BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter from Gilford resident Gord Crawford discusses some things that need to be addressed in Innisfil following the upcoming municipal election.
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It's coming close folks, the time to vote in our next council. Here are just a few thoughts we might share in consideration of who we elect to speak for us at Innisfil council. We all have issues, but here are a few of mine.
Innisfil is one of the rare communities that can offer a glimpse into the past through our heritage properties. There are many unique structures in our community, many of which seem to be purchased by developers and then basically left to rot. Great examples are the homes of a previous mayor, which is rotting away on blocks, and a building on Queen Street in Cookstown, which once was home to a veterinarian in which services were disconnected, allowing 'McMansions' to be built right in the midst of our heritage district that rarely offer anything close to older building designs.
This is our community. It does not belong to Innisfil council or the folks employed to keep Innisfil grand. In every situation, the care of these instances was under the supervision of our council and town staff. And how has their performance fared? Yes, I know!
Innisfil is made up of a group of communities, yet the majority of the budget seems to be focused on Alcona, to which I have heard: "Why on Earth would one situate a town centre at a beach?" Most folks indicate a much better location would have been at Highway 11 and the 8th Line. You know, as in where the town hall is located.
Has anyone paid any attention to the wreckage that will become of the town of Lefroy? With the construction of 'The Orbit,' which is seemingly Mayor Lynn Dollin's pet project, gone will be the wonderful green spaces that folks in this area now enjoy. Rather than several hundred residents, the plan is for several thousand. Really? Consider the traffic plan as posed, a community that allows travel by bicycle etc.
I've been to Lefroy and Belle Ewart and the areas up to Alcona. Other than the odd cyclist, I have yet to see an abundance of two-wheeled traffic. Overall, how do these proposals help to "sustain the small-town feel," which is one of the key objectives? Is the town planning for a commercial centre, or do they think we should ride our bikes to Alcona to shop?
Infrastructure: When my wife and I moved to our community some 23 years ago, we were prepared to deal with water issues, dealing with a septic tank, no sidewalks and poor road maintenance. In spite of that, we love our community. No sidewalks are not an issue, we like it that way, but to us, our water issues have gotten much worse. Initially, we were on a community water system, that sometimes made watering lawns an issue, but even then we had pressure and our water didn't smell.
Over the past summer, we did not have enough water pressure on some days to operate our small pressure washer. Roads, surprisingly, are not bad. Winter maintenance can be an issue when the snow-plow operator tears up part of the frontage, but overall, that's OK.
Maintenance: Why do they want to create more areas when they can't look after what they have now? Our parks are quite often deplorable, in my opinion.
With all of the growth happening in our communities, what percentage of the labour, supplies etc., are purchased locally? Should our community not benefit from that as well? How is council managing that?
Finally, I am not against growth or developers and I understand our community must grow to meet the expanding population needs. However, I also understand that growth must be managed and to me, we the communities have suffered gross mismanagement.
Our taxes have risen significantly, in many cases to afford infrastructure growth in the area, but understand something, developers are not "Good Old Boys" or friends to the community. They are here to make money, and that is OK, but they must not ignore our bylaws and our officers should be ready to enforce them. When they purchase a property that was once livable, why does our council allow them to cancel services, put blue tarps over building roofs, etc.?
There is actually a bylaw instructing proper care of these properties, which often is ignored by officers.
A short drive around our community will prove my point.
Gord Crawford
Gilford
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