Tag Archives: Moose-FM

Transparency – Worth the Time and Effort

27 Saturday Feb 2016

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Town Council

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I received a bit of feedback on yesterday’s Council Agenda Preview post and my comments on the planned removal of the structure on the Town Dock. I will repeat my position on this – I am neutral as to whether it should or should not be demolished, replaced, repaired or expanded. I am however not neutral on the process of transparency. It needs to be part of the spirit and process of Parry Sound.

I understand that the Waterfront Committee is composed of a number of capable and caring individuals. I do not in any way question their motives. I may or may not agree with their recommendations, but I am willing to accept the decision of the majority. Unfortunately, there is no process in place for the majority to understand what is being proposed.

Have we as a Town not learned some lessons over the past couple of years? A committee of the Downtown Business Association presented a plan for revising Market Square Park that was shot down because it did not include community involvement. And the Fluoride issue should be a reminder that an agenda item posted on a Friday for discussion and community input on the following Tuesday is probably not sufficient lead time for major issues with significant community impact. The Trails Master Plan is another case of a committee presenting a plan that had not been appropriately shared with the larger community for input. In the end the Community was in agreement with the plan and there shouldn’t be a cause for later protest. Feels good, doesn’t it?

The last I remember of the Waterfront Committee plans was a presentation about how the railings on the dock and the benches were going to be painted gray. At the same time there was discussion of a new structure at the end of the Town Dock. There were concept drawings of replacement structures that included a two story observation deck. But there wasn’t, to my recollection, any proposal advanced at that meeting as to the decision to actually remove the current structure, or what would replace it.

So if I attend pretty much every council meeting and have a fuzzy recollection of what has been presented, what is the awareness of the general public? Is this intended to be a surprise? People aren’t too good with surprises. Why not hold an open house with the proposed design and let people see what’s planned and listen to their input? This is done by the Public Works Department. Yes, attendance is low, but they at least can say people were given notice and a chance to provide their input. The structure at the end of the Town Dock is an iconic structure that has come to be a significant visual representation of Parry Sound. Perhaps it’s time for a change. I suspect that whatever is constructed, bigger, smaller, taller, more modern, more traditional, will not appeal to everyone. Let’s get the input in earlier rather than later.

Parry Sound has a bit of a problem with transparency. It’s not deliberate, but it mucks up the system. Let me explain.

In the absence of a formally announced public meeting to introduce a new concept or proposal the general process is that the item is simply added to the town council agenda for discussion. The timeline for this is as follows. A council agenda is usually published by noon on the Friday before a council meeting. It is available in short form, without any attachments or agenda on the Town’s website. It is available to the local press and interested parties at the same time with the full package, except for closed meeting details.

So the only way a ‘non-groupie’ would be able to know what is on the agenda would be by going to the Town’s website and looking for the upcoming agenda. And if there is an item of interest on the agenda they would need to contact the Town for a copy of the full agenda. If they were eager beavers they would be able to get the request in by the Friday, but most likely they might get around to reviewing the brief agenda on the weekend and putting in the request on Monday. Assuming Monday isn’t a civic holiday, they could expect to get it before the end of Monday. If not, it would probably be provided before the close of business on Tuesday. That really doesn’t provide much time for review. And if the person can’t work with an electronic copy of the full agenda package I guess they would need to schlep over to the Town Hall and ask to see a printed copy. If they wanted a copy of the agenda package they would probably need to pay for the paper copy.

Not everyone is a ‘groupie’ or an ‘eager beaver’. So they will typically only find out what has happened at any meeting long after it has been decided (unless they subscribe to this blog). That probably is okay for the majority of issues addressed by Town Council. But there will be issues that benefit from a more open and proactive communication, road plans, fluoridation, changes to parks and facilities, pumping stations, trail plans. I’m not kidding about the pumping station. It was a meeting held by Public Works, and ensured that Parry Sound residents had their chance to understand what was involved.

My recommendation regarding the gazebo? Council should receive the resolution, discuss it and request public comment prior to the next meeting of Council (March 15, 2016). That will then allow Moose-FM and the North Star/Beacon Star to get the word out that a change is planned. And the North Star/Beacon Star folks would probably be able to post (parrysound.com) some images for people to take a look at and form an opinion. The Town should also host images and details online and at the Town Office, with paper copies for those who want to drop by. This would ensure that input was received from the whole community, not just a committee and Staff. And this is not one of those 21-day public notice issues, so a week and a half should be more than enough to prevent a later revolt but not slow things up.

As an aside regarding transparency. I am unable to find any information on the Town’s website regarding a waterfront plan or minutes of the Waterfront Committee that might have provided some early warning of proposed changes. The minutes were readily available before the previous website design, so they may be there but I can’t find them. But then again perhaps I’m just an ‘old fart’ who can’t find his way around a computer and these darn fangled generation 2.0 websites. And I really must be getting old, because I don’t ‘chirp’, or is that ‘tweet’?

Yes, it’s more work to keep people informed and involved, but it can save time, effort and hurt feelings in the long term. Enough of this, it’s time to get started working on the Fluoride 2018 vote.

Actually, I Enjoy Preparing the Sights Much More Than the Posts

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Council Meeting Notes – June 3, 2014

04 Wednesday Jun 2014

Posted by in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound, Town Council, Urban Development

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Last night’s meeting was pretty much uneventful with some discussion and debate regarding Item 9.1.3. More on this in the text below. I left about half way through the meeting after the more interesting items had been discussed. I’ll check the minutes and let you know if anything interesting arose after I left. I doubt it. Of course you should tune into Moose-FM today, they will be providing their take on the highlights (and low lights). My comments are offered below, check out the preview post for additional background.

The more interesting items in my opinion are:

5.1 – Deputation, Park to Park (P2P). The deputation was well received by Council and there was an agreement to direct Staff to meet with Park2Park to discuss the options and reality of establishing an ATV trail through Parry Sound.

9.1.3 – Resolution, Proposal Award 71 Parry Sound Road. CARRIED. This resolution requests approval of a proposal in principle to develop 71 Parry Sound Road as it represents ‘Town surplus property’. There was discussion about the price offered by the developer for the property, $40,000 versus the $64,000 real estate broker assessed value. The Mayor pushed it through. He seemed quite determined to make it happen. Council discussed certain protections for the Town concerning the property being ‘held and flipped’ and unexpected costs to the town to develop the property. I guess at least one councillor remembers how the Town was taken to the ‘woodshed’ with the WalMart development.

I think we were hosed down, but it’s not going to kill the Town. I sure wish I would have been doing business with negotiators like Mayor and Council when doing deals. You can smell the desperation. The proposed land sale price of $40,000 amounts to $200 per lot for property cost. There was much mention of the considerable costs to the developer to provide the services. Are they really that much more than the costs to be accrued by an individual who paid $30,000 for a single lot in Parry Sound and needs to pay for connecting to Town services? When you build 200 houses the costs are spread over a much larger base. It’s hard to find circumstances where the cost of land isn’t at least 5% of the total built property cost, suggesting about $10,000 per lot for this project, or more like $2 million for the 23 acres. No, This $2 million is not a reasonable figure to ask but it represents a much better benchmark than the $64,000 assessment from a local real estate agent.

The Town likes to pride itself in not offering financial support for any type of development in Parry Sound. No, they just sell property at below market value, or just give it away. How about the Town charges $1 million for the property, a more reasonable valuation for the land, and then offers the developer $960,000 in tax rebates or direct subsidy? The net cost to the Town is the same but the financial support is much more obvious.

Mention was made that a pumping station might be required to service the new development (pump the poop). There was no formal agreement reached on who would be responsible for the cost (a Walmart type issue?), but it better not be the Town. My sense is that this will be very expensive. All-in-all I would have been happier has Council decided to approve the deal in principle and the $40,000 land price (as they did) with the proviso that the Town be responsible for no, zero, zilch, costs to provide infrastructure for the development. But it was left as an open issue. Did I mentiong that the Mayor wanted this deal to happen at the terms presented to Council?

9.4.1 – Resolution, Columbaria Reserve. I left before this issue was discussed and I expect it was passed.

9.5.1 – Resolution, Bay Street Retaining Wall. I left before this issue was discussed and I expect it was passed.

9.5.2 – Resolution, Forest Street Reconstruction. CARRIED. The Town is being asked to award a contract for $3,311,050 to Fowler Construction for the Forest Street rebuild. The province is covering 90% of the expense up to $2 million, so we are on the hook for about $1.3 million.

10.4.1 – By-law, Downtown Business Association (DBA) levy. Once again I wasn’t there to watch the discussion and outcome, I suspect it passed. I understand that about $8,000 was previously approved by the DBA for the Market Square project. But if it was it didn’t make it to the budget presented in the agenda package. Either the DBA is running two sets of budgets or they have effectively made the decision to not go forward. Apparently the users committee will be presenting their recommendation on Market Square Park to the Downtown Business Association next Wednesday. It’s dead, and all that’s left is to manage the optics for Council and the DBA.

The minutes of the meeting will be out by Friday a the latest at the Town’s website.

No Admittance – No Kidding! (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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The 2013 Parry Sound Budget is Approved

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound, Town Council

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Last night’s special open meeting of council resulted in an approved 2013 budget for Parry Sound. The bottom line is that the tax levy is up 1.5% over 2012, due in part to taking a little more than $90,000 from the rate stabilization reserved. This a reasonable increase given the inherent cost of living increases, aka inflation rate, for 2012, and the town’s increased costs. The actual increase for homeowners and businesses will depend on how much MPAC increases their individual property assessments. A 1.5% tax rate increase, combined with a 3% property assessment increase, means you will be paying about 4.5% more in 2013 than 2012. And for a property with a $3,000 per year tax bill in 2012, the increase is about $135, with the hypothetical 4.5% combined levy and assessment increases. Not that big, but still significant. But I’m not not sure what the actual MPAC assessment increases are, so your tax bill increase will vary, but it will be up at least 1.5%.

There were few surprises in the 2013 budget as far as I was concerned. The more interesting points were:

1. The repair of the Smelter Wharf (Salt Dock) boat launch is likely to be on the order of a quarter million dollars. That’s quite a bit of money for the town to spend to provide a free recreational service that competes with private businesses who pay local taxes, especially when we have two other boat launches available. The bad news is that the Smelter Wharf boat launch is unlikely to be open until later in the summer at the earliest, pending repairs. The good news is that repairs to the Waubuno launch are underway and it should be operational before the start of the boating season. The Champaigne Street boat launch is also available.

2. Council continues to wrangle about the purchase of new or used pickup trucks. The Director of Public Works was given the direction to look for and purchase a used truck for no more than $25,000. A new vehicle was estimated to cost on the order of $42,000. I don’t agree with the direction of council, for reasons of cost and distraction.

Doing some back of the envelope calculations I estimate the Director of Public Works time costs the town about $70/hour. If the search for a used vehicle takes 30 hours (research, review, negotiation, inspection, pick up), that adds $2,000 to the negotiated price. And if we need to add a paint job, town trucks are identified by their red colour, the cost of buying used over new is about $3-4,000. So we may be saving about $10-12,000 if we can find a suitable truck for the specified $25,000. To imagine a $17,000 price savings (40% less) the truck will be at least a couple of years old, or have excessive mileage, and a corresponding much reduced warranty period. As an aside, any truck in good condition that is reduced by this large an amount will be quickly snapped up by someone else. The town will probably end up looking at, and kicking the tires of, vehicles that have been rejected by other parties much more familiar with the vehicle and the seller.

But the real cost in my mind is the distraction. While the Director of Public Works may cost the town about $70/hour, he is capable of earning more than 5-times that amount for the town by identifying ways to save money on much bigger budget items like infrastructure repairs and upgrades. So, let’s ask the Public Works department to sharpen their specifications for new vehicles to only that which is really necessary, and then tender for new vehicles. It saves time and potentially supports local businesses, and at the same time represents a relative bargain for the town when all of the costs are added up. If we want to save money by buying used, let’s look long and hard at a replacement for the town’s fire truck which is budgeted at close to $1.5 million. A savings of 20-30% on this cost could pay for as many as ten pickup trucks, all brand new.

3. Staff was directed to prepare a proposal on upgrade options for the skateboard park. There is about $47,000 sitting in reserves for the park that council felt should be put to use for the community.

4. The new school will cost the town about $500,000 in infrastructure upgrades. In theory these upgrades could be ignored, but the cost savings of doing them now, when the roads will already be torn up at the school board’s expense, outweighs the pain of the near term costs.

There was more, but you really needed to be there to catch it all. Sometimes you can’t just sit at home and hope the news will find you. There was no Cogeco or North Star coverage of the meeting. The Moose-FM was represented by their intern. Perhaps there is a role for non-traditional media in Parry Sound, even without media privileges (yes, that was a dig, more digging below).

Digging In and Making Progress

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Notes – Council Meeting 2012-07-03

04 Wednesday Jul 2012

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This is the first edition of council notes that will not provide a more or less comprehensive summary of the meeting. The focus here will be on items I found interesting and are worth noting and commenting on. For more comprehensive coverage of the meeting and council decisions the official council minutes are available at the Town of Parry Sound website. And for topical issues I would point you to the North Star, and their online version. The North Star’s reporting goes beyond the meeting proceedings to provide you with background information. And of course Moose-FM provides the highlights of the meeting the next day as on air news and Tweets.

Okay, so what about my thoughts? Well the meeting was efficient and effective with the proceedings complete by about 8:30. All items presented to council were approved. None were controversial.

What did strike me as interesting was the deputation by Tammy Purdy and the town’s requirements to meet the AODA Standard –Integrated Accessibility Standards. They will have a significant impact on the town.

The town website will need to be revised and made more ‘accessible’. Yippee! I’m finally able to find my way around the town’s website but I feel sorry for anybody who only rarely needs to find information on it. It’s not easy and it’s not obvious. So an update and revision will be most welcome. And while the town is at it how about changing the header photo to one that shows Parry Sound? We are the ‘Jewel of the 30,000 Islands’ and don’t need to ‘hide’ behind a photo of the Archipelago.

It looks as though the public transit system will end this year. The many demands of the AODA legislation make it financially impossible for the town to continue the service. Public transit was already difficult to rationalize based on the very low ridership. A potentially tough decision for council was actually made much easier with the AODA requirements. While the town always wants to do the right thing for its residents and visitors it won’t be able to in this case.

That’s it. Public Works received approval for its new trucks and fork lift so they should be good to go for the next few years.

Council Agenda Summary – July 3rd, 2012

01 Sunday Jul 2012

Posted by in Budget/Financial, Parry Sound, Town Council

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Once again there are no critical issues on the agenda that should raise concerns or complaints. Of the items on the agenda the more interesting relate to Mr. Chips and his banner (it looks as though he will be getting it), and the request from the Public Works department to issue purchase orders for capital equipment.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Item 9.2.1, 9.2.2 & 9.2.3, are three separate capital item requests from the Public Works department and include one forklift and two pickup style trucks. The total cost is on the order of $110,000, and all were included in the 2012 Budget. The costs are all below the 2012 budgeted amounts, but you never know if these were sandbagged when the budget was developed (it’s standard management practice to do so). Regardless, if the equipment is needed and budgeted let’s get on with it. The time to discuss whether we need the equipment is well before the budget discussions and not at the purchase order stage.

Item 9.4.1, is a comprehensive accessibility plan. I looked at the proposal in the council package but did not study it. I wouldn’t expect too many issues.

Item 9.4.3, is the Mr. Chips sign (banner) variance approval. There shouldn’t be an issue if the appropriate by-laws have been reviewed.

Item 9.4.4, is a request to revise the sidewalk associated with the Belvedere Heights parking area. The area is under construction right now. Can anyone provide information on where the funding was sourced for this project? The last I knew they were still raising funds and were far from their target. Did an anonymous donor come to the rescue or have public funds been diverted?

There are additional items on the agenda but these are the ones that struck me as most notable. Details are provided in the packages available for view at the library and town hall. I’ll be at the meeting this week. With this week’s meeting I will start reporting only on key points arising out of the council meeting. With the North Star, Moose-FM and the issued meeting minutes there is little I can add on the majority of the issues.

Budget Review – 2012-03-21, Special Meeting of Council

24 Saturday Mar 2012

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Parry Sound Council and Staff met March 21st for round three of the public budget discussions. This followed a meeting on the 13th that had reduced the budget gap to about $450,000. By the end of Wednesday’s meeting the gap stood at $173,000, close but apparently not close enough as there will be a further public discussion on April 3rd, following a Citizen’s Finance committee meeting the day before. Accepting a $173,000 gap between spending and revenue would have required council to approve a 2.5% rate increase, which would be on top of an expected 4% or so assessment increase as determined by MPAC.

A few interesting items popped up that are worth noting as they have an impact that reaches beyond simple dollars and cents. Here is my understanding of what I thought was said and what it means.

All seven council members were in attendance as well as the town staff department heads. There were five people in the audience. James King from the Moose-FM was the only media present. The audience included two people from the Parry Sound Citizen Finance Committee. Much of what was discussed at the council meeting will doubtless need to be ‘downloaded’ to the fiance committee members who were not in attendance. This will take staff and council time better spent on finding solutions.

Here are some of the highlights. If you want more detail you need to start attending the meetings; there is no admission charge. Continue reading →

Special Meeting of Council – 2012 Budget Discussions

14 Wednesday Mar 2012

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Parry Sound Council and Staff met last night, March 13th, for round two of the budget discussions. There has been an earlier meeting in February that reviewed the ‘wish list’ in terms of town expenditures as requested by the departments and various community groups. This meeting revealed there was a large gap, about $1.8 million, between what was being requested and the projected revenue for 2012. Last night’s meeting attempted to eliminate that gap, and for the most part seems to have succeeded. I’ll provide a short summary of what I thought I heard.

All seven council members were in attendance as well as the town staff department heads. There were three people in the audience. James King from the Moose-FM was the only media present. I’m sure he will be providing a report on air of what he heard last night. The audience included only one person from the Parry Sound Citizen Finance Committee. This is a disappointment. Although this group will meet separately tonight, attendance at last night’s meeting was necessary to understand the issues that council and staff are wrestling with. In general I find that too many people in Parry Sound sign up for committees and then fail to attend meetings. If people want a place at the table they need to show up or they need to offer their seat to someone who will.

The meeting lasted about three hours. Here are some of the highlights. If you want more detail you need to start attending the meetings; there is no admission charge.

  1. By the end of the meeting the budget gap stood at about $450,000. If this gap is not eliminated or reduced it implies there will need to be a 2% tax rate increase. In addition to an expected increase in property valuation assessment from MPAC this amounts to a 5.7% overall increase in average property taxes.
  2. On the income side, the town lost $149,000 in federal grants that were made available in 2011. There was a 2011 budget surplus of about $650,000 that will be brought forward to help reduce the budget gap. There was good news in that FedNor agreed to pick up 75% of the cost of the capital improvement expense at Big Sound Marina.
  3. Capital equipment was a significant part of the 2012 budget. The town has put off investments in heavy equipment for a few years and it coming back to bite. Staff will be look at leasing options. Leasing may be a reasonable way to address the budget gap. The biggest piece of equipment needed is a 7-ton plow truck that costs about $200,000. Paying for it out of this year’s budget will be a big hit, but it will have a 10-year plus lifetime. Leasing will raise the cost, sort of like one of us leasing a car, but it helps even out the expenses. Not a first choice, but a reasonable choice with a large budget gap.
  4. Staff proposed that another capital equipment purchase, the Fire Department’s $1.3 million fire truck, be deferred for at least one year.
  5. Public transportation was a major topic of discussion. This is one of the larger town expenses but is little used. It is likely that service will be cut unless ridership rises. It’s not just the cost of the service that is an issue; it’s the fact that so few people are benefiting. There should be no immediate cuts but expect to hear something from council by the end of the summer.
  6. Staff proposed a freeze on cost of living salary increases and salary reviews for non-union staff. They are putting their money where their mouth is.

There were many, many more issues discussed and wrestled with. It seems this year’s very large budget gap is not a surprise to staff and council. Expenditures in previous years pointed to 2012 as a point where expenses peaked relative to income, with the following years coming into balance much more easily. Tough decisions remain to be made, including the possibility of a small increase in the tax rate to get over this ‘hump’ year.

My sense is that Parry Sound council and staff have made decisions over the past few years that on balance have had a positive return to the community. Yes there are cheaper places to live, but not many that offer as much value. You can move to Seguin or Carling or McDougall if you want cheaper property taxes. But what about the additional cost, in dollars, cents and time, spent on commuting to work or school or shopping or social activities? It adds up pretty quickly. And let’s not forget about other services that these municipalities don’t provide. I have lived with a well, septic tank and water purifier – I’ll take town water and sewer.

Local communities are able to hitchhike on the back of Parry Sound. By virtue of our investments we are able to offer shopping resources, the Stockey Centre, the Bobby Orr Community Centre, free boat launches, summer entertainment and much more to our residents and neighbours. We pay and they benefit. It may not seem fair but it’s part of the price of living in Parry Sound. We must be doing something right, the last census showed that the permanent population of Parry Sound has grown in the last few years versus a drop in Seguin and no change in the other municipalities. People are voting with their feet.

Okay, we’re down to a $450,000 budget gap that may mean a 2% rate increase. I expect council and staff will reduce that deficit a little and we will need to pay a little more. But the worst may be behind us. If council and staff can continue to keep a rein on expenses going forward we should not be faced with similar increases in 2013 and beyond.

Next meeting will be March 21st, details will be forthcoming. Be there if you want to understand how things are done. I suggest you contact members of the Citizen Finance Committee if you have any suggestions to offer. Oh, unlike one of our neighbouring municipalities, don’t expect insults and high drama at this or any other council meeting. This is a council and staff that is determined to work as a team.

Council Meeting Summary – 2012-01-17

21 Saturday Jan 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Suggestions, Town Council

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This post summarizes the discussion and decisions arising from the January 17th Regular Council Meeting. As usual there were only a handful of people in attendance, mostly those who had items of personal or business interest on the evening’s agenda.

For those of you who did not attend the regular meeting of council on the 17th there was no chance to catch it the next day on cable. Cogeco wasn’t there, nor was the North Star, perhaps because of the weather. The Moose-FM was the only media present and at one point the Mayor looked to James King of the Moose for help in getting out the message regarding council’s change in the viewing options for the BOCC when he realized there was no other way for town residents to be so informed. So the question is: if Council makes a decision and it isn’t picked up by the local media does anyone know about it? This reinforces how important it is for more Parry Sound residents to attend the meetings and see what is happening, as it happens.

There really needs to be some attention paid to recording the proceedings of council and retaining them for public review. Cogeco may be ‘free’ but it is not dependable, and there does not appear to be any attempt by the Town to archive these video recordings. Ask to review the proceedings of a meeting last year, or read a transcript, and you will be told it’s not available. The decisions made by council can be significant and the meeting minutes capture little of the discussion and the subtleties of the decisions.

Get involved and understand the issues. We have a mayor, councilors and town staff that are smart and concerned, but they can benefit from our informed input. Get to know the issues and provide your thoughts with a call, a letter, an email or a deputation. There are more important issues than potholes that council deals with on a weekly basis. Get to know what they are.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Item 9.3.1 requesting budget approval for EMS was approved. The total is $7.8 million for 2012. The EMS Advisory Committee recommended a 9.9% increase in the EMS levy for the year. Parry Sound covers only a small amount of this district wide expense.

Item 9.5.1 requesting an extension of the free dumping of charitable waste for the Salvation army was approved. This is a very reasonable accommodation for an organization that contributes much to the community. Their problem seems less an issue of an inability to manage their operation to reduce ‘garbage’ than it is the actions of in-town and out-of-town individuals using the Salvation Army store as a dumping ground for their garbage. I suspect that some of the garbage, furniture and similar items unsuitable for resale or refurbishing, is coming from communities that do not have transfer station facilities. For those in town, it costs only a few dollars to use the Parry Sound transfer facility, and if you wait for free dump day it costs nothing. There may be some merit in the town considering curbside pick up of large items for free disposal once or twice a year. Yes it would cost the town a little but it would make things easier for the Salvation Army and tidy up our community. Not everyone has the resources to bring items to the transfer station on free dump day. This really is a town and regional problem more than a Salvation Army problem. The extension is a bandage, let’s see how council proposes to help in the longer term.

Items 10.4.1, 10.4.2 and 10.4.3 relating to rezoning applications that were the subject of open meetings in December were approved. No surprises here, and from my point of view the decisions seem reasonable in the context of the requests and the town’s strategic plan.

Here’s a link to the official minutes of the council meeting. There was more agreed at the meeting than I have covered that’s worth taking a look at. I’ll start compiling the minutes as we get through a couple more meetings.

One non-agenda item as noted earlier was the agreement of council to allow people attending the BOCC to view games from the rooms above the rink whenever the rooms were not being rented out. This is a simple way to provide more comfort for spectators until the heating issue in the arena area is sorted out.