Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Mayor Karin Terziano is not going to be happy with me this week. She doesn’t like being talked about and that is what I am going to do.
She is one of those rare politicians who shuns the limelight. She has no idea how to blow her own horn, which, in a strictly musical sense, is very unusual for a Terziano! She is not interested in drawing attention to herself. She is just interested in getting things done. Perhaps that is why she is so effective.
Recent events in Canada and abroad have had me thinking a lot lately about leadership. A recent poll in the National Post stating that 69 per cent of our population thinks that Canada is “broken” acts as a sharp reminder of how little leadership we have and how badly we need it. There are so few examples of it these days that my heart warmed when I saw something in our own community that showed that effective leadership is still alive and well, if only in our little corner of the world.
Most people know that Huntsville has had a serious lack of nursing home beds for many years. In more recent times, it has turned into a bit of a crisis with many instances of elderly people unable to receive needed care, or having to be sent well away from their community and family in order to get it. There are families in our community who have had to give up much-needed employment in order to stay home to care for an elderly parent who needs more professional care but cannot get it because of a lack of nursing home beds.
Our former mayor, Scott Aitchison, was a strong advocate for expanded nursing home facilities here and many people have worked hard to make it happen, especially former and current members of the Fairvern Nursing Home board.
Fairvern came up with a plan to build a new facility near the Huntsville Hospital campus, expanding from the current 76 beds to 160 long-term beds, equal to the number of nursing home beds at The Pines in Bracebridge. Greystone, a local contractor, donated the land and the Town built a road to it.
But the crunch came at the cost of the new building. Nursing homes, other than private ones, are the responsibility of the District of Muskoka which operates The Pines in Bracebridge. Muskoka’s share of an expanded Fairvern would be at least $23 million and there is no way that can be supported by a single municipality any more than The Pines could have been built and expanded without District help.
And so, on Mayor Terziano’s watch, the task arrived of convincing Muskoka District Council to assume control of Fairvern, commit to the local share of capital dollars, and apply to the Province for 160 nursing home beds for Fairvern. There was considerable opposition to this, primarily from some township municipalities who were reluctant to take on the increased cost to their local tax base.
The challenge for Karin Terziano was that the fate of a much-needed expansion of Fairvern was now in the political arena. If the District of Muskoka failed to assume responsibility for Fairvern and the proposal that went with it, the project would be dead and the efforts of a lot of people meaningless. It was a do-or-die moment.
The mayor did not hesitate. She is aware that the first rule of politics is to know how to count, and in this instance she needed 12 votes from the 22-member District Council. She knew she had the support of Huntsville’s three other District councillors, but she also knew that as mayor, the buck stopped with her. She worked tirelessly to get support from other District councillors, sometimes having to move around obstacles that were placed in front of her, which she did with effectiveness and grace. She had allies but she also had opponents.
The mayor quietly planned her strategy, made sure she had strong representation from nursing home advocates at key District meetings, including former deputy mayor, Fran Coleman, took advice from a few other District mayors who supported her and generally “worked the room” in her quiet manner until she was fairly confident that she had the votes that were needed. She was so effective that those who originally opposed the Fairvern proposal agreed to a non-threatening compromise that allowed them to support it, resulting in a unanimous decision by District Council to support an expanded nursing home in Huntsville.
While clearly Karin Terziano did not do this alone—and would be the first to say so—she deserves credit for getting the deal closed with the District of Muskoka and, in my view and probably to her relief, this has not been adequately recognized. It was a true test of leadership and, in terms of Huntsville’s future needs, it is a really big deal.
Now the next and final step is to get approval from the Province of Ontario. Hopefully, our Member of Provincial Parliament Norm Miller can exercise the same level of leadership in this regard as did our mayor. Huntsville and the District of Muskoka have done their job, Norm. Now, over to you!
Hugh Mackenzie
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When we discovered that Scott would be leaving, I was quite concerned that Karin’s innate modesty might prevent her from throwing her hat into the ring. She, however, reassured me that she would run: I couldn’t imagine the vacuum at the top if she didn’t. All of her decisions as a Councillor (and as Deputy-Mayor) were both well reasoned and considerate of cost.
Kudos, Karin! We are, indeed, a fortunate Town.
Thank you, Hugh, for recognizing the exceptional leadership of Mayor Terziano. In her quiet, deliberate manner, she gets things done. Last summer when my team was totally overwhelmed by circumstances associated with a delay in the progress of a subdivision project, Karin listened and responded… within 24 hours, the impasse was addressed and with Karin’s guidance, it was resolved days later. We are well served with Karin in the Mayor’s chair and I hope she stays in the chair for years to come. A remarkable lady.
Enjoyed talking to Karen when she was in charge of the Arena. Had to phone her many times a year about availability of the facility, winter and summer. Always was very polite and in charge of the scheduling. A very good person. Well written article Hugh, and accurate.
“Rah’s from the back room boys “..a well written
Article about a mayor who deserves our praise
Dave McClure you still have time to turn your love to Huntsville. We have many friends who have sold their homes in London, Barrie, Toronto, Wasaga Beach, Milford and even Niagara Falls and moved to Huntsville. They’re not complaining. I guarantee you there will be a place for you among us too.
I am so pleased to see how all of you are pulling together in Muskoka District.You have great spirit in your town and I would love to live with you people.And thanks Hugh for blowing your mayor’s horn .And let your town keep on playing great music and for trying to help out our older people with better senior facilities.Best wishes from Dave McClure in Grand Bend , Ontario.
Frances Botham, somebody had to do it anyway. Fate chose her to do it. We have no control over what fate has in store for us. What she’s done deserves credit. Huntsville will never forget it. The memory of this will last forever. I’d like to take this opportunity to mention in two sentences former Huntsville Mayor Claude Doughty. This man of flesh and blood has helped my family through a very difficult time. He was a visionary and a man of passion. He rushed selflessly to help poor or needy people. I consider him the best mayor in Huntsville history.
Seems to me to be a time of celebration for Huntsville and Mayor Terziano. Too bad Francis Botham finds it necessary to try to poison the moment with some old grudge. Shame!
Congratulations Huntsville and let’s hope the project gets Provincial support.
Was there doubt that the district would not support Fairvern?
The repercussions of closing/losing a major nursing home that has a broad spectrum of residents would knock any opposing politician out of possibility of ever getting reelected again.
Let’s get real!
Karin Terziano is a fine individual who can stand on her own. She doesn’t need rahs from the backroom boys.
And Huntsville should formulating a plan for the expansion of services,,,,, from Huntsville to South River….
Couldn’t have communicated that better Sonja!
In her own calm, quiet way, Karin shows sincere interest in the lives of others. She knows how to roll up her sleeves and produce when times get difficult. As a humble leader with integrity, Karin has earned our respect.
As C.S, Lewis once said: “Integrity is doing the right thing even when no one is watching.”
Karin has already proven that she deserves the title of Mayor!
A Great Leader spawned from an honest , very hardworking individual .She has overcome obstacles put in Her way to become the success She is today and The Community is much better for it .