Springwater hits pause on mayor’s 90 day pay suspension

Bu Bill French Springwater News November 12 2020

In a special closed session of Council prior to the regular Council Meeting on Nov 4th, it appears Council sought legal advice on the motion they passed at the Oct 21^st meeting to suspend Mayor’s Allen’s pay for a breach of the Code of Conduct arising from incidents following the Warden’s annual golf tournament in 2019 at Vespra Hills.

As reported earlier a complaint was lodged because of his conduct following the event that also resulted in Criminal Charges being laid by the OPP of Impaired and Dangerous Driving. The legal matter was resolved in Collingwood Court this past July 31st, where Mayor Allen pled guilty to the reduced charge of Careless driving and received a $1,000 fine, a four-month licence suspension and a one-year ban on driving while there’s alcohol in his system.

However, that does not resolve the Code of Conduct violation, but in my opinion certainly supports the move by Council to suspend pay for his conduct.

The resolutions from the closed session resulted in the pay suspension being put on hold until another Integrity Commissioner reviews the case and makes a decision whether Mayor Allen’s behaviour was a breach of the Code. What troubles me is that the Township has already paid $12,000 to $15,000 for the firm Principles Integrity to rule on the case and they failed to do so, which to me suggests they did not finish the job they were paid to do.

Stay tuned. I suggest you watch the Nov 4^th meeting near the end to see the action taken by Council.

Springwater Water and Sewer rate increases

I was quite impressed at thoroughness and detail of the Watson and Associated update on Springwater’s Municipal Water and Sewer Systems, presented at a special meeting of Council on Nov. 4th.

The reality is that the cost of operating multiple systems is expensive and one of the many reasons I object to the continuing urban sprawl in rural Ontario. In Springwater we have 11 individual water supply/treatment facilities, some serving as few as 42 homes and in total service less than half the homes in the Township as most homes and businesses are on private services. Currently we have 4 wastewater systems (Elmvale, Centre Vespra, Snow Valley Highlands and Snow Valley Lowlands but none in Midhurst or Hillsdale, our other two designated growth centres in addition to Elmvale??).

The number of wastewater facilities will grow to 5 with the onslaught of the mega Midhurst Secondary Plan sprawl. Today only about 20% of all homes in Springwater are connected to municipal sewers. Over the next ten years there is capital cost estimate for Water improvements of $44 million with $37 million being contributed by the developers for a new system to service the new MSP developments and $90 million for sewer capital costs with about $79 million being contributed by the developers for a new system to service the new MSP developments.

So about $7 million for water and about $11 million for sewer must be funded by the 4,124 municipal water users and 1,852 municipal wastewater users. In the end it will result in long term increases in existing user rates to keep our municipal services in good operating condition and ensure that when you turn on the tap, you have fresh water and when you flush the toilet things go somewhere.

I suggest you view the entire Nov 4^th 5:00 p.m. Special Council Meeting where the update was provided and the proposed financing options available.

New Community Hub Land Purchase Approved

One thing that bothered me for years, even before serving as Mayor, was that there was no focused plan on developing a community hub, especially in the Midhurst area which was designated for significant growth. We have a wonderful administration centre and sports fields at Nursery Park but the facilities are not close to anything.

I questioned the location of the new Administration Centre built in 2009 being located in the middle of nowhere. As communities grow it is important to have compact available services that are in walking distance. I am pleased that the work we started in the first year of my term is now complete and the Township signed a deal to purchase about 50 acres at the north west corner of Bayfield and Snow Valley Road which is known as the MNR’s Hasty Tract. The first project on this property will be a new fire station that has been in the works for many years. There is a good possibility that the County’s North Barrie Paramedic Station will take up some space.

In the longer term, when the Township grows, this is the ideal location for the new proposed recreation complex and central library and I dare to say even a new Administration Centre incorporating community shared services, This is a very positive step forward and I thank those on Council that shared the Vision we created and executed the deal. Bravo!

Again, please remember these are my thoughts and I am not asking you to agree. I respect your freedom of expression and encourage you to SPEAK UP, before that freedom is taken from us!!

Bill served as Mayor of Springwater and a County of Simcoe Councillor from 2014 to 2018 and has taught business at the college level for over 15 years.