Tag Archives: social media

Parry Sound’s New Website

17 Friday Apr 2015

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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The Town has a new website that is updated and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) compliant. I see it as five steps forward and one step back.

No, I’m not bitching and moaning. I think it’s great but there is one element missing that I think is important. The full Council Agenda packages will not be available for review and download from the website. The agenda summary, a five page or so document will be available. If you want to see the full Council Agenda Package you will need to sign up to receive the document by email electronically as they are issued. It’s pretty simple, contact the Town office and ask to be added to the mailing list. I’m on the list as are several others. It’s practical and efficient. Or you can contact the Town Office and ask for the current or a past agenda package to be sent to you.

The reason for this is that not all of the attachments are AODA compliant, and I guess if any part is not AODA compliant it’s not permitted to be posted on the Town’s website. Seems as though we are going the way of Quebec where it is illegal to sell a talking doll if it only speaks English.

My concern is that the public will not have reasonable access to the agenda package. Yes you can request it, but it can only be delivered during working hours. Want to read it on a weekend? Wait until Monday, unless of course it’s a civic holiday, in which case wait until Tuesday. Want to read it Monday night because there is something on the agenda the following evening you want to know more about? Tsk, tsk, you should have checked the agenda summary on the weekend and requested the agenda package on Monday.

I think it’s a step backward. My solution is to host the full Council Agenda Packages at this site (www.parrysounds.com). I will have a new page where the packages are listed for download. In the past I had a link to the actual agenda packages. I will continue to include links in the Agenda Preview posts to the Town’s website for the agenda summaries and a link to the full package for download. I have no intention of ‘subverting’ the system but I feel a need to do my part to ensure there is full transparency with respect to the Town’s activities.

Great Advice! (Parry Sound, a Touch of Colour)

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Staff and Council Report Card – Part 2

28 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Reflections, Town Council

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This continues the Staff and Council ‘report card’ post from a couple of days ago. Please refer to that post for information on the intent and scope of this analysis. Some of the material in this post will make reference to comments in this earlier post.

 

Budget – B

A solid B for Council and Staff. The past four years have been a challenge when it comes to costs and revenues. With many of the surrounding municipalities holding fast on their tax rates the Town decided to hike rates modestly to meet the demands of infrastructure improvements and services. It would have been easier to keep the tax rate stable and forgo the necessary investments. Taking the tougher road will pay significant benefits in the years to come as the Town was able to capture matching provincial funds that considerably reduced the cost of these major projects. Council was hesitant to invest in capital equipment, trucks in particular, but in the end found a path that balanced costs and needs.

Why not an A? Holding tax increases to the lower single digits annually came at a cost. This was the sale of town owned property. This revenue did make up much of the shortfall but it is not clear that the Town received good value for these parcels of land. As a small municipality we don’t have much, if any, more land to use for future revenue. But you have to do what you have to do.

The agreement to merge the Town’s power and generation assets with Lakeland Power was a good decision in my opinion. While it certainly is a valuable asset it was one we could not afford to properly exploit because of a shortage of capital and management expertise. So with the merger we will see an upgrade in the facility’s power generation, more green energy, and ultimately a better return on this asset than if Council had decided to stay where we were or try to do it on our own. Credit should also be given to the Board of Parry Sound Hydro for developing this option.

 

Education – Did Not Attend

Huh? Since when was the Town involved with education? Isn’t that a school board function? Well yes and no.

The quality of education is perhaps the number one consideration for families when they relocate to a community. And the quality of the public school education in Parry Sound as evidenced by the scores is not good. Not good at all. The argument can be made that talented students will do well regardless of the schools. Fair point but they will do even better in an education system where there are higher performance standards evidenced day-in and day-out.

So what can the Town do? Certainly nothing that is easy or obvious, but quite necessary if the Town is to see any type of meaningful growth in better paying jobs. Think a high tech company will move to Parry Sound or the surrounding area just because we have high speed internet if their kids have to go to underperforming schools? I certainly wouldn’t have lived here when my kids were young. The alternative is to send your kids to a private school, likely Rosseau Lake College, at a cost of thousands per child per year and a not so great commute if they don’t live in residence. That’s a pretty heavy tax to live in Parry Sound.

But it’s not an issue if the Town is positioned as a seniors community. Seniors don’t worry about the quality of the elementary and secondary school system, as long as it doesn’t unreasonably impact their taxes. Everyone thinks that it’s the lack of a swimming pool that is keeping the hospital from attracting more and better staff. Nah, high achieving individuals want their kids to get the best education possible and after looking at Parry Sound and the surrounding municipalities they are likely to say “no way’. You only get one chance to educate your children, the house on the lake or bay can come later.

So what can the Town do? That’s a great question and one we pay (Staff) and elect (Council) people to look at, but only if they even recognize the issue. Isn’t it much easier just catering to the seniors?

 

Transparency – B

Another B and a real improvement was seen over this term of Council. It’s much easier to know what’s going on at Council now than it was four years ago. Council agendas, the detailed supporting materials, and the minutes are available online. And as always the public has access to the open meetings of Council and easy access to Council and Staff.

What’s keeping the grade from a solid A? Three things come to mind. The first is Council and Staff’s habit of pushing things into closed meetings that should be discussed and debated in open session. I certainly understand the need for confidentiality but it can too easily abused, just consider how the Federal government likes to hide and obscure their policies and decisions. To their credit the Town has for the most part reduced their reliance on closed meetings to discuss issues that might be more controversial than confidential.

The second item is a lack of online access to meetings of Council, live or delayed. You can only watch Council meetings at home if you subscribe to service from a single cable provider. It limits the number of people who can follow the proceedings. Better for the Town to hire a service to record and lightly edit the proceedings and then make them available to anyone with internet access. This could be in addition to the current service. It would expand access and allow for additional coverage of meetings not presently recorded and broadcast, especially budget meetings.

And number three is the website. But that is scheduled to be remedied early in 2015. A better website and some social media outreach to announce upcoming meetings would improve transparency. We should have the option of having this type of information being ‘pushed’ to us.

 

So far five grades have been assigned with three more to go. That’s for later this week.

More Bricks in the Wall (Parry Sound, a Touch of Colour)

ParrySights-2033

 

Council Meeting Notes – September 16, 2014

17 Wednesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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It turned out to be a shorter meeting and might have been even shorter if were not for three unscheduled deputations. A couple of them (5.2, 5.3) proved to be ‘interesting’, both in their content and Council’s reaction. There is more below.

Items worth noting that arose in either the Councillors’ reports or questions of Staff included:

  1. Doors Open Parry Sound Parry Sound is on for September 27th from 10:00 to 4:00. The focus this year is on Parry Sound’s contributions and sacrifices in the Great War (World War I) and the Town’s waterfront, past and present. Information is available at doorsopenparrysound.com.
  2. The retaining wall behind the Fire Station is progressing, and should be completed within the next three weeks.

Items discussed at Council included:

5.1 – Deputation. The Friendship Centre of Parry Sound. A short information presentation to make Council and the public aware of the services and support offered by the Centre, with a focus on the needs of Urban Aboriginals. Council and the public were invited to drop by and visit the facility on Bowes Street.

5.2, 5.3 – Deputations. Concerning a right-of-way for 47 Marion Avenue. Two deputations, one for and one against re-opening Council’s decision regarding their recent right-of-way approval. After considering the arguments Council decided that there was insufficient reason to reconsider their earlier decision endorsing the right-of-way. Council noted that they did not have the authority to grant the right-of-way but merely could make a recommendation to the planning board.

9.1.1 – Resolution. External EMS Efficiency and Effectiveness Review. CARRIED. Council approved a $49,500 contract with Performance Concepts to provide a review of the District’s EMS services with special attention to service in the Argyle area. 

9.3.1 – Resolution. 2013 Investment Report. CARRIED. The Finance Department will be investigating opportunities to improve yields on the Town’s cash reserves consistent with provincial legislation.

10.1.1 – By-Law. Paramedicine Funding. CARRIED. This is an agreement between the Town and the Province for funding to support a paramedicine program. The program apparently will study an extension of EMS personnel services beyond their current scope.

10.3.1 – By-Law. Town of Parry Sound Website Redesign. CARRIED. The Town contracted with eSolutions of Waterloo to revamp the Town’s website. The site is to be launched by mid-February 2015.

10.5.1 – By-Law. Declaration of Surplus Land – 71 Parry Sound Road. CARRIED. This starts the process of ‘selling’ the 23 acre tract of land at 71 Parry Sound Drive to GK York Management Services for residential property development. The Town is apparently unable to ‘direct’ the type of development, affordable, subsidized, etc., but were able to confirm that the developers intend to donate some land to Habitat for Humanity.

A nod to Council candidate Doug McCann, he’s now two for two in attending the most recent council meetings. I saw none of the other candidates on stage last Thursday at the meeting, except for course of those currently serving on Council. If you can’t drag your sorry ass out on a reasonably mild September evening what ……

The full minutes of the meetings are of course available at the Town’s website no later than Friday. Moose-FM will have had short updates earlier today and the North Star will have coverage online and in print. So there is no excuse to not be an informaed voter.

Building the Wall with Lego Blocks? (Parry Sound in Black & White)

ParrySights-1599

 

Council Meeting Summary – February 5, 2013

08 Friday Feb 2013

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Well my request for media privileges was denied. I have already posted on this, no need to discuss it further. Here’s a link to my earlier post, or just scroll down this page past this article to find it. Oh, just as I was getting a link for the item below I see that the North Star has put together their overview of the matter. Here’s the link although I expect it’s in the Beacon Star today (their free Friday publication).

The North Star has done a very nice article on the senior staff reorganization in town hall I mentioned in my council meeting preview. I won’t discuss it further and just point you to their online article. (I recommend a subscription to the North Star, there’s something nice about reading things in print. And it ensures we continue to get local news coverage like this.)

Meeting Highlights

Councillors and Mayor Reports:

Seguin Township will provide $10,000 in support of the Stockey Centre for 2013. That’s great, but it doesn’t go very far in covering the centre’s 2013 budgeted shortfall of $275,000.

There was a mention that many Ontario municipalities are facing major investments in aging infrastructure, with little hope for provincial support. Belleville is preparing to take on $80 million dollars of bonds and loans to meet its infrastructure expanses. That’s for a town with a population about eight times that of Parry Sound. Previous councils in Parry Sound were able to take advantage of matching provincial grants to replace and update our infrastructure, so we are a bit better off than other municipalities, albeit with some debt on the books.

Correspondence and Deputations:

Of the three letters received one, concerning an animal shelter, was put on the meeting agenda as item 9.1.1 and received extensive discussion.

There were four deputations, two of them primarily of an update nature from Georgian Bay Country Tourism, and the West Parry Sound Health Centre and Lakeland Long Term Care. The other two were my request for media privileges (agenda item 9.2.2), and another requesting a by-law to permit the limited use of all-terrain vehicles in town.

9.1.1 – a resolution to advise the community that Parry Sound cannot support an animal shelter was postponed pending further research and inquiry with neighbouring communities regarding their interest and support for such an initiative. Apparently there is an offer of $50,000 in private support for a local animal shelter. A second resolution regarding a $3,5000 budget item for the spaying and neutering of feral cats was also postponed.

9.1.2, 9.1.3 – resolutions related to fines and new parking meters were approved although there were two dissenting votes. The objections were largely related to the fact that the approval for a new parking machine should not be accepted in the absence of an approved budget.

Question to staff and council – why isn’t the 2013 budget ready for January 1st? Isn’t that when the budget year starts? I am aware of some collective bargaining issues and funding issues impacting the budget that will only be available later, but 80% of the budget could be reviewed, agreed, and ‘in the can’ by year end. Much of this silly ‘we can’t agree to this now’ language could then be eliminated. It sounds very bureaucratic. “I’m sorry M’am the hospital staff couldn’t attend to your son’s injuries because his accident isn’t in the current budget and we haven’t finalized the new one.” Come on council, roll with it, or get that 80% of the budget done by Christmas so you have the ability to make decisions. Council, you will still need to make the tough decisions, which it seems are more determined by personal philosophy than the budget. But the ‘crush’ of a final budget discussion can provide cover for unpopular decisions. “There was so much to review I guess it just was missed. Sorry about that.”

9.2.1 – the 2012 Annual Report of the Integrity Commissioner was approved without discussion. Yes, I will request a copy and let you know if anything of interest is included.

9.2.2 –a direction to deny my request for media privileges was carried. My blog was scurrilously impugned as an ‘information and opinion website’. I’d like to think of it as an ‘information and analysis website’. But you can only provide ‘analysis’ if you are provided the requested public domain information. I’ll keep asking for it. I’m sure the response of council would be the same, regardless of any label of opinion or analysis. At the same time council approved a resolution to extend media privileges solely to journalists employed by media outlets. I don’t believe they defined a media outlet.

9.2.3 – a direction to advise the public of amendments to the Fees and Services By-laws was approved.

9.2.4 –a resolution to approve the 2013 Key Performance Objectives Departmental Summary was carried. I’ll review it and provide details.

9.4.1 – a resolution to accept two offers for the purchase of property in town was carried.

9.4.2 – a direction to offer an additional two lots for sales by tender on MacFarlane Street was approved.

9.4.3 – revisions to the draft Official Plan were postponed until the next meeting of council.

9.6.1 – a resolution for council to endorse pre-budget approval of $5,000 to sponsor the Festival of the Sound’s opening weekend this summer was defeated even though this was a time sensitive issue. Because there isn’t an approved budget a decision to discuss the merits of the request could not even be entered into. I’m starting to think the role of this blog is less analysis than performing the role of the Greek chorus. For the lack of a budget a council was paralyzed. This whole budget process seems more a topic for a play by Aristophanes than Sophocles or Euripides, that is comedy rather than tragedy.

10.4.1 – an agreement with MasterCard to sponsor the Bobby Orr Hall of Fame and the associated golf tournament was approved. For 2013 MasterCard will pay $35,000 for this privilege.

10.4.2 – a by-law to update fees and charges for planning services was carried.

A couple of late agenda items were added. These included the granting of a 6-month temporary taxi license, and the addition of another individual to the Citizen’s Finance Committee. A closed meeting reorganization included a change in the status of a Stockey Centre employee from permanent full-time to permanent part-time. This will save $25,000 per year and help close the Stockey Centre’s 2013 funding gap.

The next meeting of council is February 19th. See you there.

Note: this is the last of the ‘official’ images painted on the fitness trail bridge and brings an end to the photos that have been included in posts related to official town business. To the students, parents and teachers of Parry Sound, especially Victory School, I offer congratulations and thanks for sharing your art and your vision.

Bridge Art – So long and thanks for the images.

BridgeArt - Learn

Council Deputation Update

06 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Suggestions, Town Council

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I had the opportunity to speak to Parry Sound Town Council last night regarding my request for media privileges. It was agenda item 9.2.2. The text of my deputation is provided below in italicized text.

My request for media privileges was denied following some debate. More debate than I have heard for other, more important, and more controversial issues. But in the end they largely felt that this would be opening the door for others to request similar privileges. These privileges would be limited to the right to make recordings of council proceedings without prior request of the mayor, and the right to attend media only council events. Not much I must confess, but an important statement concerning council’s desire to maintain a policy of open and transparent government.

Well, you can’t get want what you want if you don’t ask. I have no problem with the decision but I have a couple requests of council that I will send them in a formal letter. They are:

1. Will the town provide residents of Parry Sound with no cost access to the proceedings of council if these residents are unable to attend council meetings because of poor health, work and/or family obligations, travel issues or other reasons? Right now the only way a person can review the meetings is if they subscribe to Cogeco cable which implies a $300 to $400 annual cost. This seems an excessive burden to ensure transparency. There are options, see my comment about Sudbury in the text of the deputation below. (Full disclosure: I don’t subscribe to cable, satellite or other television service, so this would save me some money in case I were to miss a meeting of council, or not permitted to attend a council meeting that was restricted to traditional media.)

2. Will the town make a commitment to improving the user friendliness of the town’s website? As it stands now it is difficult to find recent announcements on the website. Too often important announcements are buried and hard to find while months old announcements are still posted on the site’s homepage. Tip – there are two ways to find things on the town’s website. Do a Google search using the following phrase – townofparrysound.com “searched term”. The “searched term” shouldn’t be in quotes. So for example if I want to find information on the recently approved retirement residence I would put into the Google search engine: “townofparrysound.com retirement” (no quotes). The search results will start with the results from the town’s website. Another approach is to click on ‘Site Map’ in the menu on the top left of the homepage. The menu bar at the top of the page is mostly useless. The link for Site Map will take you to a page that provides much more detail on the site’s contents. (Update: I was asked why not use the search box on the left hand side of the home page. Because it doesn’t work as well, not nearly as well! Try it. Do a search for retirement as I suggested above and then search the same word using the search box below the Home Menu. You tell me which does a better job.)

Here’s the text of my deposition. In it I also take council to task for the apparent hypocrisy of criticizing the Near North School Board for their lack of transparency and public involvement while doing exactly the same thing with their recent ‘Age in Place’ by-law. My deputation provides the details.

Deputation to Parry Sound town Council, February 5th, 2013. All text that was read at the meeting is presented in italics below. The section in bold is the resolution from the minutes of the Town of Parry Sound council meeting that I made reference to.

Thank you for this opportunity to speak to council.

This deputation concerns two issues. The first of which is my request for media privileges related to town council activities.

I made application a couple of weeks ago for media privileges so that I would be able to better cover council proceedings. I limited this request to, access to meetings that were limited to media, and the privilege to record portions of the town council, as is permitted traditional media outlets.

On Friday I received a copy of the council report and recommendation prepared by town staff on this issue. It recommended my request be denied.

In part the recommendation rested on the staff observation that Toronto does not extend such privileges to non-traditional media. While the report did note that the comparison was not perfect they still felt it was appropriate. I beg to differ.

Not only does Toronto have a population some 500 times greater than that of Parry Sound, it is home to dozens of traditional and possibly hundreds of nontraditional media. I can understand their policy. They already have considerable coverage of their events at the local, provincial, national and international levels. But, Toronto does have a significant program of outreach to the public that we do not have in Parry Sound. For example, Toronto offers email updates on council and committee activities that can be subscribed to. This provides email delivery of meeting agendas, announcements of changes, meeting minutes, a summary of key decisions and much more. The Toronto city clerk also provides the public with council updates using Twitter. These are programs which I have asked staff and council to consider as part of making it easier for residents to understand what is happening at council.

I would ask that my request for media privileges be held to the same standard that council and staff holds themselves with respect to media outreach. If you are willing to provide the services offered by Toronto I am willing to accept their non-traditional media policy.

I was particularly surprised that staff would have benchmarked Parry Sound against a Southern Ontario city. We are a proud Northern Ontario city. I suggest we be careful about identifying ourselves as anything but.

Turning to Northern Ontario, I do note that Sudbury offers next day webcasts of their council meetings. This means that residents can see the very next day what is going on without having to subscribe to a service that costs on the order of $400 per year. Those without internet service in Sudbury would be able to go to their local library and watch the webcast at no cost, and on their schedule. And Sudbury has 5 years of council meetings available for viewing on demand. In Parry Sound I am unable to see the proceedings of an earlier council meeting without a cable TV subscription. Offering a Sudbury type service in Parry Sound would mean that I could ‘attend’ all council meetings, even those that are restricted to ‘traditional media’ so long as they are recorded and streamed over the internet.

The second topic of this deputation relates to council’s decision to review and de facto approve the ‘Age in Place’ proposal in a closed session of council.

This is a multi-million dollar project for which town residents have received very little information and no opportunity to provide input. I have seen council discuss and debate in great detail pennies on the ton differences in costs for road salt, and plowing responsibilities for rental properties. Yet on this multi-million dollar project we get a reading of the by-law and essentially a unanimous vote of approval. Has council lost its voice?

Why wasn’t this item reviewed in closed session, if necessary to ensure confidentiality, and then put on the agenda for the following session of council with the appropriate supporting materials included in the council package for public review? This would have given the public the opportunity to review and provide input.

Is it a good deal for Parry Sound? Quite possibly. But we really can’t be sure because we are not provided the necessary information to understand what’s involved. What do we really know about the project and the developer and the local impact if all we are provided is a press release. And even this press release is only made available as a Word document, not the much more accessible Adobe Acrobat format, and it’s not posted on the front page on the town’s website where it could be easily found by interested residents.

It’s likely that council feels they were following the normal council procedures, and that any complaints about how the process and approval were handled are unwarranted.

What then does council have to say about the recent controversy concerning the decision made by the Near North School Board to move Grade 7 & 8 students to the high school? I’m sure the school board followed the approved process for reviewing and making a decision. But it was this council that passed a resolution on the matter. I will read you your resolution:

RESOLUTION 2012 – 214

WHEREAS the Near North District School Board passed a motion at its recent Board meeting to move Grades 7 & 8’s from local public schools to Parry Sound High School; and

WHEREAS the Board at this meeting added this item to the agenda as a last minute agenda item without any public notification; and WHEREAS the local Board trustee who represents the parents in the affected area was also unaware until the Chair requested the addition of the items to the agenda; and

WHEREAS the Board has not provided any justification or documentation showing the benefits to their decision or any plan showing how it is to be implemented; and

WHEREAS the whole process has been done without involving or seeking input from affected parents and students;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Council for the Town of Parry Sound supports the Township of Carling’s request that the Minister of Education, the Honourable Laurel Broten, intervene in this case and send Ministry staff in to review and report to the local communities on how the Near North District School Board conducts its meetings and it financial business; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that the Chair of the Near North School Board, Kathy Hewitt be forced to resign her position as Chair over the way this issue has been handled under her leadership; and

FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be provided to Jim Beatty, School Board Trustee, Norm Miller, M.P.P., Parry Sound-Muskoka, Vic Fedeli, M. P. P., Nipissing and to the West Parry Sound Municipalities, to request their support.

CARRIED

I would suggest that the school board’s decision was no less transparent than council’s regarding the ‘Age in Place’ approval. Where was the public information, where was the discussion, where was the opportunity to provide public input? Where was this scheduled? This is not a simple pennies on a ton type decision for which we were provided much more information and an opportunity to input.

And this council asked for a person to be removed from their elected office. Is council willing to hold themselves to the same standards of conduct?

Of particular concern is the decision to sell the property for this development for $250,000, and then waive the by-law requiring a market assessment of its real value. No concessions were offered to the developer? We’ll never know will we?

All of this leads me to ask what council plans to do regarding an upcoming decision to invest $10 to $20 million in new generating capacity at the Cascade Street Generating Station. Will this be another closed session discussion and decision then added at the last minute to the open council agenda for a unanimous vote with no review and debate? I certainly hope not. And I’m not sure the traditional media has yet recognized that this issue is in the offing.

I believe there is a role in Parry Sound for non-traditional media. I hope you will reject the staff recommendation and approve my request. And in the near future I hope you will ask staff to review and update their policy and procedures for communicating council activities with town residents. The current procedures are in dire need of updating.

And let’s all of us hold ourselves to the same standards that we hold others.

Council Agenda Preview – February 5, 2013

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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The big issue on the agenda this week, as far as I am concerned, is my request for media privileges. This really won’t change things much but does allow me to attend meetings that are closed to the public, and open to the media. I’ve attached the Council Report and Recommendation that was provided to me last Friday. Staff has recommended that I not be granted these privileges, partly on the basis that Toronto does not grant similar privileges and because they feel that our council and staff processes are transparent. I hope that they are prepared to be held to the same standards of communication as the City of Toronto staff and council. We’ll see what transpires, I’ll be there to watch. On a positive note, I’m pleased to see that town staff has separated the list of upcoming events on the town’s website to make it easier to see what Council and Committee meetings are scheduled.

The closed portion of Tuesday’s council meeting includes an organizational chart revision. In a previous closed session responsibility for the planning function was moved to the Director of Development & Leisure Services, Lynn Middaugh, previously Director of Economic Development and Leisure Services. (Here’s a link to the recent chart on the town’s website.) This organization chart lists the previous Director of Community Development, Iain Laing, as “Planner”. I have no idea what additional organizational changes are being made, but I hope there are ongoing announcements of changes at the director level. I only found out about this change from a blog reader who noticed the change in titles in the last council meeting agenda. Note: As a bit of a non sequitur, Mr. Laing is listed as Director of Community Development in the February 5th council meeting agenda.

Agenda Highlights:

Correspondence and Deputations:

Three letters were received. One, concerning an animal shelter, was put on the meeting agenda as item 9.1.1.

There are two deputations scheduled, both seem to be council information updates. They are from: Georgian Bay Country Tourism, and the West Parry Sound Health Centre and Lakeland Long Term Care.

9.1.1 – is a resolution to advise the community that Parry Sound cannot support an animal shelter. This type of service would be additional to the existing animal impound centre. There is also a recommendation that the town budgets $3,5000 for the spaying and neutering of feral cats. I wonder if this should be reconsidered in light of the recent reports that domesticated cats kill tens of billions of birds, reptiles and small mammals in the USA. Translating these figures to Canada suggests our cats are killing hundreds of millions for Canada. And feral cats that don’t get fed regularly presumably hunt for food and sport.

9.1.2, 9.1.3 – are resolutions related to fines and new parking meters.

9.2.1 – is the 2012 Annual Report of the Integrity Commissioner. This is worth a read. I’ll get a copy and provide a summary.

9.2.2 – is a direction to deny my request for media privileges. There is also a resolution to extend media privileges solely to established media outlets.

9.2.3 – is a direction to advise the public of amendments to the Fees and Services By-laws. Most notably, it will now cost $140 for a marriage license, a 23% increase. Cheaper to ‘live in sin’?

9.2.4 – is a resolution to approve the 2013 Key Performance Objectives Departmental Summary. I’ll try to get to the library tomorrow and read it in more detail with notes posted as appropriate.

9.4.1 – is a resolution to accept two offers for property that were recently put up for tender. Both of the offers recommended for acceptance are higher than the appraised value for the properties.

9.4.2 – is a direction to offer an additional two lots for sales by tender. These lots are situated on MacFarlane Street.

9.6.1 – is a resolution for council to endorse pre-budget approval of $5,000 to sponsor the Festival of the Sound’s opening weekend this summer.

10.4.2 – is a by-law to update the by-laws regulating the fees and service charges for planning services. This follows up council discussions over the past few meetings.

There’s more, but these are the key topics as far as I can tell. See you Tuesday night. If you want to know what went down last year at council I have compiled all of the council minutes into a single PDF document that can be easily searched.

There is a meeting on the 6th between Parry Sound, the Archipelago and some other municipalities to discuss the low water levels. You are not invited; this is an ‘only by invitation’ affair. But ‘traditional press’ may of course attend. If you have a Cogeco cable television subscription it should be broadcast at some point in the future. If you don’t, you are out of luck. I have asked town staff about what arrangements they are making for people like me who don’t have Cogeco television service. Making this meeting accessible to all residents would be consistent with their declared policy of fostering transparency.

Bridge Art – Adventure

BridgeArt - Explore

Council Meeting Summary – October 2, 2012

03 Wednesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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Good work! A packed agenda was completed with seven minutes to spare. This post will cover the key decisions of last night’s meeting. It’s worth reviewing the agenda preview post to get an idea of what issues were before council. (Here’s a link to that post.)

Meeting Highlights:

9.2.1 – Resolution Carried: A request to secure bids for the decommissioned ambulances. This was a no-brainer and it was good to see council quickly get to a decision.

9.2.2 – Resolution – Carried: A request to accept the IBI report on the Argyle EMS volunteer station. This is one of the administrative duties that council is required to handle as part of their responsibilities for emergency health service delivery in the West Parry Sound District. Council really needed to lean on town staff for direction on these issues, and they did.

9.3.1 – Resolution – Carried: A request to offer the closed Fleck Street Road allowance to 905888 Ontario at no charge in exchange for building a triplex on the site was approved. There was good discussion of the benefits in transferring land to private company for affordable housing at no cost. In the end it was agreed that it represented a win-win for the town, the builder and the community.

9.3.2 – Direction – Carried: This is a recommendation that no further action be taken with respect to the issue of fences. There was no discussion on this matter, just a vote.

9.3.3 – Resolutions – Defeated, Shelved and Carried: This series of resolutions concerning taxi regulations were dealt with in a manner such that discussions with Parry Sound Taxi would continue on. The discussion revealed the issue largely revolves around the approval process and who is responsible for what. Parry Sound Taxi wants to be responsible for the approval of drivers and indemnify the town. The town has concerns about this shift of responsibilities. I would similarly have concerns with the offer of indemnification. Even a $1 million insurance policy would not go far if there was an avoidable personal tragedy that could be blamed on the driver approval process. The town would certainly be sued in this situation. Perhaps if indemnification were on the order of $5 million the risk to the town might be reduced. Regardless, it seems the town and Parry Sound Taxi are moving forward with constructive discussion that should provide for a workable process to grant temporary taxi driver permits. Council will have a chance to see the proposal at least once more if it is brought forward as a by-law or by-law amendment.

9.4.1 – Resolutions, Carried: This covers rules regarding the use of social media by town staff on the job and at home. Enough said. There was no discussion by council on this resolution.

9.4.2 – Resolution – Carried: Acceptance of the town’s 2011 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements.

10.3.1 – By-law – Carried: Rezoning of properties on Louisa Street to permit development of residential housing.

10.3.2 – By-laws – Defeated, Defeated: One and three year agreements for the town to lease the St. Andrews parking lot were defeated. But, the town is willing to enter into further discussions with St. Andrews for a profit sharing lease arrangement. The idea is that the town would take responsibility for the lot’s management and maintenance and split the resulting ‘profit’ 50/50 with the Church. Let’s see if it flies. It seems a reasonable arrangement for both parties. St. Andrews receives revenue for what would be an empty lot, and the town is able to provide more parking for the Provincial Offenses Court and downtown shoppers.

10.3.3 – By-laws – Defeated, Shelved, Carried: The feature match lived up to its billing. By a 4 to 1 vote council approved an increase to $0.75 per hour in the parking meter rates starting January 1st, 2013. Parking fines will also be increased once approved by the provincial bureaucrats. No commentary to provide. If you want to know how it went down you should have been there, or make sure you tune into the Cogeco taped replay.

10.5.2 – By-law – Carried: Pepsi it is for the Bobby Orr Community Centre and the Charles W. Stockey Centre.

Other items:

I understood it being said, but may be wrong, that funding for public internet access at the library will be ending with the loss of a grant that has covered this cost. This is a blow to those who do not have home or work access to the internet. It also raises some concerns about an online/telephone only vote for council next year. I hope council can find a way to step in if necessary, even with the significant budget challenge they face.

The next council meeting is October 16th at 7:00 PM.

Bridge Art – Shine (Click image for larger version)

Bridge Art - Shine

Council Agenda Preview – October 2, 2012 Meeting

01 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Seguin Township, Town Council

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Wow! We have an agenda packed with more than can reasonably fit into the allotted three hour space. I have summarized the highlights (as I see them) and leave you to check out the agenda for other items of interest. [I apologize for the late posting of this preview. The council package was not to be found at the library as late as noon on Saturday, so I was required to step away from work earlier today to go over the package in the town hall lobby. Now that’s a nuisance. How about making it available online? Or providing me with a copy?]

Agenda Highlights:

4.2 – Correspondence: Seguin Township seems to be amenable to the transfer of Georgian Greens to Parry Sound. The only sticky condition seems to be the requirement that Seguin be reimbursed for $100,000 of expenses related to Georgian Greens. We’ll see how interested Georgian Greens is in becoming part of Parry Sound. If they want to make it happen the $100,000 is a relatively minor expense. This probably won’t be discussed at the meeting but will be followed up by staff with updates as appropriate.

4.5 – Correspondence: The DBA provided a letter regarding the parking rate increase. Reading their submitted materials it seems they have resigned themselves to an increase and will try and limit the amount of the increase. I have already expressed my position on this matter.

9.2.1 – Resolution: A request to secure bids for the decommissioned ambulances. If we are lucky we won’t need to pay for their disposal. They seem to have gone from bad to worse.

9.2.2 – Resolution: A request to accept the IBI report on the Argyle EMS volunteer station. It’s a detailed report that I didn’t have time to review.

9.3.1 – Resolution: A request to offer the closed Fleck Street Road allowance to 905888 Ontario (Morley Tucci) at no charge in exchange for building a triplex on the site. This is conditioned on the landlord for ten years charging a below market rate for the units which will offered to families on the District Social Service Administration Board waiting list.

9.3.2 – Direction: This is a recommendation that no further action be taken with respect to the issue of fences. The council package includes a significant discussion of fences and the issues that surround them. It’s worth reading.

9.3.3 – Resolutions: This is a series of resolutions concerning taxi regulations that I really can’t figure out from my skim through the materials. I hope that council will provide a clear idea of what the proposed resolutions mean to town residents and the taxi services.

9.4.1 – Resolutions: This covers rules regarding the use of social media by town staff on the job and at home. I guess it’s okay but I wish the town was providing direction to staff on what they should be doing to communicate town activities with residents, not what they shouldn’t be doing. The town’s current social media policy is poor. Getting information on official town events relies on the newspaper and a substandard website. How about using some of the ‘push’ media available to advise residents about upcoming events they subscribe to? This could range from upcoming council meetings to the schedule for free skating at the BOCC. It’s really not that hard, the Chamber does a great job of getting out the news on Twitter.

9.4.2 – Resolution: Acceptance of the town’s 2011 Audited Consolidated Financial Statements.

10.3.1 – By-law: Rezoning of properties on Louisa Street to permit development of residential housing.

10.3.2 – By-law: The St. Andrews parking lot is up for either a one or three year lease. From what I can tell the town is leasing the parking lot for $1,000 annually for use as a public parking area. Any revenues received in excess of the $1,000 lease amount will be remitted to the church. It seems like a win-win. The town will cover the costs of snow removal and repair.

10.3.3 – By-laws: And the feature match for this council meeting is an increase in parking rates and tickets for expired meetings. In one corner is the DBA, and in the other is town staff. Town staff is recommending that hourly parking rates be increased to $0.75. The DBA wants rates to be frozen at the Year 2000 rates. Current Vegas odds put town staff as a 3 to 1 favourites ;-). This could be quick or we could see council members tap dancing around the issue. How about a recorded vote?

10.5.2 – By-law: It looks as though we’ll be serving Pepsi-Cola at the Bobby Orr Community Centre and the Charles W. Stockey Centre. Like at least one of the council members my preference is Coke Zero. But hey, if it can shave a little more off the budget gap I’m all for it.

Have that cup of coffee, or Pepsi, before the meeting to get your shot of caffeine. It will be a long meeting. I wonder if we’ll have an official timekeeper for the session.

See you there. [Dang, I hate having to write these on Monday evenings.]

Bridge Art – Burn (Click image for larger version)

Bridge Art - Burn

Council Meeting Summary – September 4, 2012

05 Wednesday Sep 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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Last night’s meeting seemed to give signs of being a long meeting, but in the end it really wasn’t. That’s the benefit of postponing agenda items. The problem is that they always come back again. I’m not sure if staff is not preparing the agenda items so as to allow for a decision, or items are being brought to council before they are fully ‘baked’, or council is a little bit slow on the uptake, but it creates more work in the long run.

Meeting Highlights:

2.1.2 – a public meeting to consider rezoning part of the William Street Park elicited a number of letters and deputations in opposition. I think the people in opposition have a fair point in being worried that this is a potential loss of green space that can never be recovered. I have sent a note to town staff asking them to point me to the official town plan regarding parks and recreation area. This proposed loss of part of the William Street Park needs to be consistent with the overall plan for this type of space within the town. The William Street neighbourhood is rapidly becoming a high density area and more rather than less recreation and park space would seem to be appropriate.

5.1 and 9.3.3 – items related to the taxi permitting process were postponed until the September 18th council meeting after the taxi company has a chance to review the new by-law proposal.

9.3.1 – the road allowance closure by-law for the residence at the former water pumping station was approved with little discussion.

9.4.1 – this item, a continuation of the Service Delivery Review Program was defeated (effectively postponed) rather than actually postponed. It will return again in the next couple of months as a new agenda item.

9.4.2 – council approved the terms of reference for the Citizens Finance Committee adding new members.

9.4.3 and 9.5.1 – requests for approval/endorsement of the town’s Strategic Plan policies and procedures as well as the Waterfront Committee’s procedures and policies were approved.

10.3.1 – an item relating to renewing the parking agreement on the St. Andrew’s Church parking lot was not finalized. There was considerable confusion about what was implied and what should be done. It is also tied into the parking issue (Item 10.3.2) which was postponed to the October 2nd meeting of council. So we’ll see when it gets addressed again.

10.3.2 – a series of by-laws, resolutions and directions to raise the parking fees and fines for parking violations was postponed until the October 2nd meeting at the request of the Downtown Business Association. In an interesting tactical approach the DBA suggested rather than raise the parking rates and fines the town should consider dropping them altogether. In my opinion much of their argument does not make sense. But rather than start the discussion here I’ll summarize my thoughts in a separate post.

10.3.3 – the site plan approval request for 80 Bowes Street with I Fuels Ltd was approved. It looks like we will be getting another gas station and convenience store.

10.4.1 – the social media by-law was approved. I’m not sure anyone besides Councillor Williams really understood what it meant and its implications. Oh well, I imagine it will have zero impact on anything for the foreseeable future.

Bridge Art – Paddle

TOPS Council Agenda Preview – 2012-03-06

05 Monday Mar 2012

Posted by in Parry Sound, Town Council

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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.