Wasaga Beach Discussion 212 of 365; The Great Signage removal barbecue Today was an interesting day. I was lucky enough to have time to sit and chat with many of our customers at Grandmas Beach Treats. I invited them to come and enjoy a sign removal barbeque on Tuesday at 6:00. Please help us again. Today’s poll only [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 211 of 365; Wasaga Beach Bylaw dirty tricks On July the 29th, the CAO for The Town of Wasaga Beach (during a special council meeting) shared with the public that Grandmas Beach Treats had 34 Signs that were in contravention of the towns new sign bylaw. He did not share the number of signs that [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 211 of 365; Weaponized Wasaga Bylaws On July the 29th, the CAO for The Town of Wasaga Beach (during a special council meeting) shared with the public that Grandmas Beach Treats had 34 Signs that were in contravention of the towns new sign bylaw. He did not share the number of signs that he felt [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 210 of 365; Wasaga Smoke and Mirror Announcements In March of 2024, Wasaga Beach Council voted unanimously to allow the CAO to look into either building a new town hall or another option, which was to have a developer build one on Main Street and lease it to us. (Wouldn’t THAT be a sweet deal?) [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 209 of 365; Unity- Imagine Entire neighbourhoods are showing up at a public meetings to plead with Council to approve or deny certain planning actions. They often leave after their issue is discussed. Then the next group stays… the crowds now are smaller. In most cases it is to oppose a new development that either [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 208 of 365; Our Financial Position. In recent weeks we have had several discussions that I hoped would prepare people to better understand the upcoming municipal budget. The Province should come out with a standard reporting format that is used every year by every municipality. That way one Council can’t report your tax increases in [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 206 of 365; Wasaga Beach Municipal Finance Here is another discussion to help everyone understand the unique realm of municipal finance. Today a separate focus as we discuss reserves and how they are used. Reserves: As we head into the upcoming budget, it will be more important for Wasaga Beach tax payers than ever for [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 205 of 365; Wasaga Beach Beachfront Evictions A couple of blockbuster news items this week…. If you have been waiting for something concrete before talking with your neighbours…. Start talking! (Read to the end, or read the attachment to learn of the disposition of the old Wasaga Stars Arena.) First of all, credit where credit [...]

Wasaga Council sells off assets. Regarding the sale of the former arena site, currently pegged (with no bidders) at $5.5 million. This is just one of many properties held by the town originally slated for things like parkets and road widening etc. that the town would get around to one day. here is a direct quote from CAO trainee [...]

Wasaga Beach is an open toilet This is how the headlines are currently reading and dozens of YouTube videos surface about the issue of what are claimed as mainly East Indians defecting on the beach and not using the available toilets. https://youtu.be/KY3abQmciHk?si=l_vPeTzMI8Owy628 The real issue frankly isn’t necessarily the instances of public defecation. nor even whether there needs to [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 204 of 365; Selling off Wasaga Beach municipal properties On a mid summer Monday, our Council has decided to call a “special” Council meeting. I have repeated this so much lately, it’s sounding like a broken record…. Please read the entire agenda. Ok, skip over a couple of the new development public meetings if you [...]

Wasaga Beach Discussion 203 of 365; Wasaga Beach Sign Bylaw There is a reason people and business owners do not want to speak out against political decisions. Please read to the end. It’s a long one. I constantly hear people say that they fear commenting on social media, or writing to Council because they fear being attacked or [...]

Discussion 202 of 365; Wasaga Beach Pay attention, this post may seem trivial to some but it has the potential to eventually affect every resident and visitor to Wasaga Beach. These visitors come for one thing… the beach. Imagine for a moment, if slowly all of the access points owned by the Town or the Province were sold [...]

Discussion 200 of 365; 200… These discussion posts do take time to prepare. For me, it is time well spent. I care about our community. I watch as many Council and Committee meetings as I can and doing so has led me to a few important observations. First of all, I think it is just as important to [...]

Discussion 199 of 365; Budget talks. The other day we discussed our tax levy. There are so many parts to an Ontario Municipal budget to understand. Today let’s talk about the fact that all budgets in municipalities in Ontario need to be balanced budgets. By this, it means that the total income and total expenditures should be about [...]

Discussion 198 of 365; It’s your Budget Council… STOP blaming others for your spending and waste! One of the many lies that helped get this Council elected was the ongoing complaint regarding the funding of the Twin Pad Arena we all now enjoy. discussing who was to blame for the mistake During the election in 2022, [...]

Discussion 197 of 365; A new school year in Wasaga Beach Eight weeks from now, hundreds of Wasaga Beach School children will be in their classes working towards their next grade. For most, that first day back in school is exciting. For some it can be downright scary. This year there will be some that get to attend [...]

Discussion 196 of 365; April cheque register now public... in late July A big pat on the back to those who publicly push for these things. Open and Transparent shouldn’t be a problem, right Brian? Public pressure has prevailed and the town has finally released the April cheque register. This truly is the Council governed by FaceBook. I [...]

Discussion 195 of 365; Roller Skating Empty Promises When I was a teenager in the 1970’s, roller skating had experienced a revival of sorts. In London Ontario, there were a couple of abandoned Wharehouses or grocery stores that were converted into large arena setups with disco balls and massive sound systems. It was similar to going bowling because [...]

Discussion 194 of 365; Budget Talks …. Understanding our Budgets one piece at a time. First of all, I want to keep this one fairly short. I want to do a collection of “Budget Talks” that help everyone to understand Municipal Finance. I have sat on various boards as a director (and as a treasurer) where millions of [...]

Discussion 193 of 365; Missing Cheque Registers in Wasaga Beach Cheque Registers used to be approved during a Council meeting. The cheque register, being part of the agenda, became public the day the agendas became public. This was not always a comfortable moment for those elected officials that would be criticized almost immediately for some of the spending. [...]

Discussion 190 of 365; Fake Identities. I understand some using them because of threats etc.. What I cannot tolerate are ones who create their Fake Identities just to be rude. Spreading lies with no accountability is one of the most cowardly things possible. Meta does have a reporting method and I have done that this evening, but recently [...]

Discussion 189 of 365; Zero discussion, Zero input - Wasaga council budget So, the meeting of Council yesterday was filled with gems. I will get into a few of the specifics later. But I want to make sure everyone understands what a “consent agenda” item is. When Council has several pieces of business they want to pass, without [...]

Discussion 188 of 365; Wasaga tax increases Well for me, these are the easy discussion posts to prepare. Our “open and Transparent” Council is meeting again this week. Have a quick read. This one is only 137 pages. Definitely a few things to pay attention to. Un-budgeted wage increases will just come out of reserves. No problem, previous [...]