Monthly Archives: September 2012

Draft Official Plan Now Posted

28 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council, Urban Development

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The draft Official Plan for Parry Sound is available at the town’s website (Official Plan – Draft). The documents include the plan and three associated maps.

This will be the first major revision of the town’s official plan for about 15 years. Take the time to review and understand what it implies. I’ll be taking a look and posting up my thoughts over the next few weeks. I will certainly be attending the public meetings that seem planned for November.

Bridge Art – Plan (click for larger version)Bridge Art - Plan

Special Council Meeting Summary – September 25, 2012

25 Tuesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council, Urban Development

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A special meeting of council was held earlier this evening to review the town’s official plan. This document which is updated every ten years or so establishes the basis of Parry Sound’s policy with respect to future development.  The town’s official plan was last updated in any significant manner in 1997. Much has happened in the spheres of municipal, regional, provincial and federal policy over that period.

There was relatively little discussion by council of the new draft official plan despite the fifteen year interval. It was presented to council as largely a variation on the existing plan that accommodated certain provincial requirements and initiatives, as well as local developments.

The draft plan will be made available online to the general public in the next few days with the expectation that a general public presentation and discussion will be scheduled for November. After that series of meetings and reviews the plan will be revised, reviewed by council one last time, and submitted to the province for their review and comment. This in time will lead to an ‘official’ Official Town Plan sometime in 2013 by my estimation.

It’s worth reviewing the draft plan as endorsed by council to understand how it will impact local development. Once I’ve had a chance to review it I may provide my thoughts on the plan and what it means for Parry Sound.

Council also approved a resolution to support the status quo with respect to the current federal electoral boundaries.

That’s it, the meeting was over in an hour.

Bridge Art – Fish (click for larger image)

Bridge Atrt - Fish

Council Meeting Summary – September 18, 2012

20 Thursday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Seguin Township, Town Council, Urban Development

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Posted below is my take on the council meeting Tuesday night. More detailed coverage can be found at the North Star, Moose-FM and the official Town of Parry Sound council minutes that should be out today or Friday.

Meeting Highlights:

4.2, 9.6.2, 9.6.3, 9.6.4 – what was listed on the agenda as a letter from the RoseWater Management Group requesting Seguin Township consider a boundary adjustment to allow their property in Seguin become part of the Town of Parry Sound became a multiparty request for the same. It appears there are now three separate parties interested in being annexed to Parry Sound in addition to the Georgian Greens request of the previous council meeting. Council expressed interest in the request but defined some of the conditions that would be required for the discussion to proceed. Stay tuned, this issue will be warming up over the weeks and months to come. Council does not seem to be too interested in generating the same kind of drama as there was earlier this year with the property owner vote. Here’s a mockup of where I ‘guesstimate’ two of the properties are located.

Seguin_Boundary_Adjustment_2012-09-18

9.1.1 – the town approved moving forward with preconstruction work on the much needed improvements to water and waste water services for Wakefield and Dufferin Streets after gaining assurances that the lower priced bid was from a quality engineering firm.

9.3.1 – the taxi issue was pushed back to the October 2nd council meeting.

10.3.1 – council approved the rezoning of a portion of Williams Street Park to permit the sale and development on three residential lots. There was discussion of the loss of park space and the future impact it might have. In the end council made a tough, split decision to go forward with the rezoning and likely sale of the properties. There was a suggestion that the town could capture on the order of $200,000 for the three lots combined.

10.5.1 – Mr. Chips will be operating the BOCC Canteen for the next two years.

It was a shorty meeting that ended at 8:30. I’m not sure if some members of council had other plans for the evening but they too quickly dismissed item 9.4.1 – Delegation of Authority By-Law. This by-law, which was not perfect by any means, addressed certain by-law approvals including road closures and such, that would be left to town staff to deal with, rather than making it a matter for council approval. I’m not sure whether council likes taking the time to review and approve such trivial matters, or perhaps they think these issues makes them look decisive. In my opinion it makes them look as though they are more interested in spending their limited council time avoiding the tough issues by taking time for these trivial issues.

To the credit of the mayor he did ask council if they wanted to go through and review the sixteen items and see which ones were appropriate for consideration and approval. But council dismissed the suggestion unanimously and the item was shelved without any discussion. That’s a real shame and I wonder why. Was “The Voice” starting at 9:00, does council really feel their time is best spent approving ‘busking in the downtown’, or do they not trust staff to make good decisions on behalf of council and the town residents? I think council owes town staff an apology for the too curt dismissal of the issue. If you ask staff for creative ideas on process improvements you don’t shoot them down without some review.

Bridge Art – Twist

Bridge Art-Twist

Council Agenda Preview – September 18, 2012 Meeting

16 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Seguin Township, Town Council

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Here is a quick primer for the upcoming council meeting identifying the issues that I believe are of most interest to Parry Sound residents. I’ll provide a summary of discussion and decisions shortly after the meeting. As always the North Star and the Moose-FM are great resources for issues related to council meetings. A copy of the council meeting agenda is available online at the town’s website, http://www.townofparrysound.com, and copies of the council package are available at the town office and the library.

Agenda Highlights:

4.2, 9.6.2 – the RoseWater Management Group has sent a letter to Seguin Council with copy to Parry Sound Council requesting the parties enter into discussions regarding a boundary adjustment. This relates to a portion of the area that might have been part of the boundary adjustment discussions earlier this year. The RoseWater group is suggesting that they are looking at building as many as 750 to 1,000 affordable homes on an 88 acre area over the next decade, but require the services provided by Parry Sound (water, sewer, etc.). I’ve pasted a mockup below of where I figure the property is located (area is in orange). Note – this is separate from an earlier request to consider a boundary adjustment related to the Georgian Greens property off of Emily Street.

Proposed Area RoseWater Boundary Adjustment

9.1.1 – the town is moving forward with much needed improvements to water and waste water services for Wakefield and Dufferin Streets.

9.3.1 – the taxi issue looks as though it will be postponed until the October 2nd meeting based on a request from the taxi firms to have a face-to-face meeting with town staff prior to any council decision. There has to be some way to meet the needs of the taxi companies and still ensure the safety of the public. Too much regulation is not any better than too little regulation. The October 2nd meeting promises to be jam packed with controversial issues; the parking issue comes up again for discussion. Let’s see if council is interested in good policy or good politics.

10.3.1 – relates to the rezoning of a portion of Williams Street Park to permit the sale and development on three residential lots. The council package contains a very nice discussion and analysis of the rezoning. I urge you to read it before you pass judgement.

10.5.1 – is a by-law to allow Mr. Chips to lease and operate the BOCC Canteen for a period of two years.

That’s it. See you there. It shouldn’t last too long.

Bridge Art – FeelBridge Art - Feel

There is No Free Ride, or Free Parking

09 Sunday Sep 2012

Posted by in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound, Reflections

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I have been watching the maneuvering that has been going on for the last nine months related to a proposed increase in Parry Sound metered parking rates. It seems we may be approaching a resolution. Here are my two bits.

Parking revenue currently grosses about $100,000 per year for the town. The net, after expenses related to salaries and parking related costs, is about $30,000. This amount is applied to the parking reserve and offsets town expenses. Raising parking costs to $0.75 per hour would raise revenue to about $150,000, but increase the town’s net to about $80,000. This is because costs are fixed and would not increase proportionately with revenue. Raising parking costs to $1.00 per hour would increase the net to about $130,000. This would go a long way to helping cover the town’s looming budget gap.

About the DBA’s free parking proposal. The town already provides the downtown with free parking, quite a bit of it. If you live in Parry Sound you of course realize that there is no charge for parking before 9:00 AM and after 5:00 PM, nor is there any charge on weekends or holidays. And then there is free parking for the full month of December, presumably a busier shopping period. That’s a pretty good deal for merchants and shoppers.

About the Big Box stores. Well, they paid for the land they use for parking, pay taxes on that property and are responsible for the cost of snow removal, line painting, etc. They absorb the cost of parking as part of the price of doing business; they don’t ask their patrons to pay for it, at least not directly. Downtown parking property is not owned by the merchants, is not taxable to the merchants, and is not the merchants’ responsibility to keep clear of snow. Those downtown businesses that provide free parking for their patrons know how these costs add up.

And those six hundred signatures in support of free parking. This raises a few interesting points. How many signatures might we be able to collect on a petition to eliminate the federal and provincial excise taxes and HST on gasoline? Or how about a petition to eliminate all fees for camping in provincial parks? It sounds good to me, and it’s not relevant. First, the only signatures that should count are those of Parry Sound residents and property owners. This is because it is residents and businesses that will be required to pick up the cost of free parking. By my estimate the annual dollar cost for free parking would be about $10 per town resident at the current rates (lost net revenue and basic parking expenses). The figure would rise to more than $15 per person if free parking meant the town was to forgo an increase to $0.75 per hour, and more than $20 per resident if the forgone hourly rate was $1.00. This means a family of four would effectively need to pay an additional $50 to $100 per year in taxes to support free parking. So let’s redo the petition thing and ask town residents if they are in support of free parking for shoppers with the understanding that there would be an additional $50 to $100 per family added to their property taxes.

Free parking will benefit the business downtown, and that would be a good thing. The problem is that Parry Sound can’t afford it. Town Council will need to make some tough decisions to manage the budget gap for 2013 and 2014. Raising parking rates for the first time in a dozen years seems a ‘no-brainer’. Already the six month delay in raising rates has cost the town about $50,000. Let’s not lose any more than we need to.

If the downtown businesses feel free parking is that important to their success they should consider subsidizing the town for the lost net parking revenue, about $150,000 per year with the proposed increase to $1.00 per hour. Based on some 250 or so Downtown Business Association members, the cost works out to about $600 per year per business, or less than the price of a coffee and a doughnut a day. This seems to be a trivial cost for a business considering the benefits the association believes free parking will provide. Please, take a little bit out of what will surely be larger profits, perhaps that doughnut and coffee; don’t ask Parry Sound residents to subsidize your businesses with our property taxes. We are, after all, your customers.

Bridge Art – Wait

Bridge_Art - Wait

Below the Radar – 2012-09-07

07 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in Seguin Township, Town Council, Urban Development

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It’s worth noting a couple of items that have come up in recent public Parry Sound Town Council sessions and have not been mentioned in my regular council meeting posts.

1. The new public school seems to be on hold and there is little possibility that it will be ready for Fall 2013. The passing comments that have been made in council sessions indicate that the delay may related to environmental issues. Or it may be something else. The delay does not seem to be related to problems caused by the town.

2. Georgian Greens, the Seguin development behind the helicopter facility off of Emily Street/Rose Point Road, has sent a letter to Parry Sound asking if the town might want to consider annexing this area. This seems to be a little ‘off the wall’ but it certainly is a good way to get things started. Sometimes we can be a little too careful in bringing up a subject to the point that the point is never made. This is not part of the annexation area that was discussed earlier this year.

Bridge Art – Growl (click to open larger version)

Bridge Art - Growl

Council Meeting Summary – September 4, 2012

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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Last night’s meeting seemed to give signs of being a long meeting, but in the end it really wasn’t. That’s the benefit of postponing agenda items. The problem is that they always come back again. I’m not sure if staff is not preparing the agenda items so as to allow for a decision, or items are being brought to council before they are fully ‘baked’, or council is a little bit slow on the uptake, but it creates more work in the long run.

Meeting Highlights:

2.1.2 – a public meeting to consider rezoning part of the William Street Park elicited a number of letters and deputations in opposition. I think the people in opposition have a fair point in being worried that this is a potential loss of green space that can never be recovered. I have sent a note to town staff asking them to point me to the official town plan regarding parks and recreation area. This proposed loss of part of the William Street Park needs to be consistent with the overall plan for this type of space within the town. The William Street neighbourhood is rapidly becoming a high density area and more rather than less recreation and park space would seem to be appropriate.

5.1 and 9.3.3 – items related to the taxi permitting process were postponed until the September 18th council meeting after the taxi company has a chance to review the new by-law proposal.

9.3.1 – the road allowance closure by-law for the residence at the former water pumping station was approved with little discussion.

9.4.1 – this item, a continuation of the Service Delivery Review Program was defeated (effectively postponed) rather than actually postponed. It will return again in the next couple of months as a new agenda item.

9.4.2 – council approved the terms of reference for the Citizens Finance Committee adding new members.

9.4.3 and 9.5.1 – requests for approval/endorsement of the town’s Strategic Plan policies and procedures as well as the Waterfront Committee’s procedures and policies were approved.

10.3.1 – an item relating to renewing the parking agreement on the St. Andrew’s Church parking lot was not finalized. There was considerable confusion about what was implied and what should be done. It is also tied into the parking issue (Item 10.3.2) which was postponed to the October 2nd meeting of council. So we’ll see when it gets addressed again.

10.3.2 – a series of by-laws, resolutions and directions to raise the parking fees and fines for parking violations was postponed until the October 2nd meeting at the request of the Downtown Business Association. In an interesting tactical approach the DBA suggested rather than raise the parking rates and fines the town should consider dropping them altogether. In my opinion much of their argument does not make sense. But rather than start the discussion here I’ll summarize my thoughts in a separate post.

10.3.3 – the site plan approval request for 80 Bowes Street with I Fuels Ltd was approved. It looks like we will be getting another gas station and convenience store.

10.4.1 – the social media by-law was approved. I’m not sure anyone besides Councillor Williams really understood what it meant and its implications. Oh well, I imagine it will have zero impact on anything for the foreseeable future.

Bridge Art – Paddle

Updated – Council Agenda Preview – September 4, 2012 Meeting

03 Monday Sep 2012

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Update – I’ve had a chance to take a quick look at the meeting materials and have added in a few more comments [bracketed].

With the long weekend and other priorities I have not been able to see the full council meeting package, so this will be a short summary of what I see as the key meeting topics. I’ll fill in details before noon on Tuesday after I’ve had a chance to get to the library and review the full package. I’m looking forward to when the council package is available online. It will save me some time and spare a few trees.

Starting with this post I’ll be ‘featuring’ artwork from the Parry Sound pedestrian bridge. It’s pretty good and it’s worth recognizing. There is no particular order to the photos, it’s what seemed to fit at the moment.

Meeting Highlights:

2.1.2 – is a public meeting to consider rezoning part of the William Street Park. The town is moving forward with it’s plan to put up a number of town properties up for sale and eventual development. If you care you need to let council and staff know how you feel.

5.1 and 9.3.3 – these are agenda items related to complaints by Parry Sound Taxi about the Temporary Taxi Driver’s License process. There will be a deputation by the OPP regarding the screening process and a proposal from staff to revise the issuing of temporary licenses.

9.3.1 – relates to actions in support of the listing of the residence that formerly was the town’s water pumping station. This property will be going on the market and is the only house in Parry Sound that has a true waterfront view of the Sound. I assume there will be multiple parties interested in this property.

9.4.1 – is a continuation of the Service Delivery Review Program that was started at the last regularly scheduled council meeting.

9.4.2 – amends the terms of reference for the Citizens Finance Committee. [Adds more members.]

9.4.3 and 9.5.1 – requests approval/endorsement for the town’s Strategic Plan policies and procedures as well as the Waterfront Committee’s procedures and policies.

10.3.1 – this item seems to be moving town staff parking out of the paid parking lot beside St. Andrew’s Church. I’ll better understand this once I get a chance to see the council meeting package. [It seems to provide for more public (greater revenue) parking.]

10.3.2 – seems to be a series of by-laws, resolutions and directions to raise the parking fees and fines for parking violations. It’s about time in my estimation. This should free up parking for customers who won’t resent paying another couple of nickels for a closer spot, and the town could use the revenue for parking lot management, repair and snow removal. There is no free lunch. This is literally a nickels and dime issue for the average person who drives downtown, and is now paying $1.35 for a liter of gas. [This is a very nicely researched piece of work – my compliments. It raises the hourly parking fee to $1.00, in line with other communities. Fees have not been increased since 2000.]

10.3.3 – is a site plan approval request for 80 Bowes Street with I Fuels Ltd. I’m not at all sure what this is about. [Well it looks as though there will be another gas bar and convenience store in town (oh boy) at the site of the former Eckstein property.]

10.4.1 – the social media behaviour policy is up for by-law approval.

Bridge Art – Welcome (Click photo for larger image)