Well I’ve been attending council meetings for over 4 years now and I made a rookie move tonight. I left my seat cushion at home. I figured the budget presentation would take about 20 minutes and the cannabis retail store debate would take about 40 minutes and that it would be all said and done by 7:00 ish…….well, the budget presentation did take about 20 minutes, but the cannabis retail store debate took about an hour and a half……looks like the new council seemed to take on a few (bad?) habits of the old council…..oh well, here’s a brief resume of the meeting…..I’ll try to stick to the meat and potatoes.
It was good to see about 30 or more residents in attendance tonight.
2019 Operating and Capital Budget
The budget overview was presented to council tonight. I took a paper copy…..it’s 318 pages (2 sides!) in about a size 3 font. (Just kidding….some if it is in a size 11 font….) I won’t be dissecting it tonight. I’ll give you a brief overview of the presentation that administration made to council. The Clerk reminded council before the meeting that the budget was simply being tabled tonight and there would not be any questions or discussion.
Cheryl Horrobin, Director of Corporate Services spoke first. She explained that the 2019 Operating and Capital budget is based on the strategic plan with a look toward the future and a path to move forward. The budget is titled “Transitioning Towards the Future”. (I like that title, very fitting.)
I took all my notes by hand and as the days go on, I can go check for the specifics in the 318 page double sided document……so here are the highlights.
Mr Rousseau, the Treasurer spoke. There is a 1.93% proposed tax increase, however the budget could rise by 2.65%. (I know that’s all anybody cares about…..the big bad number lol). That would equate to $78 per year for a house valued at $250,000.
There is also a 2.5% proposed increase to the water rate and a 1.5% increase to the waste water rate. That would equal to $18 per year for the average Amherstburg home.
There was a Police transition cost quoted of $930,000 but Mr Rousseau said that administration has a strategy so that it won’t impact the tax rate. He did explain this, but I didn’t catch it all. I guess later when I have more time, I’ll try to find the answer somewhere in the 318 page double sided document……some light bed time reading? yikes
Yes, there are some proposed new positions, but I’d have to go digging to get them all…..one caught my eye – Communications Officer for $105,000. It didn’t catch my eye in that I’d be interested in that job, but only in that I think town hall could use to communicate more effectively I guess.
Both levies are proposed to continue as is.
Mr Rousseau also presented a slide comparing the infrastructure that Amherstburg has per resident compared to surrounding municipalities. Basically our cost is $18,846 for assets per capita (I hope I got that right). It seems we have the highest value of infrastructure to enjoy however it is the highest value to maintain it and repair it compared to other areas. Also, this does not include enhancements, simply maintenance and repair to the infrastructure.
Mr Rousseau laid out the time line for the budget. Council will have 3 weeks to review the budget, ask questions of senior administration and talk with the residents. The budget will be available on line tomorrow (for those that didn’t grab a paper copy tonight). Public consultation is scheduled for February 2nd and council will deliberate the budget the week of February 11th.
All in all, the budget presentation did take about 20 minutes…..then we moved on to…..
DELEGATIONS
Windsor-Essex County Health Unit – Nicole Dupuis, Director Health
Promotion
Ms Dupuis addressed council on behalf of the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit. She spoke about the dangers of cannabis use and the health effects of non-medical cannabis. She pointed out that the restrictions for the placement of a retail store is 150 meters from a school and that is the only location restriction. The Health Unit recommends 500 meters. She went through more elements of her presentation, but in a nut shell, the Health Unit recommends opting out at this time.
There were many, many questions from some members of council……and much back and froth between certain councillors and the people from the Health Unit. I’m going to make this blog more brief than the meeting was. I’m confident that our local news sources will report the details for those who are interested. At the end, council received the presentation.
Cannabis Retail Storefronts – Cannabis License Act
Then council moved on to the administrative report about cannabis retail shops. Mr Galvin, Director, Planning, Development and Legislative Services (Yes, I just went to look up his title, because I have messed it up almost every time….) spoke first. He was the acting CAO tonight since Mr Miceli was not in attendance. Mr Galvin thanked Ms Rubli, Manager, Licensing and Enforcement for her work on this report and the task force that began in 2017. He cited the numerous rule changes throughout the process and recognized the balanced view that was presented. He cited the public open house, that only had a hand full of people in attendance and the Talk the Burg Survey. He pointed out that the majority in attendance at the public consultation were in favour of retail cannabis and the same for the survey.
Phase 1 of retail cannabis stores will be starting in the spring based on a lottery system and only for towns with more than 50,000 population. Amherstburg won’t see a store until next year at the earliest, even with an opt in.
Each member of council spoke on this issue….some of them repeatedly and at length……I will try to sum it up in a nutshell for each one of them. Again, I’m sure the local media can provide the details of it all.
Deputy Mayor Meloche spoke about the funding available by opting in and the tax revenue.
Councillor Simone asked about monitoring the location and the guidelines.
Councillor Prue asked about the “sensitive areas” mentioned in the report. Council can identify sensitive areas where there should not be a retail store. Ms Rubli cited an example as Brentwood in Windsor. She said that a daycare could be labeled a sensitive area to prohibit a store near a day care. Councillor Prue spoke quite a bit about the funding that is being offered by upper levels of government. (We’ve gotten some money and the ones that opt in will get more…..)
Mayor DiCarlo asked about how the county would benefit or not based on a municipalities decision. It seems that if a municipality opts out, then the county loses out of that portion of the funding.
Finally, Deputy Mayor Meloche made the motion as presented to proceed with opting in to cannabis stores and Councillor McArthur seconded it. (I thought finally! They’ll vote and we’ll all go home……but no…...)
Councillor Courtney spoke about being worried about laced drugs on the streets but was also looking at the money available for opting in. He felt that we’re trying to become a tourist town and working on re-branding and that a cannabis shop is an issue. He felt that some people are nervous about cannabis stores and that they have to be considered. He was concerned with the strangle-hold put on the municipality.
Councillor Prue said he’d be supporting the recommendation, but proposed an amendment to the motion. There was some wording added about administration bringing back a policy to council. Councillor Prue felt that council should be involved every step of the way.
Councillor Courtney spoke again. He had questions about the funding and the income. He felt that other than the business revenue and a few jobs that the rest of the funds from the government were earmarked. Ms Rubli pointed out that the town will get big funding from the province if we opt in. Councillor Courtney said he’d be opting out for now to opt in later. He said he’s listened and had emails and phone calls and that he felt he’d only be compromising grant money. (Disclaimer from this “council watcher”……last week Councillor Courtney felt he had to go with the majority on social media about the proposed logo…..that he had read what they wrote and most did not like the logo, therefore he voted against accepting the proposed logo…..yet this week, social media exploded with people wanting to opt in to cannabis retail stores…..but that didn’t matter? He would not be supporting the motion to opt in. Does what is written on social media only count if it lines up with what you want it to? Just a rhetorical question and something I’ll be keeping an eye on going forward…..)
Councillor McArthur spoke in support of opting in. He felt that the revenue would be a great opportunity for Amherstburg. He felt that it will help overall with commerce, people stopping to shop at other stores, do other shopping etc. He felt that if we’re looking at having a transient marina, that a store front will help with tourism. Like last week, Councillor McArthur cited social media and public opinion polls…..while acknowledging that social media was only one factor and should be taken with a grain of salt, he cited all of the polls on Twitter, Facebook, Talk the burg and the comments were overwhelmingly in favour of opting in. He also talked about the black market and that having a legal store will help clamp down on the black market.
Deputy Mayor Meloche talked in favour and referred to it as a “sin tax” much like alcohol, gambling and tobacco.
Councillor Renaud spoke in favour of opting in. He felt strongly about trying to starve out the black market since he knew of someone that regularly used marijuana and was sold a marijuana cigarette that was laced with something and the young man died because of it.
Councillor Simone said she’d be supporting the recommendation for many of the reasons cited and thanked administration.
Finally, it went to a vote (not a recorded one but I watched)……everybody voted in favour of opting in except Councillor Courtney. His hand did not go up. Mayor DiCarlo did not vote either, since it was not a tie vote, nor a recorded vote.
So, there it is…..it’s official, council voted to opt in for a cannabis store.
And I just realized I typed a lot more detail than I intended to. I hope you made it to the end of this with me LOL.
See you next week!
amherstburg2 