements and would not merit hiring a full time person. Examples would be architects, lawyers, auditors, mechanical engineers and so on.
It appears that when actual work needs to be done by the Environmental Services Department at the County, a consultant is engaged. The same appears to be the case with Communication Department at the county. That to me is a sign of one of two problems. Either the existing staff lacks competence or they are simply lazy. I am not sure which applies at the county.
If the Manager of Environmental Services is not capable of investigating new waste management technologies and their potential use for the county then I think we have a problem. It should be in his job description that this is his responsibility not that of Stantec. Site 41 and its fiasco exemplified the lack of competence in my estimation. Possibly he needs further education to increase his knowledge and ability or possibly the job has outgrown the individual and a higher level of skill is now required. That needs to be assessed by the CAO and council.
The amount of wasted money at the county level seems to go unchecked and no attempt appears to be made to reduce budgets as most companies have been forced to undertake in the past two years.
The Warden and Councillors are to be the stewards of our county and the resources that it manages.
I ask that you take that responsibility more seriously and hold your senior staff more accountable. Instead of rubber stamping reports without much thought or study, challenge them much more when they appear to be cavalier about engaging outside services that should be part of their job function.
Having experience with consultants, it is quite common that as much as half of the fee is spent on learning about the organization and its requirement, not actually assisting with the solutions or recommendations. That is why the decision to use outside services must be well thought out and analysed in a good old fashion “return on investment” basis. The other key question should always be, “Can we do it ourselves?”
In the case of alternate waste diversion solutions, the manager should be doing all the legwork including the research and investigative work. He should then make a recommendation for a course of action. Council should then approve a plan. If specialized services or consultants are then required to implement the agreed solutions, then so be it.
That’s how it works in the real world.

Keep informed and read the Spingwater News

Elmvale-The Capital of Springwater

2009-10-22T14:13:00.001-04:00

An unrecognized Jewel in Springwater
At the EDHS meeting in Elmvale on Oct 15th, in my brief dissertation, I described Elmvale as the Capital of Springwater. On my way out, our mayor commented to me and said, “Bill, I am sorry that I forgot to mention that Elmvale was the capital of Springwater.” Being a skeptic, I don’t think he meant that as an honest oversight. For some reason he thinks that Nursery Road by the new administration building is main street Springwater and has basically stated that at council meetings.
I grew up on a farm on the fifth of Flos in the 50’s. Elmvale was the economic centre and a thriving village that supported the mainly rural farming community that surrounded it. I lived for two years in Elmvale on Lorne Street in the 70’s with a young family and enjoyed our strolls to the main street. The people were friendly; the shopkeepers knew most of their clientele. Based on the Provinces direction for municipalities to develop complete communities, Elmvale is the only urban centre that meets that criterion in the Township of Springwater. Just think of it, it has all the amenities that someone could enjoy, all in walking distance. I agree with the mayor, as we attempt to retain the crown jewel of our community, EDHS, that Elmvale is like a campus and everything is accessible. My question is why are we not supporting it more.
Since I have been at the planning and council meetings since Feb, I have noticed approvals for expenditures for added services to Springwater. Did you know that well over half a million dollars will be spent on baseball diamonds in the property close to the soccer fields and new administration centre? I have even heard the mayor refer to this as a campus. Possibly in his vision this is the continuation of development to make Nursery Road main street Springwater. Would it not have been a thought to possibly establish some of these baseball diamonds in Elmvale close to EDHS? Just think of the ball tournaments that could be attracted to the benefit of the struggling merchants on main street Elmvale. Since I teach business part time, I understand why the ball fields are in Midhurst. Based on GIS mapping it determined this is the central location if you take all homes in the township into consideration based on travel distant. That makes sense if Springwater was isolated in the middle of nowhere. However, since Midhurst is close to all the amenities of Barrie, the decision criteria should have included such things as the economic benefit to the township and the better servicing of the rural residents as considerations. That did not happen.
I have the same criticism about our new administration building. Just think of the benefit it would have brought to Elmvale if located there. With 50 people on staff, it would have meant a lot of local meals and shopping, a great benefit to the community and the township. I understand that the Township owned the land in Midhurst but a more visionary approach should have been taken by the council. The Township spent extra money to be a LEEDS rated facility. I believe the extra travel distance and the use of cars to get to the isolated location of the new admin centre more than offsets any greenhouse gas savings in the building. I am not sure that this takes Springwater in the direction of building complete communities. The township is attempting to minimize the impact by offering incentives for ride sharing and installing a wellness facility. In Elmvale neither would be necessary.
We can’t undo the past, but we can change the future, I ask this council to focus on what they can do for Elmvale and especially Elmvale District High School. There were many good ideas presented at the community meeting on Oct 15th with many local residents in attendance. In particular I would like to see any future consideration of added recreational facilities such as swimming pools, racquet sports or any other sports of that nature being developed in conjunction with the improvement of the school. I for one am opposed to any consideration of a multimillion dollar multiple use recreation facility (MURF) which would most likely be parked beside the administration building. I like the idea of medical services, cooperative education with some university like Guelph focused on education in agriculture, a real benefit to our rural community all being brought onto the EDHS campus. I would ask our warden to consider placing some of the county services in Elmvale. All these moves would assist in convincing some of the disconnected County School Board Trustees to realize the importance of the presence of EDHS in Elmvale. It is more than a school; it is part of the heart of the community. Without EDHS, Elmvale will decay and slowly die.
I beg our councilors to get away from thinking big city, which seems to be the approach of the planning of our township at the moment. Let’s dig deep into the roots and backbone of the Township of Springwater. If you are looking for identity please remember people know where you can find Elmvale, Anten Mills, Phelpston, Midhurst, Hillsdale, Orr Lake, Snow Valley, Minesing, Centre Vespra. Some even know Fergusonvale and Apto. Few know what Springwater is or where it is located and there is probably not enough money to brand it. Branding takes more than a new logo and a catch phrase.
Main Street Springwater is Queen Street Elmvale and I think we can build on that to the benefit of all citizens of Springwater.

War of Words and Misinformation

2009-10-16T01:18:00.001-04:00

Broadcast Versus Cable-My View
With the battle that is being waged on our TV stations in recent weeks between Cable and TV Broadcasters, I decided to write this article as we are witnessing a lot of misinformation rather than fact. I, like others, want to retain our local TV station, but at the same time I think both parties should be more honest with us.
First a little background. I grew up in the early part of the TV industry starting my working career in 1966 at CKVR in Barrie which was owned at the time by the Snelgrove family. It is said the VR stood for Valerie and Ralph. Here is how I view the currect dispute between the broadcasters and cable.
I want to first stress that I think the local market television stations are an important part of the media fabric in Canada. Aside from the CBC government sponsored broadcaster, these local TV stations, which were originally owned by entreprenueurs, developed the foundation of the TV industry in Canada providing a community need. What does bother me today is the rhetoric and misinformation that is being spewed by both parties as part of a fear mongering PR campaign. I believe most of the misinformation is coming from the Broadcasters.
Now a little history from my recollections. Before cable or satellite, we all received our TV signal on roof top or small tower antennae or in many cases set top “rabbit ears”. We were limited to VHF channels 2 to 13 in the beginning. You could receive 4 or 5 stations ranging from clear to snowy pictures even in the city and towns.
Then came cable. It connected homes in the built up communities to a broader range of stations including the major US networks. All these “over the air” broadcasters saw this new method of distribution as an advantage to them as it broadened their audience reach. They were no longer restricted by their broadcast signal area and the receiving antennae. I can recall that combined with its high power broadcast transmitter, and the advent of cable, CKVR reached well into Toronto making it an attractive media outlet for advertisers on a budget. It was a very profitable operation. All the broadcasters were quite willing and anxious to have their signals included on the limited number of channels available when cable first started. The Broadcasters are now saying in their TV spots that the base rate and basic cable or satellite fee was to pay them for those signals. That is blatantly false in my estimation. The basic fee paid for the cable distribution systems infrastructure and now the satellites that carry the signal. These companies were by no means profitable in the beginning. Just ask Phil Lind of Rogers who had to go a few times with hat in hand to extend bank lines in the formative years. The base rate was never intended to be revenue shared with the local Broadcaster. It was intended to cover costs and hopefully provide a profit which it now does to the benefit of their shareholders. We do still believe in a free enterprise economy, I think? There is some thought that in the early days of cable and limited channlels, the Broadcasters might have paid a fee to be carried by the cable companies, but the CRTC in its wisdom at the time set the basic business model with both parties. I could go on on how the CRTC developed cable substution at the request of the broadcasters, whereby the local station, if running a US originated program at the same time as its US counterpart, had its signal and commercial inserted in that channel's slot on cable and got credit for the audience. That is still the policy today. How is that fair? The CRTC has went out of its way to support the broadcasters in Canada.
Most of the founders of our TV broadcasters understood how the system should work. For over 30 years most did an honourable job of balancing service, profit and social responsibility. That concept disappeared slowly in the last number of years of private and public ownership and then was completely obliterated with the mass takeovers during the last decade. Our current major TV broadcasters simply don't understand the local markets, their social and ethical responsibility to the communities and viewed these local stations as a liability. If allowed by the CRTC they would discard them. Look at the A Channels. CTVglobe Media never wanted them when they purchased CHUM in the first place. They wanted the major market CITY stations and paid a significant price to get them. As we all know the CRTC did not permit the concentrated ownership monopoly of two major stations in a market, requiring CTV to divest the CITY properties and take the A Channels which was a reversal of their plans with Rogers at the time.
I believe the problem is much deeper. We all know that over the last three decades with the advent of home videos, the internet in the 80's, the continued growth of satellite communication and now the electronic entertainment devices the world is a different place to do business. The tuned hours for TV have diminished because of it. The large Broadcasters themselves diluted their business and revenue stream with the development of specialty channels that for the most part are specialty in name only. They took the huge profits of their conventional properties and tried to fill the available channel slots with the idea of protecting their existing advertising revenue stream. Even a first year business student would have suggested that the pie of advertising dollars, which was not getting bigger, was being sliced into smaller pieces. The recession of the last year took care of the rest. The Broadcasters must admit that they developed a bad business model that was doomed for failure. They also failed to keep some of the profits for a rainy day.
With that said and done I would ask both the Cable and Broadcasters to be the businessmen they are capable of being. It is called negotiation. I for one have no problem of paying a few extra dollars if it means we can retain my local station. If these stations want to be paid for the signal, I want to know what I will get in return. Will they provide a local morning show, local morning and noon news program in addition to 6 and 11? Will they do more than news features and provide local programs of interest to my community?
The CRTC could also invoke a National TV licence fee like the UK and share the revenue with the broadcasters based on some formula. The cable companies should not be the ones saddled with collecting the extra revenue to correct an economic problem that the broadcasters created and then be painted as the pariahs of the issue.
We have a good broadcasting system in Canada. I also know it much more complicated than my brief letter. It is unfortunate that there are no founding fathers left to straighten out the mess. They would have certainly resolved the problem before it got to be a battle of egos and wills. We need both strong cable companies and broadcasters and I ask both to work toward that common goal.
And please! It is a great tune and music video that the Local TV Matters are running, but you know and I know the content is at best false and more likely a bold face lie!

Not Quite Business as Usual

2009-10-09T01:17:00.002-04:00

Springwater Township Council – Oct 5
“The Peasants are revolting; They certainly are!” I always loved that line from Harvey Korman in the satirical movie History of the World. I am sure that was Mayor Guergis feelings toward Deputy Mayor Hope and some councillors at the Monday Oct 5th Council meeting. As I was staring at the protruding screws in the ceiling of our multi million dollar administration centre and listening to the drone of the normal orchestrated dealing with township matters, I was jolted out of my daze when I heard Deputy Mayor Hope table a motion seconded by Councillor Cowan that the rules of procedure be suspended to deal with a number of matters. I knew something was up. I assumed the reason for the motion was to prevent the Mayor from exercising his authority as chair to stop discussions on matters that he may not want to hear, as has happened a number times since February. The Deputy Mayor outlined a number of concerns that he wanted discussed. First was the Mayor's removal of Ms. Kearney's correspondence regarding Site 41 from the correspondence section of the Sept 21st Council meeting agenda. Secondly Hope questioned why the correspondence from Tiny Township including a copy of their motion requesting the stopping of all development of Site 41, was not on the same agenda. The next two items were not totally clear but it appeared to be a concern that the credibility of the entire Springwater Council was being brought into question because of the Mayor's stand on Site 41 which was contrary to the wishes of Council and more importantly the citizens the Council represents. There was also some further concern about some rant the mayor had with the councilors outside of the public forum and comments made by people about their lack of confidence in the mayor.
The mayor undoubtedly surprised at the list of concerns would have been best to remain silent until all the issues had been tabled. But in his typical fashion he first of all tried to deflect the discussion with such words and phrases as, “I am shocked”, “I must apologize for the behaviour you are seeing here tonight”, “Is this the way we are going to communicate for the next 14 months”, “how is this bringing our community together” and so on. Once he realized this rhetoric was not working, the answers started coming. The Mayor's response to the first item regarding the Kearney correspondence was interesting. He stated that the Mayor and Clerk have the authority to include or remove items that may or may not be relevant to the business of the township. He admitted he had asked that the Kearney correspondence not be included on the agenda. As a point of order, it is the Clerk not the Mayor that has the authority to decide the items on the agenda, as it is the Clerk's job to ensure that politically motivated agendas of the elected officials are avoided. If you go through the past minutes you will find many pieces of correspondence that have no bearing on the business of Council and are simply received. A number of months ago for example, the Town of Innisfil made a deputation and Council supported a resolution opposing Barrie's annexation bid. That is no business of Springwater. Even on the agenda for Oct 5th there was correspondence and a requested resolution from Clearview that was received as correspondence. The fact that the Kearney letter which dealt with Site 41 was left off the agenda is certainly suspect. I can only assume the Mayor, attempting to avoid a three ring circus at the council meeting, did not want a resolution passed at the Springwater Council the day prior to the County Council voting on ceasing all development at site 41. After hearing about the pick and choose approach, Councilor Collins expressed a great concern about how items for the agenda may be selected and questioned whether there may have been other matters that had been deleted in the past. The clerk commented that issues that are distant from Springwater would not be included. On the second point regarding the omission of the Tiny correspondence and resolution on the Sept 21st agenda, I must accept the explanation of the Clerk, as I have found her to be quite forthright on matters, even when I have not agreed with her position. She stated she was on vacation when it was received and it accidentally got lost in the shuffle. I know it sounds suspicious but based on the Clerk's comments, the Mayor should not be accused of influencing this item and I can accept that he did not remove it from the agenda. We of course will never know what he might have done if the correspondence had not been misplaced. I will give him the benefit of doubt on that one. On the final items of Deputy Mayor Hope, I feel that these items would have been better vetted behind closed doors as the Mayor was caught off guard and not properly prepared which was not fair in my estimation. I understand the frustration and flack that some councillors have received and can agree that the councillors have been tarred with the same brush because of the Mayor's outspoke support of Site 41. As far as the mayor's rants, challenges and confrontations with certain councillors on various matters and their positions outside of the public forum, I would have preferred to see more specific information as I did not fully understand the purpose of that part of the discussion. I do think the Deputy Mayor's last two items were possibly inappropriate as they attacked more the person of the Mayor rather than the position he holds.
The interesting anecdote is that none of this discussion should have occurred until the Council past the resolution to suspend the procedural bylaw. No wonder Councillor Clement was confused and asked for clarification when it came time to vote on it after the fact.
Most people in business realize that there is an acceptable or functional level of conflict that is healthy as it leads to constructive and productive debate and results in progress. It is a delicate balance however. Dysfunctional conflict at one extreme is when there is no conflict and everyone nods their head to avoid a scene. Some refer to it as group think. I believe we saw a lot of that in this term of council as most councillors did not want to get into a conflict or confrontation with the mayor and simply agreed with him on many items. I think the Mayor compounded the frenzy at this meeting by his sarcasm, intimidation, condescension and threatening remarks. Councillor Caldwell correctly remarked that there was no need for the Mayor to use sarcasm in his comments. However, I can understand the Mayor's surprise at the attacks and he most likely reacted as many people do by providing a defence. Unfortunately in his position, the sarcasm becomes unacceptable.
The only way that the councillors themselves can escape the damage that has been done by the Mayor's outspoken Site 41 stance is to talk to their constituents and make them aware that they are there for the best interests of the citizens of Springwater and that they deal with many matters, not just Site 41. If this had been done over the last six months, I am not sure that the Mayor's actions would have had the same impact on their credibility. If I were on council I would conduct town hall meetings in my ward every three months and update the constituents on what is happening and try to ascertain their needs rather than supporting someone else's agenda..
Here is another suggestion to alleviate the lack of confidence of the electorate. Possibly the council meetings once a month could be changed by adding a ten minute open forum to the agenda allowing anyone to speak on matters before council or any other matter that has not been addressed, without the necessity of requesting a delegation before council. Giving people 2 minutes each to speak is a great way of being transparent and gaining insight into what people want. I don't think Council would be swamped by requests as there is typically me and maybe four others at the meetings unless something specifically impacting area residents is on the agenda. This open forum would somewhat negate the opinion that this council is highly secretive and always does things behind closed doors.
I found in my many years of dealing with people, that trust and credibility is a two way street. Dictating and demanding blind trust of your peers, subordinates or constituents is not possible. Trust, credibility and honesty must come from the inner self and then radiate outwards before those characteristics will be recognized by anyone else. I have no doubt the mayor has the potential to be an effective leader. Unfortunately the high expectations and potential of many people go unrealized. I for one assisted Mayor Guergis in getting elected and was confident in what he said during the election campaign. I was looking forward to a new open and transparent council. Based on the last 34 months performance, none of those promises have been forthcoming and things are worse than ever.
After everything is said and done, and council is still concerned about the mayor's behaviour, they should table and pass a resolution and have the Mayor's conduct investigated by a special investigator appointed by the province as permitted in the Municipal Act. That is what Barrie did with their mayor two years ago. The other possibility is for everyone on this Council to get behind closed doors and vent all their concerns and frustrations and develop a new approach to how the council conducts its business. Without that, it will be business as usual and nothing will be accomplished by the debate and lost tempers at the meeting. On a brighter note, I did see the start of something positive if some of the councillors are willing to take a stand and focus on the business of the township. In some situations on council it is as simple as saying, “I don't agree with that because....”. I think the mayor must also realize this is not a party system and he cannot demand that the councillors toe the party line and stay in step.
Our mayor continues to confuse me with this statement, “We don't seem to be getting the message out”. My advice to the mayor and the rest of council is that you first must decide what is the message and then talk to people one on one, not undertake an expensive PR campaign such as we have witnessed at the County level.
The business of the township is important to all of us. It is our tax dollars that are being spent. We elect and pay the politicians to be the stewards of our township. I encourage readers to get involved and come to the Planning and Council meetings as the decisions made at these two key meetings impact the way we live and enjoy our fine Township. To stay current with local news read the Springwater News.

Bill French
Grenfel
http://springwatercitizens.blogspot.com/

Barrie - School Yard Bully

2009-10-01T12:40:00.002-04:00

I saw an article in the Barrie Examiner reporting on council's desire to impose a buffer zone around the City and have the surrounding municipalities enforce a no hunting zone.
I live in Grenfel and we are bombarded with the noise from shotguns 365 days a year because of the Barrie Gun Club on Pinegrove Road. Guess what. There are probably not 10 members from our Springwater Township. There are many members that live in Barrie and as far away as Toronto. It was Barrie that had them close down the Miller Drive location of the Barrie Revolver club and move it out of the City some decades ago. How is it fair that Barrie can dump its unwanted nuisance problems on their municipal neighbors?
If Barrie wants a buffer, it should follow the example of former Springwater mayor Helen Coutts and establish a non-development buffer zone. Ms. Coutts established a no non-farm development buffer around the City of Barrie and the Town of Wasaga Beach, the only two major urban settlement areas that border on the township. It is found in section 3.29 in the township's official plan. This was implemented to avoid the problems that the City of Barrie are now concerned about. It is my further understanding that this was discussed with the then Barrie mayor Laking as it was understood that both would establish buffers to avoid land use conflicts. Barrie's oversight is now catching up with them.
As the Barrie Gun Club community liaison told me when I suggested that they mitigate the negative noise impact, "Sue the real estate firm for not letting me know of the gun range being less than a kilometre away". I guess those Barrie residents that are now concerned about the noise from hunters in the new subdivisions should sue the developer or realty firm for not informing them of the potential conflict of Hunters in the local forests.
Does Barrie think it can bully its way through everything they want?
I for one would not support our township spending one dime on signage or enforcement that is a result of Barrie's ongoing lack of planning and foresight.

Try something different-TELL THE TRUTH-UPDATED

2009-09-17T00:13:00.007-04:00

I snickered last week when I was watching A-Channel News. The bottom news ticker mentioned the County of Simcoe may hire a Toronto PR firm to undo some of the bad publicity and fallout from Site 41. While I was at the Springwater Township Council meeting on September 21, two of the Site 41 committee mentioned this is old news. The decision to spend another $250,000 with a PR firm was apparently passed in closed session on August 25th.
I have a better idea and it would save the County and me a lot of money. Just do what Maple Leaf Foods did with the listeria contamination. The Chairman went on the media and said they did not follow procedure and apologized for the terrible consequences of that action and promised to fix it. Most people believed him. It is a new concept in today's world. It used to be common practice. It is called telling the TRUTH!!!
Instead of wasting money on attempting to put a spin on a bad situation, Warden Guergis could do the following. First he could apologize for the actions of the CAO, Manager of Environmental Services and himself for undertaking an injunction, laying charges against some senior citizens and threatening a lawsuit on two of the protesters if in fact this was done without direction from County Council as most people suspect. He could then apologize for procrastinating on the release of the modflow reports and admit that yes there is a downward gradient at certain times of the year at the site that has been denied for three years. He could admit that senior staff had been negligent by not informing council of other means of disposal using shared resources such as incineration technology in neighboring counties that would negate the need for site 41. He could also admit, based on the success of the organics and recycling programs, that the life span of the existing County landfill sites had been extended many years negating the need for site 41. Of course that would require courage, credibility and honesty.
It is not the County that is being held in contempt Mr. Guergis, it is you and some of your out of control senior bureaucrats. You have embarrassed the County, some of the Councillors and dedicated staff who are all trying to do their job to the best of their ability.
It is time to stand up and take responsibility for an ill conceived project that started 20 years ago and one you could stop. If you did that you could be a man that people would respect.
There, I saved the County $250,000 and gave the Warden a plan that would be effective.
Keep informed by reading Springwater News http://www.springwaternews.ca/

Council and Citizens Working Together

2009-09-13T00:38:00.004-04:00

The Springwater Council meeting on Sept 8th was one of those that makes you proud of how the local government can work effectively at times, especially for one group. I wrote about Splash Canyon Water Park some time ago (http://springwatercitizens.blogspot.com/2009/07/splash-canyons-lack-of-planning-causes.html) and the concern raised by the local neighbors about noise. Splash Canyon applied for a temporary use by-law amendment back in July for an August event. Many local residents attended the public meeting and expressed their views and concerns. Councillors and staff were surprised at the complaints as there was nothing on file. Instead of granting a one year term the by-law allowed for the one concert. The residents were unhappy about this as they had thought after leaving the public meeting on July 13 that the Council would deny the application at the July 20th Planning and Special Council meeting. At the two meetings the management of SC said that if they were allowed the one time concert all other concerts would be cancelled for the rest of the summer.
Guess what? About three weeks ago, someone from Mills Circle, which is close to the park, found an advertising brochure promoting a three day concert on Sept 18th at Splash Canyon. On checking with councillors and staff at the township, no one was aware of this concert. To the township's credit, staff informed Splash Canyon that they must apply for a Special Events Permit, which they did. The Clerk reported to council that concerts are not a permitted use in the zoning of the property and the special events permit should not be allowed as a condition of a permit is that the event must be a permitted use in the zoning by-law.
The residents gathered at the Midhurst Community Centre to discuss the matter the week before the council meeting and requested a delegation to forward their frustration and express concern about the lack of clarity on the matter.
Terry Cheaney a local resident and Angela Baldwin a land use planner addressed council and reiterated with specific detail the position that the clerk had taken. Their conclusion was that concerts are not permitted on the property under the Campground Commercial zoning designation. The only exception to camping use on the property is the Waterpark.
It shows that when residents take the time to be involved in matters that affect them, council will listen if you have your facts and can present them in a well informed manner.
At the Sept 8 meeting, the special event permit for the three day concert on Sept 18th was denied.
There are many things going on in the township and residents need to stay informed. Check the township website for both planning meetings and council meetings as they are the ones that can impact you for the long term In the Midhurst area, people need to stay close to what is happening. There are huge plots of land designated for future residential growth. If some developers have their way, you would find about 5,000 new homes surrounding the existing Midhurst area. Because of provincial policies, these developments for the most part must be on municipal services. Numbers like sixty million dollars for new municipal infrastructure are being tossed around and that is an estimate. If we don't pay attention we may face uncontrolled development that could impact us on our tax bills but more importantly ruin the rural and peaceful nature of Springwater. Stay informed. Anotherway of keeping abreast of council activities is to read our local newspaper Springwater News http://www.springwaternews.ca/.

Site 41 Dead for a year and maybe forever

2009-08-27T00:02:00.006-04:00

Tuesday August 25 was a long day for those fighting the insanity of Dump Site 41. It started with the County trying to confuse, mislead and delay the answers requested by the many well informed opponents of site 41. The Information Session at 9:00 a.m. was to be another charade but a forceful crowd inside the meeting hall at the Simcoe County Museum would have none of it. The chair they hired to run the meeting lost control in about 15 minutes and it reverted to a question and answer sessions as it should have been anyway. A number of county councillors were present and I think they were overwhelmed by the attendance of 500 people, and how well the individuals were informed allowing them to sober up on the Site 41 issue.
The Council meeting started at 11:00 a.m. with a closed session. Closed sessions normally take 30 to 60 minutes, but this one took about 150 minutes. I am not sure if they were hoping the people would get tired and go away or was the Warden trying to twist the arms of those opposed to Site 41 to change their minds about a moratorium.
When we were finally allowed to enter the open session, we became aware of how badly Site 41 has been managed. Councillors appeared to be unaware of many opportunities to dispose of the garbage intended for Site 41 with neighboring Counties that have moved to leading edge incineration technology. The council did one thing that was prudent and appropriate. They passed a motion to cease litigation for damages against those threatened with a suit for construction delay damages. It was also interesting that council passed a motion to ratify the actions taken by the CAO regarding the injunction. It simply proves what many have said. The protest injunction was initiated by a very small group and not by the council. We know who they were.
Our Warden when it came to the moratorium issue, did everything in his power to cajole, intimidate, brow beat, condescend the other councillors. At first it appeared he was trying to avoid the moratorium vote or possibly have it voted down. Like our Springwater Township Councillors have finally realized, the County Councillors have discovered their leader lacks credibility and his vision/agenda cannot be trusted or followed. Much to every one's delight the one year moratorium was passed and the site shut down as of today. It appears that there may be a motion at the next County meeting to stop the project completely which would be the right thing to do.
Now you talk about a Jekyll and Hyde. I just watched A News and the Warden now says that Site 41 should be abandoned completely because of the sensitive environmental concerns. That means one of two things. Either he slipped and fell and bumped his head leaving the county building and has rejoined reality after a three year absence or he would like the Site 41 issue to disappear before the next election. If the one year Moratorium holds, Site 41 will definitely be an election issue. Please be reminded what our Mayor said when he was running for the election. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/HealerG#play/all/uploads-all/1/J8oAXNzl0WY.
All those that have been arrested and stuck by their beliefs need to be congratulated. Without their pain and suffering, yesterday would have been quite different.
We need to stay on this issue until the site is permanently closed. Being a skeptic and spending too much time observing the political process, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility that the County in a secretive way will attempt to have the Provincial Government order the completion of the Dump and then say they had no control.
Keep informed by reading Springwater News http://www.springwaternews.ca/

Barrie Gun Club pleads guilty

2009-08-18T19:16:00.003-04:00

Based on an area resident's complaint, the township laid a charge against the Barrie Gun Club on Pinegrove Road for a "cut and fill" bylaw violation in the Spring of 2008. After a number of delays and adjournments, the case was heard in the Provincial Court in Wasaga Beach on August 18, 2009. The club and Township reached a plea agreement whereby the Barrie Gun Club pleaded guilty to the offence and was fined $2000.
The area residents were hoping for a more meaningful fine as a deterrent, but the prosecutor for the township commented that the courts for some reason do not impose hefty fines.
The Barrie Gun Club has been the subject of growing safety and noise concerns with the area residents over the last 10 years as they have continued to expand in size and use over that time. Nothing in the township bylaws prevents their continued expansion.
Once a club for serious sportsman, it has become a haven for gun enthusiasts and sports shooters adding to the noise impact on the local 30 residential properties. Few members of the club actually live in the area.
The Township has been unwilling to take a serious position on the negative impact with the residents and have offered lip service through numerous meetings but failed to reach any conclusive results or action.

God Bless Donny Nelson

2009-08-10T15:14:00.002-04:00

Last week Don Nelson phoned our house and invited us to a big family reunion get together. My wife comes from the Bakers in Coulson and Ivy and somewhere we are all connected. I know my father helped Don in the early days of farming when we were on the 5th of Flos.
Don and I spoke a couple of weeks ago about the concerns he had with our council and the mayor. He even said that if no one stands, he will run as mayor in 2010 and I would have supported him. It would be nice to have the intelligence, honesty and common sense of a farmer running our mainly rural township.
To our shock, this morning (Monday Aug 10) my mother in law Nina Baker who resides with us got a call from her brother in law Johnny Baker saying that he had been at the reunion and Donny died of a massive heart attack at the event. In the spirit and wishes of Don the reunion continued even though in more sober atmosphere.
Don is one of those true spirits of determination and perseverance. Even though plagued with health issues his entire life, he made the best of it and was thankful for all he had. The last time I saw him was on A-Channel in his wheel chair breathing through his oxygen tube. Nothing kept the man down. He stated on the news clip that he was willing to go to jail and do whatever was necessary to stop the insanity of Site 41.
In closing our prayers go to his family and friends. I am greatly saddened because of another family commitment I did not have the opportunity of seeing Don for one last time on the weekend.
God Bless you Donny

Why are Springwater Councillors Not Making a Stand

2009-08-06T15:19:00.004-04:00

From my discussions with various members of Springwater council, most are opposed to Dump Site 41. I know the deputy mayor was at the rally in Perkinsfied recently and that another councillor has visited the blockade on a number of occasions.
It would be appreciated by the residents of Springwater for a couple of councillors to table a motion, requesting that the development of the site be put on hold for a year and that a third party review be undertaken to assess its impact on future generations. The councillors of Tiny had the courage to pass such a motion recently. I hope that Mayor Guergis continued blind trust in the advice of the bureaucrats and his unwavering support of the site is not intimidating those on council who oppose the site.
I would ask Hope, Cowan, Anderson, Clement, Collins and Caldwell to stand up for our children, grandchildren and future generations possibly avoiding the legacy of creating one of the greatest environmental catastrophe in the modern world.
What harm is there in double checking a site that was thought to inappropriate some 20 years ago when first considered.
We elect the politicians not the staff or the rest of the bureaucrats. We ask you the politicians to protect the well being of the electorate, the citizens of Springwater Township.

You can polute the Water, but don't let anyone voice their Concerns

2009-07-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

Imagine a Dump on Top of an Aquifer. Come to Simcoe County and see for yourself. The Warden will tell you there is no other solution!!! The diagram below outlines a typical aquifer.

I have not said much about Site 41 except to say that from the beginning, it did not make any sense where it was located. My initial objections were related to taking good farmland out of production. However as the science was researched and its proximity to the Alliston aquifer was recognized, someone should have had the common sense to realize that dumping garbage on top of one of the finest aquifers in the world, is not a good idea. If you care to gamble, go to Casino Rama to get your fix.

I have recently visited the spot on a few occasions and my disagreement grows stronger. The county has argued that there is continuous positive pressure from the ground water (upward gradient) that will push out any possible contaminates avoiding pollution of the aquifer itself. With a liner as a safeguard, the county suggests there is no possibility of any negative environmental impact. I think the same guy also sells swampland in Florida part time. However not being a scientist, I have observed one interesting noteworthy item. The county sought and was granted a license to pump or drain virtually millions of litres of water to allow the liner to stay in position once installed based on the premise that there is always positive ground pressure (upward gradient hydraulic pressure) and it would make the liner float. I think either the County research is wrong or was misunderstood and now they have discovered that in fact there is not always positive ground pressure year round. It has been a rainy Spring and Summer and yet no water is pooling and staying in the hole they have dug. I think that it may have upward pressure from October to March, but now believe it has downward pressure (downward gradient) during the summer months, making it a time bomb. To me that suggests that contaminates will be absorbed and drawn downstream in the aquifer as it makes its way to Georgian Bay and all points south as far as the Oakridges Moraine. Is that why the County will not share the engineering report? Have they found that after spending millions of dollars that it was just a bad decision and should be abandoned.

I can only conclude from his unwavering position (which came after he was elected as Mayor of Springwater) we have the same problem at the County as we do in the Township of Springwater, a lack of Leadership. Is that because the same person is both a Mayor and the Warden?

Get involved and stop this atrocity called Site 41. Come out this Saturday July 25 at 1:30 and support the protesters and donate to their legal fund, as now the County is attempting to intimidate the organizers by launching lawsuits. Go to this link for more details: http://www.canadians.org/water/issues/Site41/index.html

Let us all help them take on Big Brother and show the politicians that we are the citizens of the township and county, not its subjects.

To stay informed on this matter and other local issues subscribe to the Springwater News which you can find at http://www.springwaternews.ca/.

If you have comments or thoughts on any of these matters email me at bill.french@hotmail.com

And the King has decreed....

2009-07-21T11:58:00.000-04:00

At the regular Council meeting on July 13th, the business of the township was conducted in its usual manner until it got to one item on the agenda. The agenda item was the motion to select a newspaper to host “The Springwater Link” and other municipal information for the next year. A detailed report was attached confirming the responses to the RFP were complete. The township information, as most residents of Springwater know, for many years was published in the Springwater News. As an experiment it was transferred to the Barrie Advance since May of 2008. The motion tabled by Cowan chose Springwater News as the information link for the next year. It was a straight forward motion and should have been dealt with in a typical manner. However, the Springwater News is never dealt with in a fair and upright manner, mainly because of its open format that allows people like me to provide opinions and at times illustrate some of the shortcomings of our elected officials.
The mayor first suggested that it would be better to delay this vote as two people were absent, Deputy Mayor Hope and Councillor Caldwell. However there was no request from either asking for the vote to be delayed. Besides, the rules of order allow for members to be absent, which happens in the natural course of things. You simply need a quorum and one was present to conduct an official meeting. Ironically if you go back to March, when Councillor Cowan first tabled a notice of motion to move back to the Springwater News, Hope had an outburst, called Mr. Jacobs names and said if moving to the Springwater News was to be discussed, he would declare a conflict of interest which would be appropriate because of his public bias against both the Springwater News and Mr. Jacobs personally. Mr. Hope should once again declare this conflict at the next council meeting if the motion is tabled once again. To me the request to delay by the mayor was simply another ploy to unnecessarily delay a decision and show Mr. Jacobs who is in charge of the township business. The mayor had no problem spending thousands of dollars of tax payer money on other agenda items at the meeting with those same members absent.
Since Mr. Cowan then suggested which was confirmed by the clerk, that the motion on the floor needed to be dealt with, the mayor wanted to say and almost said that he was not prepared to deal with the matter at the meeting. Unfortunately for him council is a democracy and he has no veto power. After constantly badgering everyone for a way out, he was informed by the CAO that the motion could be deferred to the next meeting, if more information was required. Now remember, the report accompanying the motion suggested everything was complete. Councillor Clement inadvertently opened a door that gave the mayor a glimmer of hope to defer the motion. Clement at previous meetings had asked about the use of other mediums to get the township message out such as website, email etc. This in the larger scale of things is a reasonable question. However, this is unrelated to the motion at hand. Based on a request for unrelated information, the motion, even though procedurally incorrect, was deferred in an unusual manner. Typically motions are deferred to the next meeting. However the motion tabled and passed, stated that the motion must be heard with all members present. That is not a proper motion and illustrates another typical bullying tactic of our mayor. It could delay the decision for quite some time, as councillors are absent from time to time. I confronted the mayor at the meeting and suggested he was abusing his position and power as chair and directing the motion to a conclusion rather than simply directing the discussion like a good chair would do. As usual he dismissed me as a lone negative voice against his community building attempts.
I was still amazed about how adamant he had been at the meeting in delaying the vote. Even to me, it appeared extreme. The next day all the ducks fell in order. As a member of the Springwater Chamber of Commerce, I receive email communications. On Tuesday July 14, the following day, I receive a request from the Mayor to advertise in a special edition of the Barrie Advance for the grand opening of the new Administration Centre on Nursery Road. It now all makes sense. On checking with one councillor he was unaware of the special edition. I have no criticism of the Advance in its attempts to develop supplementary business in these tough economic times.
Now the mayor’s tactics make sense. It would be very embarrassing if the council passed a motion to move its print media requirements to the Springwater News and then have the Barrie Advance publish a special edition for the township’s grand opening of the administration centre. On checking the properties of the PDF I received promoting the Advance supplement, it was created June 17 and modified on July 2, well in the works some time ago. Since the promotional piece contains a direct written request signed by the mayor, he must have been aware of it. Any suggestion that since a decision on print media had not been reached, it was appropriate to go with the existing vendor, will not pass the smell test. I guess the mayor still thinks we are all jokers and that his cleverness goes unnoticed. He is always mentioning community building, but has no problem taking business away from a local business that pays taxes and give it to a firm outside the township.
I again ask the members of the public to become more informed of our local government. They are elected to respond to the best interests and common good of the residents of Springwater. Most elected officials have no personal agendas, but some do. Attending a few planning or council meetings will make it obvious who has their own personal agenda. You will then be better able to elect those who will hold your interests above their own in the next election in November 2010.
Keep informed of local events by visiting www.springwaternews.ca/.

If you have comments on any of these matters email me at bill.french@hotmail.com

Splash Canyon's lack of planning causes Springwater Council to make a bad decision...

2009-07-21T09:31:00.001-04:00

At the public meeting on July 13,local area residents expressed concern about the growing nuisance noise being created by weekend concerts at Splash Canyon on Nursery Road just north of Hwy 26 across from Springwater Park. The facility is zoned as a campground and water park. Through a stretch of the permitted uses, the owners argue the small concerts over the last two years are not really concerts but entertainment to the campground guests. Their own website says differently. The large proposed concert being sponsored by ROCK 95 on August 15 will be one of the largest concerts staged in the Barrie area since Molson Park closed its venue. It does require rezoning as the concert is a separate paid entry event from the park itself. Having a concert in the middle of a rural area is not a wise choice. Traffic congestion, parking and impact on local residents are significant. On paper the organizers have everything covered. Council members were surprised about the negative impact of noise from the small concerts over the last two years which caused them to rethink the temporary rezoning request for the large concert on August 15. Like myself, we who live in a rural area usually lack faith in the politicians and say little and grumble amongst ourselves until we boil over. At the public meeting it appeared there was a growing move to deny the rezoning request.
At the planning meeting on July 20 a number of unusual things were evident. First of all Splash Canyon were allowed to make another case with information not provided to area residents prior to the meeting. Secondly, delegations are allowed 10 minutes for their presentations. At this meeting Splash Canyon were allowed 45 minutes to make a new case. There was no motion to extend the time and were simply allowed to ramble on, a definite breach of the township's procedural bylaw. Unfortunately the area residents, not fully understanding the process were not present to discuss the new found information. Councillor Collins and Cowan stuck to their guns and continued to argue against such a large event in a rural setting. The main reason and one that was never answered was the lack of planning horizon that had created the pressure of time for a decision. A good business friend of mine has a great expression that should hold true in this situation, "Lack of Planning on your part, does not create an emergency on my part." Councillors Caldwell had very challenging questions to the organizers which were not well answered. Councillors Clement, and Anderson also had questions that were not answered. Even the Mayor had concerns and felt that the location was not appropriate and pointed out that if someone was trying to build a Concert Venue, it certainly would not be at that location. The only one that was not negative was Deputy Mayor Hope who thought they should be given the chance to prove themselves.
In the end much to my surprise all except Collins and Cowan voted in favour of the modified temporary use bylaw for a one time only event on August 15, basically putting the financial interests of Splash Canyon over that of the local residents. To me that is simply unfair. I hope the agreement between the Township and Splash Canyon includes a clause covering the verbal agreement of the owners that if permitted to have this one large concert, they will cancel all other weekend concerts this summer, at least providing some relief to the area residents. This would make the situation more palatable.
What I find most disappointing is that the last words heard by the councillors were those of Splash Canyon agents, none who live in the area. Normally the final decision would be put off to the next regular council meeting, but because of the August 15 date, they conducted a special council meeting at the end of the regular planning meeting and approved the temporary use bylaw. This to me is a travesty and a slap in the face to those residents who came to the July 13 meeting and thought they had left the matter in good hands. Remember haste makes waste which is what happened at this meeting.
The reality is that Splash Canyon, by the admission of the owners is struggling financially and has since its inception. It is good for council to work with local business, but at the same time cannot ignore the impact on the area, if an entrepreneur has simply made a bad business plan and the business location is flawed. You can't make a silk purse out a sow's ear. If it must be a concert venue to survive then it must cease to exist as the area is not zoned for this type of business. It is as simple as that and as the mayor said, the zoning bylaw has worked well until now and has proven to be effective for the common good of the township. Council is elected to uphold that position.
In closing if any residents read this, I suggest launching an OMB appeal as the temporary use conflicts with a number of Official Plan policies and existing bylaws.
Keep informed of local events by visiting www.springwaternews.ca/.

If you have comments email me at bill.french@hotmail.com

And the Tony Award Goes to.....

2009-07-21T09:23:00.000-04:00

I read with interest the Stevens letter on the Hillsdale Tavern in the June 11th edition of Springwater News. I was also at the Council meeting as I have been trying to better understand the workings of council and our elected officials.
Tony Hope our deputy mayor I believe is basically a good guy and I have had many good conversations with him. He is passionate and reactive, and at times puts his mouth in gear before his brain, like we all do from time to time. But the difference is that Mr. Hope is called to a higher standard as he is an elected public official. There is no excuse for his bad behaviour and his derogatory comments about Gary French at the council meeting. I can chastise Tony Hope, but there is a mechanism in place to control such outbursts. It is called the Chair and in Council that is Mayor Tony Guergis. Council passed a by-law last year that includes a section on decorum and it is the Mayor’s responsibility as chair to control it. The by-law clearly states in section 18.1.5 under Acceptable Behaviour, “Behave in an acceptable manner. A member shall not use profanity, make derogatory statements or other such offence at risk of being expelled from the Chambers or meeting room at the discretion of the Chair”. It is obvious that Hope breached this clause in his comments about Gary French. The Mayor should have immediately removed Hope’s privilege from the floor, asked him to apologize or leave the room. Again I must suggest that the Mayor has a greater accountability in this matter than the offender. It suggests a lack of leadership.
It was interesting to observe the long discussion on protruding screws on the new administrative centre as noted by the Stevens letter. It is obviously a design oversight by the architects and they should be held responsible. I am sure they have errors and omission insurance to rectify the matter and the problem should be clearly placed back with them. Councillor Caldwell made what I felt was an appropriate suggestion and something I have done in years passed on large projects. He proposed delaying the next construction draw payment until the matter is rectified to everyone’s satisfaction. But our Mayor wants to keep talking and discussing the situation but never seems to be interested in a final resolution on matters such as this.
On a more serious note and a further illustration of lack of leadership, our mayor, speaking as warden, may have caused harm to the future growth of Springwater with his caustic name calling in a special report in the Barrie Advance. In the article, he outlines a conspiracy theory at a fund raising dinner for Liberals over a year ago where he suggests back room deals were made on RVH, Georgian College and the recent Barrie Land annexation. He also stated that Barrie lacked leadership in its present Mayor. Those are serious accusations and a 180 degree turn compared to his usual desire to discuss matters in a more conciliatory manner when it comes to township business. I am sure our higher government officials will not be pleased by the comments. On one hand he talks about having reasonable discussions on matters and then switches his tune and attacks the levels of government that in fact ultimately control our destiny. I know he was speaking as warden but the comments may very well backfire on Springwater.
One other thing that I have not heard discussed at any meetings since February is how the township is reducing its overall costs in these tough economic times and tightening its belt like everyone else I know. I see them approve added cosmetic expenditures for the new building eating away the contingency fund, adding staff and sending people to golf tournaments. Is that really good fiscal policy or responsible leadership? After attending most meetings since February, I am now less critical of the councillors themselves as they are looking for direction and leadership. Unfortunately it appears lacking in the “Two Tony Show”.
I again encourage you to come and see how our elected officials conduct the affairs of our township and attend Council and Planning committee meetings. Our township is a big business and spends millions of dollars annually. As a stakeholder, all residents should periodically attend these meetings, so they are better informed and able to choose leadership that will add value and make Springwater a better place to live.
Keep informed of local events by visiting www.springwaternews.ca/.

Report On Council Meetings

2009-04-29T11:27:00.000-04:00

Planning Committee and Council Meetings-Sometimes better than the last episode of Corner Gas
Since I had the time recently, I felt it appropriate that I attend some of the meetings of our council since I have read so many negative remarks in your paper. For those that don’t pay attention to our municipal politics, the two key bodies of importance are the Planning Committee and the Council which are comprised of all the councilors in both forums. I have attended many over the last 5 years but they usually were a result of me doing a deputation of some kind on behalf of our local community.
Generally it appears that the two key players leading our council have forgotten that they were elected by the people who are in fact both their customers and bosses at the same time. When I hear the Mayor refer to “the jokers out there”, it appears that those are the ones that don’t see the universe as he does. They are the people that use the local media, write letters and express their concern and frustration with this council. I have a feeling that I am one of those jokers. The Mayor also made a statement that if there was a survey, 90% of the population would say the council is doing a good job. I want to meet those people.
At the March 30 Planning Committee meeting , when the letter from the Midhurst Ratepayers Association was tabled, the Deputy Mayor did a verbal attack on the content saying it was crap and then criticized the writer. The Mayor concurred with the Deputy Mayor. Jointly they suggested the council had gone beyond the call of duty during the venting process regarding the secondary plan for Midhurst. For those that have followed this development it could well turn Midhurst into a small metropolis, a far cry from the unique settlement it is today. The Mayor then expressed his concern that the message of the good work of council is not getting out there. Who’s fault is that? They hired a communication officer to sell the message. However, it is tough to sell something you don’t have. The one bright light was that Ward 2 Councilor Cowan suggested that they respond to the Ratepayers group and inform them of the steps Council had taken. That is the type of action and response a good council would undertake. Hats off to Mr. Cowan for his suggestion.
Since that meeting was mildly entertaining I contacted a few more people to enjoy the performance on April 6 at the regular Council meeting. They got their money’s worth. Everything was quite civil until they got to Staff Reports item 9 on the agenda. It was a detailed report with information and a suggested Request for Proposal for reviewing the newspaper advertising. Mr. Cowan Ward 2 Councilor simply asked how this matter got on the agenda as he had made a notice of motion the month prior that would have proposed moving the township newsletter “Springwater Link” back to the Springwater News. It was somewhat unanimous with everyone including the two senior politicians that the Barrie Advance has not served the township well in its mandate to communicate. Hmmm! Maybe that is one reason why the Mayor’s message of good will among all people is not getting out. Sorry I digressed. Mr. Cowan rightly questioned why this was on the agenda as reports from staff must be requested by Council as a whole and neither Mr. Cowan nor any of the other councilors could recall making the request. CAO Grant reported that there was direction given when they first moved to the Advance. Her recollection of the direction was that they try the Advance for a year and then review the matter. If you read the minutes you can understand why people don’t remember what happened at past meetings as most items are only recorded as “staff to proceed as directed” with no detail on what they are to proceed with. I am not sure that meets the requirements of Section 239 of the Municipal Act for records of meetings. I would like to point out that the unexpected agenda item was not a simple review supposedly requested by Council. In my estimation it was a blatant attempt to again make it difficult or at least delay the process of moving the information link back to the Springwater News. The Mayor took offence at Mr. Cowan’s question and felt that Mr. Cowan was implying that possibly the Mayor had influenced the agenda item as it appeared. He removed Mr. Cowan’s privilege on the floor, and terminated the discussion. It appears that asking challenging questions are not permitted by councilors. Now I understand why Councilors normally go along for the ride. There was further discussion on the benefits of the Springwater News, and I was pleased that Councilor Collins from Ward 3 made mention that the lack of readership of the Advance was tabled at the Anten Mills Recreation meeting only the week prior. The mayor was somewhat aggressive with her and challenged why she had not mentioned this before. Her answer was polite and succinct and she responded, “it had not been brought up before”. Another honest and forthright answer from one of our representatives.
Later Mr. Cowan was allowed to present information that he had prepared in support of the motion he had hoped to table. He provided information on the high use of Springwater News for local businesses and the virtual absence of local businesses using the Advance to promote their goods or services. The audience gave a round of applause for Mr. Cowan’s information. The Mayor took this opportunity to jokingly but sarcastically suggest that Mr. Cowan had a fan club. Further discussion and support for the Springwater News continued, but then our good Deputy Mayor went off on a tangent culminating with a statement which I will paraphrase, “Michael Jacobs is an asshole and I don’t care who hears or reports it”. The Mayor is the chair of the meeting and by the rules is obliged to immediately remove the floor from the Deputy Mayor as he did with Mr. Cowan earlier. He is then required to demand that the Deputy Mayor either immediately apologize to those present or remove him from the chamber. For whatever unknown reason, the Mayor allowed the Deputy Mayor to spew his venom with no regard to proper decorum or conduct a direct contravention of the township’s own procedural by-law’s decorum policy that was passed a year ago.
Now for a positive observation, I must commend all the councilors for their response to the new Hillsdale group that are trying to preserve the O’Neil Tavern with Council delaying final action until the next council meeting with a promise to meet with all parties involved. Everything is not all bad about this council. Councilors Anderson, Clement and Caldwell also contributed input and comments throughout the meeting regarding the matters on the agenda and were more actively engaged than I have seen for some time. It appears the true flaw in this council may be leadership.
As a further update, I attended the April 20 Council meeting. It is unfortunate that there were few in the audience as it was conducted in a much more appropriate manner. I was pleased that the Deputy Mayor at the beginning of the meeting acknowledged his lack of decorum at the April 6 meeting and apologized for his comments regarding Michael Jacobs being an asshole. I hope the Deputy Mayor takes the time to phone and apologize to Mr. Jacobs directly which would be appropriate. Possibly the Mayor should have followed the Deputy Mayor’s lead and apologized for his reference to the public as “jokers” which occurred at the same meeting. The council is taking positive steps in attempting to secure some of the infrastructure and stimulus money from the government and have identified a number of important projects over the next two years. I do want to say that this was one of the more productive meetings I have attended where each member was treated with proper respect. That doesn’t mean that they were in “lock step” as I have accused them of being in the past. Each was forthright in their position on matters before them which lead to healthy debate.
We are only a year and a half away from a municipal election. It is time to start asking your councilors and other elected officials to be accountable and inform you of what they are doing or have done to provide improved services and at the same time control the costs of our municipality.
If we as the public are not content with the way Springwater Council is conducting our business and it is our business, then participate in the process and go to the some of the planning committee or Council meetings. You will then be better prepared to re-elect your incumbent if he/she is doing a good job or elect someone else in November 2010.
In addition to the business conducted by Council which is serious and important, these meetings at times can provide some much needed entertainment and comic relief, almost as good as Corner Gas. So come out at 5:30 p.m. and join some of us other jokers. Admission is free.
Keep informed of local events by visiting www.springwaternews.ca/.

If you have comments email me at bill.french@hotmail.com