Feeling fed up…

By Nathan Taylor Orillia Packet and Times July 26 2010 
and the opinions even more so — during a meeting Saturday in Coldwater, but one theme was consistent: Change is needed in Simcoe County.
“We’ve been so complacent, and I include myself in this,” Don Morgan told a crowd of about 50 that attended the meeting at the Coldwater Community Centre, organized by AWARE Simcoe (Action Watch Affecting Residents Everywhere).
Morgan is interim chair of AWARE Simcoe, a nonpartisan citizens group hoping to encourage government accountability and environmental sustainability, among other things.
Before the lively public forum aspect began, the crowd heard from Bernard Pope, of Ontario Farmland Preservation. He spoke about the critical situation of Ontario farmland being sold off for purposes such as electricity generation. Pope referenced the Horne farm in Orillia, which is home to Lakehead University’s permanent Orillia campus, scheduled to open this fall.
“I’m not going to comment on that, but… it is what it is. It will never be a farm again,” he said.
He challenged the audience to become involved with an issue in their community.
“We shouldn’t be fighting politicians,” he said. “We should be helping politicians with our agenda. They don’t have an agenda. They are our spokespeople.”
Using farmland for large-scale solar-power generation was also an issue for some. Morgan said he contacted the premier’s office and suggested the province use what it already has. For example, Morgan said, why not put the solar panels in the corridors where there are already a number of hydro towers?
Orillia resident and activist Allan Millard attended Saturday’s meeting and spoke about government transparency and accountability. One of the biggest municipal roadblocks to ensuring transparency and accountability, he said, is when councils make decisions in closed session.
“Almost every time council says it’s going to have a closed session, they do it not in accordance with the (Municipal) Act,” he said.
Millard encouraged the audience to request a municipal investigator look into the matter “every time they hold a closed meeting.”
“There is practical action you can take,” he said.
The ward system is another wall to scale, he said, adding it “exists for the benefit of the politicians.”
“Get rid of the ward system and get rid of the politicians who benefit from it,” he said.
A resident of Ramara Township challenged Millard’s stance on the ward system, saying it allows for better access to councillors and results in fewer instances of politicians “passing the buck.”
Jeffrey Olimer, an Orillia council hopeful, told the crowd “Orillia has been operating in this insular mentality for too long, thinking they don’t have to have anything to do with the County of Simcoe.”
Orillia is not a member of the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and has a landfill near the lakeshore, he noted.
Gord Roehner, who is running for council in Oro-Medonte Township, aired his concerns with the township’s plan to put a construction-material recycling operation on the Oro Moraine.
Those are just a few of the comments that made the meeting diverse and productive, Morgan said.
Morgan was also pleased to hear from Michael Starr, of Victoria Harbour, a former criminal lawyer who told those in attendance to seek legal advice when needed.
“We’re certainly going to try and gain some insights, legal-wise, on what can and can’t be done,” Morgan said.
After the public forum, residents split into discussion groups, with Orillia and Oro- Medonte comprising the largest group and making for some “very, very intense” discussion of the matters at hand, Morgan said.
“Through AWARE, we’re hoping to get smaller groups of AWARE dealing with those local issues,” he said, noting it would allow for a tighter individual focus on residents’ respective communities.
In a press release issued Saturday, AWARE Simcoe draws attention to the “gloomy picture” contained in the county’s 2010 strategic plan financial projections.
“At the June 22 meeting, county councillors congratulated themselves on having spent a ’30-cent dollar’ on capital projects,” the release states.
“The problem is they don’t have the 30- cent dollars,” Morgan added.
AWARE Simcoe notes current capital expenditures will fall from the current 35% of total expenditures to 11% by 2013; revenues will decline by more than $100 million in 2010; and debt costs will rise from $5.4 million currently to $22 million by 2020.
“We’re almost bankrupt,” Morgan said. Foresight could have prevented many issues in the county, he said. Examples of how it was damagingly lacking in Orillia, he said, are the expensive contaminated multiuse recreation facility site and having a landfill on the lake.
“At the age of 70, I would like to leave at least some sort of positive legacy for my two girls,” he said.
AWARE Simcoe will hold another meeting Aug. 14 in the Father Ellard Hall of St. Mary’s Church, 63 Elgin St., in Collingwood, from 10 a.m. to noon.
For more information on AWARE Simcoe, visit www.aware-simcoe.ca.
ntaylor@orilliapacket.com