Monthly Archives: October 2014

Council Meeting Notes – October 21, 2014

27 Monday Oct 2014

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Although I didn’t attend the meeting last Tuesday I thought it might be useful to summarize the decisions of Council for those issues noted in my council Meeting Preview post. No surprises.

The minutes issued by the Town offer some additional information that relates to questions of Staff. Here’s a link to the page – choose the correct date and you are good to go.

9.1.3 – Direction. Disposal of Town Lands – 1 Emily Street. CARRIED. This is a 1,300 sq. ft. property on the edge of Emily as you turn right off of Parry Sound Road and seems to have fallen to the Town as a result of defaulted tax payments.

9.5.2 – Direction. Hillcrest Ave Storm Sewer Follow Up Report. CARRIED. The recommendation is that the Town hires the services of an engineer to design a replacement for the existing sewers which are in dire need of repair/replacement. Current options range from about $150,000 to $1 million depending on the option chosen.

10.1.1 – By-Law. Sale of Town-owned Lands: Georgian Bay Airways. CARRIED. This finalizes the sale of the property to GBA for $7,500. I will note that this is higher than the amount originally proposed ($1,000). It seems fair in my opinion.

So Does This Qualify as Corporate Graffiti? (Parry Sound, a Touch of Colour)

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Council Agenda Preview – October 21, 2014

18 Saturday Oct 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Safety, Town Council

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As might be expected given the Parry Sound Municipal Election that is underway (advance voting at least) there is very little on this week’s agenda. So little in fact that I probably won’t bother to attend. It’s mostly housekeeping items on the agenda.

With that said here are the items that most interest me.

Closed Agenda – Retaining of Recruiter for Wastewater Manager Position. Filling this position seems to be a bit of a challenge. It was on the open portion of an earlier agenda, then removed, and now back on as a closed agenda item. What’s up?

9.1.3 – Direction. Disposal of Town Lands – 1 Emily Street. This is a 1,300 sq. ft. property on the edge of Emily as you turn right off of Parry Sound Road and seems to have fallen to the Town as a result of defaulted tax payments. Private buyers have offered them $10,000 for the property. So $10K for 1/32 of an acre, or $300K per acre and the Town sells 23 acres for $40K or about $1,400 per acre. Let’s hope the implied housing development arrives shortly. If not I have three magic beans the Town might be interested in. You plant them in the ground, water them for 30 years, – then, poof, a fully built development.

9.5.2 – Direction. Hillcrest Ave Storm Sewer Follow Up Report. The recommendation is that the Town hires the services of an engineer to design a replacement for the existing sewers which are in dire need of repair/replacement. Current options range from about $150,000 to $1 million depending on the option chosen.

10.1.1 – By-Law. Sale of Town-owned Lands: Georgian Bay Airways. This finalizes the sale of the property to GBA for $7,500. I will note that this is higher than the amount originally proposed ($1,000). It seems fair in my opinion.

And that folks is all that strikes me as being of any real importance. You may disagree and I encourage you to check out the full agenda at the Town’s website.

Hmm! What Does Sparky Know? (Parry Sound, a Touch of Colour)

ParrySights-20141008-_DSC5178_DxOFYI – off the Rotary Algonquin Regiment Fitness Trail, past the Skate Park.

 

 

 

 

Criticism, Critique or Feedback? Election 2014 Thoughts.

14 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Town Council

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When you receive comments on something you have done, or have announced you will do, how do you ‘process’ it? Do you consider it as criticism, critique or feedback? The message, in terms of the information transferred, may be the same but its intent depends more on how it is received than how it was offered. An angry customer’s remarks might provide more valuable feedback than an expensive consultant’s soothing words. Would you prefer no input? It might make things more comfortable but does it make things better? We each have our own sense of what we feel is criticism and what is feedback. It seems the closer the input concerns us, or someone we care about, the more likely we will process it as criticism. The exact same input provided to an unrelated third-party will likely strike us more as valid feedback than criticism.

With that little bit of background let’s discuss how ParrySounds will be voting in this month’s municipal election. For close to four years I have attended just about every open session of Council, sat on a couple of committees, and have offered my opinion and comments publicly in several deputations and more than 250 blog posts. Depending on where you sit relative to members of Staff and Council members you might consider these posts to be criticism, critique or feedback. I treat it like a job, a volunteer job without Council oversight and control. My name is on the website and I interact directly with people on Staff and Council, taking responsibility for what I have written. Transparency is an important part of the democratic process and there is no place for increasingly common ‘chicken-shit’ anonymous blogs, letters or editorials.

With that perspective let me share my election selections. Let’s remember not to throw out the baby with the bath water.

Mayor – Jamie McGarvey

This will perhaps be a surprise to some. I was very critical of his role as the deciding vote to remove the volunteer head of the Downtown Business Association. It was a serious error that has had a chilling effect on transparency and due process. Nonetheless, I believe Mayor McGarvey has done a very good job in his first term as mayor and he will receive my support, and vote, for re-election.

Council – Paul Borneman, Brad Horne, Bonnie Keith, Dan McCauley, Keith Saulnier, Dave Williams

Wait, Councillors McCauley and Williams aren’t running. Well they both would have received my vote. Despite some disagreement on policy and politics with each of them I feel they both did a very capable and conscientious job while serving the Town. As for the remaining four Councillors, each will receive my vote with hopes that they will do as good a job in the upcoming term of Council as they did in the one just ending. The two rookies really seemed to pick up their game in the last couple of years. There is a learning curve, and with more veterans than rookies likely to be elected Council should keep moving things forward with some momentum.

That leaves me with two undecided votes (yes I know I don’t have to cast all six votes). I’ll keep my decision on those two spots to myself, mostly because I haven’t made a final decision. All of the remaining candidates seem capable with perhaps one exception. In the end I believe 90% of the job of Councillor involves common sense, showing up on time for Council and Committee meetings, and doing the necessary homework. That may be tipping my hand, but there are still a couple of weeks left for me to make final decisions.

That’s it for me and this year’s election. I will have regular coverage of the Council meeting on the 21st. I will not be offering any further election input or predictions. It’s time for the residents of Parry Sound to make their decision.

It’s Just a Job! (Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog)

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Council Meeting Notes – October 7, 2014

08 Wednesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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A longer meeting that seemed to drag at points but the various issues were properly reviewed in my opinion. Notes are below.

Candidates for Parry Sound Council office attending last night’s meeting included all of the currently elected Councillors and Mayor along with hopefuls Ted Knight, Doug McCann and Mark Aman.

Key decisions and points of interest.

4.4 – Correspondence. Resignation from Waterfront Committee. ACCEPTED.

5.1 – Deputation. Cascade generation station. As was suspected the final concept designs for the new power station were presented. My opinion is that the two concepts, the same except for colour, are attractive and will reflect positively on the community. I hope the Town will post the artist renderings on the Town’s website for all to see. The existing facility will be decommissioned starting later this year.

5.2 – Deputation. All Ontario Native Fastball Tournament – Kinsmen Park. In the end this turned out to be a non-issue. Once again it seems that it’s a matter of expectations. The organizers of the event, who were aware of the terms of the rental, were happy with the services that were provided. Certain volunteers were not, but perhaps they thought the Town should have done more. It all depends on the nature of the agreement and the price. This issue is being closed but I imagine the Economic Development and Public Works departments will pay even closer attention to managing expectations in the future.

8.4 – Resolution. Provincial Land Tax Reform. CARRIED.

9.1.1 – Resolution. James Street and Mary Street Intersection. CARRIED. A recommendation that James and Mary Streets be converted to a 4-way stop. One point of interest was the remark that the Province is moving away from crosswalks in favour of more meaningful traffic management systems. Remember when you were supposed to put you arm out in a crosswalk and the traffic was required to stop to let you cross? Yeah – that didn’t work to well for quite a few people. Stop means stop, and so does red, it’s not optional.

9.1.3 – Resolution. Public Transit System. CARRIED. Town Council discussed the issue and also agreed to continue the current service until the new plan can be implemented, likely June 2015 at the earliest. The new service will provide for 5-day per week service and for longer hours. I imagine the North Star will provide a more detailed overview of the new arrangements.

9.2.1 – Resolution. Request for Proposals (RFP): Trails Master Plan. CARRIED.

9.2.2, 9.2.3, 9.2.4 – Resolutions. CARRIED. A series of Stockey Centre facility upgrades amounting to about $56,000.

9.6.2 – Direction. Fluoride in Municipal Drinking Water Systems. CARRIED. Staff was requested to prepare a report and recommendation on this issue. My sense is let’s take it out, not because it’s dangerous, because it probably no longer really matters in terms of dental health as people have the option to use fluoride supplemented toothpastes and mouthwashes. Terminating the addition of fluoride will save money for the Town. It may well be that we already have a higher than recommended level of fluoride in our water without fluoridation which is common in areas with granite and gneiss geology. (See page 17 of this linked report.)

9.6.1 – Discussion. Digital Petitions. Resolution, CARRIED. The Town will now accept paper and electronic petitions. I’m not sure what this means or how it will be accomplished. Does it mean you do a paper petition and then scan and submit it? Do you do a Mail Chimp survey and submit the results? How about a Facebook questionnaire? But the hour was getting late and there seemed little interest in further discussion.

9.6.3 – Discussion. Feral Cats. Direction. Council requested Staff to return with an update on the situation and a recommendation. There seemed to be a change in Council attitude and they are perhaps ready to consider and approve more ‘permanent’ solutions.

There was more, check the Town’s website for the formal meeting minutes and all of the decisions.

Know the Code! Where is it? It’s not Fluoride. (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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Council Agenda Preview – October 7, 2014

05 Sunday Oct 2014

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This week’s agenda includes a couple of issues that have been ‘brewing’ for some time and are reaching the council agenda once again. I don’t imagine that there will be a decision on one of the issues (9.1.3, Public Transit System), but the discussion and report will set the stage for a decision by the newly elected Council as any decision has budget implications.

The issue of fluoride in the water system will be discussed. This was one of the issues that the candidates at the All-Candidates meeting seemed to agree needed review. I hope that the review will not only “review information regarding the hazards of putting fluoride in our drinking water”, but also review the benefits. We are all very ready to return to a more ‘natural’ way of life but let’s be sure we understand the consequences. The Town would be better off without fluoride in the water from a cost and logistics perspective, but let’s get the facts and then make a decision. This is an issue that will certainly be handed off to the new Council.

Here are the more interesting agenda items in my opinion.

4.4 – Correspondence. Resignation from Waterfront Committee. The issue of committees continues to challenge Council and Staff. Committees too often are unable to get the most qualified participants, and when they do they join they don’t last very long. The first step to solving a problem is to admit there is a problem.

5.1 – Deputation. Cascade generation station. I imagine the deputation concerns the proposed architectural design for the new power station.

5.2 – Deputation. All Ontario Native Fastball Tournament – Kinsmen Park. There is a bit of disagreement concerning the service provided by the Town under contract for this recent tournament. It’s also on the agenda as 9.1.2. The supporting documents are worth reading. Perhaps this deputation will provide some clarification from the ‘user’ point of view.

8.4 – Resolution. Provincial Land Tax Reform. This concerns a reform of the provincial land tax process that may result in higher taxes for properties in unincorporated municipalities. This may have something to do with a more equitable cost sharing of certain provincial subsidized services such as Emergency Medical Services (EMS).

9.1.1 – Resolution. James Street and Mary Street Intersection. A recommendation that James and Mary Streets be converted to a 4-way stop.

9.1.3 – Resolution. Public Transit System. This is a big issue and includes a substantial report and recommendation. I urge you to download the Council package and read this section so you can better understand the issues and options to make your own decisions.

9.2.1 – Resolution. Request for Proposals (RFP): Trails Master Plan. This is a recommendation that council accept a trails master plan development proposal from PlanbyDesign for about $23,000.

9.2.2, 9.2.3, 9.2.4 – Resolutions. A series of Stockey Centre facility upgrades amounting to about $56,000.

9.6.2 – Direction. Fluoride in Municipal Drinking Water Systems. As noted above.

9.6.3 – Discussion. Feral Cats. I’m not quite sure what is intended with this discussion  The Council package includes materials from earlier meetings of Council on this matter.

That’s pretty much it. I’ll see you Tuesday night night and I’ll ‘take attendance’. If all the candidates seem similarly qualified perhaps the best way to decide on who to vote for comes down to ‘who shows up’.

The Smoke House and Practice Makes Perfect. (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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Staff and Council Report Card – Part 3

02 Thursday Oct 2014

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Okay, here is the last set of grades for Council and Staff. See my earlier posts, here and here, for previously assigned grades and information on the process and intent of this exercise.

Staffing – A

As was mentioned in an earlier post this is a team (Staff and Council) that is relatively inexperienced in working together. This is the result of four members of Council being newly elected or in a new position, and the addition of four new senior Staff members. In particular the members of Staff, while not inexperienced in their responsibilities, are new to Parry Sound. So how are these new Staff members performing and what is the hiring/staffing performance grade?

A solid A.

Between senior Staff, led by the CAO, and Council I think the Town has managed to stock their team with first round draft choices. Performance to date has been excellent and these individuals have shown themselves to be client friendly and competent. I’m not sure we could have asked for more.

At the same time the senior Staff has been slimmed down by combining some functions. So despite player changes and a reduced payroll the Town hasn’t missed a beat. A great performance by Council and senior Staff to renew and revitalize the talent pool we depend on to lead and manage Parry Sound.

Committees and Community Involvement – F

This is perhaps the my greatest disappointment with Staff and Council over the now expiring term of Council. There are hardly any committees active that are not required by statute, for example the Committee of Adjustment. The optional advisory committees have seemingly vanished for lack of interest and Town support.

Support in my opinion encompasses more than creating committees, organizing meetings and filing away minutes; it means providing the means for the committees to address their objectives with the results being brought before Council for review and, as appropriate, action.

That has not been my experience to date, and others share this opinion. The point was highlighted by the request of the public members of the Finance Committee to have their committee be dissolved, not that long after it was established. Council’s decision to unilaterally remove the head of the Parry Sound Downtown Business Association exemplified their apparent displeasure with active volunteer input and leadership. And the cut and paste effort by Staff in putting together a Committee Rights and Responsibilities Policy, and Council’s rubber stamp approval of the policy, seems to reflect Council and Staff’s lack of interest in actively involving the community in developing objectives, strategies and tactics to move the Town forward.

By my count there are about 6 active committees, 9 inactive committees and 4 for which I have no information. The six active committees for the most part have board-like responsibilities including financial oversight. It’s the softer committees like the Municipal Heritage, Civic Pride and Finance committees that are no longer active. They have just fallen away as a result of apathy on the part of the Town and the community.

Are committees a barometer for the mood of the Town’s residents and it’s Council and Staff? Does it suggest a lack of interest or a lack of trust? I don’t know, but I do believe in ‘The Wisdom of Crowds’. More input by concerned individuals with independent ideas is almost always better than the input of a select few. Council and Staff should put rejuvenating the committee process on their list of priorities for the next term.

Services – A

This includes an A for quality and an A for attitude. I have the opportunity to interact with Staff and Council on a regular basis. I have found them to be responsive and courteous, even when I have tough requests and questions.

The services provided by the Town in my estimation are first-rate and provided in a timely fashion. Perhaps we pay a little more in taxes in Parry Sound but we receive value, from snow removal to parks to fire protection to great public facilities to, just about everything.

Enough said, keep up the good work.

Final Grade – B

Well actually it was just short of a B and I rounded it up to properly reflect the overall performance of Council and Staff. The Education grade was not used in the calculation because I suspect Council and Staff never realized it was ‘required for graduation’, sort of like the requirement of high school students to complete forty hours of community service. It doesn’t matter if you scored A on all your courses; there are still non-course requirements. I will have more to say in a future post about enhancing the educational achievement aspirations of the community. You need to set a goal before you can reasonably expect to achieve it.

I will offer one more performance related post before the upcoming election and then pay closer attention to what the candidates have to say. I’m not sure what some candidates mean when they say it’s time for a change. They need to change their part-time job, or the Town needs to change? If so, where and how? It will be interesting to listen to what each candidate says they have to offer in terms of new ideas and areas for community improvement. With the free tools of social media it is easy and inexpensive to share ideas. This blog is one example.

Parry Sound, a ‘Wired’ Community (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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