A lack of accountability and inadequate service levels.
Those are the two main reasons why Springwater Township Mayor Jennifer Coughlin brought forth a motion at Wednesday night’s regular council meeting requesting staff prepare a report that would outline the process the township would have to take to reverse a 1999 council decision that placed the entirety of Springwater under the jurisdiction of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA).
Prior to the 1999 decision, 84 per cent of the township was under NVCA jurisdiction.
“Over the past many many years, I’ve heard from residents across the township with questions that didn’t make sense to me,” she said after introducing her motion. “I would talk to generational farmers who would tell me that their land never used to be NVCA jurisdiction and how is it possible?”
According to background information provided by staff, Springwater council originally discussed the idea of moving the entire township under NVCA jurisdiction in the mid-1990s. Township council at the time approved the idea and it went to the NVCA for consideration and approval. Following NVCA approval, it was sent to the provincial government for final approval, which they provided.
According to Jeff Schmidt, Springwater's chief administrative officer, the township will have to reach out to the province first to see if a reversal is even possible.
If the township is successful in getting a reversal, it would change how much the township pays for NVCA services.
Currently, Springwater, along with the 17 other municipalities within the NVCA jurisdiction — the townships of Adjala-Tosorontio, Amaranth, Clearview, Essa, Melancthon, Mulmur, New Tecumseth and Oro-Medonte, the towns of the Blue Mountains, Bradford West Gwillimbury, Collingwood, Innisfil, Mono, Shelburne and Wasaga Beach, the municipality of Grey Highlands and the city of Barrie — must pay for mandatory Category 1 services provided by the NVCA.
In 2024, the cost to Springwater Township, which includes NVCA’s operational levy and asset management levy, will be $225,913.
With a reversal, the cost would drop to $189,766, which would represent the 84 per cent of the township that would be included in the NVCA.
The township also has a relationship with the Severn Sound Environmental Association and Coughlin says she's concerned about overlapping services from both partners.
“This isn’t leaving the NVCA, it’s reverting back to where it was in 1999,” Coughlin said in an interview with BarrieToday after council. “Our residents have frustrations that they’ve shared with me over the last 10 years about the service level we receive with the NVCA and the lack of accountability.
“I’m working diligently to ensure the service partners we have in place are accountable to our residents and the corporation," she added.
According to Coughlin, the NVCA is not accountable to any single individual or organization. She said she has contacted the highest levels of the Ontario government to seek answers, but none have been forthcoming.
“When the NVCA takes 200 days to get a permit out to someone, I have no way to ensure that doesn’t happen again nor do I have the ability to put pressure on them to make sure our residents are getting the service,” she said. “People are missing building windows. We have people who are missing business opportunities because they can’t get buildings built.
“It’s impacting our residents in very many ways and aside from going to the minister, which I have done, I have no way of holding the service level of a partner accountable," the mayor added.
Coughlin believes the NVCA has “gotten too big” and strayed from its original mandate. She thinks if the organization pulled back some of its non-essential offerings, it wouldn’t be in the financial straits it is today.
“They’ve got their fingers into everything,” Coughlin said. “You have to get a permit from them for a new septic tank. They won’t come out and inspect it or approve it — the township has to do that — but you’ve got to get the permit from them.
“They take the money and go.”
BarrieToday also reached out to the NVCA for comment.
"NVCA does not have any comments at this time regarding the township’s decision," said Maria Leung, senior communications specialist at NVCA.
