Monthly Archives: March 2015

Council Meeting Notes – March 17, 2015

18 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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The era of free parking in Parry Sound starts June 1st, and it is unlikely to end anytime soon. At last night’s meeting a skeleton crew of Councillors approved Item 10.4.1 – Free Parking Pilot Project. Don’t let the title fool you, it’s not a pilot. A true pilot has defined quantitative and qualitative measures. This pilot essentially has none. As long as downtown business and employees don’t get greedy and sit in the ‘prime’ parking spots all day, or do a two-hour shuffle, there won’t be any ‘objective’ reasons to not continue with free parking for 2016 and beyond. I was struggling to make sense of the project, the process and the decision until I ‘got it’. This isn’t a businesses decision, this is a political decision and well above my pay grade to understand.

I was wrong about how long the meeting would take, it was over by 8:45 PM. There was little discussion on any of the points and with three of the seven members of Council absent, the reports, questions and discussion was limited. In general there were no surprises.

Correspondence

4.1 – Dave Rushton, Chair, REDAC Marketing Sub-committee/CAO, Municipality of McDougall. Re: Partnership with Explorers’ Edge for a Tourism Summit for the West Parry Sound area. FORWARDED TO STAFF/COUNCIL.


Deputations



5.1, 5.2 – Transit service proposals. These deputations covered different aspects of Parry Sound’s decision to cancel transit services. The first was from a couple in Seguin reminding Council of the Town’s obligation to provide accessible transportation services to residents. A question that crossed my mind. Do any of our neighbouring municipalities offer accessible transportation services, or do they expect their residents to move to Parry Sound for these types of services?

The second deputation from Bracebridge Taxi recounted their experience in developing an accessible transportation service for Bracebridge and Muskoka. The presenter did not define the geographical scope of their service but says it runs 24×7, and I believe said it is not subsidized by the municipality. I expect Town Staff will follow-up and request additional information.

Consent Agenda

8.1 – Town of Aurora Resolution regarding Bill 52. CARRIED


Resolutions and Direction to Staff

9.1.2 – 2014 Statement of Remuneration Paid to Council and Appointed Board Members. Council remuneration for 2014. CARRIED. This type of disclosure has not been the norm for Parry Sound even though it is required depending on how one reads the legislation. See the agenda package for the figures or check out the meeting preview post. 

9.3.1 – Request to Bid on William Beatty and Victory Schools. Resolution. CARRIED.

9.3.4 – Regional Marketing Plan. Resolution. CARRIED.

9.3.5 – Review of Cash-in-Lieu of Parking for Residential Development in the Downtown. Direction. CARRIED.

9.5.1 – 2015 Key Performance Objectives (KPO’s). Resolution. CARRIED.

9.6.1 – Rail Safety. Resolution. CARRIED.


By-laws

10.3.1 – Licence of Occupation Policy – Town-owned Water Lots and Uplands. CARRIED.

10.4.1 – Free Parking Pilot Project. CARRIED. You need to deliver on election year promises, especially after you’ve stuck your foot up your butt end (Bay Street meters proposal and turfing out the Parry Sound Downtown Business Association Chair). I think of it as a ‘Parking Fine’. And the residents of Parry Sound will have the privilege of paying it.

There was more of course more, but not anything that I considered worth highlighting. The agenda package with much of the supporting detail is available at the Town’s website and the official Council minutes should be out no later than Friday.

What Will It Look Like with LED Lighting? (Parry Sound, Night Crawling)

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Council Agenda Preview – March 17, 2016

16 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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The big issue on this week’s agenda is Item 10.4.1 – Free Parking Pilot Project. Overall the meeting agenda is pretty full and depending on Council’s appetite for discussion it could take up the full three hours.

Here are the items that caught my attention. Your interests my be different. Head over to the Town’s website for the full agenda package.


Correspondence

4.1 – Dave Rushton, Chair, REDAC Marketing Sub-committee/CAO, Municipality of McDougall. Re: Partnership with Explorers’ Edge for a Tourism Summit for the West Parry Sound area. Talk, talk, talk. Let’s have a summit and clarify who does what. Does anybody actually do anything anymore? That’s like having a staff meeting at a hospital while the patient is lying on the stretcher. Let’s not pretend anything is actually getting done. Dollars to donuts, or has it become donuts to dollar, the recommendation from the summit will be workshops. Teach a man to fish and ….. Wait, how about we just start fishing. Or how about we start doing tourism support right now with the next tourist who arrives.


Deputations



5.1, 5.2 – Transit service proposals. A couple of out-of-town organizations will be presenting proposals. There is no other information in the agenda package.


Consent Agenda

8.1 – Town of Aurora Resolution regarding Bill 52. This is a provincial bill to “help protect and encourage freedom of expression on matters of the public interest and discourage the use of the courts in ways that unduly limit that freedom”. A good idea in my opinion.


Resolutions and Direction to Staff

9.1.2 – 2014 Statement of Remuneration Paid to Council and Appointed Board Members. Council remuneration for 2014.

Council Remuneration 2015

Interestingly, Councilors receive remuneration for sitting on certain boards including Belvedere Heights, District Social Board and Parry Sound Area Planning Board. It’s worth taking a look at the agenda package for more information.

9.3.1 – Request to Bid on William Beatty and Victory Schools. Resolution. Staff is recommending the Town invest $600 to get an appraisal on these two properties with the possibility of a Town purchase. I’m okay with this. Let’s not get too excited though and start thinking about the old St. Joseph’s Hospital property. That represents the downside of not having a plan.

9.3.4 – Regional Marketing Plan. Resolution. More talk, talk, talk. But it’s apparently “a very good deal”. Yeah, I know I’m sounding cynical, and that is exactly the way I feel about the money being spent to discuss the situation. How about some action. None of this should be new or a surprise. We should already have a plan.

9.3.5 – Review of Cash-in-Lieu of Parking for Residential Development in the Downtown. Direction. The recommendation as I read the documents is to loosen the restrictions on landlords regarding parking space for tenants. But, I may not properly understand it. I suggest you read the information in the council package if you are interested in this subject.

9.5.1 – 2015 Key Performance Objectives (KPO’s). Resolution. The report is attached and available for review.

9.6.1 – Rail Safety. Resolution. This resolution requests the railways to provide information on matters of rail car speed, braking systems and track maintenance.


By-laws

10.3.1 – Licence of Occupation Policy – Town-owned Water Lots and Uplands. A by-law to license businesses that occupy Town owned water lots and the adjacent land.

10.4.1 – Free Parking Pilot Project. Sigh! The report basically suggests there are no realistic objective parameters by which the pilot project can be assessed as a success or failure. But I expect Council will give the ‘thumbs up’. And once it’s in place, how can you take it back? Exactly what revenue does the Town receive for providing numerous resources and facilities for tourists and our municipal neighbours (boat launches, Stockey Centre, parks, beaches, Big Sound Marina, ….)? And now we are providing free parking. It’s free for everyone except those of us who pay municipal taxes. Bigger sigh!

There is more of course more, but not anything that I considered worth highlighting. The full agenda is available at the Town’s website.

Where’s the Fire? (Parry Sound, Night Crawling)

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A Loss of Privilege?

15 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by in Reflections, Town Council

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I want to thank the editorial staff at MetrolandMedia (North Star and Beacon Star) for the laugh they provided me with on Friday and a smile all weekend with their editorial regarding McDougall Council’s refusal to allow them to record their open meetings. It brought together a few separate threads that have been floating around in my head for a few weeks now.

The first thread is a post by Seth Godin, one of my favourite authors and noted marketer and entrepreneur. He published a post on Thursday titled “Privilege” that stated:

“Privilege
We really don’t understand privilege until we’ve lost it. It’s pretty easy to criticize or misunderstand those that complain about privilege (of any kind), but in fact, we have no idea what it is to be in those shoes, not right this minute.”

The reason for part one of my chuckle? A couple of years ago I asked Parry Sound Council for media privileges to be able to, among other things, record open meetings of Council. My request was refused. The MetrolandMedia people never bothered to comment or support my request. I was just a little fish and they apparently never thought to defend the principle because they already had the privilege of recording the meetings. Silence often speaks louder than words.

The second reason concerns the reporting style of the paper. They don’t need to pay attention at council meetings because they can record the discussion and then review the recording to pick up on anything they later realized was important. At McDougall council meetings they will actually need to pay attention.

The third reason concerns content. Much of what gets printed in the two local newspapers, at least with respect to Parry Sound council meetings, is quotes from the discussion. I’d estimate about 40-50% of the words come from the mouths of Staff and Council. You don’t need to write what you can transcribe. This is common practice at Parry Sound Council meetings where the ‘official’ media is permitted to make recordings. In defense of Parry Sound Council I can, in theory at least, record a meeting as long as I ask for permission beforehand. I haven’t bothered to date; I pay attention and ask questions afterward in case I missed anything.

The Beacon Star’s editorial message is appropriate – why can’t the open meetings in McDougall be recorded to ensure statements and arguments are properly reported? Should people who can write more quickly have an advantage? Does it disadvantage the physically handicapped, the old, the young, the poor of hearing?

I guess there is an increasing lack of trust locally with the local printed media. This is something I share. The editorial page of our local newspaper is anonymous. I remember one personally painful editorial where I was figuratively taken to the woodshed. Was I ever contacted for background? No? When asked, they said they were reflecting the opinion of an individual in town. Wow, editorial page coverage of ‘your’ opinion and you get to stay anonymous. And there has been more to erode trust.

Trust is something that is hard to gain and easy to lose. It’s not a privilege that comes with the territory; it’s earned.

For the record I support MetrolandMedia’s request for the right to record open meetings of McDougall Council. I hope my support helps their cause. MetrolandMedia, I would be pleased to send a letter or make a deputation in support of your request. (Call me, you have my number if you are interested in taking me up on this. Full disclosure – I didn’t succeed last time in Parry Sound, but perhaps it will be different with the support of a major media conglomerate.)

So what’s worse: losing privilege, or never having it?

Teamwork. (Parry Sound, Night Crawling)

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Local Policing. A Bargain. Really?

11 Wednesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Reflections, Seguin Township

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I read with interest the CBC article by Neil Mcdonald titled – “Ferguson’s predatory police are not the only ones”. It’s worth a read and underlies the premise of this post. Here’s a link to the article on the CBC website.

His article discusses the US Federal Government’s report on the very serious misuse of police powers in Ferguson, Missouri. The report suggests the local police were more interested in creating revenue from ticketing and fines, presumably to validate their jobs, than protecting the public. Neil Macdonald suggests that Ferguson is not the only community to face this type of police behaviour. The article notes that, “A law-abiding, mentally impaired employee of a local convenience store — a black man — was such an easy target that he was arrested 258 times in four years, often dragged out of his bedroom in the back of the establishment.” Note the words – law abiding.

So with the objective of saving money the surrounding municipalities are looking at creating a local police force that would be accountable to the local councils and staff. What would be their accountability? How would they be supervised and monitored? Would the police force be asked to create enough revenue to offset a portion of their costs? Might policing become a net profit centre? Those tourists seem like easy pickings, sort of like Canadians driving through Georgia for their winter vacation in Florida.

Yes, I know this is Canada and we don’t behave like those morally suspect capitalist Americans. We would never allow a similar situation. Or would we? Have local police forces across Canada ever focused their attention on revenue generating issues rather than protecting the public? All members of the public? There are how many missing Aboriginal women in Canada that it seems neither the politicians nor the police want to find or investigate their disappearance.

I’ve mentioned this before but it’s worth repeating. A former Parry Sound resident who grew up in town, and was in high school in the 70’s, told me that he often wondered when the local police officer approached a group of students whether he was looking to bust, or looking to sell. This was a time when Parry Sound had its own police force, and I’m told there were some very serious conflicts of interest. The Town with time eliminated the police force and brought in the OPP. Yes, this was a high school student who perhaps bought into the local gossip about the local police. But perhaps it wasn’t gossip, perhaps it was fact. Regardless, a police force that does not have the trust of the people they are tasked to protect is unable to do their job. If you can’t trust the police are you likely to ever cooperate with them?

Are the OPP perfect? No, there are too many individuals with borderline personality disorders who are attracted to policing because of the discretionary power it provides them. But there is a system, a province wide system, in place to monitor and weed out those who either don’t fulfill their roles, or who abuse the system and the people. It’s much harder to do if you have a police force that is managed by individuals who have no experience doing this, and who may carry political or personal agendas.

So I wish the local communities luck with their plans to implement local policing. It can be done, it can be successful, but great care needs to be taken that rot doesn’t set it.

Ferguson seems to have rotted right to the core, police, staff and probably the politicians. But hey, that’s there not here. We’re different aren’t we?

I’m happy to pay a bit more for policing and have it operated professionally. Not perfectly, professionally.

 Cleaning Up! (Parry Sound, Night Crawling)

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Poop Alley – Updated

10 Tuesday Mar 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Suggestions

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That’s the term I was told is used for portions of the North Shore Rugged Trail. The name is on target and a tad too polite.

One of my favourite places to walk and ski is along the North Shore Rugged Trail, a continuation of the Rotary Algonquin Regiment Fitness Trail as it crosses Salt Dock Road. On pretty much any given afternoon or weekend you will find the parking area full and people on the trail with their dogs off-leash.

That poop on Poop Alley is dog poop. I guess dog owners believe that what you can’t see doesn’t exist. And if you don’t look you certainly can’t see. In the winter it’s easy I suppose to convince yourself “well that’s not a problem it’s covered by snow”. And if the snow is deep enough the poop sort of just ‘sinks’ away out of sight; hot poop on cold snow, like a hot knife through butter. “I’d pick it up but I don’t know where it is.”

Well it’s all coming to the surface now with the melting of snow, and it’s pretty disgusting.

People, pick up the poop when your dog drops it. Or at least ‘flick it’ into the bush where it’s less likely to be seen and unlikely to be walked on. If necessary, ‘dig for it’. I can’t imagine taking a child for a walk along the trail this time of year without worrying about where they might walk.

Owning a dog is a privilege and a responsibility. The trail is not a toilet. It’s hard for the rest of us to enjoy the scenery when we need to keep our eyes pointed down to avoid stepping into ‘it’.

Update: I was asked why there was no photo with this post. People! There are some things you don’t want to see.

Council Meeting Notes – March 3, 2013

04 Wednesday Mar 2015

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Last night’s meeting dragged on to 8:35 PM, just a wee bit past the later end of what I had thought. The reasons included the two deputations that Council let go on a little longer than usual, and the animated meeting reports from a couple of the Councillors. All-in-all there were few surprises but some encouraging trends. In one Council report there was mention of preliminary discussions regarding the relocation of provincial services away from the Parry Sound Waterfront and the Shell Oil waterfront property being ready for development.


Deputations

5.1 – Iain Flemming, Festival of the Sound (FOTS). Contributions of the Festival of the Sound to the Town of Parry Sound. Mention was made of the Festival’s upcoming 36th season and that FOTS was identified by CBC as one of the top summer festivals in Canada.

5.2 – Anne Bossart. Update on activities at Tower Hill Heritage Garden. The deputation reviewed the volunteer driven improvements to the garden over the past three years and plans for 2015. Plans for 2015 include more renovation and maintenance highlighted by the development of a formal lilac garden. People wishing to donate support, financial or physical, can get further information at the Tower Hill Heritage Garden website.


Resolutions and Direction to Staff

9.2.1 – Winter Access to William Street. Resolution. CARRIED. This item generated much discussion from one Councillor who felt that the requested access could be provided without engendering much, if any, risk to pedestrians. In the end Council decided to accept Staff’s recommendation but requested that suitable consideration be given to providing a safer situation at the site when the Town makes planned upgrades to the street in the next year or two. Staff noted that cars have been ‘clocked’ at 100 kph in that area. Folks, this is a busy pedestrian area, let’s slow down. While we’re talking about it, how about slowing down on all of the streets in town?

9.2.2 – Pre-budget Approval – Replacement of 2004 7-Ton Truck. Resolution. CARRIED.


By-laws

10.2.1 – OCIF Funding Contribution Agreement – William Street. CARRIED. This is the project that might allow for the better pedestrian facilities mentioned in Item 9.2.1.

There was more; check the Town’s website in a couple of days for a full copy of the minutes, but there is nothing additional I consider to be ‘material’. Next up is a Council meeting on the 17th, St. Paddy’s Day. Be there and be sure to wear green. There are plans for a Town strategic planning session on April 22nd at the Stockey Centre, details to follow. Everyone is invited to attend.

Meanwhile, Down at the Waterfront (Parry Sound Night Crawling)

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2014 – Town of Parry Sound Council Minutes

02 Monday Mar 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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Here is a link to a compilation of all of the Parry Sound council meeting minutes for 2014.

Using the Adobe Acrobat search tools it’s possible to quickly find mentions of issues and items that were included in the council meeting minutes. The Town’s website does not offer this service. With the compiled minutes once an item is found it’s a straightforward matter to determine the date the issue was before Council and their decision. In those cases you want more information, or the supporting documentation, you can use the date of the Council meeting to track down the agenda package on the Town’s website. (Note: this link to the council meeting agendas may be revised as soon as April 2015. The Town is rebuilding their website and it’s almost a sure thing that page addresses will have changed. But it should be a simple matter to track the documents down at the new website if you have the date of the meeting.)

It would have been nice to compile the council meeting agenda’s but it would have been too large to host and download – on the order of a half gigabyte or so.

Let me know if you have trouble tracking down any information related to the agenda or minutes, I may be able to help.