Main street, high school, medical clinic among issues at AWARE meeting

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe
The future of main-street Elmvale and the future of Elmvale’s high school were among the issues raised by residents who turned out to an AWARE Springwater meeting last week.
“Unless something changes dramatically, you’re going to have a ghost town here,” realtor Harry Hunt told the meeting.
As a main-street businessman, he’s seen a steady decline in the vitality of the village. Now, he said, the high taxation rate combined with the seasonal nature of business in town makes survival increasingly challenging. 
Once a self-governing community, Elmvale finds itself marginalized in Springwater Township where the bulk of the population is to the south, in what used to be Vespra Township, pre-amalgamation.
Heather Sewell of the Chamber of Commerce was upbeat about the future of main street although she admitted that the release of a Focus Elmvale plan has been held up by uncertainty regarding some businesses.
“Residents do not really support local merchants,” she said regretfully. The Dollar Store – which has just changed hands – cannot compete with Walmart.
George Allen urged that the questionnaire that AWARE Simcoe is sending out to candidates include a question on what they would do to save the high school – a key element of Elmvale’s future as a viable community
Also of concern was opening lines of communication between council and the people.
Scott Graham said he would like to see an accounting of what relationship the fees charged by the township bear to the work performed.
Sandy Agnew, an Oro-Medonte councillor who is an AWARE Simcoe member, said his municipality brought in a consultant to train staff to be responsive to the needs of residents – providing information beyond the questions being asked, because residents don’t always know of the multitude of agencies and levels of government that might be involved in approvals and permits.
He described it as “101 for citizens.” And, he added, “there needs to be a mindset for openness.”
Several people raised the issue of the village medical clinic – an important service for seniors that’s being discontinued by Midland’s Huronia District Hospital. There was talk of the “two Tonys” (Mayor Tony Guergis and Deputy Mayor Tony Hope) having met with hospital officials. But, noted Cathy Ritchie-Kerr, who attends Springwater council meetings, no information has been forthcoming.
She urged the importance of a public question period (as happens in Oro-Medonte) at the end of council meetings so that people can inquire about issues like the medical clinic if they don’t come up on the agenda.