If the former mayor of Innisfil is right, politicians and residents in Oro-Medonte and Springwater townships should take heed and keep an eye on the politicians from the City of Barrie.
Barb Baguley, who turns 70 next year, had a long and storied career as a member of Innisfil town council. She was mayor from 2010 to 2014 and served as deputy mayor for the 12 years prior.
She had a ringside seat when the Barrie-Innisfil Boundary Adjustment Act, 2009 was passed and transferred approximately 2,293 hectares (5,666 acres) of land from Innisfil to Barrie effective Jan. 1, 2010.
What she’s seen recently, with Barrie’s boundary expansion plans involving Oro-Medonte and Springwater townships, has stirred up some powerful memories, few of them positive.
“From what I’ve been reading, the adversary is using the same ploy,” Baguley said of Barrie. “It starts off nice and genial — ‘let’s talk, we’re just exploring options’ — and then it’s ‘we’re looking to expand our employment lands and our industrial base.’ And yet if you look at what’s there today, it’s all housing, not commercial, industrial or employment land.
“I think it's a bit of a bait-and-switch,” she added.
Like most people, Baguley first became aware of Barrie’s latest boundary expansion plans on Nov. 6, when Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall presented to the standing committee on heritage, infrastructure and cultural policy during a meeting in Barrie. He provided the committee with an update on Barrie’s housing targets and highlighted why the city requires additional employment land so more residents can have jobs closer to home.
According to Nuttall, Barrie is in dire need of land that would be suitable for large-scale manufacturing and industrial development. He said Barrie needs space to grow as a community and it needs space to bring in jobs from outside the region.
Nuttall said the city was eyeing industrial land outside its municipal borders for the purpose of job creation.
The next day, Nuttall confirmed what many gleaned from his statement — he was referring to Oro-Medonte and Springwater townships.
The City of Barrie identified more than 2,200 hectares of land — 884 hectares in Oro-Medonte and 1,324 hectares in Springwater — that it would like to absorb into the city.
During a deputation to Oro-Medonte council 10 days after making his announcement, Nuttall was asked if the city would consider cross-border servicing if Oro-Medonte had companies seeking to set up shop on the lands Barrie identified.
“(Services) being shipped next door is not something we could do in terms of the City of Barrie’s finances,” Nuttall said at the time.
Baguley says she wasn’t surprised by his response.
“I understand that whole thing — the ‘you can’t do it, but we’re going to take it and do it’ mentality,” Baguley said. “That’s the attitude of the big bad wolf, the City of Barrie in this case.”
While Baguley says she knows many of the politicians in Barrie and she thinks they’re all good people, they have a sense of self-importance that may be misguided, she added.
“They have a jaded idea of the unique impact they can have on developing commercial, industrial and employment land,” Baguley said. “Every municipality needs commercial, industrial and employment land. They can’t survive without it.”
Chatting over coffee at a famous doughnut outlet just east of Highway 400 at Innisfil Beach Road, Baguley stares out the window at the traffic and congestion that’s become a mainstay in the area. From here, she can look out to the northeast and see hectares of employment land that are waiting to be developed. She sees the same thing when she looks west and, especially, when she looks south.
“I’m looking at the trucks and the stuff going on around this intersection and this is what I expect. All this movement and commerce and employment. If you look over there, that’s all employment land," she said, gesturing to the east.
According to Baguley, all of the land between Innisfil Beach Road and the 6th Line and east of Veteran’s Drive will eventually be zoned commercial and industrial.
“The goal of Innisfil has always been to use the 400 corridor as the industrial, commercial base for Innisfil. It’s perfect," she added.
Baguley admits she’s a bit stumped as to why Barrie is currently looking to the east and north for boundary expansion, especially if it’s commercial and industrial lands the city is seeking.
It’s another reason for residents to pause, she said.
“From my personal perspective, as an informed individual who had a little more background on what was happening than the average Joe in Innisfil, what bothers me most is they didn’t do what they said they would do,” Baguley said of what happened in 2010. “These were people who were supposed to be of good character and they didn’t keep their word.
“As angry, as annoyed as I am with how this whole thing turned out, the annexation from Innisfil, a bigger question is ‘can we believe you? Are you not the leaders in our community? You made promises and they didn’t happen and now you want more chances," she added.
To ensure the risks are minimized and nobody is taken advantage of, Baguley has advice for the politicians and residents of Oro-Medonte and Springwater.
“To the politicians, find your line and say we will not do this unless we get this, this and this,” she said. “And don’t look out five years, look out 30 years or more. If you’ve got a wastewater treatment plant that will need to be replaced in 15 or 20 years, get one from them. Ask for everything you want and settle for 35 per cent off.”
Baguley said an equitable trade deal is the way to go.
“Keep your head high and don’t give it away,” she said. “Make sure they pay you for it.”
And to residents, Baguley offered this advice.
“Do you want to be Barrie? Once they get a bite, they’ll continue to bite until you are Barrie,” Baguley said. “If you want to be Barrie, lay back and smoke your cigarettes and have at it.
“But if you want to live in Springwater or a semi-rural community that is friendly and small, if that‘s what you want, start your protest now," she added. “Tell the politicians right now that if they’re in favour of Barrie annexing Springwater or Oro-Medonte, they won’t get your vote. Don’t vote for anybody who supports annexation.”
