Tag: renfrew-town-council

SPEED DATING PROPOSED AS A MEANS TO COMMUNICATE WITH SENIOR STAFF

Perusing the agenda document released in advance of Tuesday’s double meeting of Renfrew Town Council, I came upon what could only be characterized as an attempt by senior administration to try something bold, something new.

It appears, if you squint, that they’re going to make an effort to — gasp — communicate.  Well how about that?

Perhaps the brainchild of our own senior staff, or perhaps something picked up in fruitful discussions with other municipal CAOs and clerk types at the recent AMO conference, it represents a high-water mark in terms of providing insight into the dark mysteries that swirl in the closely-guarded backrooms of Fort Renfrew.

The plan is brilliant.

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COUNCILLOR ADVOCATES FOR HOME OWNERS

It’s late in the third period and your team is down by three goals.  Or it’s the seventh inning, and the boys are down by four, your starter has been knocked out of the game, and your best player swinging the hottest bat was injured back in the third, yet remains in the game, albeit hobbled and a shadow of his regular self.

You’re at a Renfrew Town Council meeting, your eyes are stinging, and you’re questioning all the concepts of good governance you’ve ever learned and experienced.  You’re two-and-a-half hours into the meeting, and you’re convinced that if you stay any longer, it may become a police matter, or a health matter, or both.

So you leave the rink.  Shut off the television.  Gather your belongings and leave.

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COMMITTEE COMPOSITION AND ATTENDANCE

Are there attendance requirements for members of municipally-mandated committees?

I understand that people are busy, and I further understand that there ought to be some degree of flexibility when it comes to balancing a person’s personal and occupational life with the requirements of being involved in a committee.

That said, what’s the point of a committee, made up of a number of “civilians,” when half the civilians aren’t present at the meeting?

The last Economic Development Advisory Committee was held a week ago, and had it not been for the presence of town staff and a pair of councillors, the room would have been essentially empty, with only three non-council and non-staff members present.  It may be enough for a quorum, but it’s not enough to satisfy the requirements of a mature and responsible advisory committee.  And by the way, a quorum is a minimum requirement, and doesn’t in any way convey a sense of responsible government.  It simply sets a minimum standard, but is in no way to be confused with effectiveness of purpose.  We’re better when we have the whole team on the bench, and weaker when we don’t.

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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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JACKSON RESIGNS POSITION AS TREASURER

It certainly looks like Charlene Jackson is gone as Renfrew’s treasurer.

Earlier today, I was given a heads-up about a job posting on the employment site Indeed, where sure enough, there’s a posting for a position that sure sounds like the one she’s held down until just recently.

That posting appears below.

Budget deliberations were brutal, and there’s no time in a treasurer’s annual calendar where almost every road, every request, and every question lands squarely at your door as it does at budget time.

Also, Renfrew is in the middle of some bad times, especially money-wise, and that’s something that’s not going to change any time in the near future.

So I guess I’m saying that being the treasurer of an entity that teeters on the edge of financial ruin can’t be the easiest job in the world.

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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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