John Francis, Bruce Peninsula Press
St Edmunds Property Owners (SEPO) hosted an all candidates meeting at the community centre in Tobermory on October 7. All municipal candidates attended, as did Bluewater District School Board Trustee candidate Robert Galbraith.
Attendance exceeded expectations, with organizers scrambling to set up several more rows of seats as attendees filed in.
For the first half hour, candidates were assigned stations around the periphery of the room and attendees were encouraged to walk around and ask questions.
Then the candidates gathered at a table on the dais and each candidate was given four minutes to outline their platform.
The third portion of the meeting was a Q&A, with questions being moderated by John Currie. This resulted in an organized and efficient session.
Should the municipality divest itself of real estate in light of the current lawsuit by Saugeen Ojibway Nation? None of the candidates seemed very concerned about this.
A questioner complained about the expense of providing fire and emergency services in the national parks. He felt that the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) the municipality receives are inadequate.
The question was discussed for several minutes with all candidates stating that Parks Canada should be paying more to cover emergency response.
Many of the subsequent questions pertained to decisions made by the current council, especially on three subjects: tax increases; a subdivision at the head of Hay Bay; and Big Tub Road and the vacant shoreline property there that was recently purchased by the municipality (Lot 213).
On tax increases, the incumbent councillors all defended their decisions. Incumbent Mayor Milt McIver (who incumbent Deputy Mayor Rod Anderson described as “our tax guru”) explained that the largest items in the budget are Public Works and that the costs of most components in the PW budget have far outstripped inflation — “41 to 43 percent over two years” for things like microsurfacing (paving) — and have not come back down.
No one offered a contradictory position.
On the subject of future tax increases, John Currie asked a question on behalf of SEPO: is anybody in favour of not increasing taxes?
Mayor McIver was given the microphone to respond. “That would not be a wise thing to do,” he began. “We’re already playing catch-up”. Some politicians make promises about this “but it’s not the right thing to do.”
The Hay Bay subdivision was discussed at length. A questioner described the subdivision as a disgrace; no one contradicted him. Yet the subdivision was approved by Council, despite those serious misgivings.
Mayor McIver explained the decision: The property went through the planning process; studies were completed and peer-reviewed; the County approved the process. “This puts Council in an awkward position.” If Council doesn’t approve the County’s recommendations, “it’s going to be a legal battle”.
Councillor Laurie (Smokey) Golden pointed out “I voted against it,” before explaining further: the problem is that we went through Bruce County. [The County provides planning services to municipalities.] If we go against a County decision, it will be taken to the Ontario Municipal Board and the County will not support us. [We’d have to hire our own planning consultants to defend our decision.] “Sometimes the process just doesn’t work.” We avoided [the expense of] a legal battle.
Big Tub property owners seemed particularly concerned that development of Lot 213 would cause problems (several different kinds) and also that the decision to purchase the property was made in closed session.
Incumbent councillors defended the decision. Milt McIver noted that “no development” was a condition of the sale of Lot 213. Councillor Golden pointed out that property purchases are always done in closed session — “Otherwise you’d pay double” [because speculators would drive the price up]. Incumbent councillor Todd Dowd observed diplomatically that there will be other issues of greater import than Lot 213.
We need a stronger cohort of young people, one questioner pointed out. What specifically can we do that isn’t being done already to attract and retain young people?
Better internet and phone service, said Deputy Mayor candidate Jamie Mielhausen.
Councillor candidate Ryan Matheson suggested, “If you want to attract young people — elect one.” He felt that we need to emphasize the lifestyle available here, the reduced stress, and give them an excuse to experience the peninsula. He agreed that cell and internet service are important but said it was also important to support entrepreneurs. He stated that “Young people attract young people.”
Another questioner brought attention how STAs have contributed to the lack of affordable housing and wondered if it was possible to implement a buy local policy to encourage local entrepreneurs and contractors.
Councillor Golden noted that there are rules regarding procurement and tendering, but if something would help keep the money local, “I’m for it.”
Jamie Mielhausen noted that “we’re not in the housing business,” but pointed out that the municipality doesn’t always have to accept the lowest bid.
Rod Anderson expanded on that point — there’s a points system for evaluating bids.
Milt McIver drew attention to the Attainable Housing Report, which makes it clear that there is no fit between the median wage and house prices. Affordable housing will only happen if it is subsidized. Responsibility for housing is shared among the federal, provincial and county levels. A municipality can help with servicing, but other than that, it’s difficult. McIver noted that the federal government stepped away from affordable housing about 30 years ago. On the subject of hiring local, he agreed that there is a points system for evaluating tenders but pointed out that if you don’t accept the lowest bid, you leave yourself open to criticism.
Each candidate was given an opportunity to sum up why they should be elected.
Ryan Matheson was very clear: we want a thriving, year-round community — air, water, land. He promised to bring transparency and youth to council.
Laurie (Smokey) Golden quipped: “What he said, except for the youth part.”
Todd Dowd thanked attendees for listening and suggested people should come to council “and speak to us directly”.
Councillor candidate Paul Davidson emphasized his experience working with big numbers and rational decisions.
Jamie Mielhausen, a lifelong peninsula resident, stated that he has a lot of knowledge about the municipality, and about tourism and agriculture.
Rod Anderson stated that he was proud of “what we’ve done as a Council and as a team”. He promised to continue on the same path, “better as we go along”.
Milt McIver emphasized that he — and voters — love the place where we live.
Candidate for Mayor, Brad Gesinghaus, said he hoped it will look the same in twenty years.
