Hugh Mackenzie
Huntsville Doppler
Time For Some Answers …
“It’s May. It’s May. The lovely month of May!” (Actually, in the song from Camelot, I think they sing the “lusty” month of May, but hey, I am talking about Huntsville and do not wish to be that presumptuous!) So here, in our little part of Camelot, it is the merry month of May. The trilliums are out. The leaves are almost out. We have had three whole days of sunshine in a row. The first long weekend of the season is upon us. Our cottagers are back and there is beer in River Mill Park! What more can we ask?
Well, maybe there are a few things. It is hard to believe that less than a year from now we will be in campaign mode for the next municipal election. Our elected representatives are well into their third year of acting on our behalf and it is fair to assess what they have actually done for us. There will be opportunities for them to address the issues of the day, this summer and next, at lake association meetings and other summer events. You can be sure that they will be very visible. It will be important for us, however, to separate the hyperbole from actual accomplishments. We will need to answer the question of whether we, as a community, are better off than we were before the last municipal election. And to come to that conclusion, one way or another, there are questions that need to be asked and answered. Here are some of them.
What is happening with hospital care in Muskoka? If memory serves me correctly, the latest committee appointed, MAHST (Muskoka and Area Health System Transformation), was mandated to deliver its final report this month. There are nine days left and I would not hold my breath. Indeed, in a newspaper article written this week by Cheryl Faber, Project Director of MAHST, it appears as if the process is still very much in the consultation stage. Meanwhile, there is a motion still on the books from Huntsville Council recommending the reduction of acute care hospitals in Muskoka from two to one. Bracebridge has optioned property for a new hospital. There is a Chief of Staff for the two Muskoka hospitals who favours the centralization of surgery in Bracebridge and there is the intransigent position of the Muskoka Algonquin Health Care Board that there will be a single site hospital in Muskoka. On paper, that is the current status. So, what exactly is really going on? What has changed in the last three years of discussion? We need to have a clear picture of what health care, and particularly hospital care, is going to look like in Huntsville in the future and we need to hold the fire to the feet of our elected officials to see that this happens before the municipal election next year. We need answers and we need leadership. We have waited long enough.
What steps have been taken in light of the report in the Globe and Mail several months ago that Huntsville, on a per capita basis, is the fifth worst municipality in Canada when it comes to the number of sexual assault cases that were reported but deemed to be unfounded and therefore not prosecuted? There was a hue and cry at the time this was reported, but radio silence since. Do we hope that this issue will just go away or is there a plan to rectify this horrifying statistic?
Are District roads going to be taken back by the area municipalities? Mayor Scott Aitchison proposed this as part of his election campaign. He has followed through with a plan to take over maintenance of District roads which he believes will result in substantive savings for Huntsville and other area municipalities. When will we see and be able to evaluate this plan? Where are the roadblocks? Is it really going to happen?
Is there a snowball’s chance in Hell that we will see a reduction of elected officials in Muskoka? We currently have more than the City of Toronto. District Council has been considering ways to reduce their numbers. My bet is that too many of them are happy with the status quo and their double stipends and we won’t see any substantive changes.
What about Huntsville’s Main Street? What plans do members of Council have to maintain the downtown core as a place where people want to live, shop and be entertained. Specifically, what is the vision to spur development of the abandoned Empire Hotel Block?
When are we going to have a solution to the disposition of the Waterloo Building in a manner that benefits the taxpayer and only the taxpayer? It has become a white elephant.
And finally, are we getting a bang for our buck? The last three budget increases have averaged about seven per cent per year, more than the incomes of most taxpayers have increased. Did we get our money’s worth? Are we better off than we were?
There will be answers to these questions, but it is fair ball to ask them as councillors enter the last third of their term. Like Camelot, Huntsville is a very special place. Also, like Camelot, there are issues beneath the surface that need to be addressed. Now is the time to do so.
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I don’t know how much input our local council have in provincial matters but am I the only one who feels that the resurfacing of highway 60 is a terrible waste of taxpayer money? Everyone I talk to thinks it is completely unnecessary given the good condition of the road and the need for these funds elsewhere. (Our hospital in particular)
Also on another note, when was the last time our population numbers on highway 11 were updated? Part of marketing our great town would be to show more regularly our growth. Wouldn’t hurt our attempt to keep a hospital here either!
The average person is powerless to make changes in our world today. But once every four years we have our opportunity to vote and let the powers that be know that we want change. The White Elephant (The University), The Pipe Man, Tax raises every year, 40% Hike in money to the O.P.P., Terrible road conditions, Too many Councillors and District members. The lack of action on all these items, and there are lots more, will I hope sway people to make some changes in a years time.
I guess I can’t have my cake and eat it too. I was looking forward to a Council that went about their work and wasn’t overly concerned about the media reports. However, I don’t seem to be able to find much in the media about what Council is doing or has done. I try to keep abreast of what is happening by following what is written and offered via the radio, and Doppleronline too. Cogeco (now that I an connected that way) tries to cover the meetings of Council, but the last one I watched was about the readings of second and third amendments that went by with nearly no discussion, I had trouble staying awake. – only did because it is local and it’s great to see who the volunteers operating the camera are that night.
I feel out of it – I admit I can’t even name all the Councillors and I know that they have much work to cover and depend heavily on staff. Perhaps we could have other volunteer jobs at town hall – we used to have a committee that work with the Algonquin Theatre but it no longer exists. I am not a finance person and hope someone explains the money picture in layperson’s terms but doesn’t dumb it down to mean “just trust us”.
That length of plastic pipe still sticking up in the middle of the river by the swing bridge pretty much tells you how our present Council thinks! Back when it was first installed, Council was advised with a loud and clear voice from the local population, they wanted that pipe removed before spring. Did the Council listen? No! They even permitted the pipe to remain there until the latter part of the summer, in hopes the incoming tourist input could increase and sway the opinion polls into keeping it there. This issue is not going to be forgotten,
as when we enter the polling booth at the next election.
So many things, everything from getting rid of the blockage called art in the river to the stupid idea to move the hospital. Why has common sense seemed to have been lost? We the people have asked over and over to get rid of the man in the river, also to prevent the loss of the hospital from Huntsville, and so many other things. Why has none of it been done?? I know if I don’t see some change in the attitude of the council I know for sure some other people better run for council because I won’t be voting for any of these ones. And I’m sure there will be a lot of others with the same attitude as me.
On the issue of one or two hospitals in Muskoka – the people have spoken loud and clear as well as a group of well informed doctors that two hospitals are definitely needed covering all procedures. Increased travelling distance in an emergency to obtain required care at a single hospital is the stuff of which nightmares are made and possible future lawsuits. Yet, the debate and decision goes on without a decision made based on input received. Makes one wonder if anyone is listening to the voices of those definitely in the know who have been on the front line of both giving and receiving the excellent care that both hospitals provide on a daily basis, as opposed to those who make decisions in positions of power concentrating on dollars rather than to the best needs for residents of Muskoka.
On another point…. how much did the property assessment increase….which is the base for using the mill rate to calculate the property tax? So what was the increase for the taxpayer????????