Springwater council should follow the wishes of most residents and control the growth

Local Politics – My View – Bill French January 29 2012

I attended the ministry briefing on the Amended Growth Plan for the Simcoe Sub Region in Alliston on January 19th. The ministry and growth secretariat have provided a document that if properly implemented and followed will in fact allow the area to grow at a sustainable rate. 

But like all documents and regulations of this nature, it will be the County and local Springwater’s application of the Plan that will determine whether it will be sustainable. The final regulations I hope will clarify some gaping holes that the development community will drive through if the local and county councils fail to do their jobs.

I commented previously that our local council has the full authority to approve the way it wants the township to grow. The Amendment confirms that. They must take control and not be overwhelmed by developers, planners, engineers and lawyers with ideas that may be counter to the health and welfare of Springwater.

Springwater could amend their Official Plan and restrict development to the 6,400 people that the Province has proposed. Springwater is not a primary residential growth area or urban node. So if the council of Springwater does their job, they will follow the wishes of most residents and control the growth in our communities. The large developments around Midhurst are not envisioned in the growth plan as most of the criteria are not met as outlined in the Growth Plan for the Golden Horseshoe. 

I hope our Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors read the Toronto Star on the failure of Mississauga’s Development Charges to keep up with the cost of required infrastructure and services. The residents there are facing a 7% increase even with cutbacks in services. This is what I have warned against in my numerous articles, even though many on council and senior staff are convinced we can stay ahead of the costs with development charges. 

I was reviewing the presentation for the final 2012 budget that was presented to council. One thing on slide 28 jumped out at me. It read “Salaries are slightly higher – Some downsizing done but offset by Council approved position changes”. If we reduced staff at the top administrative level and combined functions and increased efficiencies and use of manpower in operations, how can the staff costs be higher? I have requested information on the rate increases of the senior staff and I suspect they received much more than the 3% that the rest of the township staff received. It begs the question, “if we are asking department staff to do more and only receive 3%, is it not fair that the executive group do the same”? It sounds like the senior staff may have received significant increases which I estimate may be anywhere between 5 and 10%. Is that fair? It is unfortunate that these matters are settled behind closed doors.

Deputy Mayor McLean made a good suggestion at the last council meeting. He suggested that there should be a council report card on how they are doing. Unfortunately it sounds like they will evaluate themselves. I have many students I teach that would love that concept. So I will do a little report card of my own based on their strategic plan and some other matters that are important. I base these rating on my presence at most council meetings. I will give the council a P for pass, N for needed improvement and an F for failing and explain my reasoning. 

Meetings P Good effort allowing questions at council and planning meetings but could be a little more open to comments also

Town Hall Meetings N No regular ward meetings with council to discuss local issues

Economic Development Committee N Only internal committee, no new jobs, few times discussed at council

Economic Development Strategy F Very little done with the almost $30,000 study done by previous council

Promotion of Elmvale main street N Some support but not much as Elmvale is still losing main street businesses

Springwater Brand P Signage is underway

Promotion and development of existing businesses F No purchasing policy for preferred local suppliers of services

Growth allocation F Following developer lead strategies rather creating its own phasing strategies

Improve Roads and Bridges P Dedicating investment in previously ignored need

Drinking Water N Still problems with some of the municipal water in small developments

Long Term Capital Plan P Asset management appears to be in place

Creation of Finance Committee P Budget Committee did a good job

Procurement Policy N Develop local business preferred list for products and Services

Renewable energy N Need some say in local initiatives

Environmental Impact N Fleet selection, car pooling,

Growth decisions F Create growth in existing walking communities like Elmvale

Recycling and Waste N Become test area for some alternatives rather than just relegating to County

Review Potential of Alternate Energy for township buildings P Studies to be undertaken

Board of Education EDHS P Shared facilities at Arena

Health Services P Shared facilities at Knox building

Food Bank P Shared facilities at Knox building

Volunteerism and recognition P Good programs in place

Recreation P Good support for local facilities

Ratepayer response N Allow more interaction with councilors and constituents rather than controlled messaging

Council Corner P Nice addition under this council

Reporting of Council initiatives P Adequate information

Overall I would give this council a passing grade. Most councilors do their home work and are truly interested in making Springwater a better place for all of us. We do have some on council that need to pull up their sox and be better informed of matters on the agenda so they can make improved decisions with township matters. I do see a disconnect between what communities want to see and some of the council’s direction and decisions. More dialogue and town hall events could easily correct that flaw.