Tiny Township Council Update
Meetings of Council The regular scheduled meetings of the Tiny Township Council are at 7:00 p.m. on the second and last Wednesdays of each month. At the same time on the third Wednesday of each month Council meets as Planning Board.
This Council has settled into a routine of meeting as a Committee of the Whole earlier in the day, before the regular Council meeting. These Committee of the Whole meetings are open to the public but members of the public hardly ever attend. Why? Because the meetings are not announced, the time of the Committee of the Whole meeting changes from week to week and, throughout the day, they go in and out of “in camera” (closed) sessions.
Items of substance are usually discussed at the daytime Committee of the Whole meetings and deputations are welcomed at that time as well.
With discussion and presentations taking place during the day, the evening meetings are now very short. There is often little more than a series of motions or bylaws implementing matters that have been settled at one of the daytime Committee of the Whole meetings. There have, however, been Council discussions about such items as (1) whether to buy 1 or 2 sets of screw drivers at $5.95 each or (2) whether or not to raise the dog tag fee.
Official Plan Review In August 1992, some 40 representatives of Township associations attended an information meeting led by Ron Watkin of Ainley & Associates, the Township’s planning consultants. The Official Plan was discussed, along with the need for its review, and its significance as the senior planning document of the Township.
In February, 1993, Council mailed out a questionnaire with each tax bill (some 12,000). With only a bare mention that the Official Plan was under review and with no explanation to the taxpayers of the importance of this document, the questionnaire asked taxpayers questions touching upon the future fabric of the Township, e.g. “would you rather see your tax dollars spent on expansion of waterfront parks or on industrial-commercial development?”. Nowhere does the questionnaire explain what use, if any, will be made of the answers. Nor does it say who devised the questionnaire. In a word, what does the questionaire have to do with the Official Plan Amendment process?
Miscellany
* Council has decided to distribute a Newsletter, in mid May 1993, to all Township residents. We will have to watch and see what they disclose. Will Council inform Tiny residents that they have held meetings with Penetanguishene and Midland about Restructuring and “negotiated” and as a result, the Township has retained land and taxes? Will Council also inform the 92% of the voters who gave this Council a mandate to oppose Restructuring that this Council agreed that Midland could have the malls and their $350,000 annual tax revenue? Will the Newsletter report Reeve Hastings’ strong support of Restructuring at County? (Watch for Council’s newsletter and see article on Restructuring.)
* A new subdivision proposal has come before Council with the request for zoning changes and a by-law amendment to deal with the last large piece of undeveloped land on the western shore. The proposed development is for 450 acres, along 1 1/2 miles of shoreline, in Conc. 19 and 20.
