Discussion 160 of 365; Big Pay Rise Well today is an important Council meeting. Senior Staff and Council members stand to gain somewhere in the line of $350,000 in wages and other benefits. But there are other more important issues to be concerned about…. New and Amended By-Laws and Penalties are on the way! First, the other day [...]

Discussion 159 of 365; Costco! People are talking. Lots of people are talking! The Mayor denied that any applications were on file yet from Costco (or words to that effect) at a recent Town Hall. But, at the same Town Hall a resident said he spoke to a surveyor out at Lyons Court and Ramblewood who said that [...]

Discussion 158 of 365; Council at the trough Wow…. The internet is lighting up today. It seems Council is preparing to go to the trough for their fill. Apparently they voted to turn down a routine wage increase earlier in their term because they wanted a “review” of their wages. Well that review is done. So here we [...]

Discussion 157 of 365; Council CANNOT vote on items discussed in closed session A meeting happened today. It was another “special” Council meeting. This meeting was held at the Rec-Plex where it could not be live streamed through the normal process. I hope they recorded it with remote equipment so the public could review the actions decided on. [...]

Discussion 156 of 365; High School Truth- Next Steps This may be the last discussion post I start for a while about our much needed High School. I do think addressing the Mayors current strategy is important though. It all has to do with being on a list. Where are we on “the list”? When our Mayor and [...]

Discussion 155 of 365; Found! Missing Cheque register (I heard I may have doubled a discussion number this week. I will re-number the duplication soon) Well, Social Media is a wonderful thing. Discussion 152…. How come the March Cheque Register is not yet posted? Three days later…….. our Social Media driven Mayor has acted; https://www.wasagabeach.com/.../Council%20Cheque... I love when our [...]

Discussion 154 of 365; Setting a good example. As I have stated on several occasions, it has become easier to decide what to write about here because your neighbours and friends care enough to forward concerns to me. It’s a shame they feel that calling the town will fall on deaf ears or put a target on their [...]

Discussion 153 of 365; Groom your own online experience! Often at night, if I have difficulty sleeping, I will simply scroll through several pages on Facebook to kill time. Often when scrolling it is easy to hit the part of the screen that has the “follow” button for whatever you are scrolling past. When you hit it, it [...]

Discussion 152 of 365; Council Expense Reports? No, the March Cheque Register is still not published. Hmmmm? But thinking about Town Finance, I was reminded; Shortly after taking their positions on Council our seven elected members voted to give themselves $5000 expense accounts. I have not seen any public disclosure of any expenses charged to these accounts. I HAVE [...]

Discussion 152 of 365; Hidden Council Spending The agenda I shared yesterday was for a “Special” Council meeting. This means the topics are so important and timely that they can’t go to a committee first, then to Council. Nope… this looks like the introduction of these items, will get their vote of approval in one swift action. What is [...]

Discussion 151 of 365; The Sniff Test Everyone is starting to “sniff” just a little more… GREAT! That may just be the evolution of a project. On January 1, 2024 I embarked on this project to post a different discussion every day for one year. My hope in doing this had several directions. I hoped that I could [...]

Discussion 150 of 365; What will FRAM build? We will soon learn what FRAM proposes to do at our Beachfront. For the record, I agree with the people I spoke with earlier this evening who said the RFP that FRAM “won” was truly a joke. The well known “Pitchforks and Hatchets” meeting back in 2019 had citizen Smith [...]

Discussion 149 of 365; Missing Cheque Registers... Again AGAIN…. Cheque Registers appear to be stuck in the system somewhere????? Where is March? Where is April? We are at the end of May and again, the public has to ask for something that was at one time simply routine. Our CAO’s and our Council can’t like the days these [...]

Discussion 148 of 365; Town Owned properties FOR SALE? Did you know? The Town has spent all kinds of money “studying” which Town Owned properties they want to put on the for sale list.   Several months ago, they went through a process to identify and “declare surplus” an interesting mix of properties. One they were considering, (where [...]

Discussion 147 of 365; Injured Worker Day This Saturday, June the First is Injured Worker Day. If I am able, I will be meeting other injured workers and those who support them at Queens Park in Toronto.   I recall the first time that I attended this important demonstration at Queens Park. I did so on a mobility [...]

Discussion 145 of 365; Bylaw outlaws I’m tired so excuse any typos. Often my discussions are prompted by others who reach out to me who are apprehensive to publicly talk about an issue. I then take my time to cover their issues and fill my discussions with personal observations and opinion. Today is no different as I embark [...]

Discussion 144 of 365; West End can simply wait It got busy last week and I think I fell behind. So, we will catch up over the next couple of days. If you were unable to attend the “Town Hall” that was hosted last week at the RecPlex, you really should watch the recording. (Attached link) https://youtu.be/sS1GnYOZv2U?feature=shared I [...]

Discussion 146 of 365; Traffic calming measures in school zones. Why is this so difficult for Council to deal with as a number one priority. I pointed out the other day some road safety concerns and as a show of importance I expressed concerns about people possibly getting injured.   Our youngest, most vulnerable are present on and [...]

Discussion 143 of 365; Fireworks- What a hotbed issue! I will definitely come right out and say I no longer agree with having them. Sure there was a day when I enjoyed the show. I even purchased them and fired them off many times. I have a few reasons that I feel justify my personal opinion. First is [...]

Discussion 142 of 365; Someone may be hurt because of this Well, it is becoming more and more apparent that a diverse group of people are reading these discussions. On a weekly basis, people approach me or message me and say how much they enjoy hearing the truth. The great thing is our Council is watching as well [...]

Discussion 141 of 365; Trust in the details (I apologize for the Grammar in the coming quotes. It’s difficult to remove all the umms, ahhhs and pauses when transcribing from a video.) Sometimes in order to fully understand issues, it is necessary to actually listen to the decision makers during their Council Meetings. An overwhelmingly large percentage of [...]

Discussion 139 of 365; Wait, What? Not on the Meeting Agenda but it was an important comment. During Thursdays Council meeting, Mayor Smith was making a comment about the ball hockey rink that was donated by Marc Crowe. Thanks Mr. Crowe! I think he was attempting to explain why the Roller Skating event was going to be the key [...]

Discussion 138 of 365; High School Truth #3- The Future Many people ask why I take the time to prepare these extra long discussion posts. Most people simply do not have the time to research, watch Council meetings, analyze what is said, compare it to other memories and put it all together. I do have the time. More [...]

Discussion 137 of 365; High School Truth #2- The Politics. The want and the need for a high school in Wasaga Beach has been an ongoing issue for all of the years I have lived here. I think my first Facebook discussion about the issue was probably back in 2012 or so. Then in the 2014 election my wife [...]

Discussion 136 of 365; To start off- I won’t be at Thursdays Town Hall. Other commitments are more pressing. But if you plan to attend, here are some thoughts about the recent High School announcement. High School Truth #1- the students. There were two High School Proposals. Why did the Town of Wasaga Beach choose to promote and [...]

Discussion 135 of 365;Town Hall This Thursday is the Towns attempt to run their first “Town Hall” during this term of Brian Smiths attempt at being a Mayor. To use one of his favourite phrases… “let me be perfectly clear”. The Town Hall starts at 7:00. I may be there, I may not. Often, due to my limited [...]

Discussion 134 of 365; Eco Tourism- Lost Opportunities- Piping Plovers. The Piping Plover is many different things to many different people. The revival of these incredible (threatened species) birds has been taking place along shores of Georgian Bay, particularly in Wasaga Beach. The Province of Ontario and many local volunteers have been instrumental in protecting the delicate breeding [...]

Discussion 133 of 365; Shaping the future of our Community Who do you want shaping the future of our Community? Over the next 7 months, we will certainly talk about who we don’t want and why. However, the reality is… someone has to do the job. Politics is not high up on the Guidance Councilors list, but maybe [...]

Discussion 132 of 365; BIA! That would be my preferred plan of action. Why has the Town of Wasaga Beach never set up a Business Improvement Area (BIA)? When you look at the success these organizations have celebrated in other municipalities, it appears to be a viable solution to the decline of “downtown” in Wasaga Beach. Personally, I suspect [...]

Discussion 131 of 365; H2Oi… will it return? I look forward to seeing what measures the Mayor and Joe will roll out this year if the H2Oi car enthusiasts say they are returning? Will Wasaga Beach Residents be subjected to illegal road blocks again? Will all tourism be completely shut down again? What are your thought? What are your [...]

Discussion 130 of 365; Tourism? Who is paying for all of the “free stuff”? I’m not talking about all the swag you see Council members wearing (the logo shirts, jackets, hats, etc.). I’m sure those are taxable benefits. I’m talking about the “free” entertainment and the wages of the many party planners who are bringing it all together. [...]

Discussion 129 of 365. Open Mic? How wonderful. The Town is going to hold an open mic session at the RecPlex. You can get all of the answers you want there. Of course they won’t answer your emails, but that’s different.   Personally I think it’s interesting that they are suggesting people may want answers on a road [...]

Discussion 128 of 365; Oh, to be a fly on the wall! Yesterday’s discussion appears to have been noticed!!!!! So the “Special” Council meeting scheduled for today which I wrote about yesterday has been re-scheduled. Why? According to policy, the agenda cannot change (special rule for “Special” meetings), so that leaves a few possibilities. Could it be that [...]

Discussion 127 of 365; Rules? What rules? This one is short and sweet. Our Council is supposed to abide by a few dozen sets of rules. One substantial one is their own Procedural Bylaw. It is filled with rules that are actually mandated by superior legislation. The Municipal Act is one of those pieces of legislation. They don’t [...]

Discussion 126 of 365; Want a job? As long as you have the qualifications you should apply. My guess is that despite their criticism of the last Councils HR statistics, this Council will hire more new employees than any other two previous Councils combined. The tax implications of this frenzied hiring are yet to be seen. Hey… if it [...]

Discussion 124 of 365; Want to know something? When my wife was first elected into Municipal Office on 2014, there was a pretty fast learning curve. With her corporate experience, it was a daily straightforward task and she embraced her quest for information. The Town of Wasaga Beach had organized all kinds of in house training. Every Department [...]

Discussion 123 of 365; So let’s start talking about taxes. With this Councils Municipal Portion of our taxes being in excess of 17% since taking office, what do you think will be the results of the next two tax increases? First off, when discussing taxes, the Town has chosen to report the “blended” rate with the County portion. [...]

Discussion 121 of 365; Real Estate - Follow the Money We live in a world of easy access to a wide variety of information. I like that some information that used to be distributed by professionals is now at our fingertips. Real Estate listings fall into that realm. One of my most used apps is Realtor.ca. I have included [...]

Discussion 120 of 365; Optics A very smart couple once told me politics is all about optics. They went on to explain that it didn’t really matter what our politicians actually do, to them it what is more important is what they appear to do. Our Council is preparing the optics for a big announcement this week. No [...]

Discussion 119 of 365; Notice of Motion Today was meant to be another discussion about the apparently abandoned “Notice of Motion” introduced by Councilor Belanger. Is this beating a dead issue? Perhaps, but our Council is fast becoming famous for doing as they please regardless of public opinion. Public opinion is something I am recently getting a good [...]

Discussion 118 of 365; What no doctor? Well, last weeks Council meeting saw the announcement of a new Doctor for Wasaga Beach. Unfortunately for the Town Council, this new Doctor did not take the offer of free accommodation at the Towns Medical Clinic experiment. The physician did take advantage of an enhanced financial incentive package offered by the Town. [...]

Discussion 117 of 365; News Flash! The Wasaga Beach Secondary School land purchase is approved! We are one step closer to having a high school to serve our children’s needs!!!!! The attached screenshot is from a media release shared by the SCDSB on Thursday! On Thursday, I started getting some great news sent to me from a wide variety [...]

Discussion 116 of 365; Tough Questions If you ask the really tough question of our municipality it seems three things might happen. You may learn more about the topic at hand. What you learn may not always be encouraging information, but you can learn. I have and I’m thankful when that happens. You may be ignored. Sometimes THAT provides [...]

Discussion 115 of 365; https://pub-wasagabeach.escribemeetings.com/FileStream... Please take some time today to review the Agenda for today’s meeting or go to YouTube and tune in live to hear the various discussions. Pay attention this month to declarations of . Usually they are short and not discussed, but in my opinion should shine an extra light on issues declared a [...]

Discussion 114 of 365; It’s time to find your next Council. It’s one thing to point out concerns regarding process, poor spending decisions, favours for friends, etc… Unless people prepare to enter politics, the wasteful ways and unnecessary tax increases will just continue. So, I encourage people who have an interest in helping our community grow, but with [...]

Discussion 113 of 365; The cost of bad data Catching up. Somehow I got behind a day. Here is today’s catch-up discussion. It is one that bothered me because I WANT to have my opinions about our community heard. So, I decided to complete a recent Town Survey. What a sham! In the survey, there is a question [...]

Discussion 112 of 365; Trust? I was reminded yesterday that the Town of Wasaga Beach has not introduced a method for public disclosure of the new Council expense funds. I don’t think they have publicly posted a policy on how Council members are to spend this money. Oh, there are all kinds of whispers, but Tax-Payers deserve to know [...]

Discussion 111 of 365; I look forward to having the Beach One/Two development dilemma resolved. The bottom line for this Council and the ones before it has always been “build condos”. We have all heard this same position for years…. Without putting up several stories of condos, they keep saying nobody will build ground floor commercial. I say, [...]

Discussion 110 of 365; Municipal Messaging Control. If the Mayor and Council don’t like what you post, it’s simple… they remove your messages and block your access. It may be staff tapping the switches, but our Council is ultimately responsible. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms deals with Governments who limit expression of conflicting positions, but someone would have [...]

Discussion 109 of 365; Fear? Control? Both! Today, I was told that the Town of Wasaga Beach had been boasting on their Facebook Page about meeting with the Minister of Education at the Roma Meeting months ago. So, it tweaked my interest and I decided to go read the post. Nope… I apparently can’t do that directly. It seems [...]