Simcoe County inaugural: Orsi backs down on dump site remark

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe December 16 2010
Oops.
Orillia Mayor Angelo Orsi used the “D” word.
“I know that there’s a need for a future dump site or some sort of waste management solution,” Orsi told Simcoe County Council’s inaugural meeting this afternoon. “We really want to be part of that, I think it’s something we can talk about now versus later.”
Frissons of unease rippled through the public gallery where some Site 41 and AWARE Simcoe types were on hand to observe the election of key officers for the next two years (half of council’s four-year term).
Tackled at the reception afterwards, Orsi said he didn’t mean it. “Not a new dumpsite, I’m talking about a new waste management solution.”
“You mentioned ‘dump site,’” he was reminded.
“I kind of misspoke,” he explained.
He acknowledged he had no ideas “at this time” about how to tackle the waste problem. Fortunately, Orsi was chatting to Midland Mayor Gord McKay when he was interrupted by our questions. McKay is chair of Zero Waste Simcoe and was vice-chair of the subcommittee that developed a solid waste management strategy under the last council.
So over to McKay – what’s in the works, Gord?
McKay harkened back to the 59 recommendations in the waste strategy that was finalized this past summer. With proper implementation, many of them will get the county a long way to Zero Waste, he said. It’s a matter of upping the targets. “The basic material is there, it’s a matter of progressively going after it.”
As expected, Wasaga Beach Mayor Cal Patterson was acclaimed as warden. There were three candidates for deputy warden – Tay Mayor Scott Warnock, Oro-Medonte Mayor Harry Hughes and a late entrant, New Tecumseth Deputy Mayor Rick Milne.
Milne (nominated by Wasaga Beach Deputy Mayor David Foster and seconded by Adjala-Tosorontio Deputy Mayor Mary Small Brett) came in third on the first ballot and dropped out of contention.
Hughes (nominated by Ramara Deputy Mayor Basil Clarke and seconded by his own deputy Ralph Hough) won the deputy warden position in the runoff, beating Warnock (nominated by Severn Deputy Mayor Sandra Cox and seconded by Midland Mayor Gord McKay).
Hughes highlighted the waste issue as one of the greatest tests for this term of council. “We must achieve a higher level of waste diversion than has ever been achieved,” he said. “Success in this area is our only option.”
Looks like it’s going to be up to Hughes to partner with McKay and others on council to show leadership, because Patterson, interviewed by local media on the waste strategy issue, did not show any indication that he’ll be stepping to the forefront with ambitious diversion goals. “It will be up to council itself as to how aggressive they want to be with it,” he said.
Councillors elected the chairs and vice-chairs of the three key standing committees:
-Performance Management: Chair is Ramara’s Basil Clarke (defeating Tay’s Warnock and Cooper of Collingwood); vice-chair is Bradford West Gwillimbury Mayor Doug White (acclaimed).
-Human Services: Chair is Cleaview’s deputy Mayor Alicia Savage (acclaimed); vice-chair is David Foster of Wasaga Beach (defeating Cox of Severn).
-Corporate Services: Chair is Clearview Mayor Ken Ferguson (acclaimed); vice-chair is Collingwood Deputy Mayor Rick Lloyd (defeating Oro-Medonte’s Hough, Adjala-Tosorontio Mayor Tom Walsh and Midland Deputy Mayor Stephan Kramp).
FOR THE RECORD
Partial transcript of the speech of David Foster of Wasaga Beach, running for vice-chair of the Human Services Committee: “…I believe the true measure of wealth of a society is not measured in the hard assets such as roads, bridges, buildings and fleet – sorry about that, corporate services – but in soft services, on how we deliver programs, face challenges such as homelessness and hunger, poverty, health and unemployment and other challenges. It’s critical to Simcoe County that we have strong support systems for all our residents, with a specific focus on both our youngest and our oldest members. For the former we have to provide safe nurturing environments where they can learn, play and grow, as they represent the future of Simcoe County. And the latter deserve nothing less than environments that will allow them to maintain their independence and dignity for the balance of their years… Finally I wanted to digress just for a moment to mention a little experiment I was involved in last week. It was called Food Bank Challenge… live for an entire week on $25 of food that represented that which would be provided by the local food bank. No fresh fruit, veggies, dairy, meat, and way too many empty carbs. Not only that but we were provided with a real-life case scenario and asked to access resources for housing, schooling, legal issues, transportation and employment….It was an extremely eye-opening experience…”
Foster was elected.
Partial transcript of the speech of Stephan Kramp of Midland, running for vice-chair of the Corporate Services Committee: “…My personal development and leadership qualities were shaped by the relationships that were founded through the remarkable awakening of our residents in a movement to protect our environment and make our government at all levels more open and accessible. And that is where our challenges lie for this new council. The county has made strides in attempting to communicate more effectively with all residents and building common pride in our greater good. But communications strategy and glossy booklets are not going to in themselves build the relationships necessary to bridge the gap between county council and many of our residents. We have a choice for a new beginning, a choice to demonstrate that it is not business as usual at county council, it is time to walk the walk. … It means we will know what Zero Waste means and have green bins available in the conference room and lunch, abandon the Styrofoam soup bowl, and send back the packaging for Simcoe County ties and pins… We will be mindful of the environment and taxpayers at every turn. There is much work to be done. Our residents want answers to their questions about the monitoring of closed landfills that are leaking trichloroethylene and they want us to do so in a timely acceptable manner. Our residents are not our foes but our greatest resource. As your vice chair of corporate services, I am ready and prepared to reach out to those most distrustful and disillusioned residents… There are some people who believe that the word politics is derived from the word “poly” meaning many, and “tick” meaning bloodsucking parasite – but we know better. Politics is a noble profession, if not the world’s oldest… and can achieve our noblest goals and objectives…”
Kramp was not successful in his bid for the committee vice-chair.