Tag Archives: North Star

Walking the Talk – An Appeal to Common Sense

06 Thursday Apr 2017

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Town Council

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MetrolandMedia, in their North Star publication and at their parrysound.com website, published an article on an appeal I have filed with the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) regarding two by-laws passed by Town of Parry Sound Council on December 20th of last year. The article provides background on the appeal that I won’t bother to repeat. Here’s a link to the online article in case you don’t subscribe to the paper version (I do).

It’s an interesting situation that if left as is has the potential to negatively impact the Downtown and Parry Sound as a whole, and by extension all of the Town’s residents and businesses. Parry Sound Council by a 4 to 3 vote approved rezoning and Official Plan amendments, against the recommendation of Staff, and against the stated opposition of businesses and individuals who constituted the majority of opinions filed with the Town. In the end a bare majority of Council chose to support the interests of two parties and ignore the interests of the Town as expressed by the Official Plan, the studied opinion of Town Staff, and the interests of dozens of Downtown businesses. It left me scratching my head. Who exactly is Council interested in serving? Do they know something that they haven’t shared? Are there bigger things afoot?

After determining that no other parties were in a position to file the appeal I chose to do so. I appreciate the support that the appeal has received.

As a Town we really don’t spend much time keeping an eye on what goes on at Council. Strange things happen, more often that you think. Almost always by a 4 to 3 vote.

The OMB appeal process is designed to address this type of situation. A set of independent experts, the OMB panel, is tasked with reviewing the facts and making a decision on whether or not the decision by a council is consistent with best planning practices, the existing Official Plan, and the interests of the community. They represent a second set of eyes. Parry Sound is rather remarkable in the very limited number of appeals that are filed with the OMB. This could be a positive statement on the measured decisions made by Parry Sound Council. Or, it could be a general sense of community apathy, and hesitance to ‘rock the boat’. Or, it could be that people in Town don’t understand their options when it comes to Parry Sound Council. We need to remember that they are elected to serve the Town’s best interests. Sometimes they misread the public interest and make mistakes.

And sometimes as an individual, you have to do what you have to do. Walk the talk.

That’s all you will hear from me about this appeal until there is a final decision. I wasn’t planning on discussing it at all, but yesterday’s article deserved some sort of acknowledgment.

Yesterday’s GapingVoid ‘Toon of the Day. Timely.

 

Shine a Light – Municipal Politics

23 Thursday Feb 2017

Posted by in Reflections

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Yesterday’s North Star ran an article about concerns regarding the behaviour of councillors during Township of the Archipelago’s council meetings. Here’s a link to the online version of the article.

Having attended some 150 or so meetings of the Town of Parry Sound Council I have yet to see any type of inappropriate behaviour on the part of the councillors in terms of language or respect. Yes, there have been a few occasions where one or more of the members of Council have rolled their eyes, or displayed ‘oppositional’ body language, but these have been very few and are not a part of the culture of the Town of Parry Sound Council. While I may not agree with all of the decisions of Parry Sound Council I do respect them as a group, and as individuals, for their professionalism.

The reported situation with the Archipelago brings back memories of what was going on at McKellar council meetings a couple of years ago. Since the North Star did a series of articles reporting on the behaviour of members of the McKellar Council it seems that things have headed in a more professional direction, to the benefit of all.

Shining a light on the proceedings of councils, be it through the ‘official media’, bloggers, or concerned residents who call out this type of immature and irresponsible conduct is a necessary part of the system of checks and balances. I applaud Anne Stewart for calling out Archipelago Council about her concerns. It takes courage to stand up and say what is often too obvious.

“Boys will be boys” is no longer an acceptable response to inappropriate behaviour. Too many organizations have been exposed as having a culture that is sexist and/or racially insensitive. After a period of ignoring the issue, and then of trying to explain the behaviour really isn’t what it seems to be, followed by explaining the behaviour is not reflective of the true ‘intent’ of the individuals, an organization finally starts to take responsibility. The next step, not always taken by many organizations, is to implement changes in culture, behaviour, and actions. If the problem starts at the top, then the change needs to start at the top.

A suggestion for the Archipelago; start recording and broadcasting your council meetings. Let the public see what goes on at your meetings and let them decide if the conduct of Council is appropriate. Decisions are no longer being made in backrooms in an all-boys club.

The availability of inexpensive recording devices, and easy ways to share the observations, has shone a light on how we as a society operate. Sometimes the light is unwelcome, but it is so necessary.

The Mall Strikes Back

01 Thursday Dec 2016

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Seguin Township, Town Council

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Well, well, it seems that people are starting to pay attention to things being discussed at Parry Sound Council meetings. A little late, but perhaps not too late. The Royal Banks planned relocation is an issue raised on this site a couple of weeks ago. That’s why you subscribe to parrysounds.com isn’t it, to find out what’s before Council before a decision is made and you are aren’t left with scrambling to get decisions reversed? (I’m thinking about you, Fluddites.)

Well the Parry Sound Mall owners finally seem to have realized that one of its tenants, the Royal Bank, is asking for a special exemption from the Town’s Official Plan restricting banks to the downtown core, to allow it to move up the Walmart plaza. The nub of the Mall owners’ concerns is contained in a letter to the North Star that is a pleasure to read. It’s an argument that I would have been proud to have penned (actually keyboarded).

I’m neither in the real estate or banking business so I don’t have a position on this decision, but I do have an interest in consistency and transparency. Allowing the bank, which was permitted to operate outside of the downtown for unusual reasons, to relocate would seem to be at odds with the Town’s Official Plan. Why have a plan if you intend to consistently allow exceptions and exemptions? If rules can be broken, then there effectively are no rules. Businesses depend on knowing what the rules are, and that they will be consistently enforced. They don’t want to invest in a Town where they effectively get punished by following the rules while others don’t.

If Council allows the Royal Bank to move then I think it should in good conscience amend the Official plan to permit banks, bars and booze retailers to locate to any part of Parry Sound, not just the downtown. That would eliminate any need for an Economic Development Officer. It would be a free-for all. And if I were sitting in the Seguin town office I would be seriously thinking about how the municipality could put in just enough services to entice businesses to locate along the Oastler Park Drive corridor just across the Parry Sound Town line. With Seguin property taxes about one-third that of Parry Sound’s, it would be an easy sell for retail expansion.

Life offers many slippery slopes and the Royal Bank relocation seems to be sitting on top of one that may be much steeper than Parry Sound Council and Staff realize.

Who needs reality TV when you can watch small town politics with a front row seat? I’m looking forward to the next installment of Parry Sound Council. It will be live next Tuesday at the Town Hall, with reruns later in the week on Cogeco (if they show up).

 

 

REDAC Regional Market Plan Reflections

10 Saturday Sep 2016

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Seguin Township

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A few thoughts after reviewing the REDAC Regional Marketing Plan issued June 2016.

Positives:

  1. The report was not too shy in identifying some of the issues and challenges facing the region in terms of increasing economic development.
  2. There was a clear understanding that it is one thing to prepare a plan, and another to fund and effectively implement the plan.
  3. The plan appropriately identified the need for monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of any marketing programs.

Oversights:

Several meaningful issues were overlooked in the report. Was it a case of simply not recognizing the issues, or was it a case of ‘sweeping it under the carpet’. My sense of some important points that were overlooked:

  1. Services
  2. Tax differentials
  3. Housing value
  4. Railways

Services:

The services available to homeowners and businesses varies considerably throughout the area studied in the REDAC report (Parry Sound, McDougall, Seguin, and Carling). These include:

  • Municipal water
  • Municipal sewer
  • Natural gas

There was mention of the need for better internet connectivity. For the most part it’s not that big an issue except at the residential level. Wireless service is actually quite good, and for businesses it is not an unreasonable expense if it impacts business and profitability. They aren’t streaming video at work. Businesses out in the backwoods of the region really can’t expect ‘fibre’ type service, and if they really needed it they would not be located where they are. Homeowners who want to stream video at home have an issue as wireless can be expensive. Better, actually mostly cheaper, internet services are a nice to have that would help attract people and businesses to the area.

Real businesses that employ people and serve customers on site, not the retired consultant type shop, need water and sewer service. Yes, a well and septic bed can do the job, but it raises an unreasonable burden of effort for businesses that have other things to think about. Think about the new high school to be built in the area. Will they locate somewhere that depends on wells and sewers? Perhaps, but given their preferences they would rather not be doing weekly water tests to make sure the kids aren’t drinking contaminated water following that big rain. And how big a septic bed is needed for a high school of 1,000 students? Right, just about the size of a football or soccer field.

A bigger issue is the availability of natural gas. Electricity is expensive, especially for uses like heating. Natural gas is remarkably inexpensive, but it requires an infrastructure that is only available in Parry Sound and a relatively select number of addresses in the other municipalities. Propane is an option, but it’s not nearly as cheap or convenient as natural gas. I suspect a large number of people who installed electric baseboards when electricity was cheap regret not putting in more insulation, or installing a furnace and ducting that could be used with propane, a heat pump, or natural gas when it arrived along their road.

Tax Differentials:

The tax rates on property in the five municipalities vary about three-fold, with Seguin at the low end and Parry Sound at the top. Taxes reflect a balance of what services municipal residents and business want to receive and how much they are willing to pay for them. The lower taxes in the surrounding regions do not arise from happenstance, they reflect the interests of the taxpayers.

Municipalities like the Town of Parry Sound are stretched in terms of the taxes they can collect and the services they are expected to deliver. Adding new taxable residents and businesses is a priority as much of the infrastructure is already established and any increased revenues from new residents and businesses would be ‘profitable’, and help support necessary infrastructure upgrades for all. Economic development that leads to increased property values is very much in the interests of Parry Sound. The only real revenue the Town has is from the taxation of property and government grants.

The other municipalities do not have the same needs for more development and greater tax revenues. This is reflected in their lower tax rates. Economic development is something that is nice to talk about, because it reflects positively on councils. But do they really want it? Is it possible that more development will lead to a requirement for new services that might mean higher tax rates? Nobody likes to raise property taxes, especially if your municipality depends on being the low tax provider.

I think the residents of these municipalities would rather not promote development. Many of them like it the way it is. Seasonal residents are complaining about the development of certain lakes and are calling for a moratorium on new cottages. And I’m not sure that people really like the idea of losing the small town, or cottage area, feeling that comes with more development. If permanent and seasonal residents can enjoy low taxes and the services of a town like Parry Sound next door or Bracebridge a little further away, why do they need more ‘economic development’? There is no benefit, only the potential for change and higher taxes.

The tax differential between municipalities drives much more than was ever suggested in the REDAC report.

Substandard Housing Value:

This mostly applies to the Town of Parry Sound. Housing in Parry Sound is by Toronto standards cheap;  but it is a poor value. There are any number of reasons for this, none of which are easily fixed by politicians. In more affluent regions many of these houses would be leveled and replaced with the types of housing that young families need and can afford. The development of well-designed condo facilities offers some hope for better value housing in Parry Sound, but this type of housing will not appeal to those with families who want a backyard. They can get that type of housing in the Barrie, Orillia and Owen Sound areas, where there are also the jobs to support the associated cost of this housing. Chicken and egg, or egg and chicken?

The Railways:

Again mostly a Parry Sound issue. Canadian National and Canadian Pacific together run about twenty or more heavy freight trains through Parry Sound every day and represent a serious deterrent to business investment and residential development. Not surprisingly, the most substantial recent residential development, Silver Birch, is located far from the railway tracks. Bt it comes at a price, Highway 400 with it’s noisy weekend summer traffic. One development in Parry Sound close to the tracks, and subject to crossings that see trains going both ways, has struggled despite offering attractive ‘Southern Ontario’ single family homes. The issue is not just the risk of a Lac Megantic type event, or even the occasional road blockages, it’s the day-in, day-out, sound of air horns blasting at six crossings and the squeal of the wheels as they round the many curves, day and night. Why build a business in Parry Sound if you can build in Seguin or McDougall?  Oh, there’s the issue of services and infrastructure. Why not just go to communities like Orillia, Barrie and the ‘suburban’ areas of Muskoka, where you are not subject to trains in the same manner and you have access to more customers (retail and service), cheaper transport costs (manufacturing), and a larger employment pool?

 

Parry Sound Bay and Beyond can become an attractive destination for both people and businesses. The trouble is that there are too many other Southern Ontario municipalities that are already much more attractive. Once these destinations reach their limit to host businesses and new homes people will begin to look at Parry Sound Bay and Beyond. That is unless we can get our act together, work together, and create the infrastructure to compete. But area municipalities, with the exception of Parry Sound have more than enough money to continue operating as they have for the last twenty years, for another twenty years, without attracting any new residents or businesses. These municipalities have little motivation to do anything new. They just need to pretend to be interested lest permanent residents and businesses think they don’t play nicely with others.

Provincial and Federal civil servants are quite happy to facilitate and fund discussions of economic development in the West Parry Sound area. It their job to do it. And they are well paid jobs. By gosh they will do their best to get it done, regardless of the odds. It reminds me of the continuous negotiations in the Middle East between the Israelis and the Palestinians facilitated by the United States. The US State Department is tasked with getting a real agreement between these two parties and they try their best. It’s their job, even though there is no prospect of any type of agreement. At this point Israel has everything it needs in the region. It has the wealth, military strength and political influence to ensure nothing is taken from them. It is not in their interest to negotiate. Any appearance of willingness to negotiate is strictly a function of making nice with the President of the United States who gets it in their mind every now and then that they want to gain statesman status by brokering a grand peace agreement.

Final Thoughts

I started out this review of the REDAC Regional Marketing Plan expecting to be critical of Whitestone, McKellar and The Archipelago for not participating in the REDAC economic development process. Looking at things a little more closely I have come to realize that they are perhaps the only honest brokers in the region, willing to admit that not only do they not need regional cooperation, they are actually better off without it. I will give a pass also to the Town of Parry Sound. I believe they do support regional economic development because they desperately need the increased tax base to manage tax rates and support additional infrastructure necessary for the larger community.

Even Parry Sound tax rates are on the low end for Northern Ontario as was presented in a survey of Northern Ontario municipalities. I visited Elliot Lake in August and was impressed by the upkeep of the town and the facilities it offers. But it benefits from a population base about twice that of Parry Sound, a much larger geographic area (715 sq. km, versus 13 sq. km), and a tax rate 40% higher.

Regional economic development is something to keep Municipal, Provincial and Federal employees busy, and employed. If Ontario and Canada really want to see additional economic development in the area they need to provide incentives to McDougall and Seguin to hand over enough land to Parry Sound to allow for real economic development, by a municipality that is interested in economic development, and with established infrastructure. Incentives to McDougall and Seguin might include support for policing expenses, and/or broadband infrastructure, and/or an area athletic complex. But that would be a bribe I suppose. Given America’s experience with the billions they have pumped into the Middle East, I expect it wouldn’t work too well here. Take the money and run.

Aside: reading yesterday’s Beacon Star I saw that Seguin has started thinking about their 2017 budget. Their high priority items are summer weekend support for a nursing station in Rosseau, taking responsibility for unassumed roads, and a tennis court. All this with a potential 0% increase in taxes. Seguin is doing just fine with their current business model. Why take on development that might mean responsibility for building the services accompanying business and non-seasonal resident growth? It might mean tax increases and unfamiliar faces. That’s okay, the area municipalities have their cake and are able to eat it as well. They  seem to be riding as high on property values as were the Middle East oil kingdoms were when oil was $100 a barrel. As long as property valuation stay high, and seasonal residents don’t become permanent residents and expect Toronto level services, it’s all okay.

Mismatched Objectives, Taking Off and Heading to Port.
(Best to just get out of each other’s way.)

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Update: tracking down a link for the Beacon Star article I came across a squabble between Carling and the The Archipelago about phone bills. Yup, sure, let’s invest more in regional cooperation. (Not!) The Town of Parry Sound needs to take on a Singapore or Hong Kong frame of mind. Small is beautiful. It may not be cheap but it offers great value. Can we erect borders?

 

 

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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Parry Sound and Fluoridated Water

08 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Town Council

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I was originally going to send this as a letter to the editor of the Parry Sound North Star in response to their editorial titled “To fluoride or not to fluoride”. The editorial suggested that Parry Sound’s decision to continue with fluoridation was perhaps a hasty decision and one that limits our right to choose. Here is what I had drafted before deciding to post it on this site.

It’s not fair, the demands of a civilized society. Seat belt laws, no machine guns or concealed handguns, smoking restrictions, forced education until sixteen, taxes. Oh, those taxes; federal, provincial, municipal, alcohol, and tobacco. It’s not fair.

Fluoridation should be the least of anyone’s concerns in the West Parry Sound District. Unless you live in the Town of Parry Sound you have nothing to worry about, it’s your well and your water. You get whatever the ground decides to deliver to your faucet. You do get it checked don’t you? Wouldn’t want to have the environment sneaking any fluoride into your water, or some nasty coliform or E. coli. You may have an issue with fluoride though if you sneak into Town and fill up water for the cottage because you are not so comfortable with what you pump out of the ground or the Bay.

Even drinking groundwater in the Greater Parry Sound area may not eliminate fluoride. Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, is an area that is associated with higher levels of fluoride in groundwater. It’s related to the Canadian Shield.

But if you are in Town you don’t need to put up with fluoridated water. You can buy fluoride free drinking water in multi-gallon containers for pennies a day. But make sure to check the label; much of the bottled water sold is sourced from fluoridated municipal water systems or areas where there are naturally high levels of fluoride. Oh, but what about washing? Your dishes, clothes, car, driveway and skin won’t know the difference. The added chlorine is much more of an issue than the fluoride.

This issue of fluoridated water for some is not a health issue; it’s about choice. You do have a choice. You can choose to live in a surrounding municipality without a fluoridated public water system. You have the ability to drink ‘fluoride reduced’ water with little or no real effort. Why deny the rest of the population the well-documented benefits?

The imposition of fluoridated water seems a violation of our human rights to choose what we do and don’t put into our body. You can choose not to drink fluoridated water and you won’t be fined or punished. It’s a nuisance perhaps, but if you feel it’s important you won’t mind the little bit of extra effort or cost. But if you like to complain about your rights being trampled – carry on. How do you feel about seat belts laws? Should we allow the commercial distribution of unpasteurized milk? Forced pasteurization, where does that rank on our right to choose? Buying fluoridated water seems much less trouble than keeping a cow. (Actually it’s not an option, you can’t keep a cow, chickens or any livestock in the Town of Parry Sound.)

We all like living in a society with laws, rules and regulations, unless of course we don’t agree with them. Then they become unfair and not well reasoned. The no fluoride proponents were provided with ample opportunity to present their case why the Town is disadvantaging the residents by fluoridating the local water supply. There were no presentations made against fluoridation, nor was there anyone against fluoridation in the council chambers to listen to the debate. Their opinion might have changed upon hearing the evidence. It’s not a hasty or poorly considered decision when the evidence is substantial.

Elected officials and public servants are neither idiots nor operating with an agenda to reduce the IQ of children by fluoridating water. They operate on the basis of the best available evidence provided through rigorous studies and statistical analysis to provide the best care that we can afford. If you disagree it’s easy and cheap enough to buy non fluoridated water at the store or go bum some off of a friend in the surrounding municipalities. Just be sure they get their water checked.

Speak Out. You Can Make a Difference. (Parry Sound in Full Colour)

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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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221 Posts, Make that 222…

26 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections

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… with this post.

Time to change it up a little. Since the first post at ParrySounds.com almost four years ago the information available to Parry Sound residents concerning the activities at Town Council have vastly improved. No longer is the interested resident limited to having access to a council meeting agenda that could only be viewed at the library and town office. At this point the meeting agendas and the full council packages can now be accessed online and downloaded for viewing, printing and saving.

At the same time the North Star & Beacon Star have increased their coverage, print and online, of Parry Sound council activities, including the budget meetings that are not covered on Cogeco TV. And of course the full proceedings of council can be viewed live and on the Cogeco cable service (delayed).

The net/net is that there seems to be little value for me to actively cover all of the goings on at Council. Interested individuals can easily get the information they need to understand not only what is on the Council agenda, but also the supporting documentation made available to the Councillors. The final decisions are similarly captured in the Council meeting minutes that are posted online by the Town. Topical items are usually well covered in the local media, Moose-FM for quick next day updates, and online a few days later at parrysound.com (no, not this site but MetrolandMedia’s) and then next week in the North Star and Beacon Star.

It takes a fair amount of time to review the agenda package, research, draft, edit and post the agenda preview, attend council meetings, and then draft, edit and post the council meeting notes; about about twenty hours a month.

So the preview and review posts of Council meetings will be limited to issues I feel are of importance to the community and could benefit from some discussion and investigation. That should make it a little more interesting for all involved.

Starting next week we’ll all save some time preparing and reading these posts. That will free up time for me to look in to some of the other issues impacting Parry Sound that don’t receive the attention they should. We really don’t have an appropriately critical mainline press presence in Parry Sound, they are too dependent on Town advertising dollars and Town ‘access’ to chance ‘pissing off’ Council or Staff.

Hollywood North, or is that Near North? (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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Parry Sound – 2014 Budget Update

20 Thursday Feb 2014

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

≈ 1 Comment

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Council met last night to hash out the 2014 Town of Parry Sound budget. I believe we have the outlines of the budget at the 99% level of completion.

The bottom line is that the tax rate will probably only go up 1% in 2014. But the net to  property owners will be a 2.5% increase because of the ongoing hike in property values as assessed by MPAC. The good news is that your property is worth more this year than last. The bad news is that property taxes will be higher even if there is no increase in the tax rate (rate times property value). The 2014 tax hike of about 2.5% could have been a little higher had the school costs not gone down. Once again it’s a god news / bad news situation. The good news is that the school costs and levy have gone down. The bad news is that many people feel the school board is not providing students with the necessary resources and facilities to succeed.

There was talk of tax rate drops in future years if the OPP costs are more fairly allocated among the communities as has been proposed by the provincial government and endorsed by the OPP.

Council made some tough decisions. There were a couple of items that I wished would have made it into the 2014 budget, but you can’t always get what you want. You need to work with what you are given. Staff was given the task of carving another $30K out of the budget to hit the 1% levy increase target. So there is still some work to be done, but I don’t think it will require much, if any, significant discussion on the part of Council.

A Parry Sound Abstract (Parry Sound in Black & White)

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I’m sorry you weren’t at the budget meeting last night. It isn’t televised, and only the North Star was there to cover the discussions (except of course ParrySounds.com, who is still not accorded any of the privileges of traditional media). As an aside I note that the North Star, actually Metroland Media, has acquired the domain parrysound.com to post local news. I wonder if they are trying to cash in on the popularity of this not-for-profit site, parrysounds.com. There are no ads here to grab your eyeballs. (Okay, calm down, I’m kidding!! The North Star does a nice job of covering local news and we are a better community for their work, even if they pick on me in their editorials. I guess it’s just the pressure they feel from having a top notch competitor. Just kidding, again!!) I suppose the North Star will have more information about the budget decisions in an upcoming issue of the newspaper (print and online). An aside – the Citizen’s Finance Committee is seemingly ‘kaput’. There were no current (former?) members in attendance.

It’s Not the Rolling Stone

01 Thursday Aug 2013

Posted by in Green Shoots, Parry Sound, Suggestions

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But it is the cover, and it made the editorial page above the fold.

Wow, now I have a sense of what it feels like to be Stephen, Tony, Justin or Peter.

Let’s get my ‘feelings’ dealt with upfront. The article was balanced and the quotes ascribed to me were fair and appropriate. The editorial though seemed to lack some balance. It might have been appropriate for the North Star to have called me to find out if there was something they were missing. You can’t leave Council meetings early all the time and hope the Cogeco broadcast will fill in the gaps. I recall a young reporter for the North Star earlier this year gave me a call to follow up a deputation I had made to Council prior to writing an article on the issue. I sort of thought that was the way things were done when it came to journalism.

But I managed to ‘snag’ the cover and the lead editorial. I must have really pissed someone off. Even Lac-Mégantic and the potential implications for Parry Sound were forced below the fold.

Let’s look at a what was, and wasn’t said, at least from my perspective.

1. At no point did I oppose the planting of memorial trees. I asked that the issue be considered in the context of a plan. Council unanimously agreed and asked that the creation of a Parks Committee be reviewed by Staff prior to their approval of a memorial tree program. Perhaps Council felt they were being ‘railroaded’ by Staff into a hasty decision.

2. The trees on Tower Hill that were lost to the pine beetle infestation are not located where people would consider planting memorial trees. These trees were literally in the bush, well off the beaten path. They are not on the tidy maintained sections of the garden. But the one memorial tree so far was planted in the garden and not the bush. Why?

3. The Town actually has about $20,000 budgeted for tree replacement but has chosen not to use it. Why? Again I’m not sure.

4. Trees are much like puppies. What was cute and small can grow to exceed one’s expectations. So every tree needs to be planted with a sense of what it will look like in 30 years, and how it will impact neighboring trees, shrubs and grass. They all compete for the same rain, sun and nutrients. I think the birch tree was planted too close to the existing maple tree based on the canopies of the existing birch trees in front of the museum. But hey, perhaps I’m thinking ahead too far. And if you have never planted or dug up a tree it’s not a 30 second process, regardless of the size. And transplanting a tree often leads to the tree slowly dying. Now that’s a real memorial tribute.

5. The sprinkling of ashes is a reality, perhaps one that people in town are not yet aware of, and it has implications. And I suppose that there are members of Staff and Council who don’t know what K2, Spice and Bath Salts are, and what they might imply for the youth of our community. It all may not start here but it will get here.

So where will these memorial trees be planted? If the program is to have any real impact on the town we need to be planning on a couple hundred trees. Where will they go? That’s why the Town would do well to prepare a plan. We certainly don’t want to plant trees that would shade our community gardens. We wouldn’t want to plant trees that would interfere with recreation. Yes you could plant them in the bush area of Tower Hill where many trees were recently cut down, but I suspect there won’t be many takers.

One place these memorial trees might be planted is in a row along Bay Street in front of the Stockey Centre. This was part of the original plan for the centre that was never followed up on by the town. These trees would provide for an imposing view as you head down Bay Street and would obscure the not so pleasant view of the OPP and MNR facilities from the front of the Stockey Centre.

What the Town could use are memorial benches in the parks and recreation areas. We don’t have a budget for them and the Town early this year seriously considered entering into an agreement with a company to place benches in Town in exchange for carrying advertising.

It’s my belief that it’s best to stay ahead of the issues and provide information and perspective to the discussion that can lead to better decisions. It really doesn’t do much to complain about things if you haven’t participated.

I’ll give Jack a call in the next couple of days to discuss the editorial. He may not have written it but he signed off on it. I’ll be interested in learning why they didn’t give me a call before publishing the opinion they did. I spoke with him a couple of years ago prior to my involvement in train safety about whether the North Star had a bias against holding the railways accountable for their impact on the town. This followed an editorial the North Star wrote that was critical of people, not me at that point, who complained about the ever increasing noise and pollution that the trains were ‘delivering’. He explained to me that the opinion expressed in their editorial “Our Opinion” often reflected that of certain people in town, not necessarily the newspaper. I guess that’s one way of expressing an opinion and not being held accountable.

Check out the image below taken in mid-May of this year, before the hardwoods (maple, oak, walnut, basswood, …) had fully leafed out. Those aren’t dead tress you see, they are just waiting for their leaves. If the North Star editorial writers were to climb to the top of Tower Hill they might find their dreams have already been realized.

The View From Tower Hill (May 2013)

ParrySights - The View From Tower Hill(Click to enlarge and see in much greater detail)