Midhurst Plan appealed-Now what?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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