June 22, 2010

Some good public policy decisions have been made recently.  First is the Safe Parks strategy that will see a broad based Community approach to dealing with park issues around the City that will inculde among other things, the implentation of an anti-loitering device as a pilot project.  I'm please with what Community Services Committee came up with as recemmendations to Council and even more pleased that those recommendations were accepted.

Last night Council also approved in principle the need to extend Fire Service in Southwest Barrie for the 2nd. quarter of 2011 by looking at an interim Fire Station until a more permanent location can be found, likely in the new annexed area.  Getting Fire Service extended to the area has been a key priority of mine that will improve response times significantly to all of southern Barrie.  By August, we should have some certainty on a recommended location and how an interim station will function.

We also approved the Master recreation Plan in Principle last night which contains recommendations that will guide our recreation planning for the next 20 years.  In it, it focuses on the needs of a growing community and takes into account the needs of residents who became a big part of the process of developing the plan.  Who knows better than our residents what they want and how recreation should look to meet their needs.

The push continues to extend Library services to southwest Barrie.  I'm

Around the Ward,

- the curbs on Boag Crt are now complete and they look great

- lines have been painted on Mapleton at Emms that should allow for better traffic movement.  I have asked City staff to monitor the changes to ensure their effectiveness.

- I have asked city staff to look at implenting some safety measures near Roberta Place so that residents can get in and out safely as well as cross Essa Rd. in a safe manner if they have to catch the northbound bus.

- Council is expecting a report soon on traffic calming measures resulting from the Pilot Study I asked for almost 3 years ago.  It's purpose is to reduce speeding in residential subdivisions and make streets safer for children and families.

That's it for now and as always, thank you for your support.

John

May 23, 2010

Hope you're enjoying the long weekend and the beautiful and hot weather.  There is no Council on Monday but we'll be returning on the 31st.

It's been a very busy week dealing with Ward issues and attending various events around the City and the Ward.  To follow what I've been doing, you can always check out my Twitter posts by clicking on the link on the home page.

On Friday, I attended the funeral of Pte. Kevin McKay in Barrie and marched with the Firefighters as a show of respect for his family.  His father is a Toronto Firefighter and I was really pleased to see all the Firefighters who were there including an estimated 80 or so Barrie Firefighters.  City Staff did a great job making sure Queen's Park was clean and manicured for the procession that passed by and eventually ending up at the Armoury for the service.  Apparently, unknown to staff, a lady and her two daughters tied yellow ribbons around the trees at Queen's Park.  It was a very nice touch.  I went from there to a Veteran's Celebration appropriately enough at Roberta Place Long-Term Care Facility and it was a great event that honoured Veterans from Roberta Place.  Students from Eastview Secondary who recently took a trip to Europe with their teacher, Mr Lovell were on hand to talk about their trip and about the book, "Boys from Barrie" that they wrote as a tribute to Barrie reisdents who were killed in the various wars.  if was something to see three generations of Canadians come together in remembrance and appreciation of those who served and those who continue to serve.

Around the Council table, Council voted to not increase the next term of Council's pay anymore than cost of living increases in spite of an independant citizen committees recommendation that Councillors receive an 11 percent increase.  For the record, I voted against the increase.

There was some debate over reducing engineering fees for Park Place.  What we would have charged them compare to what the actual cost recovery fees were was a difference of $500,000 because of the scope and scale of the project.  The fees we charge are designed to solely recover costs and I am satisfied that we are doing that and more because of a 25% contigency built into the fee structure.  If there was any chance at all that taxpayers would have been asked to subsidize or off-set some of the fees, I would not have supported it. 

I met with engineering staff about Bryne Drive recently and unfortunately there will not be much happening with the proposed extension anytime soon.  The challenge is that there is development uncertainty because both major parcel of land, one owned by Smart Centers and the other by CTV are for sale.  Road extensions like Bryne are triggered by development with the developers and not taxpayers picking up most if not all of the tab.  If there is no planned devlopment, it doesn't make sense that taxpayers should be asked for the close to $20 million it would cost to extend the road.  The bottom line is until the land is sold and developments plans are set, there will be no extension because it's unreasonable for City taxpayers to pay for it when developers normally would.  This is unfortunate because it would relieve congestion along Mapleview near the 400.  City Staff are continually monitoring Mapleview and making adjustments to the signals to keep traffic flowing.

My re-election site is running and you can find it at www.reelectjohnbrassard.com.  It should have all of the information uploaded by next weekend including the issues section which will highlight what I see as the important issues heading into the next election and the next term of Council. 

Finally, please be courteous when using Fireworks.  I've posted the City's by-law on fireworks on the home page.  There are limitations on their use.

That's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of the long weekend and be safe and as always, thank you for your support.

Regards,
John


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May 13, 2010

There has certainly been alot of reaction to the Library story that appeared in the Barrie Advance this week.  I guess there is a point when an issue like having Library services expanded to include southwest Barrie resonates with people and I believe we are at that point.

What's surprising to Councillor Prowse and I is that this is something we've been working on for almost 3 years.  We both believe that the ability to have convenient access to Library services is important to many people in Southwest Barrie and as I mentioned in the paper, people aren't looking for the taj mahal of libraries or as one resident in an e-mail to me called an architectural tribute.  Residents want service that they can easily access.

Here is a link to the story:  http://www.simcoe.com/news/cityhall/article/814110--third-library-branch-possible.

In other news, I've asked City staff to look into safety measures for the residents of Roberta Place for pedestrian and vehicle safety given the fact that the Essa Rd. widening has been pushed back in the Capital Plan.

This past Monday, Council voted against a Citizen Committee recommendation to increase Councillor Salaries by 11 % in the next term.  i voted against the proposal.  It means that during the next term of Council, Councillors will only receive limited increases based on the current formula for increases.  We received no increase in 2010 after Council supported a motion put forward by myself and Councillor Prowse last October for no increase this year.

Council was also presented with the Parks and Recreation Master Plan which specifically for Holly shows a need for outdoor tennis courts.  It also shows the need for more soccer fields around the City.  The plan is a template that looks into the future and what the City can expect in terms of Recreational needs.  There were some concerns among Councillors on some of the plan specifics so it was sent back to City Staff for further understanding.  One important aspect of the plan is that there are often references to where feasible throughout it.  It's intended to be a guiding document but it doesn't lock us into anything.  It's designed to create a vision of where we need to go with many decisions needed to be made along the way.  Some of those decisions might include elements of the plan, some may not but if you don't know where you're going, you'll never get there. 

That's it for now, talk to you soon and as always, thanks for your support.

John 


April 14, 2010

Before I begin, I have to say Happy Birthday to my wife who turns ___ today.  Thank you for being so supportive in everything I do.

A couple of significant issues were dealt with this week.  One was the chiminea issue and the other was the budget surplus.

On the chiminea issue, it was clear that Council was not going to impose an outright ban so I tried to work out a compromise.  The fundamental issue here is that a person has a right to enjoy a chiminea as much as a person has a right to enjoy having their windows open and breathe clean air free of smoke or pollutants. 

My proposal would have banned the use of them in the summer months when most people (neighbours) have their windows open and when smoke contributes to summer smog and allow them during the months when most people (neighbours) have their windows closed.  What I thought was a fair compromise was defeated in part because there was a thought that we were over-regulating the issue.  It was simple really, a person buys their permit and on the permit it states, you cannot use them during these specific months but you can during these other months and during a specified time of day.  It could have satisfied both sides, although I'm not naive to think that everyone would be satisfied, but the intent was to find a win-win solution for everyone including Council but unfortunately my proposal failed.

The positive thing that came out of this debate is the fact that people who have chimineas should be more aware of the affect that smoke blowing downwind has on their neighbourhood and my hope is that consideration is given when burning on the impact to the neighbourhood and those who enjoy opening their windows in the summertime.

On the surplus, the tax increase was reduced from 2.3% to 1% because of Council decided to use 1.8 million of the 6.9 million dollar surplus to provide a tax rebate to residents and businesses.  My preference was to have a smaller rebate and put more into reserves because it would have reduced our reliance on issuing debt for some future Capital projects.

Another good thing that came out of the surplus is using some of it to do things around the City that you will be able to see and hopefully say that was money well spent.  Council put money toward cleaning up our parks, repairing sod damage sooner and most importantly, hiring an outside contractor to clean up grafitti, all for less than $100,000.  It should make a difference in the way our City looks by the beginning of summer.

Around the Ward, dirt bikes and ATV's are at it again, this time in the Mason Homes subdision so I'm trying to do something about that.  Just a reminder that they are not allowed to be driven within City limits unless you are directly accessing a trail and there are only a few that can be accessed.

- I couldn't believe it when I drove by the Food Basics on Mapleton last Saturday an saw a collection box that was more like a dumping ground for garbage.  I asked City Staff to have the garbage and box removed by the company who placed it there.  Sure enough, calls started coming in from residents shortly after that and as of yesterday, it was to be removed by City Staff.

That's it for now and as always, thanks for your support.

John

 

March 6, 2010

What a beautiful weekend!

It's been awhile since my last post.  There has been alot happening over the last couple of months including the budget, tons of constituent issues, as well as the latest controversy involving the Mayor.  I also have been active with my campaign for re-election being first off the mark.  It's hard to believe that 3 years has paased already and that this is an election year.  I'm trusting that my attention to Ward 7 issues, dealing effectively with those issues, pragmatic decision making,  as well as returning phone calls and e-mails in a timely manner as I have consistently done over the last three years, will allow me the privilege of serving again  during what will be a crucial period of controlled growth and financial responsibility going forward requiring leadership for the Ward and the City.

Alot has been said about this year's budget which saw a tax increase of 2.3 %.  It's important to note that half of that increase will go to the previous council's committment of 52.5 million dollars to the RVH Cancer Care Centre, the hiring of 10 new police officers and 20 more firefighters, and social program cost increases in the services provided by the County of Simcoe.  The rest will be going towards normal service cost increases that the City provides to our residents and businesses.  This past week, I was pleased that Council approved a motion that I put forward to have City Staff look into our service agreements with the County in attempt to find any if there are any cost savings to be had and to look at alternative funding formulas that could reduces costs to Barrie taxpayers.  Any savings found will help us reduce the tax burden in future years on Barrie residents.

I was pleased during the budget that Council supported a plan to bring fire service to Ward 7 in 2011.  We are searching for a facility to lease so that we can put a truck and firefighters in it so that Ward 7 and the entire south end can finally have the service it needs before we put a permanent Fire Station that will likely be located in the annexed lands to the south.  One disappointment I do have is that the widening of Essa Rd. has been pushed back in our Capital Plan as other priority project leapfrogged ahead of it.  It's disappointing because the residents of Roberta Place need sidewalks between Harvie and Mapleton but it's hard to argue and receive support when you have data about pipes that need to be replaced and roads on the verge of collapse in older parts of the City that require immediate attention because there is only so much money available to fund Capital programs.  I still contend that when planning for growth, infrastructure needs to be in place before development occurs and not as an afterthought as many roads in this City are like Essa and Mapleview West.  You don't build subdivisions around roads that will not be able to handle the volume and move pedestrians safely and I'm sure as you travel around the City, you can see a pattern of that because of decisions not to plan properly for development by previous Councils.

There has been alot of controversy lately surrounding the Mayor's placement of an ad in the Globe for the recruitment of a police chief.  I've posted alot of the information in the News section of this site but I will say that Council has done it's job by exposing the wrongdoing and ensuring that it will not happen again.  A motion is coming on Monday calling for the Ontario Civilian Complaints Commission to be called in again to investigate the Mayor's action on this matter.  I won't support it because I don't think we need to waste taxpayers money on lawyers and hearings to tell me as, I suspect they would that he excercised bad judgement on this.  The Police Service Board has put measures in place that will not allow this type of thing from happening again and that's the end of it as far as I'm concerned.  Council has done it's job of providing accountability and now it's time to move on and let the people of Barrie decide the fate of the Mayor in the October elections.

In other news, City Staff have hired an architect to do a design study to place Library Services at the Holly Community Centre.  This is something that Councillor Prowse and I have been fighting for over the past 3 years.  Modeled after other City's, I have never believed in multi-million dollar facilities to house this type of service and I am very interested to see what evolves from this.  I know there is alot of interest from residents in both Ward 6 and 7 in having library services in the southwest part of the City.

MORE TO COME.....Stay tuned

December 31, 2009

More sadness from Afghanistan today as 4 soldiers and a journalist are killed in a roadside bomb.  My thoughts are with their families as I sit down to write this.

As the year comes to a close, I thought that I would review and put some perspective on some of the issues City Council dealt with in 2009.

The year started with no resolution  in sight  on the Barrie-Innisfil boundary negotiations.  This long-simmering dispute ended after the Provincial Government imposed a solution on both sides in June.  A resolution to this was important so that the City and the region could plan for the growth that is expected to occur and in fact resolving this was one of our strategic priorities that was set as the new Council was formed in December 2006.  While I was pleased that the Province had shown leadership and that a resolution was finally achieved, I can't begin to tell you how upsetting it was to witness and be a target of the fair growth campaign that was launched by Innisfil.  The information used in that campaign to make our City out to look like land grabbing bullies was disturbing to not only me but several of my colleagues on Council.  I called it at the time a campaign of mis-information because that's precisely what it was.  It was so over-the-top that it was difficult to counter without looking like we were in full defensive mode.  In the end, we decided to engage in a campaign of truth about why boundary expansion was important to the economic prosperity of the region including our ability to plan for employment and how to accomodate the 230,000 people that will call this part of our region home in 20 years.  Our vision for Barrie is to be a complete community where people can live, work, and play.  That vision includes an opportunity for various forms of housing, a diverse and strong workforce, a year-round recreation destination, and a community that protects the environment including our greatest asset, Lake Simcoe.  On January 1, 2010, 2500 hectares of Innisfil will be part of Barrie and we are doing everything we can as a council to make the transition seemless.  The other thing we are doing is rising above the bitterness of the fair-growth campaign to ensure that we all work together to ensure that the region prospers as it should for the betterment of everyone who lives here.

The property tax increase was limited to 2.8 percent early in 2009, however there was an increase in user fees.  In the first three years of this Council, tax increases have been cut in half compared to the three years of the previous Council.  This has been done in spite of a 1 billion dollars over 10 year committment to infrastructure projects, 250 million in 2009 alone.  Prior to our budget deliberations, Council had just received reccomendations on a long-term financial plan and that weighed heavily in my decisions at budget time.  In the report, Council was told that we need to stop allowing "non-legislated" discounts for example development charge discounts, we needed to increase our reliance on user fees to recover the full costs of providing user-pay programs, and finally we needed to build our reserves in order to diminish our reliance on debt financing of capital projects.  Accomplishing this would ensure financial sustainibility going forward and potentially ease the burden of property taxpayers.  The report also identified that a prolonged history of 0 percent tax increases by previous councils during the 90's and early part of 2000 had put the City's reserve balance in a difficult position to pay for projects without the reliance on debt.  The 2009 budget attempted to start resolving some of the challeges identified in the long-term financial plan and user fees, based on the premis that whoever uses certain services should pay for those services was endorsed by Council and we'll likely see that trend continue in 2010 when the budget comes before Council shortly. 

Council expanded the smoking ban to include all facilities and parks within the City.  The Breathe Easy program ensures a healthier environment for anyone using our facilities whether they are entering them by not having people around the doors smoking or watching a soccer game in a park.  It was the right move although there was the natural concern about enforcement but it seems that the prediction that this would be self-enforcing has become a reality with very few complaints coming in.  There are a few exceptions like the waterfront but as the program evolves, I'm certain we'll see less and less smoking on our waterfront.

In February, I, along with a couple of Councillors went to Ottawa, cap in hand to lobby for Infrastructure money from the Federal Government.  In partnership with our M.P. Patrick Brown we were successful in getting 53.5 million in stimulus and other funding for the City.  I can't say enough how much I appreciate the work of M.P. Brown and how he advocates for our City.  Regardless of your political stripe, no one can say that this amount of money doesn't help.  Yes, it's true that it's our money and some should be coming back but without it at this point, the burden would by borne by property taxpayers for capital projects that are in the works and this money certainly eases that burden.

Progress is being made on the revitilization of Allandale Station and the project is moving forward.  I believe a sincere attempt has been made to engage people in the process and as a result of community consultations and a report that was received by Council, some additional changes have been requested that will take into consideration some concerns from the community.  I stated this in previous blogs that my feeling is that the proposal endorsed by Council best represents the concept and ideal of a complete community that includes, health and wellness, recreation that will meet some of the needs of this area, heritage preservation combined with modern architecture, culture, entertainment, transportation, tourism and a mixed use of residential and commercial, all of which will serve as a gathering point and contribute to the transformation of Allandale Village into a dynamic and vibrant part of our great City.  The key for me in supporting this concept is first and foremost that the train station is restored to it's former glory and that this project becomes a gathering place for people which has proven in other cities to enhance revitilization efforts.  While some remain opposed to this plan and would have preferred an alternative, it's important that we move forward.  This property has sat in this state far too long and it was this Council who decided to do something about changing that and I'm truly excited and anticipating the transformation of these lands a place where people can get together and be proud of what this corner has been transformed into.

The new year marks the first anniversary of the merger of Barrie Hydro with Powerstream.  It was very nice to see that the expectations presented to us in the original business case were exceeded with respect to the dividends paid out including the 25 million dollar recapitalization payment that the City received.  This was another contentious issue that required some foresight on the part of the majority of Council to agree to.  There were some that wanted us to keep the utility as is and some who were concerned about jobs going south to Vaughan.  As much as it was nice to have our own utility, being part of a larger entity clearly has it's advantages from a financial, social, and growth potential standpoint and not one position has been eliminated and there have been some people who are now working in Barrie and not driving to Vaughan as they once were as employees of Powerstream.  It's important to understand that the Barrie Hydro and by extension Powerstream is in the business of maximizing value and providing the best return on investment for you the shareholders in it.  We're seeing that increase return on investment in many ways including increased contributions to agencies like the United Way of Greater Simcoe, and expansion of the Winter Warrmth program which assist low income families and seniors and a contribution to Georgain College.  I learned long ago to never fall in love with or become emotionally attached to something that makes money like stocks or businesses because being emotional clouds your judgement.  In the case of the merger, it was the right thing to do and will continue to be the right thing for a long time to come.  As a taxpayer in the City, you own the utility, not Council.  It should be your direction to Council that it do what it needs to maximize shareholder value and that's precisely what has occurred.

Establishing the City as a cultural hub for the region is something we continue to struggle with as a community.  There is clearly a disconnect between culture being a priority for residents in relation to other priorities like providing police, fire, and road maintenance as evidenced in the citizen survey that was released mid-year.  In developing our strategic priorities, the development of culture on the heels of our cultural plan was seen with the potential of being an economic driver.  Investing in cultural related items and events like a downtown theatre for example was viewed as an opportunity to establish Barrie as part of the complete community we so often talk about.  We know from the experiences of other cities, that a City that can establish itself with a rich cultural presence becomes extremely competitive in attracting for example, doctors, professionals, and other creative economy employment by looking for more in a city than simply a place to put a roof over their head.  We so often cite our vision of Barrie as a live, work, play community and the establishment of a culture as part of that vision is important in creating the complete community.  The challenge however is trying to convince many who are cynical of using tax dollars to invest in culture, which right now is intangible, when roads are in need of repair, fire stations need to be built, and police services need to expand.  Council has preferred to crawl on the issue of culture before we walk and then run.  We've invested money wisely to help us gain some traction in this area but further investment will be required at some point but without a greater understanding about why this investment is needed, those residents who are cynical of an investment in culture, and there are many, will be the biggest challenge to convince that there is a purpose and reason to making the investment.  I'm confortable where we are right now with respect to the investment we have made.  I'm also aware that more needs to be done to educate people and convince them that culture is worth investing in but if we move too quickly, that opportunity will be lost.

Some things to look back on around Ward 7 worth noting in 2009:

I was pleased to work with the owner of the property behind Selkirk and Lougheed to finally have a fence installed that is keeping out the ATV's and Dirtbikes from the property.  During the 2006 election, this was an important issue for esidents in that area and since the fence installation, I have not received one complaint so t seems to be working.

The City will now have one additional senior soccer field to access as a result of an agreement with Timothy Christian School.  Dating back to 2003, negotiations had been on-going between Timothy and the City for utilization of that field in echange for a development charge rebate and I was pleased to see a resolution that results in a win-win for both sides.

There will be a new TD Data Centre in Ward 7 that will evetually employ upwards of 300 people.  This is an important addition to the area and really comes as a result of BMO's success in the City with their Data Centre.  We are working to attract other similar employment opportunities.

The opening of Mapleview Community Church and the beautiful new facility will play a big part of the Ward 7 Community as a gathering place for all types of events.

The Master Fire Plan endorsed by Council recognized an immediate need for a Fire Station to be located in Ward 7.  I had meetings just before Christmas and we are looking at making that happen as soon as possible.  We do not have enough land within our current boundary to accomodate a fire station but are looking at alternatives that would see additional fire services in that area sooner rather than later.

The Transit Master Plan was approved by Council that will see a phase in of more direct routing for south end residents and of note will evetually see the elimination of the Mapleton bus between Essa and Veterans.  I requested that after numerous complaints from residents on the street about the width of the roadway and safety issues that this creates.  It's not expected to occur until year 3 of the 5 year plan but at least it will be happening.

I thought having the Barrie Police Service at Holly Community Centre for 3 days at Holly was a success.  They were visited by many residents who expressed some concerns within Ward 7.  The police found it very useful.

The battle to extend library services to the southwest part of the City was something I received Council support on in principle.  As part of the strategic planning process, the Library Board will be looking at alternatives to providing library services for Council to consider.  A planning session was held at Holly Meadows School and I attended the session.  A second library branch is planned for southeast Barrie but Councillor Prowse and I are looking for some level of service in the southwest part of the City.

Holly CC celebrated it's one year anniversary in 2009 and the Community certainly appreciates it's presence.  Holly CC is an extremely important connection to City services for residents of the Ward.

I used the summer break at Council to once again go door-to-door with my newsletter.  I've been doing that over the last 3 years and I think people appreciate not seeing their Councillor only at election time.  I've found doing this valuable in finding out some of the issues that people have whether they are small or large and helping them correct them. 

I guess that's it for now as if it isn't enough.  I appreciate the support I have received over the past year.  Ward 7 is a great area to represent with people who care about their community and I'll continue to be a strong voice at the Council table on your behalf in 2010.  Growth and planning will be one of the more significant issues we'll be dealing with in 2010.  Undoubtedly, there will be other local and city-wide matters to be dealt with and I'll continue to make decisions that are pragmatic and have a positive impact on our City.

2010 is also an election year and I've already made my intentions known that I will be running to represent Ward 7 as Councillor.

On behalf of my wife Liane, sons Jeff, Matt, Mitchell, and daughter Courtney, I'd like to wish you and your family a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

John



December 25, 2009

Merry Christmas from the Brassard family.  I'll be posting my thoughts on the past year of Barrie City Council before New Years.

All the best and be safe.

John


December 1, 2009

Council has been dealing with a lot of issues lately but none more focused than the transition of for the lands in Innisfil that will be annexed January 1, 2010 if Bill 196 passes third reading in the legislature.

 

A transition agreement has been approved by our Council that addresess issues like Police and Fire protection, hydro distribution, snow clearing, as well as many more operational aspects of Barrie assuming the lands.  There has been a very good spirit of co-operation at the staff level in order to come to a tri-partite agreement between Barrie, Innisfil, and the County with free flowing information that will make this as seamless a transition as possible.  The City of Barrie plans to hold a public information session for those residents affected by the annexation as well as other interested residents.  That date will be announced shortly combined with an information campaign that will address many questions with respect to the transition that is scheduled to occur January 1, 2010.  As the Councillor for Ward 7 that will see the largest area growth with the annexation, I plan to be part of the process and I know my colleagues in Ward 8, 9, and 10 plan to do so as well.  It’s important as we move forward that the safety and security of residents in the new area is ensured and I am confident that both our Police and Full-time Fire Service has provided for this.

 

Last week, Council passed our Economic Development Strategy that will be our template for the next 5 years.  It highlights among other things the need for Council and our Economic Development Department to work with and assist much more closely small and medium size enterprises in Barrie.   The report spoke in no uncertain terms that there is a perceived lack of leadership from Council when it comes to Economic Development matters.  While I’ll make no attempt to make excuses for this perceived lack of leadership, I will say that traditionally in the past, any economic development agenda in this City has been driven from the Mayor’s office and clearly this term Council has been at odds with the Mayor on that priority.  Retention and expansion of business has been a key focus for my colleagues on Council and we have for example, eliminated the need for small business licences in many categories.  We have provided grants for storefront improvements and I know I have personally been involved in attending many business openings in my Ward as a show of support for those businesses when I am able to.  Expansion, Retention, and attraction of business was the first priority in a list of 10 that was created when this new Council took office.  The Economic Development Strategy will assist us going forward by establishing goals and action plans and I for one plan to do more than I already have to work with business to help in their success which in turn creates success for our City.

 

I think this is an appropriate time to declare my intentions heading into the 2010 election.  On January 3^rd., I plan on filing my nomination papers to run for Councillor of Ward 7 once again.  I have really enjoyed representing the Ward, in part because there have been many people who have become engaged in that part of the City and care very much not only for the community in which they live but also for the City.  I have built some very good relationships and have been attentive to the needs, I believe, to residents and businesses in the Ward.  All elections are important but this one in particular, will be an extremely critical for the City.  There will be many financial, growth, and planning matters that Council will have to deal with and those decisions will impact this City for generations to come.  I think I’ve proven myself over the last 3 years to be a pragmatic decision maker, I take action rather than sit on the sidelines, and am involved in every aspect of representing the people of Ward 7 and will continue to do the same if I’m elected to represent the Ward once again.  In making decisions, I often think of the impact that those decisions will have on my family knowing that they impact the thousands of families that love this community as much as the Brassard family does in the same way.

 

In saying that however, I can’t emphasize enough how important it will be to not only elect Councillors that have the community’s best interest at heart but it’s critically important that we have a leader at Council who is a consensus builder and has the ability to get everyone working for the same cause and purpose.  Whoever that leader is, will need vision to shape the way the City plans and grows.  They will need to be principled in the face of what are expected to be very tough financial decisions in the years to come. The next Mayor will need to be a champion and salesperson for the City to see us thru our Economic Development Strategy and work with existing Barrie businesses who are both succeeding and those that need help as well as attracting employment to the area.  There will also need to be a need for the next Mayor to ignite a social agenda for the City that is mindful of our aging population and encourages a generation of young people to become engaged in creatively shaping the way our City will evolve.  The only way that all of this can happen is to have a Council and a Community who works with and is inspired by it’s leader as much as it’s leader works with and is inspired by Council and the Community that they serve.

 

Very quickly around the Ward,

 

City staff have recommended parking restrictions on Silver Maple which were approved by General Committee.  The staff report is in the Ward 7 section of this site

I’ve had complaints about speeding on Mapleton and have asked the police to step up enforcement in that area

 

the recently approved transit study will see the elimination of the bus route on Mapleton within 3 years

 

City Staff reported back to me about speed concerns on Touchette and found that most cars stay within the speed limit and this past week, I delivered information to residents on Touchette and Lake about it.

 

I’ve asked City staff to be aware of the snow clearing issues once again this year on Golds Crescent so I’m hopeful that snow clearing will be just as good this year as in last year.

 

a new townhouse development has been approved for Coughlin and Essa.  This land was zoned for townhouses and I’ve worked with the developer who has been very helpful to ensure that setbacks from area houses are within standard or in some cases better than standard. 

That's it for now, until next time, take care.
John


October 2, 2009

It's been an interesting time at City Hall and I've seen some of the best debates in our 3 years happen over the last couple of weeks with a potentially explosive debate on Monday over the hiring of a training program for our staff that attempts to find savings, improve on efficiency, and provide better customer service.

Over the past 3 years, Council has been very good at protecting our Industrial employment lands by resisting attempts from developers to do so.  I have been consistent over the years in doing so as well but there is a recent exception to this that I support because it is the right thing to do in this circumstance.  The developer of a piece of land on Bryne Dr. has asked that 3.3 acres be re-designated from Industrial employment to Commercial in order to accomodate the re-location of Princess Auto from their current location to this new location.  Princess Autos plan is to expand in size and in employment by 19 emplyees from it's current complement of 35.  It's business model calls for a stand alone structure independent of any other development.  When you look at this area of Bryne Dr., it's primarily commercial so to re-designate this small portion of land to accomodate an employer looking to grow their business in Barrie makes perfect sense to me especially during the current economic climate but others don't agree in part because of a employment land study that we are engaging in and the current political climate given the Barrie-Innisfil boundary issue.  I was on the negotiating team during the Barrie-Innisfil boundary negotiations so I'm intimately aware of our need for land for employment purposes however in my view, that issue when put in context is completely different than this site specific issue and the rationale for converting this land is completely justified.  This application was submitted before a resolution was in sight on the boundary issue and as a Council, we have to support the retention and growth of a business wanting to stay in Barrie because it does after all form one of our strategic priorities.  In context, this is a very minor re-designation of land in my view compared to the purpose of the Barrie-Innisfil situation and should be supported on its merit and intent.

On Monday night, Council will be debating an additional investment of $300,000 to once again hire a training firm to train our staff to find cost savings at City Hall by improving efficiency and to provide better customer service.  In recent media stories, alot has been made about the cost and the need for this type of program.  Truly, I have mixed feelings about whether this is worth the investment.  On one hand, what member of Council or taxpayer wouldn't want to ensure that there are opportunities to find cost savings from what we do or place us in a position to provide better customer service thereby improving the manner in which we do things for our residents.  On the other hand, do we really need to invest this large amount of money for something that should already be happening on a day in and day out basis at City Hall.  Using the training system we are being asked to further support, City Staff have identified potentially 1.7 million dollars in reveneue and cost saving opportunities as well as improved customer service from the Molson Centre and our water meter reading capabilities.  While this 1.7 million dollars has yet to be realized, it does represent a significant increase in the way we generate revenue and savings which can ease the burden of taxpayers going forward.  I am very pleased that this has been identified but at this point, they are theoretical revenues and savings projections which are subject to some negotiation and implementation.  Not to take away from what staff have done, I would like to see results before I committ to another $300,000 at this time.  When I first agreed to approving the initial $150,000, it was identified that we could find $700,000 in savings so the fact that we have identified 1.7 million is tremendous but now the work has to go in to making it happen and until I see it happen, I remain skeptical not because I don't have faith that it can be done, but because I need to see it in real terms.  My other thought is that once those savings are realized in real terms, we can then do what every other business does and that is re-invest what we've gained and parlay that into even greater cost savings, even greater efficiency, and eeven greater customer service throughout the organization.  To quote that famous line from Jerry McGuire, "Show me the money".......and I don't think that is too much to ask for and it's a challenge that should be welcomed by all who are as accountable to our residents as we are as Members of Council.

Around the Ward,

-by all acounts, the ATV and dirtbike situation has been diminished significantly in the Selkirk and Lougheed area and I'm hearing that residents are pleased.  Thanks to developer who put up a fence along the property to stop the ATV's and Dirtbikes.

I'm very pleased that Finance Committee has approved a recommendation from the Master Fire Plan location to bump up finding a site for Fire Station 5 in the southwest part of the City which means that we could have a fire station by the end of 2009 or early 2010 servicing Ward 7.  This is an agressive timeframe but it is better than what is currently in the Capital Plan which I've been pushing hard for.

City Staff are looking at implementing parking restrictions on the corners of Silver Maple for safety reasons

I have asked that some crosswalks and lines be re-painted before the snow falls in and around schools and other areas that need to be done.  There is a long queue for the line paintings but staff are trying to get them done.

I was canvassing with my newsletter last Saturday on Hersey, Golds, Wessenger, and some parts of Girdwood and will do the same on October 3 is the conditions allow for it.  I have been doing this every summer since the election in 2006 and find that residents really enjoy the ability to ask questions and speak obout Ward and City issues and not have someone who just comes around at election time.

That's it for now, take care and if you need anything, please do not hesitate to call.

Regards,
John



August 6, 2009

Well, as we head back to Council on Monday I can honestly say that I’ve enjoyed the break very much in spite of the weather.  Spending time with my family, enjoying their summer sports activities, golfing with my boys has been fun but now it’s time to get back to work.

 

I’ve been able to hand out my newsletter on three Saturdays over the summer break while meeting with residents in the Mapleton/Essa area as well as Marsellus/Sundew area and I do plan on going out some more while the weather is good.  Residents are very appreciative of the fact that I come around and seem to enjoy talking about the issues as much as I do.  It’s also good for me because I’m able to find out things happening around the Ward that I otherwise wouldn’t know about unless I was talking to people who are affected by those issues.  As a result, I’m able to deal with them with City Staff or at a minimum, get answers to the questions that do come up.

 

There’s still plenty that goes on even when we are on a break from the formal Monday night meetings.  I’ve been dealing with development issues as well as traffic concerns.  There’s also been the on-going ATV and Dirt Bike problems and of course the never-ending problem of vandalism either by graffiti or defacing property.  People who I’ve spoken to are fed up with the graffiti and vandalism problem including cars being broken into at night.  Several have suggested that the City impose curfews thinking that this would solve the problem.  I’m not sure what the answer is to be frank but it seems that a breaking point is being reached by many residents who are fed up with not only the acts themselves but the financial costs that go with the vandalism whether it be to their property or City property.  This morning I was looking for information about curfews and found that 2 cities in Northern Ontario have recently imposed curfews to try and curb the increase in vandalism that has occurred.  The challenge will always be with enforcement of any potential curfew by-law as it is with any City by-law and to make one without backing it up with proper enforcement is a waste of time and there are several examples in the past where this has occurred so I wouldn’t want to repeat it, but I have to ask, when kids are out at all hours of the night with backpacks or roller blades going up and down the street either defacing property with graffiti or stealing items from unlocked cars or garages, where are their parents to keep track of them and take responsibility for their actions.  Why do we as homeowners and the City have to put up with this social menace not to mention having to bear the cost of it?  From August 19-21, the Barrie City Police will be at Holly Community Centre for 3 days with their command vehicle to meet with Ward 7 residents about issues.  The Police will also have stepped up traffic enforcement in the area for those days and on Friday night (August 21) at 6 p.m. at Holly C.C., M.P. Patrick Brown, Ward 6 Councillor Michael Prowse, and myself will be hosting a Town Hall in the upstairs meeting room.  The meeting will last about an hour and it will be an opportunity to engage your Federal and Local representatives on the issues that matter to you.

 

I want to address one more very important matter before I close.  Because of the break at Council, there’s been little in the way of news coming from City Hall so we’ve been hearing a lot about the use of consultants at City Hall lately.  For the record, I have only supported the use of consultants when it’s been proven that we can either save taxpayer money in the long run by using a consultant or do not have the staff resources to deal with a specific project that is specialized.  I watch for these things very closely when they do come up and have in the past voted against hiring consultants because in some instances, they have been a waste of taxpayer money and I said so at the time.

 

Around the Ward,

 

The fence is up around the property south of Lougheed to keep ATV’s and Dirt bikes out from behind the property line of those on Selkirk and Lougheed.  So far so good from what I’ve been told although some ATV’ers have been using the Smart Centre property behind the Mason Homes subdivision in the Veterans/Mapleton area and I’m trying to deal with that now.

 

There’s been some discussion lately about building a satellite library in the Ward to service the southwest part of the City.  The Federal Government has announced a stimulus package for non-profits and a library falls into that category so we may be able to do some piggy-backing off the proposed Painswick library.  The application deadline is August 18^th and City staff are working to put an application in by the deadline.  Stay tuned for any developments.

 

I’m also working with staff on a plan to tap into a $2 Billion dollar federal fund to retrofit City Facilities with Solar Panel power.  This plan is in it’s infancy but we have been investigating the possibility of it and how we can make it feasible.  While there is an investment required to do this, there is a significant rate of return on that investment in terms of lowering energy costs to the City not to mention reducing of output of greenhouse gases.

 

I’m expecting lane changes and parking restrictions to be imposed on Mapleton between Essa and Veterans to come to Council shortly, all in an attempt to make that stretch of roadway safer for residents.

 

City Staff are also looking into speed issues on Touchette now that it has opened right through to O’Shaughnessy as well as parking and crossing issues on Sundew between Ginger and Violet in an effort to improve safety for students at W.C. Little School.

 

Finally, thank you to the residents who I’ve met with so far this summer for your input on issues and positive feedback as I’ve gone around delivering my newsletter.  I’ll continue to come around but clearly won’t make every house in the Ward.  The newsletter is available on this site and at the Holly C.C. if you would like to look at it.  This has been the third year that I have used the summer break to go door knocking and I’ve enjoyed the feedback from you and I look forward to seeing some of you soon as I continue over the next couple of months.

 

Thanks again for all the support and enjoy the rest of your summer.

 

John

December 9, 2007

Sorry, it's been a month but alot has been going on and this is truly the first chance I have had to put some thought into a posting.

I'll start with the obvious, the fire in the Downtown core.  It was quite spectacular as you've likely seen by now.  I got the call at home from the Mayor and arrived shortly after midnight at the height of the fire.  Our main focus was to ensure that our Emergency Services had what they needed from City Resources to effectively work to bring the fire under control.  That meant having our Water and Operations Departments make sure that there was adequate water supply and pressure and having the salters and sanders on scene to avoid any risk of injury to the Firefighters and others on scene from the ice that was building up.  Commissioner of Community Services Richard Forward was on location for most of the night to make sure that things ran smoothly and I believe things did.  I want to commend our Fire and Emergency Service and Chief Lynn for their efforts as well as the other Departments who responded as part of the mutual aid request.  This fire could have been much worse if not for their efforts.  The construction of the older buildings make it very difficult to fight these type of fires.  

A trust fund has been set up with donations being accepted at Bank of Montreal branches throughout the City.  The fund is being administered by the Salvation Army and will go to the people who have lost everything as a result of the fire.  Also, the downtown is open for business and the best way to support the store owners is to shop there.  There were lots of media reports over the course of the day saying that the downtown was closed and I know that City Staff worked hard through the media outlets to get the message out that it wasn't.  In my view, the economic impact of the fire should NOT be compounded by  not shopping or eating downtown.  NOW is the time that storeowners and restaurants downtown need our help by supporting them by shopping or eating there.

The other news this week was the Mayors admission that he had acted improperly in writing a letter of reference for a Barrie Police Officer for a disciplinary hearing.  The question I have is why would he wait until now to admit he had acted improperly when he had that chance to do so when the incident first occurred.  Admitting it earlier would have saved taxpayers money by not having to go through this process and quite frankly could have saved the Mayor some credibility.  Does a persons back have to be against a wall before before they admit that they were wrong whether they did it intentionally or unintentionally?  Apparently with the Mayor it does!  It proves that Council did the right thing by having OCCPS investigate his actions and unfortunately, there is still the ongoing OPP investigation that we are dealing with surrounding the Mayors trip to China.  Speaking of taxpayers money, it's been well publicized that the City is paying the Mayors legal bills.  I wasn't on Council when the indemnification by-law was created in 2006.  It was done to protect the Mayor and Council at the time from vexatious litigants who attempted to bring action against some members of Council for what was deemed frivilous lawsuits.  I am not sure that anyone envisioned that it could be used to pay for legal costs incurred to defend either a sitting Mayor or a Member of Council as a result of their own actions and not those from the outside taking action against a Mayor or Councillor in the performance of their duties.  In both the OCCPS and OPP incidents, the Mayor was acting on his own accord and judgement and not in the interest or with the authority of the entire Council so it would seem logical that taxpayers could question why we are paying for both circumstances.  Furthermore, the "loophole" in the by-law needs to be closed and that is something that Council has the authority to do and in my view needs to be addressed.  I would expect that if I were to use questionable personal judgement on something that warranted an investigation and perhaps the laying of charges either criminial or otherwise, that Barrie taxpayers should not be footing the bill.  In my view if I made the mistake then I should be expected to own up to it and not hide behind a by-law who's intent in my view, was quite clear at the time even though it could have been better defined by the previous Council.

Around the Ward, some things of note:

-  a week tomorrow, go trains start rolling and buses will be available to the go station from Allandale Rec Centre and the Downtown Bus Terminal.
-  Holly CC opens January 5, 2008
- Bollards have been installed to prevent ATV and Dirtbike access to the County forest on Lugheed
-  General Committee approved a 4 way stop for Brucker and Emms
-  I am talking to staff about the parking around Holly Meadows School.  At Community Services this past week, we had representatives from the school board in to address parking issues in and around all schools and we are hopeful to come up with something.
- I have been receiving snow plowing and sidewalk plowing complaints and have been addressing this weekend with City Staff
-  I am meeting with Roberta Place residents on Monday December 10, 2007 to talk about issues including senior programs at Holly CC and the widening of Essa Rd followed by a tour of Holly CC with this months student Mayor who attends St. Bernadettes on Marsellus.
-  the peer review for the accoustical fencing issue in the Maple Woodlands subdivision has been received by City Staff and they are evaluating it.  I should have more information available this week on the results.  It was received on Thursday.

That's it for now, I'll post again before Christmas and in the meantime take care.

John



November 8, 2007

It's coming up to one year since the election and I thought I would take this time to speak of my experiences on Council and Highlight some of not only my accomplishments but those of Council during the first year.

To begin, I will say that I have really enjoyed representing Ward 7 and I have worked very hard to be attentive to the needs of the residents by returning phone calls and e-mails as well as trying to resolve issues in a timely manner.  There are still some outstanding issues that I am working on that have proved to be more of a challenge than I thought but progress is being made.  There are times however that there is truly nothing that I can do to resolve an issue because it is either not within our area of responsibility like School Board issues or not within our municipal responsibility, like Provincial issues or even Federal but I do try to help residents as much as I can.

One of the things that has surprised me in the first year is the volume of work and the time required to do it as a Councillor.  Going in, I knew that it would be busy but I never imagined that it would be this busy and it's not just me.  Every member of Council works hard to meet the needs of the City and it's residents as well as trying to balance their primary work committments as well as family committments.  It's quite a balancing act for everyone on Council but as I've said many times here, this is a very good Council and we are making some great decisions and I am very proud to be part of it. 

In addition to the day to day representation of Ward 7 and the many issues that develop, I am also a member of several Committees representing the City on both a local and County level.  Click here to see the list of Committees that I am on.  Committee work and the preparation for it consumes alot of time and requires alot of reading.

I have also made an effort to be as visible within the Ward as possible which was a promise I made when I ran.  I have attended Parent Council meetings, delivered my newsletter door-to-door during the summer (although I did not reach every house), have attended Business openings within the Ward and have held meetings with resident groups on issues that are affecting them.  In addition, I have represented the City at many functions within the first year including the CIBC Run for the Cure, the MADD walk, but the highlight for me was hosting former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna when he came to Barrie to commemorate the TD Banks 150th. anniversary in Barrie and spoke to Business leaders over lunch about Barrie and it's potential.  I have also had the opportunity to meet with Provincial Cabinet Ministers along with other Members of Council advancing City issues trying to gain funding for those issues and I believe the investment in building those relationships at the Provincial level will pay off in the Province assisting us with the financial needs required for Barrie in their recognition of the City as an Urban Growth Centre. 

Finally, I realize that you are ultimately judged by what you have done both as an individual and as a Council.  With the challenges of a new position, there is always a learning curve but as a new Member of Council, I can tell you that you better be able to adapt almost right from the sta rt because the day after I got sworn in, the phone calls and the e-mails started.  In fact, I think they started before I got sworn in.  To conclude this edition,  I invite you to click on the link below to view some of my first year accomplishments within the Ward and to view Council's first year accomplishments. 

Click here to view Council's first year accomplishments.

Thanks for your support as always and take Care,
John

October 25, 2007

The frost is coming and winter will soon be here.  Snow removal will be the primary focus of this edition of the blog.

The Operations Department is gearing up for the season and have prepared all kinds of information that is available to residents on how and why snow removal is done in the manner in which it is.  Pretty soon, information flyers will be available at various City locations, an insert will be placed in the Barrie Examiner, and the City's web-site, www.barrie.ca will have all kinds of snow removal information this season.

Of particular note is the fact that on-street parking will be restricted between the hours of 12 a.m. and 7 a.m.  This came as a result of a recent Council decision and is an attempt to become more efficient at snow removal which in turn should save us money and assist in getting the City moving after a snow event.  I have heard from some residents about the impact that this will have on having guests particularly during the Christmas season and over new years.  There is no question that those are valid points and was considered during the debate at Council but in the end, it was felt that that ensuring cars were off the road thus allowing our crews to have full access to the roads would create the efficiency we are looking for and that residents expect.  I expect however that as our efficiency in snow removal increases so to will the amount of phone calls about cars being ticketed.  This change will be reviewed after the winter season at which time we will assess how this worked and make some change if changes are required.  Council will also receive information on how this related to cost and if in fact any savings both in efficiency and dollars were realized.

Quick points for your information:

-  Holly CC will have full programming beginning January 5th, 2008

-  The traffic signals at the new Holly CC are pedestrian initiated and will stay green until accessed by someone crossing the road

-  I am trying to amend the Community Safety Zone near Timothy Christian School and have a motion coming to Council Monday night to do so.

-  The property that gets used by the ATVS and Dirt Bikes behind Lougheed and Selkirk has changed ownership. I spoke to the new owners Lawyer about the situation and am waiting for a return call from him after he was to consult with the new property owners.

-  Last evening, I met with the W.C. Little School parent Council and came away with some suggetions on improving safety for the students in the area.  I am meeting with Holly Meadows School parent Council in November.

-  You'll also notice that the vacant land at the corner of Essa and Mapleview has been cleaned up.  I asked staff to have the property owners cut the grass and generally clean things up on that lot and I apprceiate their efforts in doing so.  The same thing was done at Coughlin and Essa.

- 4 ways stops are now in place at Brucker and Emms and will be that way until November 30th.  After that the signs will be on Brucker only.  Lines wil be painted soon.

That's it for now.

Take Care,
John


October 8, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!  I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather while we can because we all know whats coming......WINTER.

Speaking of winter, Council just passed a by-law that should allow for better winter control measures by not allowing parking between 12 a.m. and 7 a.m. on City streets.  This proposal came to Council after an excercise involving City Staff from the Operations Department who clear the snow on how best to manage snow removal.  Part of the solution adopted by Council will also involve the hiring of more by-law enforcements officers during the winter season and better co-ordination between by-law and winter control to make sure the streets are clear.  The fact is that we, like it or not live in a snow belt and have to adapt to the conditions to make it easier for the streets to get cleaned and therefore the City to keep moving.  We'll review how this works after a year and make some adjustments accordingly if we have to.  The downside to this is it means less time to park overnight and could potentially impact residents who are expecting guests especially over the holiday period.

Some operational changes that have recently been approved by Council including the Economic Development Office reporting directing to the CAO and the establishment of a Legal Department within City Hall.  It's expected that an in-house legal team will save the Corporation a substantial amount of money and provide the ability for the City to seek opinion and deal with operational matters more efficiently.  We will however still be reetaining Burgar Rowe as our legal Counsel because of their vast experience in Ontario Municipal Board hearings and their expertise in dealing with Municipal Act matters.  These are just a few of the very important steps being taken by the new CAO to maximize efficiency and effectiveness at City Hall.  In addition, you may have noticed last week at Council, our CAO provided Council with an update on his activities.  This was the first of what will be quarterly updates to Council about what he is doing at an administrative level and how that is impacting the organization.  It's an important format I believe and plays into Council priority to be more transparent and accountable and I know that there has been positive feedback about Mr. Babulics presentation.

We are still waiting for a report from staff on Council's motion for more information about the proposed Ethanol facility.  I know that a meeting was held last Wednesday and we are expecting a staff report shortly.  Council has been receiving numerous e-mails about the proposed facility and I for one appreciate the opnions that are being expressed.

The first meeting of the Master Fire Plan steering Committee was held on October 3rd and went well for a first meeting.  I will be Chair of the Committee and its expected that the Committee will complete our work over the next year or so.  The report when presented to Council will be the template used by our Fire Services to guide them through the next 10 years so it is very important work.

Around the Ward, the Mapleton between Essa and Veterans issue is coming before Community Services tomorrow night.  I am hopeful we can come to resolution on how to solve the traffic and speeding issues on this road.  Holly CC is close to being completed with full programming scheduled to begin in January.  There have been some concerns expressed by neighbours about the front of the building facing Mapleton and the amount of concrete that has been poured which could act as a pad for kids to skateboard on which is not the intent.  I am dealing with Facilities staff on this to try to come up with a solution.  The plaza at Mapleton and Marsellus is a constant cause for concern and I will say as much as I can about it without getting too deep into it but it is being monitored and there has been an increase in police presence in the area.  Essa Rd. south of Mapleton has larger speed signs in case you haven't noticed.  The intent is to warn drivers of the change in speeds by Timothy Christian School.  I mentioned this before but Timothy does not qualify as a flashing 40 zone under MTO standards so that is why we have not installed them in that area.  I am hopeful that the bigger, and they are bigger signs will help alert motorists of the pending speed changes.  I am also dealing with a fence issue in the Maple Woodlands subdivision and am hopeful to find a resolution to this soon.  The main issue according to the builder is whether a noise fence is still required and for the homeowners, it's the potential loss of 18 inches of their lots because of masonry columns that are to be installed.  I am expecting staff to get back to me shortly on installing bollards to the entrance of the Simcoe County forest off a City owned lot on Lougheed to restrict ATV and Dirt Bike access.  The bollards by all accounts have been helpful in the Ardagh Bluffs and were approved by Council as part of the Ardagh Bluffs Master Plan.  Since  l posted an earlier blog, the property south of Lougheed and Selkirk where we have been seeing the most problems with ATV's and Dirtbikes has been flipped to another developer so this past week I have had to start the process of contacting the new owners or in this case their lawyer to explain the situation and try to resolve it. 

It's shaping up to be a busy week.  There is no Council tonight but tomorrow I am representing the City at the Bell Business Awards Media event and we have a packed agenda for Community Services Committee including a presentation from Crimestoppers involving among other things my favourite subject.......grafitti.  That's it for now and I'm sure I missed something but there always another blog to come.

The provincial election is this coming Wednesday so make sure you vote.

Take Care,
John


September 15, 2007

Last Monday at General Committee, Councillors Mike Ramsay and Jeff Lehman introduced a resolution that calls for further information and study to be obtained on the Ethanol Plant proposal for the old Molson Brewery site.  Not surprising is the fact that representatives from Northern Ethanol will be making a deputation at Council in opposition of the resolution this week.

Up to this point, I have been extremely involved in trying to gain a better understanding of all of the issues related to this proposal in terms of zoning, planning, the environment, and the effects on our resources.  It is extremely evident that this is an emotional issue for many people in the City, and part of the challenge quite frankly for me has been to distance myself from the emotion to gain as much knowledge as I can based on the facts. 

City Council has been questioned in the media by way of letters to the editor of whether we are in fact providing any leadership on this issue and have been accused by some of not doing enough to address the concerns of those who are opposed to the location of the proposed facility.  I believe that this resolution as I stated in the paper, properly addresses not only the concerns of Council, but also addresses the broader concerns of the people we represent.  For the first time publicly, the resolution also shows what has been going on privately for sometime,  that Council has been providing the leadership expected of us on this issue.  It's also important to remember that six new members of Council inherited this proposal so naturally one can assume that it would take time to understand it's implications and then act.  The key is to act in a manner that is legally defensible, reasonably practicable, and morally sound and I believe that General Committee by way of this resolution has done just that.

Do I share the same concerns as many of you do with respect to the uncertainty that this proposal and it's impact may have on the landscape of our City, you bet I do however that concern must be tempered by the fact that as a Councillor, any decision I make on any issue must be defensible.  It will be interesting to hear what Northern Ethanol says on Monday at Council in opposition of a resolution that simply calls for information to be obtained from outside legal staff as well additional information from our planning staff.  It would be hard for me to believe that they could call in to question or disapprove of Council's legislated authority to safeguard the interests of our residents and our City.  Stay tuned.

Take Care,
John



September 1, 1007

The on-again off-again sessions of Council will be off again this coming Monday as we ease back in from the summer recess.

 

This past Monday, Council dealt with several items including the Outdoor Solid Fuel Burning Device by-law.  Overall, I am pleased with the results of the by-law but we’ll have to review what the impact of it is after 24 months, which the by-law calls for.  When this issue came to Community Services Committee, our objective was to engage the public for consultation on the by-law, which is one of Councils Strategic Priorities, try to educate people on how to use these devices in the proper manner, and to initiate a no cost way of keeping track of the devices and as Chair of the Committee, I believe we achieved all 3 objectives.  Time will tell how effective we will be but as I said earlier, the by-law is up for review after 24 months and if we as a Council do not see an increase in responsible use of these devices, then the option does exist to ban them outright within the City.  Click here for highlights of the new by-law.

 

A presentation was made on the Georgian College Neighbourhood Strategy.  In effect, what this plan calls for is to offer incentives to developers who are interested in building student housing in certain identified areas as developable in and around Georgian College.  The challenges being face from student housing is not unique to Barrie.  City staff have consulted with many other municipalities who are experiencing the same problem that we are in an attempt to come up with the proper solution.  Waterloo is a City that experiences tremendous pressure because of student housing given the fact that they have 2 Universities in the City.  As a Council, we are determined to assist those residents near the College who are affected by this issue and I personally feel for these people.  On Tuesday, I am meeting with Brian Tambyln, President of Georgian College and I am sure this issue will come up.

 

In other City issues, Council appointed Dawn MacAlpine as the new City Clerk to replace John Sisson who left for Bracebridge.  In fact, a lot of Senior Management positions have been filled recently including Richard Forward in the Community Services Commissioner role, John Lynn as the new Fire Chief, Dave Forfar as Deputy Fire Chief, and Jon Babulic as the Chief Administrative Officer.  In my opinion, all of these individuals have been excellent choices and will all make a tremendous contribution to the City.   In fact, many of them have already. 

 

The first meeting of the Finance Committee was held on July 30^th and I am really looking forward to being a part of this Committee.  The Committees purpose is to provide political direction on both the Operating and Capital budget process.  Jeff Lehman, who I have a lot of respect for will be the Chair of the Committee and the Committee will also include the Mayor, Jerry Moore (an accountant), and Andrew Prince (a financial planner).  The Committee will be a reference Committee not unlike the other 3, and was formed because of a motion put forward by Jeff and I, and supported by Council to have input that is more political on the budget process.

 

Over the next several months, the issue of grafitti will be gaining Council’s attention.  City staff are expected to report soon on how to address this problem.  Yesterday, I was interviewed by the Advance who will be doing a story on it on top of what was in the examiner last week.  As stated in earlier posts, I believe that grafitti is nothing more than pure and simple vandalism that if left unchecked, could quickly create a ghetto like community that any self respecting person would not want to happen in this City.  As a Council, we are intent on dealing with this problem.  I have spoken with Crimestoppers and they do offer a cash reward for anyone who reports the name of the individual(s) who perpetrates this crime.  Staff have been in contact with various police agencies, community groups, as well as individuals to figure out the best solution and I am confident that we will get there. 

 

Around the Ward, I am still working on the ATV issue.  If you have ever heard the expression, you can’t push a wet noodle; I’m dealing with precisely that with one of the developers who owns land just south of the problem area near Lougheed and Selkirk.  I’ll be working on this again next week and it really is a simple solution if only they would call me back.  Some of you may have noticed that lanes have been completed on both the north and south side of Mapleton in front of the new Holly Community Centre.  This is to accommodate bus layovers near the facility to pick up and drop off passengers.  Speaking of Holly, it’s near completion and will have full City programming by January.  I’m personally looking forward to the fitness facility opening because it’ll have a great view of the Ardagh Bluffs throughout the year as you work out.   Earlier this year, Michael Prowse and I introduced a motion to ask staff to look at improving Library services in the south end and that report is expected shortly.  I am hopeful that Holly will be used as a pick up and drop off point for books from the main Library downtown for the convenience of residents.  Also, I have asked engineering staff to increase the size of the speed signs on Essa Rd. in front of Timothy Christian School in order to alert drivers that the speed limit is 40 km/h and that it is designated as a Community Safety Zone.  The problem is that it has to be a designated 40 zone because of the school but it does not qualify for flashing signals as per the guidelines of the MTO because the main entrance is not off of Essa Rd.  Because of this, it will remain a 40 zone and although I am aware as most people who live near there are aware that the local constabulary likes setting up for radar on a Saturday or Sunday mornings,  I am hopeful that the larger signs will make drivers aware that it is a 40 as you approach the school.  I am constantly receiving complaints from people who’ve been caught speeding in that area.  Other issues expected to come to Council shortly include the Mapleton Road study between Essa and Veterans as well as the traffic calming device study that I asked for earlier this year to address the problem of speeding in residential subdivisions that Ward 7 is plagued with.  Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll be introducing a motion at Council to look at creating a policy for homeowners who live adjacent to City property to allow for the option of replacing the standard chain link fence that the City supplies with their own fence in order that they can beautify their property.  It’s also Capital budget time and a meeting of the Ward 7 Ratepayers Association is planned for September 13^th to get ideas of what is needed within the Ward.  One example of a local improvement that will hopefully be addressed through the Capital budget is reconfiguring the many pedestrian walkways so that the gates are overlapping each other.  I’ve had discussions with engineering staff about this and the purpose is to slow young bicyclists and skateboarders from going straight through the gates and onto roadways or speedways as I and many residents call them like Girdwood, and limit the risk of potentially being hit by cars.  They are in agreement that this would solve a City wide safety issue but it will have to be addressed at Capital Budget time.  It will also solve the problem of motorized vehicles using pedestrians walkways in the winter because they would not be able to fit through the gates.

 

Finally, I want to thank the many residents who I met with over the summer as I delivered my newsletter for their many positive comments on the job that I am doing and the job that Council is doing.  As expected, I did not get to every house within the Ward but I will continue to come around as time permits throughout the fall.  As you may or may not know, the Provincial election is taking place on October 10, 2007 and I urge you to become informed on the issues and exercise your right to vote.  Traditionally, and I can only chalk this up to the commute, Ward 7 has had the lowest turnout of any Ward within the City for elections at all levels of government.    

 

Council is back at it September 10^th so that’s it for now, enjoy the rest of the Labour Day weekend and take care.

 

John


August 12, 2006

Well, there goes Council's summer recess and man it flew by.  We're back at it tomorrow night with a package that's about 6 inches thick if not more.  I told Michael Prowse that he if reads the top half of the pile, I'll read the bottom half and we'll meet in the middle on Monday and help each other out.  Seriously though, I've read the package and we will be dealing with quite a few things.

The stop sign at Brucker and Emms is one of the issues being dealt with tomorrow.  Traffic staff are recommending the reversal of the stop sign from Emms to Brucker and are quantifying it based on the vehicle and pedestrian traffic patterns that they have studied.  In speaking to residents in that area, I know that they would like it to be a 4-way stop rather than the current 2-way stop and after reading the report, I will be getting more information from staff.  We've also received a report to update the zoning by-law and I am sure there will be some discussion about that.  Of note is the addition of secondary suites within the residential zoning designation which I have some concerns about and will be speaking to our City Treasurer about on Monday.  Although this plays into Provincial Policy under Places to Grow in regards to intensification and affordable housing, I am concerned about the impact on Municipal Services if more people are living under one roof in a single family home yet the assessment of that home doesn't take into account the impact on our services like policing or recreation.  As I said, I plan on getting a better understanding on this tomorrow morning. 

We will also be dealing with the City intensification strategy which again is part of provincial policy.  Intensification means building more density in areas that have not been developed yet.  There is a guideline that is used based on a certain amount of people and jobs per hectare of land and there is a definite benefit to the City and taxpayers in that it prevents urban sprawl and allows for build out or build up in already serviced areas costing far less than having to provide infrastructure like public facilities, sewer, water, and roads in newer subdivisions  Intensification is also one of Council's Strategic Priorities and this strategy will go a long way in seeing that we build responsibly with an ultimate goal of building a community in which residents can work, live, and play.

A naturalization policy is also coming before General Committee for consideration.  Council requested back in 2003 for staff to look at this type of policy for our parks, sportsfields, protected areas, and other city owned responsiblities like boulevards and vacant lots.  In essence, what the policy does and similar to what many other municipalities have adopted is ensure that as much as possible they be kept in a natural state.  That doesn't mean that they won't be maintained, it means that maintenance will be less intrusive for lack of a better term than what our current practice is and will provide clear direction to residents of how public lands will be maintained going forward.  Like I said Monday will be busy and the complete agenda package is available on the City web-site but you'll need to give yourself 3 days to read it believe me.

So you know, typically what happens is that Council receives a package on the Thursday evening prior to Council on Monday.  I'll read through it over the weekend and if there are any questions, staff are available all day Monday to answer the questions.  Every member of Council has the opportunity to bring up questions on Monday night or provide amendments to the recommended motion at general Committee at which point debate on either the motion or the amendment can happen and the vote occurs. 

A couple of more things, I've been to alot of homes over the break to meet with residents but as I suspected, did not get to them all.  I will continue to come around as time permits because I know many of you have appreciated talking about what has been happening at City Hall and around the ward.  In some cases, we've been able to get some issues resolved right away like missing street signs but in others, like ATV's and Dirtbikes, it is taking more time than I had hoped but I am working on it.  By the way, if you report the use of ATV's or Dirt Bikes to the Barrie Police service, specifically the address of the ATV'ers of Dirt Biker's, they will pay them a visit and warn them about the law prohibiting them within City limits and that they will continue to monitor for any further occurrences.  If you're not comfortable calling the police, then by all means let me know and I will contact them on your behalf.

The last thing is graffiti.  We're expecting a graffiti report soon from staff but this is really getting ridiculous and all of us must act on what is plain and simply an act of vandalism.  It's glorified as "tagging" but it is nothing more than vandalism and is a blight on our neighbourhoods that costs an incredible amount of money to clean up both in staff resources and equipment for not only the City but private enterprise as well.  Please keep your eye out for this type of activity and report it immediately.  The City has a policy of cleaning it up off City property within 24 hrs because if left unchecked, it could lead to further acts of vandalism.  When we receive the staff report, I will be moving a motion for the City to lobby the Provincial Attorney General to have young offenders as part of their community service sentences to be made available to clean up graffiti on both private and public property and there are some other things that I am looking into but I will await the staff report.  I know that none of us want to see the ghettoization of our neighbourhoods so again please keep your eyes open and report any occurences.

That's it for now but now that we're back, updates will be more frequent and thanks as always for your support.

Take Care,
John 

July 8, 2007

Two weeks into Councils summer recess and although I am trying to make up for some lost time with the family, City business continues and there are many things that still require attention.

Tomorrow, I am involved in Interviews to hire the Community Services Commissioner.  It will be an important position to fill with the right candidate because 80 percent of the City's budget goes through Community Services.  Whoever the successful candidate is, they will be responsible at a very high strategic level for some of the most high profile Departments within the City such as, Operations (including snow removal), Engineering, Leisure, Transit, and Facilities as well as the Fire Service.   After they're done, I'm off to the Grand Opening of the new Starbucks at the Wal-Mart plaza on Mapleview. 

This past week, the City included a notice about ATV's and Dirtbikes not permitted within City limits on our City page that appears in the Examiner every Friday.  I also provided comments to the Advance after they asked for some from our Media Release last week so we may get attention from them as well.  Other issues that have come up include the proposed site plan amendment for Bear Creek Secondary School.  City staff have been told that the School Board intends on building a practice field in a location that is heavily forested.  Although it is not zoned as an environmentally sensitive or protected area, several residents are concerned about the impact of the building of this field as it relates to cutting trees down as well as the costs, a taxpayers expense of building a practice field when a field already exists so I met with residents of Kenwell Crescent today to discuss this and to provide some guidance.  I have also sent an e-mail to the School Board Trustee for that Ward Diane Firman.

Over the weekend, I have invited residents to subscribe to our Ward 7 mailing list.  Although many of you have been enjoying the benefits of these posts right to your desktop for some time, I finally got around to inviting people who have not yet subscribed to do so and the response has been tremendous.  That's not to say it didn't go off without a hitch.  It seems that I had a choice of two buttons, one to automatically subscribe and the other to invite.  Some of you received an invitation while others were subscribed automatically after I hit the wrong button.  It's easy to unsubscribe if you like but judging from the response I have received so far, people appreciate the information that is being sent to them.

Finally, some of you who may have been to the Beer, Brew, and Ribfest at Centennial Park or driving around town today may have noticed alot of smoke coming from the Downtown core.  There was a major fire downtown at the corner of Mary and Dunlop.  The building has been destroyed and there is extensive water and smoke damage to the adjacent buildings.  All available personnel and apparatus from Barrie Fire Services were on scene while Springwater and Innisfil filled in at our stations.  By all accounts, and there were many, our Firefighters did a great job containing the fire inspite of the terrible conditions related to todays heat.  You should be proud of all of our Emergency Services for a co-ordinated effort to mitigate what could have been significant property loss

That's it for now.

Take Care,
John

June 30, 2007

Happy Canada Day!

It"s a very busy weekend with Promenade Days happening downtown and the fireworks display in the bay on Canada Day at 10 p.m.

During the month of June I was Acting Mayor and as a result, attended many functions on behalf of the City.  The highlight for me was hosting former New Brunswick Premier Frank McKenna who was in town as part of TD Banks 150 year affiliation with the City of Barrie.  We planted a tree at Heritage Park, then strolled through the Downtown talking about our revitilization efforts, checked out the new T.D. Bank facility on Collier St. then concluded by having lunch at Oscars with a large contingent of Business people from Barrie and area.  He was very impressed with the City and was genuinely excited about the prospects for the City and loved the waterfront.  There were many other events that I attended and some of the photos from those events can be seen in the photo gallery.

Council is on it's summer recess right now and we are not scheduled to go back until August 13th.  During the recess, I plan on meeting with as many residents as possible by going door-to-door.  In fact, I've been doing that over the last 3 weeks on a limited basis and have been listening to Ward 7 residents on the issues that are of concern to them as well as answer any questions that they might have.

One of those issues are ATV's and Dirtbikes disrupting lives along 27 and to the south of Lougheed and Selkirk.  This past week, I met with the Barrie Police Service, Municipal Law Enforcement as well as representatives of the North Simcoe ATV Club to work on a solution to this problem.  We walked away from the discussion with some good ideas and we will be working on them over the next week.  On Tuesday, the City will be issuing a Media Release about the use of ATV and Dirtbikes within City limits.  I also had a meeting planned last Tuesday with Solmar homes, the property owner south of Lougheed but unfortunately they had to cancel.  There is alot of ATV and Dirtbike activity on this property, which is privately owned and they are very interested in curbing the use of their property for these purposes.  This will be alot more difficult and time consuming than I had hoped it would be to solve this problem and I do understand the affect  this has on the quality of life for the people that live off Logan, Sundew, Selkirk, Lougheed, and Columbia but I am working on it.   

Other issues Council dealt with before the break included the establishment of a Finance Committee of Council, which I will be a part of whos mandate it is to give direction for both the operating and capital budgets, the creation of more parking spaces near the waterfront, as well as some re-zoning apllications.  Council also met on June 21, 2007, a Thursday, to give staff direction on our strategic priorities in a Corporate strategy session.  It was one of the best sessions that I have been involved in on Council and effectively will set direction from Council on how we are to achieve our strategic priorities over the next 3 and a half years.

Finally, the first 7 months on Council have flown by and I have really enjoyed being part of this new and dynamic Council.  I've said it before but there is alot of talent around the table and Council is working very well together to move our agenda forward but it is nice to have a break.  Enjoy the summer and be safe!

Take Care,
John 

June 9, 2007

Busy times at City Hall as we try to get as much business done as we can before the July break.  In fact, Council will only be sitting one time within 6 weeks so there is lots to do.  Last Saturday, I started going door to door meeting with constituents as I said I would during the summer months and I will say that I'll be lucky to get to every door but it is interesting to speak to residents about current issues and actually quite humurous when you see the shock they express that a politician has come to their door not during an election campaign but during a normal Saturday morning just to talk.  The people I spoke to were quite appreciative of the opportunity to talk about issues ranging from the Mayor to Northern Ethanol.

City Council is functioning very well and has been dealing with some pretty substantial issues including the Little Lake Park Management Plan, we have denied several re-zoning applications from Industrial to Commercial or residential, which in my opinion, sends a strong message to everyone that this Council is intent on protecting its remaining Industrial lands.  We've also been dealing with Northern Ethanol and have asked the Ministry of Environment to come before Council to answer questions as they relate to emmision and odour issues and we are hopeful that can be done before the break.

As Acting Mayor this month, I've been attending events that the Mayor has been unable to attend.  Hospice Simcoe launched their Capital campaign this past Thursday with great success.  CBC Radio was in town on Tuesday talking about a proposal to ring a CBC affiliate to Barrie which signals the extent of respect that Barrie is receiving as Canada's fastest growing community.  On Thursday, I attended the W.C. Little Fun Fair and what an event.  It was like a Carnival atmosphere and the parents of this school really did a great job with the event.

Last month, I asked Gary Calvert, the Development Services Commisioner to intiate a meeting between YOM, myself, and C.A.O Jon Babulic and the meeting occurred yesterday morning.  Yom is one of the Major Industrial Companies in Barrie located in Ward 7.  It was a great meeting focused mostly on how we as the City of Barrie can help them succeed.  YOM is planning for future growth in the area and continues to expand it's product line of supplying car parts for the Automotive Industry.  As City representatives, it's vital that are in constant contact with our business community not only to show support but it also encourages word among their sector that the City of Barrie is a great place to operate a business.  Line one of Council's Strategic Priorities is to attract, retain, and expand business in Barrie and as a Council, we must always be mindful of that.

On another note, Veteran's Drive is now open after 7 months of Construction.  This is great news to help the flow of traffic on Mapleview and will allow vehicles another east-west alternative as well as a north-south route on Veterans.  Speaking of cars, I have an item coming to General Committee on Monday night that the City promote and encourage participation in International Car Free Day.  Information is available at www.carfreeday.ca.

That's it for now except to say that our Ward 7 Ratepayers Committee will be coming to City Hall on Monday for an orientation afternoon to meet senior staff as well other staff members.  I'm looking forward to it as a chance to better understand how things work at City Hall.

By the way, the winners of the $32 Million last week from Barrie live in Ward 7.  

Take Care,
John

May 20, 2007

I hope everyone is enjoying the Victoria Day long weekend and the Waterfront festival downtown.  It's amazing the amount of effort that goes into co-ordinating an event like this and it's also amazing that there are so many weekends throughout the summer that activity like this weekends festival will happen.  Between Celebrate Barrie, Promenade Days, and Kempenfest among the many functions, there is always a good reason to stay home and enjoy what Barrie has to offer not to mention that with gas prices soaring the way they are, travelling has become expensive which is all the more reason to play right here in your backyard.

I want to talk about the members of Council and I'll start by saying how proud I am to be part of this Council.  It's been amazing to me how everyone has come together throwing partisanship aside to ensure that the business of the City gets done in spite of the controversy surrounding the Mayor.  In the last couple of weeks, we have had to deal with significant re-zoning issues that in my view Council has made the right decision about.  Members of Council have been attending Inter-Governmental meetings with both Provincial and Federal Cabinet Ministers about an array of issues like Infrastructure funding to the challenges facing the City as it continues to grow.  Council is ensuring that our strategic priorities and the agenda related to them continues to be implemented by staff.  Council members are in constant communication with each other about the issues we are dealing with and about the issues that are coming up and how best to handle those issues.  It really is amazing how involved and how in tune we are to each other.  I have said this before but it is worth repeating, there is alot of talent around the Council table and each of us brings a unique perspective on things and as different as some of those persepectives are, every one of them is respected by the others.

We had another ratepayers meeting on Wednesday and I will now start posting the minutes of the meetings on this site.  I am pretty sure that everyone is finding our meetings as informative and productive as I am.  Issues like motorized vehicles (ATV's, Motorcycles etc..) using our parks and generally causing noise and disruption for homeowners are examples of issues that the group has been talking about and as I have been doing, will be dealing with that issue once again in the upcoming week.

I am also still working on getting the newsletter like the one on the front of the site delivered.  I will be meeting with residents going door to door throughout the summer so I will have some printed for that.  The challenge I have in sending them is that the Emergency Preparedness Conference in January ate up $2100 of my $3000 office budget so I have very little left for what I want to do like send out this Newsletter because I didn't expect the Conference to come out of my budget and was told prior to going that it wouldn't.  I did support however for the Conference to come out of my budget after it was raised at Council, rightly so, that no funds had been allocated to the Emergency Management Committee and a motion was moved, to have the funds come from the accounts of those who attended.  In supporting the motion, I knew that my budget would be affected negatively but it was the right thing to do.  

That's it for now, more to come and as always, check back for the latest information.

Take Care,
John
 

April 26, 2007

By now, the issue of the Mayor's trip to China with a couple of prominent developers that he has admited was paid for in part while he was there by his Chinese hosts has broken not only locally but in the Globe and Mail as well.  While I can't say much at this point, I will say that Council met about the matter in camera on Monday and the results of that meeting will be made public after Council this coming Monday night.  I have heard some complaints about why this was done "in private" and to that I say anytime Council deals with a personnel, property, or litigation matter it must be done in that manner as mandated by the Municipal Act but it doesn't mean that we are not dealing with the issue(s) at hand.  By Monday, I suspect that you will know that Council views the issue of the trip as a serious matter and that we will do what we need to to protect the interests of this City.  The unfortunate part about this whole thing is that it distracts from the good things and hard work that is being done by members of Council to work on implenting our Strategic Priorities.

On Monday, April 30th, C.A.O. Babulic and I will be going to Guelph to meet with Public Infrastructure Minister David Caplan for a meeting of Urban Growth Centre Mayors to discuss the Provinces Places to Grow plan.  I will be representing the City of Barrie which means that this will be the 3rd. time in less than 2 weeks that I have had an audience with the Minister who is in charge of Infrastructure money for the Province so to say that we are "working it" is an understatement.

Also on Monday, the long-awaited Ardagh Bluffs Park Plan will be presented to Council.  The plan is a comprehensive review of the Bluffs and how we can continue to preserve and enhance the area.  My main focus as we move forward on this plan is to ensure that we stop motorized traffic from ATV's and Motorcycles in this protected area because not only are they destroying the natural beauty of the bluffs but they are also causing quality of life issues for the people that live around them.

That's it for now.  Take Care.

John

April 21, 2007

Things have been extremely busy at City Hall.  Now that budget time has passed, the day to day operations of constituent issues as well as the many City issues are front and centre. 

This past Thursday, Rod Jackson, Mike Ramsay, Director of Strategic Services Rebecca James-Reid and I met with Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister John Gerretson as well as Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal David Caplan.  It was a great meeting that last an hour and fifteen minutes and in that time we talked about Council's Strategic Priorities and how that fits into the Provinces vision for this area and well as the City of Barrie's infrastructure requirements including the need for help with the Surface Water Treatment Plant and our roads among other things.  We are a growing City with demands created from that growth and it cannot be funded solely by those of us who live and work here.  I and the others who attended left the meeting feeling that we had their ear and that they were very much interested in partnering with Barrie to help us with our growth challenges.

Among the constituent issues I've been dealing with is the sale of Forest County lands and the impact on Columbia Rd. residents, trying to solve the ATV and Motorcycle problem in the south end, the plaza at Mapleton and Marsellus, as well as the roadway problems on Mapleton between Essa and Veterans.  There will be a spring newsletter that is in the final stages of completion and it should be out by the end of the month.  I made a pledge during the campaign to improve on the communication to the residents of Ward 7 and I do plan on doing this as often as possible but I think this website is still the best source for information.

Finally, news broke this week of the Mayor taking a trip to China over the Easter holiday and while that may not seem like a big deal because people do take trips, there is concern among Council as has been reported in the newspaper around the circumstances surrounding the trip.  I, along with my colleagues on Council feel that the Mayor must account for the trip because there is widespread rumour and specualtion in regards to it.  Prior to leaving, the Mayor was secretive as to the nature of the trip although we did know he was going away, none of us knew for what reason he was going.

As elected officials, we must be held to a high standard when it comes to the issue of accountability and transparency.  It was a cornerstone issue for me when I ran as I know it was for others.  Council has a legislated (under the Municipal Act) and moral obligation to be transparent and accountable at all times because if we are not held to a high standard, your trust and faith in your elected officials would be diminished and doubt as to the intent of our actions would be created.  I feel very strongly about your faith and trust in us as a Council and I know my colleagues on Council feel the same way and that's why we will never be afraid to stand up to scrutiny and be transparent and accountable in everything we do.  We will be asking questions about this trip for that reason.

Take Care,
John

March 28, 2007

2.99 %, that's what the final increase worked out to after Council approved the budget on Monday.  I'm very pleased with this budget given the fact that it is our first as a new Council, but there is still more that needs to be done to ensure that we have better efficiencies and accountabilities at City Hall.  What this budget does, is maintains alot of the services that residents expect as well as provides some much needed tax relief.  It also maintains and in some cases improves on our strong reserve balances which is important for the City's financial security.

I and the rest of Council are now focused on improving the process for both the Capital and Operating budgets and there should be some news on that front very soon.

Take Care.

John

March 20, 2007

It's been awhile only because things have been so busy and my family took a vacation over the March break.

Two very important issues have been dealt with over the last two days.  One is that the Budget has been approved by General Committee and two, that Council has approved the hiring of a new C.A.O.  First the budget, I am very pleased with the amount of effort that staff put into the budget and the results of General Committee finalizing the budget.  With Council approval still pending, residents are looking at a 3.88 percent increase in the municipal portion of their tax bill.  For a house asessed at $218,000, that will mean an $89.89 tax increase for the year or if you break it down by the week, a $1.72/week increase.  That's not bad for maintaining already existing services within the City while supporting increased services by our service partners such as the County of Simcoe and the Police.  We had started at over 6.8% for the City portion so this is a great result and it's important to know that the City is in a very strong financial position with our reserve balances.  My position has always been that I would support increases that were within an acceptable inflationary range that residents can keep up with and this does just that. 

Having gone through the process with this being my first budget, changes are needed on how the process occurs going forward and today I spoke with the new C.A.O. on what those changes might look like and how we can make them happen.

Now to the C.A.O.  In my opinion as stated in an earlier post, this was likely the single most important issue that the new Council would have to deal with during the next 4 years and I am very pleased to say that Jon Babulic is the City's new C.A.O.  Jon  brings  extensive and very successful private sector experience and that, coupled with his experience as Commissioner of Community Services for the last 6 months is exactly what the City needs to implement the needed changes not only to the budget process but also in the manner in which the City provides services.  As Chair of the Community Services Committee, I have worked very closely with Jon and I am very confident that he is the right person at the right time to energize Council, Staff, and the City.  You can check out the City's Media Release by clicking here.

Finally, I was very pleased to gain General Committees support on 3 initiatives.  They were to study the removal of parking restrictions near Holly Meadows School and W.C. Little School and to have staff in Engineering conduct a pilot project for traffic calming devices in residential subdivisions.  Speeding combined with not having the resources to enforce it,  is a significant problem that is widespread in this City and it needs to be addressed for the Safety of our residents and particularly our children.

That's it for now, I'll be posting alot sooner next time.  Take Care.

John 




February 6, 2007

Lots happening around City Hall.  At last nights Council meeting, Councillor Prowse and I put forward an item for discussion to have staff work with the Library to come up with a plan to utilize existing community centres including Holly for an exchange of library matterials and to give residents better service to our library.  We're hopeful that a solution can be found in the abscence of a permanent library at this point to meet the demand of Ward 6 and 7 resident for our library services.

Council also approved a policy for variable flashing signs for school located on arterial and collector roads.  Basically, during the times that the signs are flashing, cars are expected to observe a 40 km/h speed limit but at all other times, the speed that the roadway was prior to the implementation of community safety zones will be reinstated.  This will allow for better traffic flow on roads that were designed for 50 or 60 km/h speeds.  I am not happy about the $250,000 that has to be spent on the signs however this situation is the right solution without resorting back to the way it was.

The other issue I will be addressing soon is speeding within residential subdivions.  It's a problem that is occurring throughout the City so last Thursday I met with engineering staff including our traffic specialists to try and devlop a plan to deal with it.  I believe that we have come up with a way to start the process but I will need the support of Council.

Finally, the budget process is well underway.  Staff have presented options for increases ranging from 2.82 to 6.5%.  There is no appetite among ratepayers for anything other than acceptable inflationary increases and I made that very clear last night at Council even though there are significant demands being placed on the City ranging from downloading to our service partners request for increases (i.e. Simcoe County and Police).   In some cases, Council may have to make the decision to cut some services to meet the budget target.  Over the past several weeks, many of you have been sending e-mails with your concerns and ideas, all of which will play a part in my decision making.  I am very concerned for seniors on fixed incomes and young families who are increasingly finding it difficult to afford to live in this City and I will do my best to keep it affordable.

It's going to be a busy rest of the week with Board of Health meetings, constituent meetings, a meeting with the Province, and a short-list meeting about potential Chief Administrative Officer candidates which in my opinion is the single most important issue at least in the near-term that Council has to make.

Take Care,
John

January 18, 2007

I just returned from the Emergency Preparedness Conference in Ottawa.  There were lots of Industry leaders in attendance and the City was represented by the Mayor, Councillor Jerry Moore, Commissioner of Community Services Jon Babulic as well as Bruce Griffin, the City's Emergency Preparedness Co-Ordinator.

All emergencies start at the local level and it's important that the City of Barrie is prepared in the event of an emergency occurring.  On Saturday, on the heels of this conference, Emergency Management Ontario is conducting a one day seminar for all Councillors and Senior Management Officials at City Hall on the role and responsibility of Ontario Municipal Leaders in an emergency.

Two things stuck out after attending the Ottawa Conference. One is that funding is needed from both the Provincial and Federal Governments in order for individual Municipalities to better prepare in terms of training and equipping our emergency first responders (Police, Fire and EMS) because cities cannot provide the funding alone and second, a disaster or emergency is NOT the time to be exchanging business cards with people who provide assistance and that's why the Conference in Ottawa was so important.  C.N for rail emergencies., Hydro One for blackouts, Public Health Canada for pandemic or other health emergencies, Public Safety Canada for weather issues, Telus for communication equipment, and I could go on were all in attendance and provided the City an opportunity to network during this conference to better prepare. 

Council is back in session on Monday and I expect a very busy agenda that will include the City honouring Bryan Little of the Barrie Colts for his Gold Medal winning performance at the World Junior Hockey Championships.

John

January 11, 2007

There has been alot of media coverage regarding the Mayor's open houses.  I attended the first one on Tuesday and spoke with quite a few residents about priorities over the next four years which is the intent of these type of forums.

Ultimately, Council will have the final say as to what direction we go but I do think its important to have the public input as we did during the campaign and as we are now.

I've read that Council should start now to set the course and that we should not wait any longer to tell Barrie residents where we are heading.  While there is no doubt that Council's job is to set direction and to establish priorities, I take issue with the fact that this should be done in haste.  It's important to know that there are some differences between this term of Council and the last.

First, this Council has four years to implement their plan.  The Provincial Government made the change to Municipal Council terms in order to allow Councils time to forge agendas and implement them.  To that end, the new Council has scheduled February 17, 2007 as the date for our strategic planning session.  Last Council, with only a 3 year term, held their session at the end of January so the difference will only be a matter of a couple of weeks and only after all the public consultations are completed and reviewed which I believe only enhances the process. 

Second, I know in speaking with other Councillors, that our priorities for this term of Council are in some cases not dissimilar to that of the previous Council or of residents as we are finding out.

Ultimately it comes down to doing what is best for the City, its residents and business community, and I am very confident that this Council has its head screwed on right and will not only create priorities but deliver on them.  It just won't be tomorrow as some who are critical would like but if they can wait a couple of more weeks, I don't believe that they will be disappointed with the outcome and neither will you.

John

December 31, 2006

I want to begin by wishing everyone a Happy New Year and I hope that the holidays have gone well.

"Downtown Countdown" is on tonight at City Hall and it truly is a great family event.  My wife has brought the kids for the last several years and they have had a blast.  Unfortunately in past years, as is the case this year, my shift at the Fire Department has fallen on New Year's eve and I will not be able to attend.

Things will really start ramping up this next week for the new Council after the "honeymoon period" of December and I expect the January 8, 2007 meeting to be a busy one.  I'll be meeting again with the City's Emergency Preparedness Co-ordinator this week as well as working on constituent issues that were brought to my attention and that I started to deal with just before the holidays began.   

2007 will be a busy year with the establishment of the Ward 7 Ratepayers Association, Ward 7 issues as well as Committee work.  In spite of all of this however, if there is something that you as a Ward 7 resident need from me or any of our staff members, please do not hesitate to ask.  Take Care and again Happy New Year and please do not Drink and Drive.

John

December 15, 2006

Busy day today.  I met with the City's Emergency Preparedness Co-ordinator Bruce Griffin to get some initial background on where the City is with respect to Emergency Preparedness.  Bruce has a strong background in this area and his insight was appreciated.  Mayor Aspden has indicated that placing the City of Barrie at an increased level of Emergency Preparedness will be a priority for this Council.  Being prepared for an emergency  takes into account alot of things.  There's the obvious planning but a large part of the plan is to educate the public of what to do in the event of an emergency.  The City is developing as one component of education, a section of its web-site specifically geared to public information that should help us to educate Barrie residents about preparing for an emergency.

I also looked at options for a library in the south end of the City.  A library in the south end is something that Council, in particular south end Councillors are very interested in seeing happen soon.

I'm also  narrowing down the dates of our first Ward 7 Ratepayers Association meeting.  The establishment of this committee will be an asset to me and the Ward and I'm very excited about its prospects.  The committee consists of people who live and/or work in Ward 7 and reflects a broad range of residents from seniors to those who have lived in the Ward for less than a year.  They are all people who I met during the campaign and who expressed interest in forming this type of committee.

Finally, I am pleased to have been chosen as Chair of the Community Services Committee.   The recommendation formally goes to Council on the 18th for approval.  The Community Services Commission is responsible for:  engineering, road maintenance, road improvements, pollution control, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, traffic, parking facilities, transit, street lighting, subdivision services,  utility co-ordination, corporate and recreation facilities, leisure/recreation, parks, culture, transportation policy, fire and emergency services, environmental services, senior services, airport, and horticulture. 

I am looking forward to working with the other members of the Committee, Councillors Prowse, Strachan, and Jackson.  Given the scope of responsibility that this particular Committee has with respect to the amount of budget dollars involved, I am very glad to have the experience and strengths that these 3 Councillors bring to the table working in partnership with me. 

John
 
December 14, 2006

Welcome to the new Ward 7 website.  The previous site ran it's course because it was a campaign web-site and now that I'm elected as Ward 7 Councillor, I felt it was important to make the site more functional as a sitting Councillor site.

There will be lots of information available to you when you come here.  My plan is to continually provide updates with relevant information about what I am doing within the Ward, at City Hall, and what Council is doing as a whole to make the City a great place to live.  Feel free to browse for whatever information you need, and if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to call me.  My e-mail information and phone number is located under the Contact John index on the left side of the page.

Thanks again for your support and I hope you enjoy this new site for Ward 7 because information is the key component to feeling involved.

John