On October
27th we will be asked to exercise our democratic right by electing
our new municipal council for the 2014 to 2018 time period. Many will get
involved and really study what people like me will promise to do in the next
four years. Sadly most people will ignore what is happening and will simply not
exercise their right to choose those that will run the Township of Springwater.
Just over 30% of our eligible residents voted in the last municipal election in
2010.
For the
most part, I believe most people that seek election at the local level do so
with the best of intentions. If you look at our current council, none of them
are outright dishonest and are doing what they think is right. I definitely feel
some of them have not done their job, have ignored the pleas of the
constituents and have lost sight of the reason they were elected in the first
place.
I see the
next election as pivotal for the township and will set the path for either
controlled growth and prosperity or mega growth and the effective destruction
of the Township as it exists today.
People and
especially those in Midhurst are very concerned and involved and rightfully so.
But they are not only concerned about what may happen to them but are also
truly concerned about the terrible impact on Springwater as a whole. They do
believe in the concept of Springwater being a community of communities. Whether
you live in Elmvale, Hillsdale, Phelpston, Anten Mills, Minesing, Snow Valley,
Fergusonvale, Apto, Centre Vespra or Grenfel, we will all pay the price for
what happens in our two larger settlement areas of Midhurst and Elmvale.
I happened
to watch a special on the Documentary Channel on the invasion of Wind Turbines
in Upper New York State and how the Meredith Town Council with great intentions
and concern for green energy embraced the idea. It took a group much like the
Midhurst Ratepayers Association to bring sanity to the situation. The
similarities were interesting. A citizens group in Meredith New York was formed,
started attending council meetings, showed their disagreement with the plan and
just like in Midhurst, their message fell on deaf ears. Meredith fixed the
problem. They elected a council that simply listened and took their concerns
into consideration and have passed a by-law to outlaw Wind Turbines. The only
ones that are upset are the landowners that would have profited from the 400
foot structures on their property. If the Midhurst Secondary Plan is cancelled
by an executive order from a provincial minister it will only be the landowners,
that would have prospered by selling the land to the out of town investors, that will be upset.
Midhurst is
one issue. I think there are two other important things to consider as you
choose who you want to vote for in any of the council positions in the next
election.
Transparency
with our current council has been slowly reduced. They only agreed to the 10
minute question period at Council and Planning Meetings after months of
pressure from residents at the beginning of the term. Unfortunately they cut
the question period opportunities in half by cutting the number of council
meetings to once a month.
Debt and
Reserves, which I addressed in my budget articles, are a serious issue in our
township. This council missed the opportunity three times to actually reduce
spending and simply focused on low tax increases by borrowing and emptying our
bank account. That can only work for the short term.
It is time
to shake up our local government and really run this township based on every
resident’s view of self-determination. In our case we can only do that by
electing a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillors that follow the will of the
people and not be solely influenced by a small group of self-serving landowners
and out of township corporations.
Get
involved. Many of you have grandchildren, as I do, and it is our responsibility
to leave a legacy and say that we did our best to make our wonderful Township
of Springwater a model of what rural living can be in the province of Ontario.
It is up to
you and me!
