Committee, county council to vote this month on Site 41 property sale

By Kate Harries AWARE Simcoe June 13 2011

Hot on the heels of growing enthusiasm for Dr. William Shotyk’s proposal for a water innovation research facility at Site 41 comes news that the County of Simcoe intends to declare the property surplus and put it up for sale.

The notice was posted by County Clerk Brenda Clark last week, on June 9. Public comment is invited by June 21. 

It details three parcels of land and advises that “that the Council of the Corporation of the County of Simcoe proposes to enact a resolution to declare the subject lands surplus for the purpose of selling the subject lands after publication of thisnotice.” One parcel, the central “disturbed portion, is to be retained.

The resolution is to be presented to County Council at its regular meeting Tuesday June 28. First it will be considered by the county’s Performance Management committee this Thursday, June 16. It is listed on the committee’s agenda as an in-camera item. While it is appropriate to discuss details of the purchaser and selling price in camera, it would be strange if the matter had reached that stage. 

The broader question of whether the property could best be used to further the research of Dr. Shotyk and other scientists into the area’s exceptionally clean groundwater belongs in the public arena. We want to hear councillors’ positions on this issue. We trust they are not slipping back into Guergis-style politics in which citizens are kept out of the loop and administration rules the roost.

When Shotyk appeared before County Council May 24, he was asked how long it would take to bring the project to fruition. Shotyk, who is moving from his position as director of the Intitute of Earth Sciences at the University of Heidelberg to the University of Alberta, where he will take the Bocock Chair in Sustainable Agriculture, estimated it would take a year to fine-tune the project and another year to come up with a business plan.

The County’s notice includes a map showing that the central area (which contains dump infrastructure) is to be retained. It may be that the county’s plan is to offer Shotyk that portion of the property, which has been rendered unusable for agriculture. But when asked at council last month whether that would be an acceptable option, Shotyk said no. The disturbed area in itself is a liability, he told council, and to be sustainable, his plan involves the entire Site 41 property. The impact of innovative agricultural practices are an essential part of the research model, he said.

Shotyk suggested the county keep its options open by leasing the property to local farmers for two years. 

Council took no position but voted in favour of having staff do a report on Shotyk’s proposal. No report has yet been made public.

So the resolution going to Performance Management committee and council this month would seem premature – and points to a decision having been made by some entity other than county council. 

AWARE Simcoe urges residents who support Dr. Shotyk’s plan to talk to their mayor and deputy mayor about what this resolution means.

It’s also important that the debate – including any report from staff on the Shotyk proposal, if one has been written – be brought out from behind closed doors. Urge your mayor and deputy mayor to ensure that council discuss in public the political aspects of the disposition of Site 41 – eg whether the County should lend support to a project that would undertake world-class research into the pure water in the Site 41 area, one of Simcoe County’s truly amazing natural features 

As the matter goes to Performance Management first, the following county councillors will be the first politicians to vote, this Thursday, on the resolution and decide whether their deliberations are going to be in public.

Performance Management committee members are: 

Chair Councillor Basil Clarke (Ramara) 705-327-3426

Vice-chair Councillor Doug White (Bradford West Gwillimbury) 905-775-5366 x 1200

Councillor Sandra Cooper (Collingwood) (705)445-8451  

Councillor Dan Davidson (Innisfil) 705-294-1170

Councillor Harry Hughes (Oro-Medonte) (705) 487-2128

Councillor Mike MacEachern (New Tecumseth) 705-435-0220

Councillor Patrick Marion (Penetanguishene) 705-549-7453

Councillor Gord McKay (Midland) 705-526-4275

Councillor Ray Millar (Tiny) (705) 526-4204

Councillor Mary Small Brett (Adjala Tosorontio)  519-941-5828

Councillor Scott Warnock (705) 534-3933

Warden Cal Patterson  (705) 726-9300 Ext: 1226

The notice posted on the county website states that any person who wishes to comment on the declaring surplus and selling of the subject property should submit comments in writing to Clerk Brenda Clark by June 21. Her contact information is:

BRENDA CLARK, COUNTY CLERK

The Corporation of the County of Simcoe

Administration Centre

1110 Hwy. 26

Midhurst, Ontario, L0L 1X0

brenda.clark@simcoe.ca

Fax: 705-725-1285

 

Background