• Home
  • About
  • Council Minutes – Compiled
  • Parry Sound Area Reports and Resources

Parry Sounds

~ Ideas, Opinions and 'Green Shoots' In and Around Parry Sound

Parry Sounds

Monthly Archives: August 2014

The Parry Sound Parking Solution

19 Tuesday Aug 2014

Posted by Jo Bossart/ParrySounds.com in Parry Sound, Suggestions

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Parking, parry sound, Town Council

One word: Privatize!

If that’s a very practical solution what follows is a summary of the ‘problem’ and an explanation of why a privatization solution makes sense.

The last couple of years has seen concern and controversy surrounding Parry Sound’s parking policies. It’s as close as I have ever seen the community turning up at a Council meeting with torches and pitchforks.

It started a couple of years ago with Staff suggesting that the Town increase parking meter rates to account for inflation and to generate additional revenue to cover costs. This was picked up by Council and quickly opposed by the Downtown Business Association (DBA) who suggested it would hurt business and countered with a proposal that all parking in the downtown should be free, at all times. This ended with Council eventually raising parking rates and parking ticket prices, but not as much as originally proposed. I offered my take on the situation at that time in a post that is linked here.

Earlier this year Council was presented with a by-law to install parking meters on Bay Street down towards the Stockey Centre. This was met with considerable opposition by businesses on that portion of Bay Street. What was free they contended should remain free or it would hurt business and reflect poorly on Parry Sound as a tourist destination. The result was that Council beat a hasty retreat and claimed that metering on Bay Street was only being considered even though they had previously budgeted for meter installation. To make amends Council said that not only would there be no meters but they would review the possibility of removing all paid parking in Parry Sound later in the year.

There is much academic and practical experience that suggests paid parking is not only a source of revenue to cover costs related to creating and providing the parking; surface maintenance, plowing, etc., but that it actually increases business and human traffic in a downtown. It’s too easy to avoid shopping downtown if it’s likely that there won’t be any parking available. A better argument though might be to turn to free market economics to address the challenge of parking in Parry Sound, and that suggests privatization as a reasonable solution.

Privatization offers a couple of obvious benefits. The first is that it helps ensure prices match demand. If parking prices are too high people will stop parking and there will be less revenue and profit. The operator of the parking service should, in a ‘rational’ world, reduce prices to gain more parking business and optimize revenue and profit. Without the need to have prices discussed and reviewed at Council meetings a fine balance can be practically implemented aligning the interests of the local merchants (more shopping traffic) and the parking operator (maximal revenue through optimal pricing and maximal parking).

The second benefit is that it relieves Council of having to deal with difficult situations that may reflect poorly on their popularity. How many parents with teenage children have had to balance popularity with doing the right thing? At least parents don’t need to run for re-election, although in some cases that might not be a bad idea. But I digress.

The Town recently experienced the liberation of privatizing what was essentially a Town service, the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina. For the last couple of decades the Chamber of Commerce managed this facility; pretty much as a breakeven operation. With the Chamber’s decision to forgo management of the facility this year the Town contracted the operation to a private company that has to date done a good job as far as I can tell. But the effective privatization of the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina has come with some changes; seasonal dockage is being offered and there is a charge for day usage, two sources of income that were not available to the Chamber of Commerce.

When I asked Staff about the impact of these changes on local businesses they simply shrugged and suggested that it was up to the operator to make these decisions even though it may well negatively impact local business by reducing day boating traffic (similar to the argument against parking meters on Bay Street) and competing with local businesses (subsidized seasonal dockage).

That led to the Bingo moment. Let’s privatize the Town’s parking business! Privatization would permit the market to decide the right price for parking and avoid tough decisions for Council.

What about the mechanics you ask. Well here are some early thoughts:

  1. The right to receive revenue from public parking in Parry Sound would be offered on a Request for Proposal (RFP) basis for an initial five-year period. Thereafter the Town would open the RFP for a further five years.
  2. The winning bidder (WB) would need to guarantee the Town a certain fixed amount of annual income plus an upside for any new parking spaces installed.
  3. The WB would have the sole right to adjust prices as they felt was appropriate.
  4. The WB would also be able to change the hours of paid parking. Free after 5:30, weekends and all December? Well that might not really be optimal, so perhaps that would be tweaked to have free parking only on Sundays and after 9:00 PM.
  5. The WB would also be able to create additional paid parking sites in Town, but at their cost. I could well imagine there might be profit in charging for parking at the Stockey Centre, Waubuno Beach, and the Bobby Orr Community Centre. Bay Street seems pretty darn obvious as well. How about boat trailer parking fees at the Champaigne Street dock?
  6. The WB would be responsible for keeping these properties clear of snow and for any damage to the parking areas. I expect the Town would still be responsible for general maintenance of the properties, most notably the paving of the areas.
  7. I’m not so sure about ticketing. Perhaps the WB could have their own personnel monitor compliance and ticket as required, or contract with the Town for these services.

Pretty simple isn’t it. It’s all about letting the market decide when, where and how much parking should cost.

Is this a real business and would anyone be interested?

I suspect that there would be significant interest by private businesses. It might even appeal to the Downtown Business Association; they would be able to manage the parking rates directly so as to optimize their business. They could even choose to make parking free everywhere, at all times. And the Town would have no issue because they would continue to receive the same income they might have expected by operating the parking business themselves without the headaches regarding the parking rates.

The winning bidder for the parking RFP could certainly make money. Revenue could be increased by about 10% through elimination of the December free parking. Saturdays could add an additional 15%. Metering Bay Street and the Stockey Centre could increase revenue by another 10-20%.

It could be a virtual goldmine for the Town and a private operator. It might even have the benefit of getting people close to the downtown walking to events at the Town Dock, the Stockey Centre and the Bobby Orr Community Centre.

But most importantly it would relieve Parry Sound Town Council and Staff from the need to make necessary but unpopular decisions, or taking responsibility for these decisions. It’s as simple as the decision to in effect ‘privatize’ the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina. Don’t blame us; it’s a business decision that’s out of our hands.

So, am I serious? Or am I pulling your leg? The short answer is yes. The long answer will follow in a second post.

To be continued……

Worth Privatizing? (Parry Sound in Black & White)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

Council Meeting Notes – August 12, 2014

15 Friday Aug 2014

Posted by Jo Bossart/ParrySounds.com in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Notes – August 12, 2014

Tags

By-Law, Council Minutes, parry sound, Rezoning, Seguin, Town Council, Water Management

It was a packed meeting, almost three hours with one surprise and one ‘humorous’ moment.

The surprise was Council giving the local Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Coast Guard Base the figurative finger by turning down their request for a reduction of their waste water bill for a recent quarter because they weren’t processing the water through the Parry Sound sewage system. Rather they were dumping unused treated water directly into Georgian Bay because of a leak; several million liters of water costing a few thousand dollars. There are good arguments for providing a reduction in the bill – they paid for the water supply and didn’t use the waste water treatment facility. And there are good arguments for saying no. I just hope the DFO have a short memory when it comes to negotiating lease arrangements or repairs for the Town Dock and Big Sound Marina facility. I’m not sure I agree with the decision, but let’s see how it plays out.

The humorous portion came in the deputation by Ms. Griva concerning 2 Avenue Road. Obviously nervous, her English very good but not her native tongue, and hoping for a favourable outcome regarding an agenda item, she referred to the Mayor as “Your Majesty”. It’s pretty easy to see how “Your Worship” could be extended to “Your Majesty”. The whole “Your Worship” thing annoys me a little. It’s correct but reminds me of a bit of historical trivia. When the United States of America was first established and George Washington the President was offered the title of “Your Majesty” he rejected it. To this day the President of the United States is addressed not as your worship, your honor, your majesty, but simply Mr. President. And at some point in the future it will be Madame President. I will place the blame for Staff’s use of “Your Worship” on the Director of Public Works, Mr. Brown, who brought it with him when he joined the Parry Sound staff. It has caught on with all of the staff members. The Mayor certainly deserves respect, but “Your Worship” a dozen times or more per Council meeting?

Okay what about the outcomes?

Closed Session items

c) a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land for municipal or local board purposes. (14 River St). CARRIED. There seemed to be an agreement to move forward on this item that is related to waste water management although I’m not sure what was decided. There is money being spent but are we acquiring the property and then disposing of it?

Letters

4.5 – Sewage drainage issues. Directed to Staff. An interesting request for the reimbursement of about $5,000 in out-of-pocket plumbing costs related to what the petitioner claims is a failure of Town infrastructure.

Deputations

5.1 – Natalia Griva regarding 2 Avenue Road. The deputation outlined the circumstances that has led neighbour complaints regarding Item 10.1.1. (See below for more information.)

5.2 – Les Culp representing OPSEU Local 342, regarding the adjustments to ambulance service in the South River area. This was a short deputation that led to considerable discussion by Council as Item 9.2.2 (a new item) regarding the level of service required for the East Parry Sound District area. There seems to be a difference of opinion between the board supervising the EMS services and the Union. Council requested additional information be presented to them at a special meeting of Council to be held August 26th at 5:00 PM.

Consent Agenda

8.2 – 3rd Quarterly Financial and Key Performance Objectives Review. CARRIED. Scheduled for September 30th at 6:00 PM, and will include a first look at the 2015 budget.

Resolutions and Direction to Staff

9.1.1 – Amendment to Site Plan approval Application – Hands the Family Help Network – 2 May Street. WITHDRAWN.

9.1.2 – Consent Application B12/2014(PS) – Healey – 47 Marion. Resolution. CARRIED. There was just a little bit of discussion to better understand the implications of the request to permit the right-of-way for a second driveway.

9.5.1 – Rotary Club Storage Facility. Resolution. CARRIED.

By-Laws

10.1.1 – Rezoning Application – Z14-05 – Griva – 2 Avenue Road. By-law. CARRIED. The deputation by Ms. Griva helped to explain what appears to be a tragicomedy of allegations, complaints and real issues. Council seemed to feel that they weren’t so sure about the facts leading up to the neighbourhood concerns but they were willing to approve the rezoning application, especially since they were likely to lose if it went to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB). I note that Seguin Township in an August 15th article in the Beacon Star were similarly gun-shy about a rezoning application being taken to the OMB and ‘bent’ regulations to suit one of their resident’s applications.

10.1.3 – Disposal of Town Lands, (land and waterlot), abutting 11A Bay Street. By-law. CARRIED. There was little discussion. It’s probably the right thing to do, but it could come back to bite the Town given that there was no attempt made to establish a fair value for the property.

10.4.1 – Reserve and Reserve Fund Policy. By-law. CARRIED. The Town tidied up its Reserve Fund policies and reduced the number of funds for simpler and more transparent management.

10.4.2 – Establishment of a Capital Asset Legacy Reserve Fund. By-Law. CARRIED.

There was much more discussed and some interesting points arose in the Questions to Staff that are well covered in the official meeting minutes on the Town’s website. Hey – aren’t we supposed to be getting a new and more user-friendly website for the Town?.

Sometimes You Need to Bend a Little to Get Where You Want. (Parry Sound in Black & White)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Council Agenda Preview – August 12, 2014

10 Sunday Aug 2014

Posted by Jo Bossart/ParrySounds.com in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Agenda Preview – August 12, 2014

Tags

Agenda, By-Law, Capital Investment, Infrastructure, parry sound, Planning, PS Power, Rezoning, Town Council, Water Management

I hope that everyone enjoyed the last few weeks: warm weather, sunny skies and a respite from Council meetings. It seems that as the mosquitos started to fade away the visitors started to arrive. And as I’m reminded, and agree, they are tourists not terrorists. So let’s treat our visitors as valued guests.

Council will be pretty busy in the next few weeks. This week’s agenda is not only quite full; it also includes a couple of challenging issues (more below). Individual Councillors will need to decide and, as appropriate, declare their intention to stand for reelection this October. If they are running they will need to at least go through the motions of organizing and operating a reelection campaign.

To date only the Mayor and two Parry Sound residents have expressed their interest in running for Council. I wonder if the two ‘newbies’ hoping to serve on Council will attend at least a couple of the Council meetings. If you can’t drag your butt out to attend at least a few of the meetings one has to wonder if you have what it takes to actually serve on Council. Council meetings aren’t yet live and online, so you can’t sit at home in your underwear with a beer and popcorn in your lap and place your votes online. But it may be coming soon, this Fall we will be able to do just that when we cast our votes. (That would be an interesting post-election survey question. “How were you dressed when you cast your vote in the Parry Sound municipal elections.”)

Okay let’s take a look at what’s on the agenda. A reminder; I am only identifying a few of what I consider the more interesting items on the agenda. Head over to the Town’s website for a copy of the full agenda package, in this case it’s two separate files and about 275 pages.

Closed Session items

c) a proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land for municipal or local board purposes. (14 River St). It’s not clear what this item concerns. The address, 14 River Street, appears to be a privately owned small home directly across from the Gospel Hall. I can only imagine that the Town might want to acquire the home to allow for some sort of community sewage management station, perhaps similar to what is at the intersection of Beaver and Meadow Streets. I understand that there are waste water issues in this area. 

Letters

4.5 – Sewage drainage issues. An interesting request for the reimbursement of about $5,000 in out-of-pocket plumbing costs related to what the petitioner claims is a failure of Town infrastructure.

Deputations

5.1 – Natalia Griva regarding 2 Avenue Road. I’m not sure what this individual, the owner of the property, has to say but it probably concerns her earlier rezoning request. This issue is also on the agenda as Item 10.1.1. (See below for more information.)

Consent Agenda

8.2 – 3rd Quarterly Financial and Key Performance Objectives Review. Tentatively scheduled for September 30th at 6:00 PM.

Resolutions and Direction to Staff

9.1.1 – Amendment to Site Plan approval Application – Hands the Family Help Network – 2 May Street. Resolution. The Town is proposing to reject the applicant’s request to approve a new Development Agreement for an expansion of the facility. The issue seems to be responsibility for a ‘grinder pump’. The Town had previously (1988) assumed responsibility for this item and now wishes to transfer it to Hands. [Disclosure; I am a board member of this non-profit organization that provides mental health services to children and adults.]

9.1.2 – Consent Application B12/2014(PS) – Healey – 47 Marion. Resolution. Just when you thought it was over, it’s back again. Well sort of. This concerns the property on Marion Avenue that was the subject of drainage concerns and decisions over the last couple of Council meetings. The applicant now wants the Town to allow for a secondary shared right-of-way access to the property. A couple neighbours are opposing the request.

9.5.1 – Rotary Club Storage Facility. Resolution. The Rotary Club is requesting approval to construct a 12’ x 24’ shed adjacent to the Kinsman parking lot for storage. The Club is proposing to cover all of the costs related to constructing the shed and then transfer ownership of the building to the Town at no cost in exchange for a twenty year lease at $1 per year with the Town covering the insurance costs.

By-Laws

10.1.1 – Rezoning Application – Z14-05 – Griva – 2 Avenue Road. By-law. Where to start with this issue? I really can’t hope to capture the drama, twists and turns as it relates to this issue. Let me very briefly summarize the current status of the matter along with a few ‘factoids’ to provide some context.

  1. Staff is proposing Council approve the application to rezone the property as a duplex. The logic for this recommendation is that the application is consistent with current provincial zoning policy and that even if the applicant has not been in compliance with past by-laws and regulations they should not be denied the right to come into compliance.
  2. The neighbours will have none of it. There have been additional petitions and letters submitted opposing the rezoning application. The whole package is about 75 pages and is available in at the Town’s website (2014-08-12, Part 1).
  3. Staff’s recommendation is well reasoned and argued. It’s not clear that Council will accept the recommendation. They previously rejected a Staff recommendation regarding a development on Belvedere Avenue for reasons that I can only assume were political rather than practical or regulation based.
  4. I encourage everyone to read the full package if you have an extra hour or so. One interesting ‘factoid’ that popped up was in a letter from Robert and Brenda Drummond who seem to have done their homework. They claim that the current MPAC designation of the property is as a triplex, and it is taxed as a triplex. So how does this fit with the applicant’s request to rezone the property from a single family dwelling to a duplex? It makes one’s head hurt.
  5. The property on 2 Avenue Road has an MPAC assessment of $651,000. A big property with a corresponding big tax bill. This assessment is about 2 to 3 times that of the neighbouring properties.

One final thought: if the rezoning is approved for a duplex I hope that the Town will ensure that there are separate water and power meters for the two residences. I suspect too many residences in Town that have been converted to duplexes, triplexes and rooming houses are still operating with a single unmetered water meter and a single power meter. In these cases the rest of us are being taken advantage of. If you want to create duplexes please ensure that you are paying your share of the public utility costs and delivery charges through separate metering.

10.1.3 – Disposal of Town Lands, (land and waterlot), abutting 11A Bay Street. By-law. This concerns the small spit of land and the associated waterlot that abuts the Georgian Bay Airway operation. The Town is proposing to sell the land and waterlot to Georgian Bay Airways (GBA) for $1,000. The logic is that the land is only accessible from the property currently owned by GBA and they have been using the land for a number of years. There is a need to be careful here. The price is remarkably low and one of the owners of GBA is a Parry Sound Councillor. I am sure that individual will recuse themself from the discussion and the decision.

Nonetheless let’s make sure that everyone’s hands are very clean on this. The sale is reasonable but the price seems to be too low. Better perhaps to sell it for $1 than pretend $1,000 is a reasonable market price. I’m sure many people would be happy to pay as much as $5,000 and lease it back to GBA for their use. The Town recently sold a large tract of land for well under what market value might have suggested in hopes that it would encourage development. Where does below market pricing start and end? Who exactly is allowed to benefit from this type of non-public sale? Careful, we don’t have that much more land to ‘give away’.

10.4.1 – Reserve and Reserve Fund Policy. By-law. The Town is tidying up its Reserve Fund policies and the reducing the number of funds for simpler and more transparent management.

10.4.2 – Establishment of a Capital Asset Legacy Reserve Fund. By-Law. Remember that $3.9 million we were to have received with the merger of Parry Sound Hydro and Lakeland Power? Well the cheque, actually bank transfer, arrived July 1st but it turns out we have already committed $1.3 million of it to help ensure there was no tax rate increase in an election year. The remaining $2.6 million is going into a reserve fund to support capital fund projects in Parry Sound.

There is much more and you are encouraged to download the Council agenda and read it in more detail. If you have an issue your options are to write a letter to Town Staff and/or Council, call one of the Councillors, or show up and express your concerns in the deputation portion of the meeting. Reservations are not required.

See you Tuesday night. I’m interested in how Council handles these issues. Who says that nothing happens in the summer months?

Summertime When the Living is Easy? Not When It’s Business Season! (Parry Sound in Black & White)

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

 

 

ParrySounds.com Feed

RSS Feed RSS - Posts

Categories

  • Amalgamation
  • Boating/Recreation
  • Budget/Financial
  • Correction/Clarification
  • Economics
  • Events/Activities
  • Green Shoots
  • Parry Sound
  • Reflections
  • Safety
  • Seguin Township
  • Sights
  • Sounds
  • Suggestions
  • Town Council
  • Train
  • Urban Development
  • Video
  • Weather

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011

Attractions/Events

  • Town of Parry Sound
  • The Stockey Centre

Government

  • Town of Parry Sound

News

  • Moose FM CKLP 103.3 – Parry Sound
  • North Star / Beacon Star
  • Parry Sound Weather

Tourism

  • Explorers Edge

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel

 
Loading Comments...
Comment
    ×