Tag: renfrew-council

COUNCILLOR ASKS FOR BAFN REPORT

Props and bravo to John McDonald.

The Renfrew councillor introduced a motion whereby town staff is to identify and and provide all relevant documentation outlining the relationship existing between the Town of Renfrew and the Bonnechere Algonquin First Nation, especially as it pertains to the BAFN presence at Ma-Te-Way.

This is one of two items I requested information on last October, but was told to go stuff myself by Clerk Carolynn Errett and former Acting CAO Kelly Latendresse on the grounds that the request was “political” in nature.  And staff doesn’t do political.  They told me to direct the question to Council instead.  Which was really cool because that was the very body that refused to even acknowledge my request in the first place, much less respond to it.

But now, after eight months, a real live councillor, John McDonald, is going to take a crack at it.

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RUNAWAY WATER BILL

Generally speaking, the movement of fluids throughout a home can be heard by occupants of the home, whether it be forced air from the furnace, the air conditioner kicking out comfort on a blazing hot day, or water moving through the pipes doing the chores that water does.

Watering the lawn with a sprinkler, watering the plants and shrubs and flowers, and filling the pool are all uses of water where the occupants of the home can hear, as much as see.  If the hose is being used outside, you can hear the water moving under pressure from the inside.

Doing the dishes by hand, or using a dishwasher also produces the sounds of fluids in motion, again in this case water.  Taking a shower, drawing a bath, shaving, these all require water, and therefore also make enough sound to be noticeable to anyone in the home.

Either the flushing of a toilet, or a toilet that doesn’t complete the flushing cycle all make water-in-motion noises.  So too does every faucet in the house when in use.

My point here is that we generally have a pretty good idea when our water usage is in action, mostly because we can hear it as much as we can see it.  So if the water was running, from whatever source, for six consecutive days without reprieve, then we’d have some notice of it, with our ears as much as our eyes.

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FLOODING ON HAIG

Just imagine.

A house that’s been there for decades, right here in Renfrew.  Property taxes paid diligently and on time, same thing with the water bill.  Never, ever, in all that time, has there ever had a problem with water in the basement.  Never.

Along comes the year 2023, and the Town of Renfrew has undertaken to pave the road outside this home.  It’s absolutely thrilling.  The street the house is on, Haig Avenue, hasn’t been a safe coffee-drinking road in a long time with all the hills, valleys, and moguls.  But now, the town in going to put down some fresh asphalt, sprucing up the entire neighbourhood, and likely having a positive impact on property values. 

Honestly, what’s not to like?

The engineering, that’s what.

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INDISPENSABLE? INDEFENSIBLE?

The first thing I noticed was the seating plan. 

As a former teacher, changes to seating plans were almost traumatic events for students since they had no idea what neighbourhood of the classroom they may be calling their new home, and, of course, had no idea of who their new neighbours might be.  No matter the intent behind the seating shift, it was inevitable that some students would be delighted by the change, with others less so.  And the major determining factor as to whether you were a “winner” or a “loser” was entirely social, and having to do with friends, or possibly a lack thereof.

I tuned in to the Renfrew Town Council live-feed after-the-fact, viewing it this morning rather than putting myself through the whole death by a thousand cuts experience you get when you attend in person.  And the first thing I noticed was what I call the head table, the one where the big cheeses sit, the mayor — Head of Council — the CAO, and the Clerk.

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STRONG MAYOR + WEAK MEDIA

What do you get when you simultaneously have a strong mayor and a weak or non-existent media?

This isn’t a joke, where there’s some amusing punchline to follow that question.  This is a joke because this is what happens when the wool is being thrown over our collective eyes.

I’ve already written about strong mayors, about that senseless move by Premier Doug Ford to empower mayors unnecessarily, while at the same time seriously undermining local and municipal democracy.

This comes from a populist premier who champions things like “a buck a beer” and drinking alcohol in public parks.  He’s the guy that allowed alcohol sales in corner and grocery stores, without fully mapping out how all those empties are going to be collected and processed.  He spent millions in penalties to the Beer Store to break an agreement already on place just to get that booze into those stores.  All this from a guy who doesn’t drink himself.

Ford is a guy who moves based upon whatever the last horoscope might have said, or whatever the last lobbyist may have promised.  He’ll bash ahead with his newly-discovered mission until we make him stop.  Then he apologizes, gives us the patented “Gee, golly, shucks,” and we forgive him for it, even giving him credit for having the political courage to admit when he’s wrong.

He is the quintessential ask for forgiveness rather than ask for permission kind of fellow.

And full disclosure, I’ve voted for him.  Not every time, mind you, but I have.

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JOHN EXPLAINS STRONG MAYOR POWERS

To me, John has the appearance of being a very nice man, one with an impressive resume and one who happens to be an “expert” on Strong Mayor Powers.

John appeared via video link at the last meeting of Renfrew Clown Council, where he was tasked with walking everyone through the democratic abomination of small mayor powers as handed over to any municipality with a McDonalds and a set of street lights.  So Renfrew gets included, because we have those traffic lights, and even a Wendy’s, so game on.

One minor, yet annoying thing about John, though, is that neither God nor his parents apparently gave him a last name, which I’m absolutely cool with in theory, it’s just that I thought that practice was limited to Brazilian soccer stars and Indonesian dictators.

But I don’t make the rules.  Small town strong mayors do.  If a guy doesn’t want a last name, then he doesn’t have to have one.  Unless a strong mayor comes along and makes him.

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NEPOTISM AT TOWN HALL?

Nepotism is generally regarded as the practice of hiring or favouring relatives over others.  It’s using personal influence, even power within an organization, to give a friend or family member a leg-up when it comes to an opportunity.

It happens everywhere.  It happens here.  And no matter what attempts are made, or lip-service offered, it’s something that’s awfully difficult to get rid of.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t try, or do our best to ensure it doesn’t become SOP, or standing operating procedure.

The staff of the Town of Renfrew is riddled with nepotism.  I’m sorry, but there it is, and there’s no point in running away from that fact.

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TRANSPARENCY IS BLIND

Renfrew Council goes into closed section a lot.  Like, an awful lot.

And how is one supposed to know if these closed sessions are legitimate?  As in some of them?  All of them?  None of them?

Of course, that last one would never apply, because there are legitimate reasons for a council to meet in-camera, a term I’m surprised I don’t hear more often from the pretentious bunch who otherwise like to stick to their in-house admin vocabulary, because I guess they feel it makes them sound smart.  Or at least smarter than us.

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PARKING REPORT TENDERED

I’ll come right out and say it, I’m no expert at parking.  And as painful as it is to personally admit such a shortcoming, I’ve never been tasked to look into parking on the scale required for a municipality of some 8,000 souls, give or take a dozen.

The working group formed to study parking in Renfrew and make recommendations has done so, and much to my surprise, it came back with recommendations and I’m still alive.  I had suggested that the whole working group thing was just another piece of due diligence, which may be a bit of an over-reach, but I suppose such steps are part of any healthy exercise by which a municipality can come to grips with its current parking policy, and adjust it to fit the emerging needs of the community.  Such gatherings usually take time, and more time, and then more time, because people like to talk, and then talk some more, and then even more still.  But this group somehow got it all done in a few months.  And I’m still alive!

With respect to parking, there’s no standing still.

Which brings me to one point, the point where it’s recommended that all prohibitions against standing — stopping your vehicle for a period of time with you still in it, often with the engine idling — will be removed.  

I think.

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COUNCIL IS NOT STORY TIME

Please, don’t read to me.

I’ve seen this phenomenon a lot over the years, mostly in education, but often enough in other spheres, like government and politics as well.

There’s no feeling of personal fulfillment greater than when you read through documents released in advance, only to have those same documents read back to you, word-for-word, by somebody tasked with giving a report or a presentation.

So if I’m a councillor in a municipal context, I’m going to get my information from the pre-meeting release of the agenda, then attend the meeting to get an in-person report from the officer in charge, whether that’s a manager, or a director, or whatever.

But don’t freaking read to me.

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