{"id":179379,"date":"2024-09-22T16:36:52","date_gmt":"2024-09-22T20:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=179379"},"modified":"2024-09-22T18:49:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-22T22:49:57","slug":"listen-up-some-local-issues-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/listen-up-some-local-issues-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen up! Some local issues | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
This past week, Huntsville residents found in their mail a glossy communication from Mayor Nancy Alcock. It was well written and all about the accomplishments of our current council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I enjoyed reading it, and hearing from our mayor was refreshing. But to me, it read more like an election brochure than a fulsome report of not only the council\u2019s successes but also the challenges this growing municipality faces and, specifically, what is being done about them.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are, of course, some good things that this council has accomplished during the past two and a half years. They were the first, and still, I believe, the only municipality to come out foursquare in support of the proposal from Muskoka Algonquin Health Care (MAHC) for a new multi-site regional hospital. That was an important statement of clarity, from the largest municipality in Muskoka, especially in light of concerns that have been raised in other parts of the District. I will have more to say about that later in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Town\u2019s establishment of a physician recruitment plan is also an important step forward as far too many people in this municipality are without their own doctor. This initiative is already showing results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The various Plans outlined in the Mayor\u2019s Community Update, the Asset Management Plan, the Conservation Demand Management Plan, the new Strategic Plan and the Home Energy Retrofit Program, are all significant achievements as well. However, I would wager that less than 15 percent of Huntsville residents, permanent or seasonal, know what is actually in them and that even fewer have yet to see any effective change as a result of them. Now that the Town has recruited a Communications Officer, this should be a high priority of the municipality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Had I been writing this communication from the Town, although not entirely their fault, I would not be mentioning as one of Council\u2019s \u201csuccesses\u201d, the establishment in River Mill Park of two washrooms that turned out, (in spite of a generous donation) to be possibly the most expensive outdoor washrooms anywhere in Ontario, most of it at local taxpayer\u2019s expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Overall, however, it was good to hear from our mayor. I hope to see more of these community updates as taxpayers in Huntsville still have a lot of questions. These include what actual progress is being made to provide reasonable cost housing in Huntsville, why many of our roads remain in poor condition and the rationale for the growing bureaucracy within our municipality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was a comment from a Huntsville resident under a different Doppler story last week, that caught my eye. In speaking about Huntsville, he said, \u201cThe middle class and poor are only here to support the upper -class lifestyle. We do the work, and they have all the fun. Will it ever change?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t agree with that statement. I believe we have a pretty inclusive community with lots of recreational and cultural opportunities for everyone regardless of their income and much of it made possible by the assessment paid from more expensive homes and properties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, with the many million- dollar houses and condos being built here now, some of them far too close to our waterways, (such as on Brunel Road and Highway 60) it is perhaps a fair question to ask what is being done for those many Huntsville residents who cannot afford such luxuries? Should affordable housing not be a greater priority with fewer bureaucratic restrictions? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am also concerned about a decision made by Huntsville Council, at their most recent meeting, related to council representation. I understand why they did it, but in my view, it was a band-aid solution that did not go nearly far enough. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The decision was to combine the wards of Huntsville and Chaffey into a single ward that would now have two representatives. That to some degree would alleviate the heavy burden on a single councilor representing Chaffey, the largest Ward by far in the municipality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it doesn\u2019t solve the problem of an antiquated ward system that no longer makes any sense. Huntsville and Chaffey have now and will have after the change by Council\u2019s recent decision, two councillors representing about 53 percent of Huntsville\u2019s permanent population. The remaining 47 percent will be represented by seven councilors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too many Councils (including perhaps, the one of which I was mayor) have ignored the issue of elected municipal representation not only in Huntsville but also in the District of Muskoka which has more elected municipal councilors than the entire city of Toronto. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The recommendation to our current council was to deal with the single problem of Chaffey representation and once again push everything else off to a future council. But they can do more. There is lots of time before the next election to find a better and more fair and equitable solution to council representation, perhaps elections at large, with no wards or a more realistic defining of ward boundaries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The issue of council representation at all levels of municipal government in Muskoka is an important one. Our current council has taken the lead in terms of hospital care and physician recruitment. They should have no trouble in taking the lead again in much needed municipal election reform. There is no need to push it off to a future council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, turning briefly again to the hospital issue, it is past time for us all to hear what is really going on. Unless the date has been changed MAHC has an October deadline to formally submit their recommendations to the Ministry of Health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It has been at least two months since we have heard anything substantive. At that time our MPP Graydon Smith said he would not support the recommendations of MACH in their present form. It was also widely circulated then that a fair solution to the outstanding issues was near at hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, where is it? When will we know what the final recommendations of MAHC are and if they will differ from the plan that the Town of Huntsville has endorsed.? We know there have been ongoing discussions with activists and officials in South Muskoka. We have heard little to nothing substantive from North Muskoka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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