My view: Springwater News, continued

By Bill French Springwater News

My lead in on this one is “Holy Crap!”

This is what Jennifer Coughlin, Springwater Deputy Mayor, published on her Facebook Page. Her words are in italics and my comments in parenthesis and bold print. You decide if she really is supporting local business.

Coughlin writes:

Absolute BLATANT LIE! Absolute BLATANT LIE!

In today’s edition of the Springwater News, (referring to the March 4th edition) owner/editor Michael Jacobs states that I was one of three members of Council who “voted not to support local businesses in their municipality.”

This entirely false statement pertains to a vote of Council regarding a print media report on February 17th. ….. Jacobs, in his self proclaimed bias musing, does elaborate on comments made by other members of Council, however failed to mention the following.

….. I affirm that I would not support an increase to the print media budget and indicate that we could redistribute the existing budget to include communication in the Barrie Advance (Doesn’t that take away half of the Springwater News Revenue, a Springwater business and give it to a Barrie Business?)

I suggest that we reach out to our residents to determine how they would prefer to receive municipal updates. (Idea has merit but that was not the subject matter of the Report. The Report specifically was on the use of Print Media, nothing else.)

I state that “under no circumstance am I suggesting that we pull out of print media” and subsequently indicate my support for option three in the report (Option 3- That the Township advertises on a weekly basis shared between the Barrie Advance and the Springwater News.) with no budget increase. (How can you do that unless you cut the Springwater News budget in half?)

Again … I say that the township needs to “remain present in every issue of the Springwater News”, and yet again two minutes later reiterate that “we remain visual in the Springwater News”. (How do you do that with no budget increase and be in two Print Media at the same time? I guess she thinks Springwater News will merrily still provide all the free space that they have for years for the Mayor’s column, Library and other announcements, even though the Township would have turned their backs on them. I wish I lived in her fantasy world along with her mentor?)

I voted against option one, the status quo “that the Township continue with the ongoing services of the Springwater News on a bi-weekly basis and does not engage the regular services of the Barrie Advance”. (I don’t think that is a vote of support.)

Just as there are some residents who either can not get or choose not to receive the Advance, there are residents who choose not to open the Springwater News (Well we know by her post that our Deputy Mayor reads it.). Just as there are residents who rely fully on electronic news sites and social media to keep up with what’s happening locally. (This was not the subject of the Report. Possibly an attempt to distract the audience I guess.)

Bill French 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.