Miss Monday’s council meeting? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below are some of the highlights.
Initiative proposed for those affected by cancer and their care givers
Allie Chisholm-Smith, owner of Ahimsa, and Joanne McLean, the new co-owner of Soapstones, were before Huntsville council on Monday, November 28 to introduce the Enliven Self-Care Centre initiative, aimed at providing a holistic support network for people with a cancer diagnosis and their caretakers. Chisholm-Smith said when you get a diagnosis it can be very disheartening and confusing. “We want to reduce the social isolation for both the patient and the caregiver,” she said. McLean and Chisholm-Smith asked for council’s support in getting the word out, connecting with health organizations in other communities and sourcing out other funding opportunities. Chisholm-Smith also noted that nothing like it is in place north of Barrie.
Hunters Bay Trail extension approved at increased cost
Council learned on Monday that the trail extension project is now estimated to cost approximately $614,000. The Town’s portion of the project amounted to $75,000 over two years as well as staff time, but now council is facing an additional $34,620 as a result of trail modifications and extensions that have been made in accordance with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and other external agencies. Other funding will come from PanAm, Trans Canada Trail and the District of Muskoka, but council was asked to decide whether to move forward in light of the budget shortfall, along with a yearly maintenance expenses associated with the trail extension. Councillor Bob Stone said given the Town’s other commitments he could not support the expenditure. Others argued that the money should be borne by development through development charges and cash in lieu of parkland reserves. In the end, council approved the additional expenditure and the funds for the project will be coming from development charges rather than the taxation base.
Town to make bid to host Ontario 55+ Winter Games
Town council agreed to put aside $60,000 and make a run at hosting the 2019 event. Scott Ovell, Community Development Officer, told council that the 55+ demographic travels well and spends a lot of money in their destination community. He said after 2014, the Province increased funding for the games and part of that grant would cover hiring a general manager for the event, whose role would also be to find sponsors. He said keeping the position in-house would put undue stress on staff, although he did say the Town would take on more of a leadership role than when it hosted the event in 2013. He said the event takes place mid-week in February and would be a good economic generator for the community. Council agreed to move forward with the bid.
Waterloo building appraisal pending
Huntsville CAO Denise Corry told council that based on the quotes she has received it would cost an estimated $10,000 to have the Waterloo Summit Centre for the Environment building appraised as per council’s request at its last meeting. Another option would be to get an opinion of value from a commercial realtor at a cost of an estimated $1,000. Staff told council that due to procedural issues they could not opt for the second option until their meeting in January, much to the chagrin of Councillor Bob Stone, who has gone on the record saying the building should be sold.
Go big or stay home: council wants to cost out the Cadillac of theatre signs
It must have been music to Theatre Manager Matt Huddlestone’s ears. When he presented council with lower cost options for a digital sign for the theatre, Councillor Nancy Alcock told council that they might be missing the boat by getting a digital rather than a virtual display sign. Huddlestone noted that the quality would indeed be far superior, it would enable full animation and live broadcast, and it could have daylight sensor technology but Huddlestone noted that the price would be significantly higher. He estimated it would cost about $25,000 to put up a virtual display sign, rather than the estimated $10,000 it would cost for a digital sign. In the end, Huddlestone was asked to investigate that option further and bring a report back to Huntsville’s General Committee in January. He was also asked to look into advertising revenue opportunities by Councillor Dan Armour.
Council asked to spend more money on promotional video
In August, municipal staff started working with Star Shine Video Productions (now Shine Media) to put together an economic development promotional video to try and attract more businesses to the community. The $5,000 video showcases a number of business entrepreneurs in the community and asks the viewer why they’re not living in Huntsville. Supported by Councillor Bob Stone, chair of Huntsville’s Economic Development Committee, staff asked council for an additional $10,000 to edit the video into shorter clips for social media and to market the same. Scott Ovell, Community Development Officer, estimated that an additional $2,500 would be required for editing and $7,500 for marketing. Councillor Jonathan Wiebe said a decision to relocate is a major life-altering decision and did not think 30-second clips could do it justice.
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison pointed out that the idea is to get people’s attention and draw them in so they can do their own research. Councillor Brian Thompson said he thought both approaches have merit. The funds were to be pulled from some councillors’ discretionary funds. Councillor Armour suggested that there is nothing stopping the municipality from marketing the video it has. Wiebe said he’d like to see how it does. In the end, Ovell was asked to prepare a request for proposal to edit and market the video and its components, while staff markets it on social media to see how it does.
Town moves forward with handover of Chaffey Hall to Huntsville Lions
Huntsville CAO Denise Corry told council that based on discussions with legal counsel and the fact that the Lions Club has invested money in Chaffey Hall, the club could have a legal case against the municipality if it were to choose not to proceed with the transference of ownership of Chaffey Hall to the Huntsville Lions Club. Council heard the relationship between the Lions and its tenant, the Huntsville Theatre Company, has been acrimonious. Issues involved the theatre company notifying the Town on October 27 that the furnace had been “locked out” due to a cracked heat exchanger. The Town replaced the furnace on October 28, and will be deducting $5,000 from the $16,320.00 annual grant it agreed to pay the Lions over five years in 2013 to divest itself of the hall. It has two payments left.
Councillor Nancy Alcock called the theatre group an exciting cultural initiative for the municipality and expressed concern with what she referred to as a toxic relationship between the tenant and the landlord.
Ovell said in speaking with the Lions, his impression is that they are willing to wipe the slate clean. He also said it behooves the club to maintain its relationship with the Huntsville Theatre Company to help with the cost of maintaining the hall. Whether that relationship continues past the expiration of its tenancy agreement with the theatre company will depend on how it treats its tenant, he added.
Addressing a housing shortage in Huntsville
Councillor Nancy Alcock
Councillor Nancy Alcock told council that discussions have taken place related to a piece of property currently owned by the Town, located next to a property where a multi-residential development is planned on Muskoka Road 2. She said the Town considered selling the property to the District, which uses a Quonset shed on the property to store items used by its public works department.
“I am suggesting that the subject of affordable housing should take precedent over selling for a dollar our municipal property to the District for them to use a Quonset hut for public works.” Alcock said she’d like to see discussions continue. Councillor Jonathan Wiebe called it an incredible opportunity for the Town to put the right parcel of land to the right use. “We have to try and alleviate some of the pressure on housing in this community,” said Wiebe. Alcock said high-level discussions have taken place with the developer and preliminary discussions have also taken place with the District on the idea of developing non-profit housing.
Huntsville Mayor Scott Aitchison commended the idea and said the initiative goes well with a report he’s planning on bringing forward to the Town’s General Committee on Wednesday about other municipal lands that are waiting for council to do something with. “We need many different types and forms of housing. Just a simple affordable housing strategy is not going to work. What we need is a zero homelessness strategy and there are municipalities in this country that have done it. You’ll see that in the report that I’ve got coming to General Committee. We can do it too,” said the mayor.
UPDATED November 28: The original post indicated that the initial cost of the Economic Development Committee’s video was $10,000. That amount should have been $5,000. We apologize for the error.
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Thanks for pointing that out Bob. It’s been changed.
Correction!!! The promotional video for Economic Development will total $15k NOT $20k.
The video itself cost $5k to make and Council approved $10k to market it. That $10k will come from specific Councillor discretionary funds to avoid any new tax on the public.