Mayor's Message - January 21, 2018
Bonjour, Good morning everyone,
Certainly more spring like today than winter like, but it is still January so we know that won’t be the case for long ! And given we are getting into Winter Carnival season we do want winter to stick around. For our Town we are getting ready for our 70th WINTERAMA which will be occurring on Family Day weekend (February 16th to 19th) We are one of the oldest winter carnivals in Ontario! For the past 70 years our community comes together as we host and enjoy many great events, this year will be no exception as there will be many activities to take part in all weekend long! The most exciting news for this year is the return of the Demolition Derby, taking place on Saturday, February 17th at 2:00pm at the Town Dock. WINTERAMA is not possible without the help of many great individuals who volunteer at the event and we still need some volunteers to help! For more information or to fill out a Volunteer Application, visit our website www.winterama.ca Stay tuned for a complete listing of Winterama events in early February.
As the new year rolls in and new initiatives get underway one of the items I have been asked about is about is the transit link from us to Barrie. I am happy to report that we expect to launch our County public transit system on Aug. 7th. The first new route will in fact, be the Penetanguishene/Midland to Barrie corridor. We have issued an RFP for the operation and maintenance of an initial fleet of four conventional transit buses and two specialized transit mini-buses (for the transportation of persons with disabilities). This year will also see the County assume costs for existing LINK routes such as the one between Midland and Penetanguishene, Collingwood and Wasaga Beach as well as Essa to Barrie.
Our total fleet compliment when all is said and done will be comprised 18 conventional transit buses and seven specialized transit mini-buses. New routes to be opened over the next few years include, Collingwood-Wasaga Beach to Barrie;// Barrie to Orillia ;// Midland/Penetanguishene to Orillia;//Alliston to Bradford. Transit is a critical game changer, connecting us to education, health care, employment, connecting our communities is essential, I am glad to see this rolling out.
This past week saw me re-elected as the Chair of the Western Wardens. As a group we represent an area that runs from Severn to Windsor, includes 15 counties, 322 communities and 3.5 million people. Our group has spearheaded several significant initiatives which includes the SWIFT Fibre project, advocating for a high speed rail line from Windsor to Toronto, and we are engaged in significant Economic Development undertakings. We have just hired an economic development officer who will work and assist with economic efforts in any of our communities. We now have complete economic assistance loop in place, for instance, an activity that starts in Penetanguishene, can flow through an assistance network via our own EDCNs, through to the County, through to the Western Wardens through to the Province.
Our Arena hit the news this past week as staff and council wrestle with the best course of action to proceed with. I am sure that it is no surprise to anyone reading this email that our arena is in rough shape. We are looking at approximately $2.8 million and 63 separate projects to get it back in to reasonable shape. Items in need of repair include, $205,200 for a new dry sprinkler system, a $93,480 roof replacement, $77,280 to replace the rubber flooring, $66,000 for a new compressor system, $30,000 for baseboard heaters, $374,400 to redo the roof, $306,000 for a new concrete pad, $285,600 for new rink dasher boards, $62,400 worth of additional interior lighting and $57,600 for natural gas fired heaters to heat the bleachers.
Council and staff will next need to determine the best move forward options. The options before us are plentiful, Do we do the repairs in an orderly manner over the course of several years, do we bite the bullet and do them all at once (which would mean a shutdown of the arena for a significant period of time), do we look at building a new arena somewhere else in town complete with seeking Federal/Provincial funding and once completed sell the old property, or do we as I see being suggested on social media, investigate building a new joint facility with the Town of Midland. I am not sure where I sit on any of these options at the moment. I look forward to hearing the thoughts of staff, my fellow councillors and all of you as we think our way through this.
UPCOMING EVENTS
THE OUR HEALTH SERIES CONTINUES -
When does a fun activity shift to a habit needing help? Addiction is the challenging and thought provoking topic for the 11th program of the “Our Health” series at the MCC. Join our discussion on January 30, 2018, 7:30 PM, (doors open at 7 PM) , when three panelists take “a look at the reality of addictions”. Jack Vandenberg, the manager for addiction services in Simcoe County, has played a major role in education, assessment and withdrawal management for over 40 years. Tina Brand-Lawson is a compassionate and caring frontline addiction counsellor in Midland. Andrew Hurst, a recovering addict and alcoholic, has experienced firsthand the devastating effects of addiction. He has been clean and sober for three years. Dr. Keith Rose will moderate the discussion and questions from the audience. Our seven sponsors have made free admission possible. Register now at https://midlandculturalcentre.ticketfly.com
BLOOD CLINIC – we have a blood clinic in Town on January 31st at our Penetanguishene Legion from 3:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Please do consider donating blood to this life saving undertaking.
Community Futures –
The next four marketing Monday sessions are set to go. This is a free series of sessions designed to help you market and manage your business. I have attached their flyer for your perusal.
HOSPICE HURONIA FUND RAISER -
We Are The Villagers presents their Snow Angel Gala, honouring Julianna Matyas at Restaurant Sainte Marie February 3rd at 6:00 p.m. The evening features cocktails
and hors d’oeuvres, whiskey and wine tasting, performances by their young Villagers and live music by Gibbons and Figgs. Tickets are $75.00 per person. Reserve tickets at 1-855-528-5252 or online at www.watvnew.com.
North Simcoe has been selected as one of eight communities in Ontario to participate in the Business for the Arts Sponsorship and Governance Mentorship program. This
program is free to arts and culture organizations. There will be an information session on February 8th at 10:00 a.m. at the Midland Public Library. For more information about the program visit www.bit.ly/NorthSimcoe.
The four North Simcoe municipalities will be presenting Doug Griffith’s 13 Ways to Kill a Community at the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre February 8th at 7:00 p.m. Doug shows how attitude is the biggest factor—and roadblock—to building a successful community. Everyone is welcome.
Community Living Huronia presents a Red Carpet Evening featuring David Usher at the Quality Inn and Conference Centre in Midland February 10th. For tickets and information visit www.clhfoundation.ca.
MY WEEK TO BE
In a word busy !
Sunday and Monday
Today and Tomorrow finds me in Toronto for the Rural Ontario Municipalities Association Conference (ROMA). While I am there I will not actually be attending the conference but rather taking the opportunity to meet with several Provincial Ministers who are in attendance to discuss a wide variety of matters. Over the two days there will be fourteen separate meetings to discuss items such as the Greenbelt Expansion, food insecurity and poverty reduction, water and waste water challenges, transit funding, Hwy 400 congestion impacts, farming operation taxation, agriculture and natural heritage mapping, outside of the box affordable housing solutions and much more.
Tuesday
Anita and I can be found at county council for a pretty full agenda which you can review at www.simcoe.ca, following council I have a team update meeting and a striking committee meeting.
Wednesday
I attend a recognition event at Lakehead University, I bring greetings to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia and District Annual Appreciation Event and the evening finds me with my fellow town council members at town hall for a town council meeting. Links to our agenda can be found below.
Regular Council – 7:00pm
https://penetanguishene.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/250647
Committee of the Whole – Immediately following Council
https://penetanguishene.civicweb.net/filepro/documents/250649
Thursday
I am in Alliston for a Stevenson Memorial Hospital Recognition Event, I join the Mayors’ of Orillia, Severn, Ramara, Oro-Medonte and Chief Noganosh for an update session. The evening sees our Museum board meet.
Friday
I connect with Midland Deputy Mayor Mike Ross for an update session and attend a Physician Recruitment Steering committee meeting.
Well that is all for today, time to get suited up and off to Toronto, have great week everyone !
Mayor Gerry
Gerry Marshall
Warden County of Simcoe,
Mayor Town of Penetanguishene,
County (705) 726-9300 Ext. 1260
Town (705)-549-7453
This e-mail is sent to citizens of Penetanguishene for their information on my mayors personal thoughts, upcoming meetings and activities in Town. The views expressed in the Mayor's Message do not necessarily represent the views of Council. Agendas and minutes for Council and Committee meetings can be found in the Digital Library on the Town's website at www.penetanguishene.ca. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please send an e-mail requesting removal to gjmarshall@bell.net and I will be happy to do so.