The Blue Mountains council is divided over an initiative from Grey County to study the possibility of a county-wide joint planning department.
At its meeting on Sept. 30, in a tight 4-3 vote, council passed a resolution expressing “concern and reservation” about the county’s plan to study the possibility of merging municipal planning departments into one organization under the Grey County umbrella.
In August, the county announced the initiative after a joint meeting, in closed session, of all municipal councils in Grey County. The county is now soliciting feedback from municipalities about the idea.
A brief letter from the county clerk’s department that was on the agenda for the Sept. 30 meeting advising that the county is gathering feedback on the concept with an Oct. 18 deadline set off an intense debate. The discussion concluded with council voting 4-3 in favour of the “concern and reservation” motion. Councillors Paula Hope, June Porter, Gail Ardiel and Alex Maxwell combined to pass the resolution.
Council also unanimously passed another resolution directing staff to bring the county initiative to the next committee of the whole meeting for more discussion.
The debate on the county idea was not without controversy as, at one point, Deputy Mayor Peter Bordignon suggested Hope was “rolling her eyes” as he was speaking, which Hope denied doing. Twice during the discussion, Mayor Andrea Matrosovs called for decorum in the council chambers.
Hope led the criticism of the county planning concept and suggested it was being rushed and questioned the lack of public engagement on the matter.
“The planning department is the heart of our municipality,” said Hope, who expressed disappointment that county council representatives for the town – Matrosovs and Bordignon – had “gone along with it.”
Both Matrosovs and Bordignon explained that the initiative is in its infancy and there are plans to consult the public.
“It’s dangerous and reckless to say things like we’re going to be reducing our planning department,” said Bordignon, who said he had reservations about the idea himself, but that it made no sense for council to take an “ad hoc” position on the matter.
“I think it’s premature. We’re making a decision without even consulting our own staff.”
Matrosovs said the process had just started and the first step was to ask local municipalities for their impressions of the idea.
“The whole point of feedback is to gather the questions we’d like to ask,” the mayor said.
Other members of council were critical of the timeframe setting an Oct. 18 deadline for feedback.
“Our heads will be spinning,” said Ardiel. “The time frame is not appropriate. We need more time.”
Hope added that it was imperative for the town to express its position up front with the “concern and reservation” resolution.
“We’re not just running harebrained here. The Town of The Blue Mountains has a lot to lose. It’s important (the town) makes its position clear,” Hope said. “I don’t think this is a dramatic statement.”
