Tag Archives: Salvation Army

Council Agenda Preview – February 18, 2014

16 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Agenda Preview – February 18, 2014

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

The council agenda doesn’t look too heavy, and I expect it will be over by 8:30. In contrast the closed session looks a little more full, and is scheduled for an hour and a half.

There are a couple of issues on the agenda that concern me. While the actions being recommended to Council don’t appear to be controversial they have implications for local businesses and residents that in my opinion don’t seem ‘fair’. I have more about this in the body of this post.

Open Meeting

2.1.1 – a public meeting to consider a proposed Zoning By-law amendment to rezone Part of Lot 25, Concession 1, Plan 42R-10676, [effectively the Sobeys property]. The rezoning would permit up to 4,270 square meters of total gross floor area, and remove the reference to a retail food store, allowing for the development of a new retail commercial development. [I’m not sure what this refers to but we’ll see on Tuesday night. I would imagine that the current Sobeys property will be expanded and/or new retail operations will be operated on the property.]

Correspondence

4.1 – Jerry J. Ouellette, M.P.P, Oshawa regarding Council’s formal position on being excluded from the Spring Bear Hunt Pilot Project. [See item 8.1 below for more information.]

4.2 – Hands The Family Help Network, a request for funding in the amount of $28,000 towards their expansion. [Disclosure – I am a board member of this organization. The bottom line is that Hands is requesting $28K from the Town for their $1.5MM expansion to provide additional services to children in the greater Parry Sound area. They are also requesting support from our neighbouring municipalities for the facility. It’s a necessary resource to help families deal with mental health challenges. An interesting statistic, Hands serves more than a third of the 0 to 24 age group in the West Parry Sound area on an annual basis, yes that’s 1 in 3 children and young adults make use of Hands services.]

4.3 – The Salvation Army, Rainbow Country Church, regarding the relocation of the Friday Night Street Ministry. [This group is asking the Town to relocate a power outlet and also ‘reserve’ parking for their mobile ministry unit on Friday nights. I have often walked by their vehicle on my way to the library on a Friday night and seen the large number of people gathered around their vehicle. It seems a very small accommodation on the part of the Town to meet the needs of the less fortunate.]

4.4 – Veterans and Their Families in Our Community; an invitation to attend the OSUM Conference in Parry Sound April 2nd to May 3rd.

4.5 – OSUM (Ontario Small Urban Municipalities) regarding a nomination form to serve on the Executive Board 2014 OSUM Conference being held in Parry Sound. [See item 8.4.]

Consent Agenda

8.1 – Council’s formal position on being excluded from the Spring Bear Hunt Pilot Project. The Town of Parry Sound requests the Ministry of Natural Resources to include area 46 and 49 in the proposed Pilot Program. [We want to be part of bear huntin’ country. The Ministry is renewing a spring bear hunt program to remove nuisance bears; it’s cheaper to kill them than to manage them. It has the smell of ‘ethno-cleansing’, albeit they are not homo sapiens. It’s not clear to me how hunters will be able to distinguish a nuisance bear. If you’re in the wrong part of town you’re assumed to be bad. Wrong place, wrong time. “Just kill ‘em all and let God decide”. Now, before everyone gets their ‘knickers in a twist’ I empathize with the issues of nuisance bears, but this seems to be an unreasonably callous way to solve what may or may not be a problem in the cheapest way possible. Actually, it could make money with permit and tourism revenue. Apparently this consent item requests that the Town be included in the bear hunt. I’ll be interested to hear what comments, if any, there will be from the Councillors. I’ll also be interested in understanding exactly where in Town hunters will be permitted to shoot so as to ensure the safety of the public. You don’t hunt bear with birdshot.]

8.2 – a request to schedule a special meeting of Council to discuss the 2014 budget.

8.3 – the Town of Parry Sound urges the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario to reject (and seek alternatives to) Ontario Power Generation’s proposal to bury radioactive nuclear waste in the Great Lakes Basin. [This is a carry over from the previous meeting of Council. I’m not sure what the issue was with the previous consent agenda item but it basically has the same intent.]

8.4 – the nomination of Mayor Jamie McGarvey as a board member of the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities Board Nomination to the OSUM Executive Board. [This is a follow up to item 4.5.]

Resolutions and Direction To Staff

9.1.1 – Panasonic Toughbook computer purchase for EMS. Resolution. [$24K for 6 laptop computers with specialized software and hardware.]

9.3.1 – Approve Signing Authorities and Corporate Credit Cards. Resolution. [The assignment of signing authority for Staff and Council. Nothing unusual, just an update to current authorizations.]

9.4.1 – Consent Application B1/2014(PS). Resolution. That Council supports Consent Application No. B1/2014(PS) – Garagan – 71 Bowes Street subject to confirmation resultant lots would meet the requirements of the zoning by-law (i.e. servicing and setbacks). [This seems to be an administrative follow up to a previous application that had lapsed.]

9.4.2 – Big Sound Marina & Town Dock Operating Contract. Resolution. That Council direct staff to negotiate an operating contract with Massasauga Management Co. Inc., for operation of Big Sound Marina and the Town Dock, per the framework attached as Schedule ‘A’; and that Council approves a usage mix of 25 seasonal slips and 95 transient slips. [As noted in a previous post, I have an issue with the last point, the renting out of seasonal dockage. This is a change in policy that will have an impact on local businesses. As it stands now there is limited availability of transient dockage in Parry Sound and that was why the various levels of government made the investment in Big Sound Marina. Since it’s founding the marina has only provided transient slips. Now that the Town in on the hook, with the possibility of a net loss, they are requesting Council permit the renting of seasonal dockage. This likely will hurt local marinas. Let me explain. If you are a business with 110 slips you need to maintain the staff and resources to service this number of slips. Your property taxes and insurance costs are also fixed. You wouldn’t need to add more personnel if you had 105 or 110, and you probably couldn’t fire people if you had 90 or 95. Basically you have a fixed cost to service this number of slips. Now if you were to lose 5, 10 or 15 of these slip rentals you wouldn’t really be able to cut your costs by much, if anything. Try asking the town to reduce your taxes because you have less business. It doesn’t work that way, you are taxed on your ‘assets’ whether or not they are fully utilized. It’s the same with staff. So by proposing to put 25 slips up for seasonal rent at $1,800 per slip, the Town may be taking as much as $45,000 of profit, not just revenue, from local businesses. That $45,000 supports additional investment in equipment, offset losses or actually provide a larger profit for a year’s work. It’s like the Town is reaching into the pockets of local businesses to limit their costs. They are now proposing to let a private company benefit from an effectively ‘taxpayer supported’ operation. Not nice. I will probably make a deputation at the next meeting of Council regarding this proposal. The Town has itself in a tight spot with the Chamber of Commerce’s decision to no longer operate Big Sound Marina. Their apparent solution is to take business and profit from taxpaying businesses. I wonder if the Chamber wouldn’t have considered continuing their management of the marina had they been offered the possibility of an additional $45K. There would have been little or no incremental cost to capture that revenue. Let’s see what Council decides.]

9.5.1 – Tender, Hanging Baskets. Resolution. That Council accept the tender from Bala Garden Centre for 100 planted baskets in the amount of $88.00 per basket including pick-up of empty baskets and delivery of planted baskets and 20 new galvanized frame baskets in the amount of $27.99 each for a total of $10,576.57 including HST.

10.4.1 – Waterlot, Declaration of Surplus Lands. By-law. To declare a Town owned waterlot surplus. [This concerns a waterlot that is associated with the Parry Sound Hydro facility on Cascade Street and is a necessary part of the Parry Sound Hydro / Lakeland Power merger.]

10.4.2 – Stockey Centre Catering Service Agreement. By-law. To authorize the execution of an agreement with Now That’s Catering for the provision of catering services at the Stockey Centre. [A renewal of the existing agreement.]

10.4.3 – Artists Round the Sound Agreement. By-law. An agreement with the Artists Round the Sound (ARTS) for the rental of wall space at the Stockey Centre. [A renewal of the existing agreement.]

Delivering the Goods (Parry Sound in Black & White)

ParrySights-2667

I will be attending this meeting and look forward to listening to the discussion concerning the issues I’ve commented on above. I’ll probably make a deputation on one of the issues. You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need. I’ll be interested in seeing how far Staff and Council plan to reach into the pockets of the local marinas to help pay for their Big Sound challenge.

I hope we will see some new faces in the audience at Council meetings, perhaps those who are thinking about running for Council. You really can’t get a sense of what goes on by watching it on television, or reading about it in the newspaper (or online). If you want to be elected you owe it to the public to have some understanding of what you are taking responsibility for.

Note: Not all agenda items are covered here. I typically skip items that have little material impact on the town. These items include simple requests for Tag Days (permission to canvas), Awareness Weeks/Months, road closures for civic events, and the like. Want to see everything that is on the agenda along with the supporting documents? The full package can be found at the town’s website (http://townofparrysound.com/pagesmith/14).

Council Meeting Summary – 2012-05-15 (Updated)

17 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in Events/Activities, Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Summary – 2012-05-15 (Updated)

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

The team has scored a touchdown – the charitable waste program has been approved by council. This is probably not the ideal solution but it moves things along in a positive way. I’m glad it see it is finally approved, the Salvation Army does more than their limited resources would suggest is possible.

The body count for the meeting was 6 councilors and mayor. Councilor Williams was  absent. Town staff numbered 6. Moose-FM, Cogeco and the North Star were present. The audience numbered about a dozen of which 8 left after the Timbits deputation.

The councilors reports at times sound a bit like a report on ‘what I did this summer’ with the requirement that it be no less than 10 pages. I’d like to see some of the councilors post their reports on a blog of some sort so those who are interested could read through the details and the rest of us could just skim through the highlights. Which raises the question of when are we going to see a draft social media policy? It was suggested a few months ago that something would be proposed.

One point of particular interest in the councilor’s report was a reminder that the St. Charles crossing, Isabella Street, would be closed to all traffic on May 23rd from 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM for rail maintenance. This means all traffic or pedestrians will not be able to cross.

Notable Decisions and Actions

Item 9.1 relating to the charitable waste issue was approved by council. All’s well that that ends well. Based on several comments from council I expect they will revisit the issue at some point in the future to see if there is an even better solution.

Item 9.1.2 concerning the use of town property for the development of additional assisted living facilities as recommended by the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee was postponed to early September. Continue reading →

TOPS Council Agenda Preview – May 15, 2012

13 Sunday May 2012

Posted by in Events/Activities, Parry Sound, Sounds, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on TOPS Council Agenda Preview – May 15, 2012

Tags

, , , , , ,

This week’s council meeting includes a collection of ‘something old and something new’ items. Here’s hoping that council and staff can cross a couple of them off their to-do lists.

Parry Sound Power’s Power Gen project is back for discussion in a closed session prior to the open portion of the council meeting. I wonder when we will be told what is going on.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Item 9.1 takes another run at the charitable waste issue. Okay team, the ball is on the one yard line; let’s see if we can this resolution across the goal line. No more punting on first down.

Item 9.1.2 concerns the use of town property for the development of additional assisted living facilities as recommended by the Regional Economic Development Advisory Committee. I’m interested in learning more about the proposal and it’s implication for the town. Parry Sound is little-by-little becoming the de facto services centre for the West Parry Sound District. This is a noble undertaking and responsibility so long as sufficient revenue is realized from these developments to ensure they are not being subsidized by other town residents and businesses. Reading the background/report it becomes more obvious that the proposal refers to a senior’s residence complex that would provide a range of services from independent to fully supported living.

Item 9.4.1 concerns the possible disposal of the former water pumping station, the house just off the shoreline trail and close to the water treatment plant. The property is currently rented out by the town and must be considered one of the more attractive rental properties in Parry Sound. Council will consider whether the property should be retained by the town or put up for sale. There are some environmental and logistical concerns that make the simple sale of the property a complex issue.

Item 9.4.2 suggests there will be another fight on Belvedere Hill to follow the parking lot dust up of last year. IKO Construction is contesting council’s rejection of a requested zoning by-law amendment for 9A Belvedere Street with an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board. The wording of the resolution and its implications are interesting and worth reading. The town will apparently need to hire a consultant to prepare and argue their case before the Board.

Item 9.6.2 is a direction to staff to prepare terms of reference for a committee to look at core services that can be privatized. This is a path that has been wandered down by many other governmental bodies with varying degrees of success. Oh boy, another committee. Are these committees intended to actually get anything done or are they simply a way to keep interested town residents busy?

Item 9.6.3 is a resolution in support of an Ontario Mayor’s Coalition to become involved in a provincial task force examining provincial policing costs. Apparently a salary cost increase of 8.5% for OPP services is one of the triggers for this resolution.

Item 10.1.1 promises to be the most ‘interesting’ item on the agenda this week. One needs to read the whole by-law to understand its import and implications. Basically it will allow for a weekly ‘movie/laser show/beach party/beer tent’ every Saturday night from June 30th to September 1st. The organizers would be required to provide insurance coverage, all staffing and the temporary projection structure (which is substantial). The by-law includes a request to relax the local noise restrictions. The event would start at 8:00 PM and end by 12:00, with a $5 admission charge. The town would be paid a rental charge of $504, that is $56 per night, and would be required to provide power and washroom facilities.

I like the idea of having events for visitors and town residents, and I have received a couple of favourable comments suggesting local interest. I do wonder if this will take disposable entertainment dollars from our local theater and restaurants/bars that are open year round and depend on summer visitors to be profitable. The organizers are sweetening the deal for the community by offering to support our local Harvest Share.

These are the key issues to be covered on Tuesday; the agenda lists a number of additional items that may be of some interest to you. Details are provided in the packages available for view at the library and town hall. See you Tuesday night.

The Charitable Waste Challenge

07 Monday May 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Suggestions

≈ Comments Off on The Charitable Waste Challenge

Tags

, ,

I have commented several times on the need and challenge related to addressing the issue of charitable organization waste. I won’t repeat my arguments on why the town needs to take on a more active role in the disposal except to offer the picture below.

Driving by the Salvation Army this morning I stopped to see what had been ‘donated’ over the weekend and took the picture above. As you can see someone had ‘considerately’ donated an old three-section sofa. And because the individual(s) didn’t want to have their generosity acknowledged it seems they decided to drop it off over the weekend when the store was closed.

So what does the Salvation Army do with this donation? The really don’t have the space to inventory it. And how can they in good conscience sell it without a proper cleaning? Who knows where and what the couch was used for prior to the drop off. I find it a little bit scary to think about taking it home, even in an unfinished basement.

The answer is of course is to pay to dispose of it. What the cost might be for this type of ‘commercial’ waste I don’t know. If a Parry Sound resident were to bring it to the transfer station the cost would be three ‘dump tickets’, or $9.00.

But a donation sure beats paying $9.

The town needs to help address this situation. This is not a charitable waste issue, it’s a town littering problem. What would the town do if the sofa were dumped at the corner of James and Mary Streets? They would pick it up and bring it to the transfer station, whether the anonymous ‘dumper’ was from Parry Sound, McDougall, McKellar, Seguin or any of the other surrounding municipalities.

Let’s see how the town chooses to handle this challenge. It’s people who are generating the waste, not our charitable organizations.

Council Meeting Summary – 2012-05-01

02 Wednesday May 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Summary – 2012-05-01

Tags

, , ,

Last night’s council meeting was painful to sit through. This had nothing to do with Councilor Saulnier sitting in as Deputy Mayor, it perhaps was a result of there being too few topics of importance to debate and the councilors’ need to get more face time on Cogeco by nitpicking over details best left to staff. More on this below.

The body count for the meeting was 5 councilors. Mayor McGarvey and Councilor Horne were absent. Town staff numbered 7. Moose-FM, Cogeco and the North Star were present. The audience numbered 10, of which 4 left after their deputations.

There was a deputation by Sail Parry Sound that summarized their activities and plans for 2012. Sail Parry Sound does a nice job of bringing activities and people to Parry Sound that enhance our image and quality of life. The Canadian Armed Forces provided a short overview of what will be going on with respect to Parry Sound over the next week as they conduct their military maneuvers.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Items 4.4, 4.3, 4.6, letters from town residents to council requesting clarification on  the proposed expansion of the Downtown Business Association (DBA) boundaries were referred to town staff for a response.

Items 9.1.1 and 9.1.2 concerned the Charitable Assistance and Municipal Assistance Programs that were discussed and approved in principle earlier this year. I was astounded to see that once again council could not get to a decision on the charitable assistance program. This has been before council at least three times and has been going on for more than 6 months. It involves a total of $5,000. What is the issue here? There is agreement at council that a problem exists and town staff has offered a solution that, while perhaps not ideal, at least provides some relief to the town’s charitable groups.

There were three points that caused me to shake my head in wonder. The first was the suggestion by one councilor that the town revisit once again whether it was possible to amend the town’s permit to allow for charitable dumping rather than approve the assistance program. This has been discussed and was felt by town staff to present a significant challenge. The councilor’s point is reasonable but why didn’t this councilor vote for the assistance program and then request staff investigate the permit revision options? In this way the charitable organizations would have been able to get some relief now – almost six months after it was agreed help was appropriate, with the possibility that an even better outcome might be possible later. Continue reading →

TOPS Council Agenda Preview – May 1, 2012

29 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on TOPS Council Agenda Preview – May 1, 2012

Tags

, , , ,

Once again it’s business as usual this Tuesday at council meeting with nothing too controversial on the agenda. The session should tie up a few of the loose ends that were put on hold awaiting approval of the 2012 budget.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Items 4.4, 4.3, 4.6 are letters from town residents to council requesting clarification on why the proposed expansion of the Downtown Business Association (DBA) boundaries is including large areas of residential property. My additional question would be ‘what is the impact of including these areas into the DBA on residential properties’?

Item 5.1 is a deputation from Sail Parry Sound requesting some logistical accommodations on the part of the town to support a couple of big sailing events they are hosting this summer. It’s nice to see how Parry Sound is becoming a destination for visitors and not just a jumping off point to cottages.

Items 9.1.1 and 9.1.2 concern the Charitable Assistance and Municipal Assistance Programs that were discussed and approved in principle earlier this year. The Charitable Waster Program addresses the disposal of items ‘donated’ (dumped?) to local charities, notably the Salvation Army, that do not qualify for disposal at the town’s transfer station. Funding is limited to $5,000 and will be shared among all charities that apply for support. The Municipal Assistance Program is larger and continues a program that has been in place for a number of years in support of initiatives by local not-for-profit organizations.

Item 9.3.2 concerns approval for the purchase of three new ambulances for the Land Ambulance service. The total cost is in excess of $350,000, with the vast majority of the price tag being covered by senior government and regional municipality grants.

Items 9.4.1, 10.4.1 and 10.4.2 are a series of by-laws pertaining to property standards and providing for the town to more easily deal with offenders. These by-laws will complement by-laws passed earlier this year. Bit by bit the town is working toward ‘cleaning up’ properties and repeat offenders. These by-laws as written will particularly apply to those parties that have been resistant to repeated requests to take responsibility for their properties and the mess they make on adjoining public spaces.

Item 9.4.2 is a request to extend the security realization period of the Parry Sound Travel Centre. The amount at issue is $40,000 and is the ‘security deposit’ placed by a developer to express business interest and encourage the town to provide services for a service centre at the corner of Louisa and Bowes Streets. This centre was to include a hotel, gas station and restaurant. The town invested about $300,000 to extend services with the result that all but the restaurant were built. The security realization period has been extended a couple of times by the town. The staff recommendation is not to extend it a third time given that there are no plans to construct the restaurant.

Item 9.6.1 relates to a Code of Conduct complaint against a member of council. The resolution proposes the Report of the Integrity Commission be accepted. The conclusion is that there was a contravention of the Code and it occurred through “inadvertence or error of judgment made in good faith”. The report further proposes that no penalty be imposed. Details can be found in the council meeting package, copies of which are a town hall and the library.

These are the key issues to be covered on Tuesday; the agenda lists a number of additional items that may be of some interest to you, here is a link to the latest agenda. Take a look. I will be at the meeting.

TOPS Council Agenda Preview – 2012-03-06

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on TOPS Council Agenda Preview – 2012-03-06

Tags

, , , ,

The upcoming Council meeting on the 6th is largely comprised of non-controversial subjects. It’s worth mentioning that prior to the open portion of the council meeting there will be a closed session related to Parry Sound Power Gen – Power Generation Project. This is an item that has been mentioned in passing on several occasions at council meetings for the last six months and is an issue I will raise in my deputation.

The Salvation Army and their waste donation disposal issue will be addressed at this meeting. It looks as though there will be a modified grant procedure proposed that should help cover their disposal costs through commercial sources rather than continuing disposal at the Parry Sound transfer site.

There are other items that will be of interest to different individuals and groups. Review the agenda at the Parry Sound website for more information (here’s a link). And for even more details read the council package available at the Parry Sound Library and the Town Office.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Item 9.1.2 is a resolution that addresses charitable waste. The program would provide for a total of $5,000 in grants for organizations that qualify for the program and submit an application. This resolution will probably meet most of the needs of the Salvation Army and the unusable charitable waste that is dumped on their premises.

Item 9.3.1 proposes to prohibit open air fires for the burning of brush. With a brand new chipper at the transfer station there is no need to pollute the air, and inconvenience neighbours with odour and smoke by burning brush. It will be a little more work to take the brush to the transfer station rather than pile and burn it, but it’s necessary in my opinion. It’s not too hard to understand if you have ever been downwind from a fire that is burning fresh brush.

Item 9.6.1 is a resolution requesting town staff to pursue opportunities for senior level (provincial and federal) funding to support infrastructure improvements in the proposed Parry Sound / Seguin boundary adjustment area.

Those are the notable items on the agenda. I will be making a deposition to council proposing some thoughts on how to better keep the public updated with respect to council meetings, special public presentations and town business. Check out the council meeting package at the Town Office and the Library for more information.

See you Tuesday.

Council Meeting Summary – 2012-02-21

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Seguin Township, Town Council, Urban Development

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Summary – 2012-02-21

Tags

, , , , , , , , , ,

Last night’s council meeting provided additional insights into the challenges and opportunities facing Council and the Town of Parry Sound. You really need to attend the meetings in person or watch them on Cogeco on a regular basis if you hope to really understand what is going on. Catching meetings here and there really doesn’t allow you properly understand the issues and their context.

I’ll be handing out raspberries starting with this week’s meeting. Raspberries will be awarded to council and mayor as appropriate for suggestions and recommendations that seem a little too far out or, in my opinion, are mean spirited. Don’t expect to see very many of them awarded, this is a council and mayor who have their heads screwed on straight. There will no be mention of who receives these awards, you will need to attend the meeting or view the proceedings on Cogeco to figure it out.

Attendance for the February 21st Council meeting7th meeting: council and mayor – 7 (a full complement), staff – 8, media – 4, audience – 13. The audience figure dropped to 4 following the zoning bylaw amendment discussion related to the new public school. By the end of the meeting the audience was down to two and staff was down to four. The media and council were there to the very end.

Councilors Reports

Interesting points raised in the councilors’ and mayor’s reports included:
– upcoming March 6th public meeting and presentation in Carling regarding the Highway 400 extension
– non-public council meeting(s) regarding Parry Sound Power
– the social services budget will remain at 2011 levels for 2012
– a request was made for additional public comment on the Town’s official plan

Interesting and Notable Agenda Discussions and Decisions

The public meeting related to the zoning bylaw amendment for the new school involved a presentation of the proposed plan and two deputations from residents in the area of the new school. The proposed plan presentation was short with very limited information. The key points I noted was that the school will have a full complement of 624 students, 63 staff and a total of 84 parking spots. The deputations voiced support for the new school but requested information on the plans for the school, particularly traffic management, safety for children walking to and from school, and services management. The school board representatives indicated that there would be much more information forthcoming and council and staff indicated that local residents would have the opportunity to review and comment on the plans.

Item 9.2.1, the water and wastewater report was approved as submitted by Watson & Associates. A resolution was approved accepting Option 1 as the funding plan going forward. Option 1 includes a commonly shared increase of water rates to all water users. This increase is expected to mean a 5% increase per year, or about $50 annually for the average non-metered residential property.

Item 9.2.2, the water report indicated there were there failing tests in 2011. There seems to be little cause for concern as I heard it last night. Some quick figures: the highest daily water supply use was 55% of capacity in 2011, while the average daily water use was 30-35% of capacity. There seems to be significant capacity in the supply side of our facilities to support additional growth.

Item 9.4.1, on the subject of vandalism concerns in the Parry Sound High School area earned certain council members one and a half raspberries. A full raspberry to the councilor who suggested the town ask the OPP to start enforcing behavior by means of ticketing; a law and order type strategy. In my mind like the Americans building a fence on their border with Mexico. A half raspberry is awarded to the councilor who seconded a motion to add this to a resolution, but never really injected themself into the discussion. In the end council recognized and agreed the ongoing process involving a discussion between all stakeholders that is already in place was the best approach to the situation. While many might hope that it would progress more quickly, the ongoing approach has the promise of eventual success by modifying behavior. In general, issuing fines to change behavior is a less than optimal approach, especially if there are alternatives.

Item 9.6.1 regarding the boundary adjustment with Seguin was passed on a split vote, 4 to 3. This resolution offers property owners in the boundary adjustment area property tax relief until that time the properties are developed, require Parry Sound services, or are sold. A deputation by Mike Reeves in support of the resolution emphasized the potential value to the town in extending a proposal to the property owners that made it attractive for them to become part of Parry Sound.

It was interesting to follow the arguments on the part of the two groups of councilors for and against the resolution. Apparently there was concern that Parry Sound was required to cover the full $90,000 cost of the study concerning the boundary adjustment, even though the study addressed an area larger than the one being considered for the boundary adjustment. But that seems to me to be the cost of doing business. I for one support the decision made by council and mayor on this and I hope the property owners will agree to join Parry Sound under these new terms.

What was noticeable by its absence was any proposal from staff regarding the handling of waste from non-profit organizations. Next meeting perhaps?

There was more discussed than I noted here. Read the official council meeting minutes for more information, they should be available in a couple of days at the Town of Parry Sound website. Information, often with additional background, is generally available at the North Star website a few days after the meeting. But these notes and articles really don’t capture much of the thinking that went into the decisions. The best way to understand what went on is to attend.

 

 

 

Council Meeting Summary – 2012-02-07

08 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ Comments Off on Council Meeting Summary – 2012-02-07

Tags

, , , , ,

As promised the council meeting on Tuesday was very interesting. Parts are worth catching on cable if you have access.

A couple of general notes regarding the meeting. The projector still sucks, the terrible pink tint and the low contrast make it impossible for the audience and council to follow the presentation. It must also be a terrible distraction for the presenter. This situation has been going on for 2 months now. These projectors now go for as little as $400 and having two of them would ensure that the audience’s time is not being wasted. If I have a deputation to make I will beg, borrow or buy a unit to ensure my message is presented in the best ‘light’ possible.

The second note concerns attendance. I will be posting the attendance at the meetings as a way of understanding the trends regarding participation. The numbers for the February 7th meeting are: council and mayor – 7 (a full complement), staff – 9, media – 2, audience – 11. The audience figure dropped to 4 after the West Parry Sound Health Centre deputation was completed. By the end of the meeting the audience was down to two and staff was down to three. The media and council were there to the end.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Discussions and Decisions

Item 9.1.1 requesting council to approve the drafting of an agreement/terms of reference for a youth drop-in centre was approved. This does not imply funding approval. There was support on council for the initiative but concerns about funding given the $51,700 annual price tag, which could be reduced to $16,700 per year if Trillium funding and donations are received.

Item 9.1.2 regarding council approval for a revised Municipal Assistance Program (MAP) took considerable time. The issue facing council was how to help support the Salvation Army with their disposal costs. The net/net is that council wants to help the Salvation Army and similar charitable community groups manage expenses related to the delivery of valuable services to Parry Sound and the region. But the MAP does not allow for grants to be made to any charitable group that has a religious affiliation. Well, that was the unspoken ‘elephant’ in the room during the discussion. Town staff indicated that the Salvation Army did not qualify for the MAP, but never said why. Why not? If religious affiliation is an impediment to doing the right thing it needs to be stated and policy reviewed in that light.

It was also argued that the Salvation Army could not dump unusable donations at the transfer station because of restrictions on the provincial license to operate the facility. Here is the town web page listing the dos and don’ts of garbage pickup. It seems the relevant language is “No other commercial tipping accepted.” Presumably the Salvation Army garbage is considered commercial. But they are in fact just getting rid of garbage from the community that is dumped on their door. Commercial garbage in my mind is the by product of producing a service or product. Tim’s wrappers and cups are commercial waste. Left over rags and sofas dropped off are not. Let’s clear up our definitions here. And what does the town do with the Tim’s and McDonald’s and Subway wrappers that are dropped in the municipal garbage pails? Do they sort them and return them to the shops that pushed them out the door and tell them to dispose of it through commercial disposal services? I don’t think so. Let’s not be too ‘holy’ about what is and what isn’t commercial garbage. Let’s be practical.

But it seems as though council understands the issues and the balance that need to be struck. They have asked staff to return with a proposal that would allow the town to help support the costs the Salvation Army and other denominational charitable organizations that are faced with disposing of garbage related to their invaluable services to the community. I’ll be interested in seeing what staff comes up with.

Item 9.4.2 a proposal for a wider ban on smoking in public spaces, including parks, sports areas, the Fitness Trail and more was approved. It will go into effect in June 2013. This will allow for time to erect signs and educate the public concerning the restriction. It wasn’t clear to me what the penalties and warning procedure would be, but it probably will be the same as for those areas in which smoking is currently banned.

Item 9.6.1 directing council members to attend training concerning obligations under the Code was approved. See my pre-council meeting notes for more information. And no, it did not become a political issue.

Item 10.4.1 a bylaw to increase the parking meter rates from $0.50 to $0.75 per hour, and the parking ticket fees by a couple of bucks was pushed back as requested by the Downtown Business Association (DBA) until their revitalization plan was ready for presentation. Council did ask that the DBA present it’s plan in a timely manner so that the parking increase issue could be reviewed and voted upon. More information on this is available in my pre-council meeting notes.

Item 10.4.2 a proposal to revise how taxi drivers are regulated and licensed was approved. It reduces some of the burden and cost to the taxi drivers and should not negatively impact our safety and security.

Item 10.4.4 a by-law to permit the town to initiate cleanup, at the owners cost, of properties that fail to meet by-law standards for maintenance was approved. This promises to make it easier for the town to take care of issues related to by-law violations that in the past were unreasonably burdensome. There will still be the opportunity to appeal any charges before action is taken.

There were also two very good presentations from the West Parry Sound Health Centre regarding their activities and their performance, as well as a request for certain accommodations in road closures to allow for their upcoming fund raising run.

The official council meeting notes should be available in a couple of days at the Town of Parry Sound website. But these notes really don’t capture much of the thinking that went into the decisions. The best way to understand what went on is to attend.

TOPS Council Agenda Preview – 2012-02-07

06 Monday Feb 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , , , ,

The upcoming Council meeting on the 7th has more interesting topics than I originally thought when looking at the agenda on Friday. I apologize for the late posting but the council meeting package was not available at the Library when I dropped by after lunch on Saturday which forced me to take time off work to read it this afternoon. It really would be great if the council meeting packages were provided online, even if it only included the staff analysis and recommendation documents.

Interesting and Notable Agenda Items

Item 9.1.1 requests council to approve the drafting of an agreement/terms of reference for a youth drop-in centre. This drop-in centre is expected to cost $51,700 per year with an expectation that separate funding (Trillium and donations) would reduce the town’s portion of the expense to about $16,700 annually.

Item 9.1.2 requests council approval for a revised Municipal Assistance Program. This program is funded at the level of about $20,000 per year. The revised proposal includes a new class of agencies to be supported at no more than 10% of the total budget. This new class would cover charitable surplus material disposal. Interestingly enough this will probably not cover the Salvation Army’s needs, as the recommendation suggests this group not be considered eligible because they are not non-denominational. This seems a poor recommendation for an organization that provides much to our community. Would Mother Theresa not be afforded any support by council because she was Catholic and espoused the Catholic faith? Let’s see what council decides on this issue. See my earlier blog for my take on this issue.

Item 9.4.2 proposes a much wider ban on smoking in public spaces. As a non-smoker my thoughts on reading this recommendation is that it is too restrictive. In one spot it discusses the banning of smoking on the Fitness Trail. This seems a bit too tough. It’s easy enough to avoid this type of second-hand smoke and these smokers are paying their way in some respect with the heavy taxation of cigarettes. Let’s restrict smoking in confined spaces where it is difficult to avoid inhaling second hand smoke, like entrance ways and buildings, but let’s not over regulate. Council will need to strike a fair balance.

Item 9.6.1 directs council members to attend training concerning obligations under the Code. This seems to me to be a reaction to charges leveled against one of the councilors that were not pursued by the Integrity commissioner after careful review. We will see if this becomes a political issue rather than a training issue.

Item 10.4.1 is a proposed bylaw to increase the parking meter rates from $0.50 to $0.75 per hour, and the parking ticket fees by a couple of bucks. The rates for parking and tickets have not been increased since 2000. What is interesting in the proposal is that it will be possible to park for less than 30 minutes for a quarter (20 minutes) and a dime (8 minutes). This is an attractive option if you just need to drop off, or pick up, something. The Downtown Business Association is opposing the increase and requests that it be delayed until downtown renovations are complete. While it’s possible that the increase may deter parking by shoppers, it’s more likely that it will raise the price for the downtown merchants and employees to park by their stores and feed the meters. My sense is that the increase is reasonable and an appropriate way to cover costs. I don’t believe the $0.25 increase will deter shoppers. And yes I do occasionally park downtown when running an errand, and I do put money in the meters.

Item 10.4.2 proposes changes into how taxi drivers are regulated and licensed. It seems a reasonable proposal that reduces some of the expense and burden of annual renewals.

Item 10.4.4 proposes a by-law that would permit the town to initiate cleanup, at the owners cost, of properties that fail to meet the by-law standards for maintenance. in the past the town was required to take an individual to court to address the issue. This generally took too long and was a burdensome process for the town.

There are other interesting issues that didn’t make the cut for these notes and can be found in the council meeting package. There is much more detail in these packages than is ever raised in the council meetings or is covered in the press. I urge all interested people to read the council package. It can be found at the Town Office and the Library.

See you Tuesday.