Been reading and listening to a lot of opinions about the upcoming election. Been to the two candidate forums.... so as everyone else is doing, here is my take on the state of town politics as I see it. Im not endorsing anyone in this statement. . We are all free thinkers and I mean nothing personal in what I say for I have nothing personal against anyone running. ... takes a lot of personal dedication to do that job so here it goes. .....p.s. this is in no chronological order... hard enough remembering my kids hockey practices. From 2000 to 2010 we have seen a lot of improvements to our town. .ie.... the nssrc, the library addition...the sewage treatment upgrade...new three pitch soccer fields...skateboard park...beautification of little lake...creation of a new park on the west side of town....numerous new trails established in town as well as having them paved. ...the MCC....plus too many infrastructure upgrades to name here. Now not all were completed in that time frame but all started in that time frame. Midlanders wanted those things and got them. .. the need was there and we are paying for them. Plus all are being used to this day. 2010 2014 we have seen new downtown street lighting and the taking over of the harbour from the fed govt....which any future cost shall be assumed by the town. ....the purchase of the unimin property, which any council that is in power would purchase...done right we can see big rewards in the future. The economical development plan is here to stay no matter who is elected and that is also a good thing. Other than that I havent heard of any major ongoing that would require a jump in taxes. We have almost everything we need, the previous councils took care of that. Feel free to comment if I missed things. Now the actions of councillors. ... im surprised that the so called 5 would allow themselves to be influenced. ..in bed with. ..mentored by a special interest group. EspecIally in a town this small. It leaves the appearance, and I repeat that this is my opinion , that they are pushing an agenda not of there own free thinking. The handling of the email scandal was very bad indeed. If wrong emails were sent to me by mistake , regardless of what was said, I would let that person know right away instead of using them to my advantage. I watched a council meeting where a gentleman on sumac wanted to build a house on a lot me owned where his original one was damaged by the tornado and was denied because it was not a benefit to the town. .. but in the same breathe the town gave 1100 sq ft to the owner of the boathouse property in exchange for four triangular pieces in front. And how did that benefit the town. .I see one person only benfitting there. The town is on the verge of a strike.. and the only thing that is preventing it is 1%. We want 0% for 2014....1% in jan....1% in july. This is well below the cost of living. It would actually allow me to buy a large double double and a tim bit in july....I think the committees spend more on refreshments then what we are asking. I only state this due to the fact that it was suggested (kpmg) councillors drop their benefits and not receive them like all other part time employees . There was a suggestion about taxing in some form, people that used part of their homes as an office or business but that got squashed because councillors took their work home and would be subject to it. I do applauded then for trying to keep the leaf pickup but it is out of there hands seeing as it is a waste product therefore its a county dealing. Its not councils fault. I feel the lack of hiring students for parks and cut backs placed a huge extra burden on parks staff. It can be seen by parks washrooms not being open during some of the holiday weekends. A lot of the sidewalks and roads were impassible this year and I feel it had to do with reducing services and costs to just meet the provincial standard. I dont mind spending more to get more. So when you go to vote. .. think long and deep. The last election saw a province wide change in municipal politics. And it seems to be, by the advance poll numbers throughout Ontario to be returning to that mindset . One thing I do like is the peeked interest......the end lol
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 16:30:52 +0000
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