It's not known when or where or what will be on the agenda, but the municipalities involved in the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion proposal will be meeting sooner rather than later.
And they’ll be joined at the table by a new player — the County of Simcoe.
“The Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator (OPLDF) will facilitate discussions between the City of Barrie, Township of Oro-Medonte, Township of Springwater and the County of Simcoe,” Bianca Meta, press secretary for Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Paul Calandra, said in an email to BarrieToday late Friday afternoon.
“Senior leadership from each municipality will be invited to attend focused, confidential, facilitation sessions," Meta added.
None of the leaders of the municipalities involved would talk about the discussions when contacted by BarrieToday.
The fact that the meetings will be closed to the public doesn’t sit well with some locals.
Last Tuesday, the community group ‘Friends of the Future’, based in Oro-Medonte Township, organized a petition blitz in Oro-Medonte and Barrie that gathered almost 800 signatures from people who are opposed to the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion plans.
They believe their efforts represent an important voice in the community.
“Friends of the Future believes that public participation in meetings about the proposed annexation is essential for maintaining trust,” said member Jane Voorheis. “Greater transparency and collaboration with municipal leaders will strengthen democracy and improve negotiations.
“Open meetings would enhance accountability and keep residents informed,” she added.
Bryen Wakeman, an Oro-Medonte resident for 40 years, agrees. He was signing the Friends of the Future’s petition at the old fire hall in Shanty Bay last Tuesday evening as he’s not in favour of Barrie’s proposal.
Wakeman is also not in favour of private meetings on such important issues and thinks closed-door meetings are a problem.
“They should be open, people should be able to see and hear what’s being discussed,” he said after signing the petition, providing an official, public declaration of where he stood on the issue.
“There’s a lot being demanded of the population as a whole yet we’re not involved in those discussions,” Wakeman added. “There’s very little input from the people who are most affected.”
On Nov. 6 last year, Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall made a presentation to the provincial standing committee on heritage, infrastructure and cultural policy, regional governance and Bill 124, that included a proposal to expand the boundaries of the City of Barrie into the townships of Oro-Medonte and Springwater.
Nuttall has said the boundary expansion is required because the city currently does not have sufficient employment land.
Oro-Medonte and Springwater had vastly different reactions to the news.
On Nov. 8, after hearing Nuttall’s plan, Oro-Medonte council said it was "not comfortable" with the boundary request from the City of Barrie.
In mid-February, Oro-Medonte council voted to support a report from the township’s planner which called for increased co-operation between the two municipalities and presented alternatives to Barrie’s initial proposal.
“I think it’s an excellent report and gives us definitely a path forward to a sustainable and amicable solution,” said Oro-Medonte Township Mayor Randy Greenlaw. “We will continue discussions with the City of Barrie.”
On April 17, during a special session, council authorized staff to seek a mediator to help them solve Barrie’s boundary expansion plans.
On Nov. 15, Springwater council voted unanimously to “terminate discussions" with Barrie "regarding the city’s proposal for boundary adjustments and cross-border servicing.”
On March 6, Springwater council voted to reverse that decision somewhat, as council voted to hold talks with the Barrie officials, but only regarding cross-border servicing.
Council demanded there be no discussion with Barrie about boundary expansion.
At the March 20 meeting, Coughlin told council that township officials had a meeting with Nuttall to discuss the possibility of a partnership and were rebuffed.
“It was made very clear that we have nothing to offer if not land,” Coughlin said at the time. “They are not looking for a fee-for-service or ‘a la carte’ service to their pipes, their treatment facility and their water.
“If we’re not talking about boundary adjustment, the conversation with Barrie no longer exists,” she added.
In mid-April, neighbouring Oro-Medonte announced it would contact the provincial land and development facilitator to request assisted mediation regarding Barrie’s boundary expansion plans.
At its May 1 meeting, Springwater council voted against participating in any meeting with a provincial land facilitator regarding Barrie’s proposal until it received a staff report that gave them the information they thought they needed to make an informed decision.
On May 15, Springwater council received the report it requested and a special meeting of council was scheduled for May 23.
Following the closed portion of that meeting, Springwater council passed a resolution that directed the mayor, deputy mayor and chief administrative officer to participate in any future provincially led facilitation process on the matter should a Provincial Land and Development Facilitator be appointed.
