Monthly Archives: January 2013

Suggestions for Staff and Council

22 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Suggestions, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Suggestions for Staff and Council

Tags

, , ,

I think it’s only fair to offer a suggestion of how I might imagine the whole issue of the ‘age in place’ review and approval by council might have been handled. Actually I have two suggestions. I prefer the first approach.

The better way to have handled the review and approval would have been to discuss the matter in closed session if that was the preferred approach to determine if there was support for bringing it to the open council meeting. From there it would have been appropriate to schedule it for formal review and vote at the following session of open council, generally two weeks later. That would have meant the item would have been put on the agenda for the open meeting allowing the public to see that it was to be discussed. It would have also included the proposed by-law. The council meeting package would have included the proposal(s) and the usual staff review and recommendation. Now that would have been transparency. At the open meeting of council there would have been open discussion and a vote. People wishing to comment on the proposal could have written a letter or made a deputation during the open portion of the council meeting.

A less attractive alternative, if there was some sense of urgency, would have been to review the proposal in closed session of council and then place it on the open session of council that immediately followed. But, council would have at that point advised the public that the late addition to the agenda was an exceptional issue that required expedited review. Then, when the item was reviewed, council could have provided the public with the outlines of the proposal, the reasons for the expedited review process, and then openly discussed the proposal as they do almost all other proposals. The public would have been able to understand the issues and the considerations impacting the decision and the limited review time permitted the public. After a vote council could have directed staff to hold a public meeting in the next few days to provide the community with more detailed information on the nature and impact of the proposal. The ‘age in place’ development is in fact a very big deal, one that could have significant impact on further development in the town, for good or for ill, and one the voters and taxpayers should be given the opportunity to fully understand.

But I guess council and staff assume the public really doesn’t care about, or pay attention to, what they do. Perhaps they feel that as long as the roads are plowed, taxes aren’t raised too high, and there is heat in the BOCC they have no real responsibility to communicate their actions and decisions. (Trust us! Does government ever lie?) But we do care, and we watch what happens.

So, what and when are you going to tell us more about a big investment in power generation capacity at the Cascade Street Generating Station? That’s the real biggie, about $15 to 20 million worth. We will get some opportunity to review, discuss and provide input, won’t we?

We’re not deaf or dumb. If we don’t understand the what and why of what you are doing it means you aren’t getting your message across. If we don’t understand we can’t trust.

Spilling Water – January 22, 2013Cascade Generating Station - 2013-01-22

‘Age in Place’ Update

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council, Urban Development

≈ Comments Off on ‘Age in Place’ Update

Tags

, , ,

I received a short while ago a 7 page document from the town that represents the core proposal from York Health Care Developments Inc. I have attached a copy of the PDF for those who are interested. It provides a bit more information than has already been made available in the town’s press release.

I also spoke with the person who submitted the proposal and asked him for information concerning the company and what projects they have been involved with. He said that it was part of their proposal and was in the appendices. He suggested I ask the town for a copy of the various appendices as they were not confidential. I’ve asked the town for these materials. I’ll update my findings in a future post. (Update – as I was drafting this post the town was good enough to provide the appendices. They are attached here. Note – the company has a long list of projects they have been involved with.)

So, it looks as though the development may not be controversial. That’s not really a surprise. What continues to be a surprise and disappointment is why staff and council chose to review the proposal in closed session with no discussion and debate of the proposal in open session before its approval. Even better would have been to have placed the item on the open meeting agenda with the supporting documents.

The Cost of Expediency ….

20 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council, Urban Development

≈ Comments Off on The Cost of Expediency ….

Tags

, , , ,

is lost trust. Nothing is free.

And that reality is being played out in Parry Sound with council’s expedient, behind closed door review and off-agenda, approval of a new ‘age in place’ development. It’s worth explaining how council and staff have lost my confidence and trust.

Let’s start with some background. Apparently the town has accepted a proposal to develop a 40-60 unit residential complex that will be no higher than 4 stories. This complex will be located on a 4.5 acre plot of land owned by the town just north of Canadore College on Parry Sound Drive. It will be built by York Health Care Development Inc. who are paying $250,000 for the land. That’s all we have been given in terms of information. The minutes of the council meeting indicate the proposal is attached to the by-law so presumably anyone wanting to see the by-law would also be provided the proposal. More likely they wouldn’t.

There is little public information to be readily found about York Health Care Development Inc., just a phone number and address, (905) 707-8445, 7610 Yonge Street, Thornhill, ON, L4J 1V9. I couldn’t find any information on what projects they have been involved in and successfully completed.

In terms of the timeline for the RFP, the town originally planned to approve a direction to send out an RFP (Request for Proposal) to selected developers in May of 2012 but this was delayed because of issues related to an update to the West Parry Sound Health Centre’s Plan. It was postponed until the council meeting September 4, 2012. A review of council minutes from 2012 does not indicate the RFP direction was ever brought before council again and approved in an open session, certainly not at the September 4th meeting. So if it was reviewed and approved it must have been in a closed session of council. This seems a bit strange as the initial proposal to issue an RFP was originally discussed in an open council meeting. Perhaps it was at this point staff and council decided to pull things behind the curtain of closed sessions.

The next thing the public was told about the process came on January 15th when town council approved By-law 2013-6185 that states:

“Being a by-law to accept the proposal from York Health Care Development Inc. for the development/operation of a retirement residence per the attached, to declare property surplus, to waive the notice requirement per the Town’s Notice Policy and Property Disposal By-law (By-law #96-3845), to waive the requirement of an appraisal per the Property Disposal By-law (By-law #96-3845), and to identify a means of sale to M3 Developments Inc. (York Health Care Developments Inc), for the Town-owned property described as Part of Part 1, Plan 42R-18846, being those lands north of the flooded lands of Briggs Lake, excluding Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 of Plan 42R-19097, conditional on a rezoning of the front portion of the property from “Rural (RU)’ to a Special Provision holding zone that would allow a retirement residence in addition to the uses allowed in the “Highway Commercial (C3)” zone with a maximum height of 4-stories; the holding symbol to be removed upon the assumption of the unassumed road named College Drive.”

Bang that’s it, we’ve now approved a new development in town with absolutely no public input, or any information provided to the taxpayer about the developer, the terms and conditions of the deal, or general details of the proposed complex. Apparently the matter was discussed and agreed in the closed session of council on the 15th, followed by formal review and approval in the open session of council with no discussion of the proposal and its absolute or relative merits. Council did ask staff to provide some information on the proposal after it was approved in response to my ‘silent-movie’ dramatics in the audience. According to council rules the audience is not permitted to speak at council except during the deputation portion of the meeting, but we are not forbidden from playing charades and seeing if council can figure out whether there is a concern in the audience or someone is going into cardiac arrest. In my case it was the former.

Since then I’ve had a couple of discussions on the matter with staff. It has been a ‘soothing’ experience but no information has been provided beyond a town press release on Thursday or Friday. I’m not sure when it was released because I was unable to find it on the town’s website (don’t get me going on that), and I had to ask for a copy. The press release, which I have attached in a link, PR Retirement Residence, is interesting in it’s content. And it contributes to my erosion of trust.

One statement in the press release is worth look at a little more closely, at least as closely as the available information allows. It states at one point, “The Town has not granted any concessions to the developer for this project.”. This is an interesting statement and presumably relates to potential public concerns about being ‘sold-out’ to business. Looking at the by-law above we see that council has agreed to waive two by-laws that are applicable to the proposed development. There is also the agreement to rezone the property to permit not only residential but also “Highway Commercial” uses. And there is the agreed price of $250,000, including rezoning costs, for the 6.45 acres. That translates to $38,760 per acre. Not quite market rate from what I’ve seen the town has proposed, and been offered, for other properties. And of course council has waived the requirement to conduct an appraisal. No concessions? Read on.

If you walk up to a car dealership and express an interest in purchasing a new car and the salesperson says, “oh, we have a special deal today, every car purchased includes an extended warranty and floor mats”, is this a concession? Did you ask for the warranty or mats as a concession that he/she agreed to? Or did they make the offer above what you expected to sweeten the deal and get you to purchase today? The selling price of $250,000 seems a concession to me, as does the waiving of the requirements of the two by-laws. But the only way to find out is to read the original RFP, which I can’t find on the town’s website, where it states the town will waive the two by-laws regardless of the deal, and the property could be purchased for $250,000.

But concessions are really not a bad thing. They are part of doing business. Suggesting there were none erodes my trust in the whole process. But that really is only a small part of my worry and concern about the way council and staff has handled this.

My major concern surrounds the too quick ‘in camera’ review of the process. Why wasn’t the proposal reviewed in one session, possibly closed, and then placed on the next (in two weeks) meeting’s open agenda? This would have provided residents with the opportunity to review the proposal and ask questions. It should also have included access to staff’s report and recommendation on the proposal. There would have been a possibility for the public to comment in the deputation portion of the following meeting. But there was none of that, it was done in the dark of a closed council meeting, added to the open meeting agenda with no notice, and voted upon with absolutely no discussion. None, zippo, nada.

There has been more debate about the pennies per ton difference in the price the town is quoted for road salt. And how about the extended discussion about snow plowing responsibilities related to the lease for the CP Station? This was also handled through the RFP process, was put on the open council agenda, and the proposed lease included in the publicly available council package. What’s the difference? Many other RFPs have been put on the agenda and discussed in open council meetings.

The answer of course is expediency. Staff and council wanted this to be run through the process and approved because it would be good for the town. I suspect they did not want to waste time with public discussion, review and comment because they thought something might come up to delay or kill the deal. Well that doesn’t seem to reflect much confidence in the agreement they have approved. I’m sure of course it wasn’t the company who requested this behind closed door process because that would have been a concession by the town.

This probably is a good deal for the town and residents. But I find it hard to trust a council that works this way. I have been reminded by others of the behind the scenes arrangements that were made with big box developers at the south end of town that came with a large and unexpected cost. What about the drama in the Big Smoke where the mayor, council and staff permitted a very clear contravention of rules that was only addressed when a member of the public brought suit against the mayor? Who can we trust?

Or, this may be a dry run for hiding an even larger development that will put the town on the hook for perhaps ten to twenty million dollars. Parry Sound Hydro Corporation is looking at an investment in new power generating capacity that the town will need to co-sign for. At one point I thought Parry Sound Hydro was stonewalling on the matter but the considerable transparency at their annual meeting on the investment (meeting notes link) leads me to think that council may be responsible for the lack of communication with the town. When you start to lose trust you begin to be accused for actions that may or may not be true.

Stay tuned for updates. I have asked town staff for copies of the various documents related to the deal. If necessary I’ll file an official freedom of information request and share the details. This is a classic example of where the experts advise their clients who are involved in a controversy to ‘get ahead of the story’ and provide details before third parties put their own spin on the issue.

Trust is hard to gain, is easily lost, and even harder to regain. In this case it seems to all be for the sake of expediency. Unless of course it was part of agreed concessions.

Council Meeting Summary – January 15, 2013

16 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Summary – January 15, 2013

Tags

, , , , , , ,

Okay, so town council has my full attention now with regard to how they are ‘running’ big issues through the system with limited public oversight. Yes they are our elected representatives given the authority to make decisions on our behalf. But let’s be sure these decisions are made in the light of day. Here’s a link to a post earlier today about what has me very concerned.

Good news, the heat in the BOCC seems to be operational although it will take time to balance the system. Less good news about the Kinsmen rink. The recent warm weather has made it impossible to establish the ice although the upcoming cold snap should take care of that problem.

The rest of last night’s council meeting was not contentious or controversial. Here is my take on the various items.

Meeting Highlights:

5.1 – the Downtown Business Association’s (DBA) deputation provided insight into the investments they are planning to enhance the appearance of the downtown for residents and visitors. My understanding is that they will be requesting town permission to rearrange some of the current parking spots to accommodate these changes.

9.1.1 – a resolution accepting a $7.9 million EMS budget for 2013, with the town’s portion of about $222,000, was approved.

9.2.2, 9.2.3 – resolutions to accept the various town business objectives for 2013 and the town’s strategic plan were carried. I’ll go over them in the next few days but have already noted a few interesting changes in the town operations.

9.4.1 – a  resolution to increase and add planning fees was carried. There was a bit of a misunderstanding in what was being presented and how it was to be approved that may need to be cleared up at the next council meeting. Bottom line – the fees are going up.

9.4.2 – council passed a resolution to accept an offer of $41,500 for the town property referred to as the ‘former waterworks standpipe property’ on Isabella Street. One councillor did raise the issue of whether the tender process was the most appropriate way to handle this sale. I thought the response from staff was too dismissive. There is an issue. All is not necessarily well that ends well. See my council preview notes item 9.4.2 for thoughts on the matter.

9.4.3 – this is the issue that is causing me concern. This particular item was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what was agreed. In the closed session of council the town discussed and tentatively reached agreement on approving a proposal to develop a 60 residence ‘Age in Place’ complex north of Canadore College. This was then voted upon and approved in the open session. Net/net – 60 residences, 6.45 acres sold for $250,000 and who knows what other considerations/concessions. We get more public information about the cost of the salt and sand the town buys than for a multi-million dollar complex. I have started to ask questions and will provide more information as it is made available.

9.4.4 – a resolution to approve the Canada Day budget was carried. The cost will be about $11,000 if a Celebrate Canada grant is received, $17,000 if it isn’t.

9.6.1 – council approved considering support of Festival of the Sound’s opening night performance for $5,000 as part of the 2013 budget. But this proposal still needs to get through the budget process that starts tonight.

9.6.2 – an agenda item to discuss the use of the Fitness Trail as a footpath and snowmobile trail was quite different than I thought. It concerns the trail north of the mall. Staff will look into options to accommodate the interests of snow machine operators and people who walk on the path.

10.4.1 – a by-law to allow the town to enter into an agreement with JJ Mackay Canada Limited to provide parking ticket management software was carried.

10.4.2 – a by-law to designate the Old Pump House as having cultural heritage value or interest was carried.

10.4.3 – council approved a by-law to enter into a 5-year agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to operate the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina. It seems a good deal for the town, residents and visitors. And this year the staff at the town dock will not be taking any S*%T from their customers. They will be sending them to local marinas for pump outs.

10.6.1 – a by-law to confirm the proceedings of Parry Sound Hydro Corporation board of directors meetings June 25, July 25 and August 31, 2012 was carried.

See you tonight at the budget meeting. It starts at 6:00. Stay tuned for more information on the new ‘Age in Place’ development approved by council. Please refer to the town’s website for a copy of the complete meeting’s minutes when they are published, probably Thursday or Friday.

Bridge Art – Obscure the ViewBridgeArt - Envision

Behind Closed Doors

16 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Town Council, Urban Development

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, ,

I was taken aback last night by council’s secretive review and approval of a development in the north part of town. It’s called ‘Age in Place’ and involves acres of town property. There is the prospect that it will add jobs and tax revenue to the town.

But the possible proposals were reviewed in the closed session of council earlier that evening and added as a last minute item to the open portion of the council meeting and then approved unanimously with no discussion. The only information that was provided to the public about the ‘deal’ arose because sitting in the audience I was making faces reflecting my outrage about the process and wondering ‘what the hell is this all about?’.

A discussion with town staff right after the council meeting provided little information about the process. I am following up on this and expect to provide more information in the days to come. I wonder if council and staff are not used to having town residents pay attention to what they are doing.

I am very, very concerned about the process used for the review and public discussion of this decision. This is a deal that was discussed, agreed and ‘cut’ behind closed doors. This is not the way that council business is to be handled if public confidence in council is to be maintained.

I’ll post my usual review of last night’s council meeting separately.

Council Agenda Preview – January 15, 2013

13 Sunday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

It’s been almost a month since the last council meeting. Surprisingly this week’s agenda has few critical issues to be decided and agreed. The ‘elephant in the room’ of course is the 2013 budget for which the kick-off discussion is scheduled for this Wednesday starting at 6:00 in the Council Chambers. I suggest you be there is you want to understand how they make ‘sausage’. It’s not pretty but it’s worth understanding how and why your taxes went up this year.

Congratulations to Gail MacDonald on the receipt of the Order of Parry Sound. This honour recognizes her many community contributions, most notably with Harvest Share.

I’ve sent a request to council for media credentials to provide better coverage of the council meetings. As it stands now I am unable to attend meetings that are restricted to council and the ‘official’ media. In addition I have been told that I am not permitted to make audio or video recordings of the council meetings despite the fact that the meeting is recorded and rebroadcast by Cogeco, and the local media regularly record portions of the meeting for broadcast. It’s on the agenda this week as a letter.

Agenda Highlights:

5.1 – the Downtown Business Association (DBA) is making a deputation to request town support for its revitalization activities. This includes an investment in physical enhancements to make the downtown more appealing to residents and visitors.

9.1.1 – is a resolution accepting a $7.9 million EMS budget for 2013. The town’s portion of this cost is about $222,000, about 2% higher than last year.

9.2.2, 9.2.3 – are resolutions to accept the various town business objectives for 2013 and the town’s strategic plan. I have not taken the time to read the details of the objectives and will provide a separate overview in a few days after I’ve had a chance to go over it in more detail.

9.4.1 – is another resolution to increase and add planning fees. For the most part these are ‘nickel and dime’ increases that bring our costs up to provincial municipal averages.

9.4.2 – is a resolution to accept an offer of $41,500 for the town property referred to as the ‘former waterworks standpipe property’ on Isabella Street. It’s worth noting that the other bids received fort he property were: $28,000, $16,500 and $8,000. The town believes the high bid is reasonable and acceptable. I wonder though if the process, not necessarily this tender, is flawed. How can there reasonably be a 5-fold difference in the bids if the process is open, transparent and the all participants have the appropriate information? Is the process flawed? Are some of the bidders not sufficiently experienced to make reasonable bids? Even throwing out the high and low bids, there is a difference of almost 80%, too big a difference to make me comfortable with the process. It’s worth reconsidering the tender process as was previously suggested by one of the councillors.

9.4.3 – is a direction to town staff to prepare a by-law that rezones a portion of town owned land north of Canadore College to permit its use for the development of a retirement residence. Personally I’m glad to see additional development in town as long as the development carries its fair share of the municipal costs. The town already has a number of federal, provincial and community facilities that benefit from reduced taxes in consideration of their contribution to local employment. It’s sort of like buying something on sale. It may be a good buy, but you still need to find the money to pay for it.

9.4.4 – is a resolution to approve the Canada Day budget. The net/net is that it will cost the town on the order of $11,000 if a Celebrate Canada grant is received. It will be about $17,000 if the grant isn’t received. There are a few interesting points: the firework themselves cost about $8,000. That’s about $0.50 to $1.00 per person for those who watch the fireworks; a relative bargain in my opinion. Neither the Parry Sound Chamber of Commerce nor the DBA will be contributing financially to this year’s events. I know money is tight at both organizations, but I wonder if their withdrawal from the Canada Day events is a statement of sorts.

9.6.1 – is a direction for staff follow up in regard to supporting the Festival of the Sound’s opening night to the tune of $5,000. This is the 10th anniversary of the Festival’s program at the Stockey Centre.

9.6.2 – is an agenda item to discuss the use of the Fitness Trail as a footpath and snowmobile trail. Right now it’s a moot point given the warm weather and rain, but it’s worth a discussion. I often walk on the trail in the winter and keep my eye out for snow machines. I find the snowmobilers are more courteous than the occasional e-bike riders that sneak onto the trail in the spring, summer and fall.

10.4.1 – is a by-law to allow the town to enter into an agreement with JJ Mackay Canada Limited to provide parking ticket management software. The cost is about $2,400.

10.4.2 – is a by-law to designate the Old Pump House as having cultural heritage value or interest. This follows up earlier by-laws and resolutions. The by-law includes a statement of the heritage attributes.

10.4.3 – is a by-law to enter into a 5-year agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to operate the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina. The Chamber has been operating these facilities for the last few years. This agreement restructures the arrangement and the lease terms. The materials in the council package are not sufficient for me to properly understand the benefits of the agreement to the two parties. In theory the town will receive almost twice as much in 2013, some10% of ‘normalized’ revenue, as it would have under the previous agreement. The actual amount received in 2011 was $6,560, which implies a revenue stream of about $130,000 in 2011. Given that the operation of the two facilities is not a ‘gold mine’ I’m surprised by the change in the terms and only imagine the Chamber feels there will be an increase in revenue for the years to come.

10.6.1 – is a by-law to confirm the proceedings of Parry Sound Hydro Corporation board of directors meetings June 25, July 25 and August 31, 2012. There is no information in these minutes that provides any insight into their operations.

Remember there is a budget meeting on the 16th that you should plan to attend. I’ll be watching the proceedings trying to understand the various staff and council agendas. I’ll also be at the council meeting at the 15th, see you there.

If you want to know what went down last year at council I have compiled all of the council minutes in a single PDF document that can be easily searched.

Bridge Art – Beyond Dreaming?

Bridge Art - Dream

 

Parry Sounds Has a Partner Site

11 Friday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Sights

≈ Comments Off on Parry Sounds Has a Partner Site

Tags

,

Earlier this month I started another blog that focuses on photos from in and around Parry Sound. Less words and more images. It’s called Parry Sights and can be found at www.parrysights.com.

I post up a photo every day at Parry Sights that may or may not be familiar. I hope it will motivate you to get up and outdoors to enjoy the truly wonderful area where we live and work. Here are a couple of the photos that have already been posted.

ParrySights Photo of the Day ParrySights Photo of the Day

It’s Moving Week for Festival of the Sound

08 Tuesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Events/Activities, Green Shoots, Parry Sound, Sights

≈ Comments Off on It’s Moving Week for Festival of the Sound

Tags

, ,

In honour of the relocation of Festival of the Sound to the Station Gallery I thought it would be appropriate to post a photo of the Festival Tree taken this week at the Stockey Centre.

A great organization, in a great hall, in a nice little town that is picking up momentum.Festival Tree - January 2013

Oil and Rails Might Not Mix

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Safety, Train

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

A recent post on the Railroaded’s Blog does a nice job of highlighting the issues surrounding the transport of crude oil by rail. It looks as though CN and CP are looking at this as a business opportunity given the pressure that is being brought to bear on the oil companies trying to build new pipelines. It seems pipelines carry less environmental peril than the use of rail lines for transporting crude oil. But if you are opposed to the building of a pipeline in your community, and you don’t have a rail line nearby, you’ll be quite happy to have the oil shipped by rail. Not in my backyard.

Well we do have rail lines quite literally in our backyards, and it seems they are being used to ship crude through our town. I’ve been told it’s oil from the Bakken Formation in Saskatchewan. If you doubt that it’s the case take a look at the photo below from last month. It’s not just one or two tankers. And given the near derailment last week in Nobel, we need to think not if, but when. Let’s hope that if we have a derailment in town it will be rail cars carrying expensive imported cars not millions of liters of crude oil.

Parry Sounds - Shipping Oil