Wasaga mayor looks to create committees for tourism, downtown, high school

WASAGA BEACH — Mayor Brian Smith has started the ball rolling on his campaign goals.

On Tuesday night, with deliberations on the municipal budget safely out of the way, Smith presented council’s committee of the whole with three notices of motion to create committees to look at tourism, the creation of a downtown core, and a high school for Wasaga Beach.

The motions will be deliberated on at council’s next meeting, on Feb. 17.

“I said throughout the campaign that tourism, business, the whole nine yards, has to be a partnership between business and the town,” he said. “We have to find ways to make that happen so we can move forward … we’ve got an open canvas, and we need to hunker down now that the budget is done, developing Beach Area 1 and building a main street the citizens and tourists can enjoy each day of the year.

“I don’t believe the local residents leave town to eat and shop, because they want to – I believe they do it because they’re looking for selection because we don’t have enough of that here,” he said. “Until we create that, we’re going to continue to see people shop outside Wasaga Beach.”

Smith’s first motion, if adopted by council, would see the terms of reference set for an advisory committee to look at special events and tourism.

The second motion directs staff to review the process of creating a corporation that would oversee the development of an official downtown core.

The third motion would create a task force to look at establishing a high school in the community.

Smith acknowledged that though the municipality has gone down the road of trying to convince the local school board – and the Ministry of Education – to build a high school and been unsuccessful, it was worth another shot.

“Part of my campaign platform, and other members of council, was to continue the fight to bring a high school to Wasaga Beach,” Smith said. “I think it’s important to form a task force with knowledgeable people in the education field and other areas to look at how we’re going to go about and make that happen.

“We have to explore every avenue, we can’t stop fighting, we can’t stop asking,” he said. “Wasaga Beach is one of the largest communities in North America that doesn’t have a high school, and the argument or reason that was given to the last task force and council is just not acceptable to me.”

Smith said about 800 high school-aged students are bused to secondary schools in Elmvale, Stayner, and Collingwood. He also pointed out the tax dollars sent on to the school boards from Wasaga taxpayers

“My question is always the same: explain to me and the people of Wasaga Beach why our children don’t deserve what every other child in every other community has,” he said. “There’s no doubt there are going to be roadblocks, and there’s no doubt there are the naysayers who say it’s never going to happen. I refuse to accept that.

“If we don’t fight anymore, guaranteed it will never happen.”