Instead of addressing Midhurst concerns, Collins surprised

Letter to the Barrie Examiner April 26 2012

(Re: ‘Growing attraction; Springwater Township officials say plan for massive growth in Midhurst made in good faith’ in the April 19 edition of the Examiner)

I read Springwater Township Mayor Linda Collin’s comments about the Midhurst Secondary Plan with a great deal of disappointment.

This plan would convert the quiet village of Midhurst, population 3,500, into a city the size of Orillia by adding 28,600 new residents.

Very few people in Midhurst would object to adding new residents but, upon learning of Springwater council’s plans, they have been asking questions about why the numbers are so high.

The Midhurst Ratepayers’ Association was created to provide Springwater council with public input regarding developments in the village.

Accordingly, a petition was created and 1,400 people signed to indicate their opposition to this ambitious plan.

The petition was presented to council on April 16. As well, delegation members asked the council to tell them how the culture of Midhurst would be protected when there are significant concerns about traffic and environmental issues. .

When asked by Examiner reporter Cheryl Browne about her reaction to the delegation, instead of addressing the residents’ concerns, Mayor Collins expressed surprise that there were any concerns.

She stated that there were many public meetings which should have acquainted the public with all aspects of the proposed developments.

“We made the Midhurst Secondary Plan in good faith, in that we’d mitigated the concerns the residents were raising, knowing we need to preserve the culture of Midhurst,” Collins said.

It is disappointing to hear that she feels that Midhurst residents should be happy with the actions of council and she implies that all the problems have been resolved.

The problem for Midhurst residents is that most of the previous public meetings did not include the number of people expected in the new development.

Instead the impression was created that Midhurst would grow by about 1,000 to 2,000 people over the next 20 years.

It was only a month before council approved the secondary plan that two critical public meetings revealed the true scope of the township’s plans for enormous growth in Midhurst.

Both of these meetings were slipped in near the end of summer of 2008, on Aug. 28 and Sept. 9.

As a result, these meetings were poorly attended and few people in Midhurst were alerted to the size of the development.

The township was silent on its plans for Midhurst until last November, when a public meeting was held to give the details on the huge changes expected. This meeting was well-attended and has prompted a lot of questions about the future of the village.

Fortunately for Midhurst residents, the Province of Ontario is also alarmed about the township’s plans for massive Midhurst growth and is taking the case to the Ontario Municipal Board.

The Midhurst ratepayers are hopeful that this appeal will be successful and that development in Midhurst can be village-sized, rather than city-sized.

Paul Fleming

President, Midhurst Ratepayers’ Association