Well 2021 was rife with indecision, pontification and drama for Amherstburg town council. There were some highs, some lows and some in-betweens. The meetings were long…..and this blog will be too! LOL Other than one in-person meeting (which I did not attend in-person), all of the meetings were held virtually in 2021. The good news is that I could laugh (or yell) out loud at my computer…..the bad news is, some members of council thought they were actors and tried to put on a show for the viewers……Which led to my half joking title of “As Amherstburg Turns” in reference to the council meetings. I truly wonder how many people actually tuned in for the electronic meetings and in their entirety…..It takes some serious drive and determination, perhaps with a dash of wacky to make it through an entire council meeting. Anyway, here’s the year end review, in no particular order…..
Libro Centre Expansion Master Plan
In January 2021, the Libro Centre Expansion Master Plan was presented to council. It was a planning document for the future development of the park property at the Libro Centre. It was a detailed plan for the entire property that surrounds the arena but it did not include the arena complex itself.
The plan was beautiful! The plan was detailed! The plan was created with vigorous (dare I say fulsome?) public consultation. The massive amount of acreage was planned out in order to properly place items and amenities as budget money became available. Nothing in the document was written in stone (that was explained numerous times that fateful night), however it was a guiding document to help plan the future development of the property.
The first question that night was from Councillor Prue asking if the plan had to be adopted that very night. We were doomed. The plan never did get adopted. Councillor Courtney spent much of that meeting telling us all how many sports he played and therefore seemed to know what was best for the property and that his ideas did not agree with the plan that was being proposed by the consultants and town administration. Some members of council were concerned if the proposed pool and skate park should be located at the Libro Centre.
After a very, very lengthy “debate”, Councillor Prue made a motion to approve the existing area for the ball diamond and the trail and leave the balance of the plan for later for council to feel more comfortable about it. (BTW, later never came…..) Councillor McArthur seconded the motion (that surprised me then and still surprises me now, since he had been the only one that spoke logically that January night about approving the plan….) and the motion passed.
If we fail to plan, we plan to fail. This year, 2021 will be closing out and there is still no plan in place for our beautiful asset, the Libro Centre , and the massive amount of property that surrounds it. I guess nobody ever defined “later.” Maybe the next council will be stronger and better at planning and making decisions.
Council’s inability to make a decision and adopt the plan that night would come back to haunt them more than once through 2021.
Affordable Housing, Jack Purdie Park and Centennial Park
In February, council talked a good talk about the need for affordable housing. According to the report, there were 993 families on a waitlist for affordable housing. That evening, council made a motion to support an initiative for affordable housing in Amherstburg. Then, it came time for action. And that’s where council couldn’t walk the walk.
Mayor DiCarlo declared a conflict on discussing either park due to the location of his home and the proximity to the parks.
Next up, that same February night was a report about best uses for Jack Purdie Park. It was discovered that the park land is 11 acres. Council was very open to the idea of a hybrid approach for the use of Jack Purdie Park. In other words, to sell a portion of the property to be used for affordable housing and then to use the proceeds to develop the remaining park land. The motion passed unanimously simply to look at rezoning the land and explore this possibility. (The way that some residents threw misinformation around on social media about this would take another blog all its own.)
And then, a discussion about the best uses for Centennial Park……Every member of council had been open to possibly putting affordable housing on a portion of Jack Purdie Park, yet some members of council suddenly did not want affordable housing located in a portion of Centennial Park. Weird. It was established that the remaining acres of Centennial Park were simply not spacious enough for the park to become a sports park. There is just not enough space. This meeting got especially complicated since Councillor Courtney felt he only had a conflict for one motion about Centennial Park yet could vote on the other motion.
First, there was a recorded vote for Option 3: The redevelopment of H. Murray Smith/Centennial Park as an Athletic (and Heritage) Park in accordance with the recommendations of the Council approved 2018 Parks Master Plan.
In favour: Councillor Courtney, Councillor Prue and Councillor Renaud
Opposed : Councillor McArthur, Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillor Simone
Since it was a tie vote, the motion failed. (Remember the mayor did not vote since he had a conflict of pecuniary interest so he could not discuss the issue, nor vote on it.)
Councillor McArthur then made the motion for Option 4 : The rezoning of H. Murray Smith/Centennial Park in accordance with the highest and best use for the subject lands in accordance with the Town’s Official Plan for Housing First Policy.
He wanted to have wording for fundraising in the motion but I believe that was removed since the school board would have to fundraise if they want to build a track on their property.
Councillor McArthur felt it was important to have a vision for the highest and best use for the land including green space. Councillor Simone seconded the motion.
Another recorded vote :
In favour : Councillor McArthur, Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillor Simone
Opposed : Councillors Prue and Renaud
The motion passed.
(Councillor Courtney couldn’t vote since he felt he had a conflict only for option 4.)
Councillor McArthur wrote an excellent blog about the possibilities for this land. I believe he is the only member of council who writes and communicates about council decisions, even though others promised to do so during their election campaigns. Here is the link to his blog, if you’re looking for a refresher or for factual information about the parks : https://www.donaldmcarthur.com/amherstburg_council_votes_to_engage_public_explore_options_for_centennial_jack_purdie_parks
Both parks were discussed several more times throughout 2021. In the summer, the proposals were presented to council. There were various proposals with various amenities and various types of affordable housing. The public was consulted, but ultimately nothing was decided.
In the fall, a report about Centennial Park was found in a box in the former CAO’s office. (I wonder if it was found with the Libro Expansion Plan that council had shelved in January? Maybe they were keeping each other company?) Either way, the report was dated June 2020 and didn’t end up in front of council until November 2021.That was odd. Here is a link to the report for those who are interested : https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=4766
The report does recommend medium density residential for the property but as I’ve learned through the years…..the recommendations don’t matter, until they matter. LOL! Some members of council will disregard or argue against recommendations because, well I guess they feel they know best…..and I guess that’s probably why not much got accomplished in 2021 by council.
March 6th 2021
This was an awful day for Amherstburg. All four tires of the Mayor’s car were slashed in his driveway while his family slept. Not only were his four tires slashed, the four tires of his daughter’s car were slashed as well. His wife’s car was in the garage…would hers have been targeted too if it had been parked in the driveway? I don’t want to relive that day and rehash it all but it could not go without mentioning this horrible act in this year end blog. Here is the link to the special edition blog I wrote about this issue at the time, if you are so inclined to reread it. I prefer not to. https://amherstburg2.wordpress.com/2021/03/06/special-edition-blog-when-on-line-bullying-leads-to-vandalism/
Mass Vaccination Clinic
One very good thing to come out of 2021 was that our beautiful Libro Centre was chosen as a Mass Vaccination Clinic site. The site would administer almost 39,000 vaccines against COVID-19! That was very exciting news for Amherstburg!
Open Air Weekends
Ahhhhhh…..Open Air weekends! Where the streets were alive with people, fun and friendship! The people loved Open Air! Well, most of them do anyway. This forward-thinking initiative was debated multiple times during 2021. Too many times really. The hours were modified for 2021, with the streets closing to traffic Friday afternoon, reopening to traffic Saturday throughout the day and then closing to traffic again Saturday evening and all day Sunday. The footprint was also modified from the 2020 footprint. Compromise was made to try to keep those who did not like Open Air happy. It didn’t work LOL.
Open Air was hotly contested by a few as others were vocally supporting it with quantitative data. Those who sought (and received) compromise in the spring of 2021, came back in the fall seeking more compromise.
THRIVE, a new lobbyist group, wrote a White Paper supporting Open Air Weekends. Here is the link to their research for those who are interested : https://pub-amherstburg.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=4356
At year end, a report from administration recommended that Open Air continue but with the hours of operation used in 2020 (streets open to pedestrians from Friday night through to Sunday night) as well as a new, modified footprint, freeing up parking on the street on Dalhousie Street from Richmond to Rankin.
Open Air was debated at length on November 22nd when a final report was provided to council. For anyone that knows me or follows the blog, you know that I am a huge supporter of Open Air! I am going to quote myself from the blog that I wrote up about the November 22nd meeting :
“And then Councillor Courtney spoke…..and spoke….and spoke….(5 pages worth of speaking…..) get ready…..and I’m going into detail here…..
Councillor Courtney started out by saying he likes to talk and that he’s very opinionated. He felt that Open Air has been very controversial and contentious. He felt that Open Air was created to help businesses through the pandemic. He felt that Open Air was not a special event and that it really isn’t “special”. He felt that River Lights and The Uncommon Festival were the only weekends that were awesome. Councillor Courtney did feel that Open Air created hype for year one but that the novelty wore off for year two. He felt that it had simply become about having a burger or a beer in the street. (Oh my…..that comment alone screamed that it was said by someone who did not attend Open Air! Open Air is about so much more than having a burger or a beer in the street! It’s about community. It’s about togetherness. It’s about inclusivity. It’s about fun. It’s about walkability. It’s about family and friends…..In fact when the Who’s down in Whoville wanted to make Christmas celebrations bigger and brighter, the Grinch tried to stop Christmas from coming! And the Grinch learned that Christmas is about “more” than presents, food, decorations and money. Well, Open Air is about A LOT more than a burger or a beer in the street!)
Councillor Courtney asked Ms Rota if it were true that only 21 businesses responded to the survey since the turnaround time was less than 48 hours to fill out the survey. Ms Rota said that all of the businesses knew the survey was coming and that they had 4 or 5 full days to fill it out.
Councillor Courtney then said that Open Air was for the culinary businesses. He did not feel that the BookStore needed Open Air, that the banks needed Open Air or that clothing stores needed Open Air. He felt that council was being asked to help some and hurt others…..(um…..it’s been three years and he hasn’t yet realized that every decision they make is for the betterment of some and to the detriment of others? BIG PICTURE time! Decisions need to be made based on the big picture and for the town as a whole…..)
Ms Rota explained that it may appear that 4 or 5 restaurants are benefitting but that council must look at the bigger picture….people picnicking in the park, making purchases, performers and musicians were hired etc. She reminded council that for that night, the recommendation was simply to approve the footprint and that later the budget portion would be debated. She felt that the event would likely be cost neutral next year and that grants were available.
Ms Baillargeon, Director of Parks and Culture explained that Open Air is more than an event, it’s an initiative. (Could Ms Baillargeon make Councillor Courtney’s heart grow two sizes bigger at this meeting?)
Didn’t seem so. Councillor Courtney went on and on about investing in tourism and he felt that council may be crossing that line and that he hoped they wouldn’t get sued if businesses are losing money. (Yes, seriously. He said that…..) He felt that the number one concern should be the business owners. (And once again BIG PICTURE! Open Air is NOT all about the business owners….I spend a lot of money at those businesses, gladly! Open Air is about ALL OF US! It’s about the residents, the tourists and the business owners. The business owners do not own our downtown, it belongs to all of us. Every single one of us that pays taxes in Amherstburg owns a piece of our downtown and our streets.)
Councillor Courtney felt that streets are for cars, sidewalks are for pedestrians and the parks are to play in. I guess,in a very narrow scope type of way of looking at things, he may have a point…..but there’s a much bigger picture at play….The BIG picture!
Finally, Councillor McArthur made the motion to approve the Open Air plan for 2022 in principle. Councillor Prue asked to extend it for one more week in September in order to allow the involvement of the aboriginal peoples to celebrate the September 30th holiday. (The National Day of Truth and Reconciliation)
So the motion was read, some slight amendments were made for sound and to extend Open Air for one extra weekend in September. It went to a recorded vote (I love those)
Support : Councillor McArthur, Councillor Prue, Councillor Renaud, Councillor Simone, Deputy Mayor Meloche and Mayor DiCarlo
Opposed : Councillor Courtney
So, all the Who’s in Whoville will have Christmas! And the people of Amherstburg will have Open Air! Because, yes, it really does mean a little bit more……”
There you have it folks. Open Air was supported 6 – 1. Done. Or is it? Will the few that don’t like Open Air be back to contest it once again? Will council see that other municipalities saw our success these past two years and some are trying to emulate us?
The Skate Park
Oh boy, the skate park. So, the Libro Centre Expansion Plan (the one that council did not adopt in January) recommended that the skate park be placed at the Libro Centre. But, at that fateful January meeting, council decided they wanted more input into where to place the skate park. In June, there was a recommendation to temporarily locate the skate park at the Community Hub (320 Richmond Street). This was debated at length by council. Councillor McArthur spoke fiercely to get the skate park set up ASAP, since the kids had been without a skate park and summer was right around the corner. Ultimately, a motion was made to waive the procurement policy so that the CAO could get the area paved and the skate park could be up and running in about a week’s time. Had council gone through the whole process it would have taken at least 6 or 8 weeks to get the skate park installed. This might have been the first and only time all year that council actually made a decision and moved on an issue in short order.
Unfortunately, there were a lot of problems at the temporary location for the skate park. In December, a report about vandalism, threats and harassment came before council. The skate park had already been removed, but a permanent location had to be decided upon. The recommendation was, once again, to place the Skate Park at the Libro Centre. The debate raged on and on. A couple of councillors were somewhat rude to Ms Baillargeon, Director of Community and Protective Services. Councillor Prue felt that she shouldn’t use the word “fulsome” and Councillor Courtney continued to express that he felt that the north end of Centennial Park would be a better choice than Ms Baillargeon’s recommendation. Ironically, Councillor Courtney cited a survey that was done by the town. It seems that 24 people wanted the skate park at Centennial and 21 people voted for the Libro location. I think the fact that any weight is given to a survey that was filled out by 45 people in a town of 22,000 residents shows why this council has been largely unproductive. They don’t seem to understand that they were elected to do the right thing and make decisions for the town as a whole. Every. Single. Time. Too much time got wasted these past 3 years as certain councillors listened to a small group of loud voices. I wonder if they’ve learned their lesson?
Ultimately, the motion did carry. The skatepark will find its permanent home at the Libro Centre. (Now if only council could dust off that Libro Master Plan that they set aside….get it approved, so that they can start planning and budgeting for some amenities…..and for those who want a pool, yes, there was a pool in the plan that council tossed aside…..)
Did you know that Councillor Prue used to be the Mayor of East York and a Member of Provincial Parliament?
I should have kept a count on how often Councillor Prue reminded us about that. It was a lot. Often, it seemed he mentioned this fact at least once per meeting…..The highlight of the year was when Councillor Prue shared a story about how when he was Mayor of East York, they waived the RFP process to purchase computers. It seems it didn’t work out well. Councillor McArthur expressed that night what we’ve all been thinking…..nobody cares what happened in Toronto 20 years ago…..
Ballot Question – Wards
Oh wait, council did come up with one item during their term. The issue of wards will be rehashed. Again. There will be a question on the ballot in 2022 asking if Amherstburg should change to a ward system. More time wasted looking into the past rather than looking to the future.
The Miracle Drive June 27th
And some positive news!!! Once again, the people of Amherstburg stepped up and helped out! This year’s Miracle Drive to collect food and non-perishable items for families in need was a huge success. The night of the June 28th meeting, two delegates spoke to council directly from the gym at Western Secondary. They thanked CAO Miceli (still CAO at that time) for making himself available to help and helping to secure the Western Secondary location as a depot for all of the goods. The delegates thanked Mayor DiCarlo for staying all day as well as Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillor Simone, Councillor McArthur and Councillor Renaud.
August 9th 2021 – The day it all changed (and the day that – sadly – some people of Amherstburg had been waiting for….)
August 9th was the start of months of turmoil in town hall. On that day, John Miceli (CAO), Cheryl Horrobin (Director of Corporate Services) and Nicole Rubli (Director of Planning and Development Services) were walked out of town hall with police presence. There were numerous articles in the media, but very few details were released. The new town lawyer, Susan Hirrota stepped in as acting CAO. A few weeks later, she was gone to work for the Town of Kingsville, since, well, she got a better offer.
Word got out…..Amherstburg town hall was in turmoil. Other municipalities swooped in with job offers. Over the next few months, our municipality lost our Treasurer (Justin Rousseau), our Clerk (Paula Parker) and the Director of Human Resources ( Michelle Rose). As well, the Executive Assistant to the CAO & Mayor (Dawn Morencie) also left. Following these departures, here’s the link to a Special Edition blog that I wrote in October, if you’re interested : https://amherstburg2.wordpress.com/2021/10/02/special-edition-blog-town-hall-turmoil/
But the change in staff wasn’t over. There was a new Treasurer appointed and he left after one meeting. It was recently announced that Mr Rick Daly, Manager of Recreation Services is also leaving. I’m not sure if I’ve forgotten anybody…..it’s hard to keep track. Council brought in Mr Tony Haddad as interim CAO. As well, Ms Valerie Critchley is acting Clerk. We’ll have to wait and see what 2022 holds in terms of staff departures and new hires.
Fire Station Options
The Fire Chief presented some options to council in regards to the future and our fire halls. It was up to council to show leadership and choose the priorities and the direction in which they wanted Amherstburg to go. I read the report and listened to the Fire Chief during that September meeting and it was crystal clear that our fire stations need to be updated to get with the times. It’s pretty sad that they can’t hold a new fire truck because they were built so long ago and they’re just plain too small. Much like our hospitals, things need updating and renewal. And yes, these things cost money. But it all has to start with a plan so that money can be budgeted accordingly.
As usual, there was flipping and flopping and it was said more than once “IF” a decision were to be made that night……again, it shone bright how indecisive this council is. The indecisiveness has led to more inefficient meetings where nothing gets accomplished than I can keep track of.
FINALLY Deputy Mayor Meloche made the motion to proceed with Option A (two fire stations – see below). He wondered if one could be done and then do the second one later. Chief Montone said that he did not want to bring forward a plan that was not realistic. He said he would bring back a doable, realistic plan and consider the impact on the taxpayer. Councillor Simone seconded the motion.
In Support : Councillor McArthur, Deputy Mayor Meloche, Councillors Renaud and Simone, Mayor Dicarlo
Opposed : Councillors Courtney and Prue
In the above-noted recorded vote, council adopted the following option :
Option A – Two Fire Station Model
“This option includes:
Construction of two new fire stations, based on consolidation of fire stations 1 and 3, with:
- demolition and reconstruction of fire station 2 at its current location;
- decommissioning of fire station 3, which could be repurposed by the Town or disposed of;
- construction of a new fire station at the Amherstburg Libro Centre (Libro) site; and,
- discontinued operations at the current fire station 1 facility, which could be repurposed by the Town or disposed of if the municipal office were relocated.
- Redeployment of staff and equipment between the two new stations, with thirty (30) VFFs deployed from each site and relocation of full-time fire fighters to the fire station at the Libro site.
The relocation of existing full time firefighters to the new fire station on the Libro site would complete the improvement of response capabilities utilizing existing resources. The Town’s ability to meet at least the lower effective response level for emergencies occurring in high risk and extreme risk occupancies, as identified earlier in this report and improving the level of guaranteed response to the whole municipality may result.”
No Treasurer, no budget
Usually, council receives and debates the budget in November. Then the budget gets adopted in December. Well, this year, with the revolving door of senior staff, it would be virtually impossible to have had a budget in place before the end of 2021. CAO Haddad presented a new timeline and a new format to council for 2022.
The proposed budget will be presented and debated in January 2022, with an adoption of the budget in February. But the BIG CHANGE??? The budget will not be a line by line document. Rather, it will be a big picture proposal so that council can decide where they want to spend money and which priorities they want to focus on. This oughta be interesting. Clearly, Mr Haddad is new to town…..LOL! This council is not very “big picture” oriented…..hence, the marathon meetings discussing minutia, beating horses that died years ago and chasing ghosts of Amherstburg past. This budget oughta be interesting!
New and Private Investment
While council was busy looking backwards, fortunately Amherstburg had private investors looking to our future. They were busily spending money in our town on development, buildings and new business ventures. The new hotel on Dalhousie Street is a go and an operator was chosen. The buildings beside River Bookshop are being renovated as I write this blog and will house commercial stores on the main floor and apartments above. The Panetteria (the bakery behind the River Bookshop) has opened in what is basically a brand new and completely restored building. The property at 247 Brock Street (former St. Anthony’s School / House of Shalom) has development well underway. The plans were presented to the Heritage Committee and to council and the development of condos in that building is proceeding. As well, the Heritage Committee has endorsed plans for the building at the northwest corner of Murray Street and Ramsay Street (former 2-Way Automotive). Sounds like this property will include retail and restaurant space as well as a boutique hotel/Airbnb upstairs. I have also heard that there are plans in the works for the building across the street from this one. As well, it seems that some plans are in the works for the former Post Office. I can only imagine that multi-millions of dollars are being invested by these entrepreneurs. This is good news, this is FANTASTIC news!
Oh and the construction of the new high school is well underway. I know that’s not private investment but rather a school board and provincial government investment, but it’s progress! And I like to see progress and forward momentum!
Last but not least, the audit – let the witch hunt begin
At the final December meeting, Councillor Courtney presented his motion (it was seconded by Councillor Prue) :
1. That Council AUTHORIZE the Town’s audit services provider, KPMG, to UNDERTAKE an audit review of the following items:
a) Internal Controls in place at the Town;
b) Operating Budget Variances that have occurred for the fiscal years 2018-2021; and
c) Capital Projects completed and/or underway for fiscal years 2018-2021 with a project value greater than $300,000, including the development of the 320 Richmond Street Hub Project;
2. That Council AUTHORIZE the CAO to sign all the necessary documents required to undertake the noted work;
3. That KPMG’s findings resulting from this engagement BE REPORTED to Council in accordance with the Municipal Act;
4. That, should the work done by KPMG as authorized by this resolution result in the need for further investigation, that KPMG report on the same to Council for its consideration; and
5. That the cost of this engagement be charged to CAO’s Office – Professional Services.
CAO Haddad explained that this audit could cost anywhere from $20,000 to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It would depend on the scope that council chose. Most of council felt that likely nothing would be found amiss. Yet they seemed to want to proceed anyway. They seemed to feel that there had been a lot going on in town hall, and that this audit would allow for some transparency. But this was the most interesting part…..and again, I quote from my blog of December 13th :
“Councillor Prue felt that the amount of money was not a big issue. He felt that $250,000 is 1% of the tax rate. He felt that it is worth 1% to let the public know and that it would be good for the people of this town. He felt that he wanted answers about things found in a box as well as the Hub. (This kind of made me chuckle…..suddenly 1% of the tax rate is A-OK. Until budget time when it’s slash and burn time…..Can’t have it both ways……no problem spending $250,000 for an audit that everyone on council seems to agree won’t show anything…..)
(And here’s my personal take…….IF, big IF…..the reasons for the three employees being let go in August were financial…..this motion would have been hot off the press by September 1st at the latest…..it wouldn’t have taken 4 months to get to it…..which leads me to believe that this is just for “optics” sake…..we’re going to spend all kinds of money to do an audit, that members of council were all saying likely won’t find anything amiss…..which means that they know that the August fiasco wasn’t financial…..they’re privy to the in-camera info…..if it were financial, they would know…..but I guess we will all sit back and wait and see…..and if the audit is clean? Will the public accept that? Or will the rumours simply continue on in true Amherstburg form for the next decade or two?”
I find it very telling that the last meeting of 2021 tied right into the big mistake of one of the first meetings of 2021, not adopting the Libro Master Plan. But really, it’s not about the plan. It’s about the big picture. Council couldn’t look at the big picture of the Libro facility and begin to plan for the massive space that we have there. By not planning, there’s no budget dollars being set aside to start the process of building amenities.
And rather than look forward to 2022 and begin to plan…..council decided instead to look in the rearview mirror and chase ghosts of CAOs past. Councillor Prue sees no issue with spending 1% of the tax rate for an audit? Where is the plan for our future? Both short-term and long-term future? Do we even have one? We won’t, as long as council’s priorities are about chasing ghosts.
2022 Election Year
And October 2022 will see a municipal election with a new council. What that will bring nobody knows. One Mayoral hopeful (Bob Rozankovic) has already announced his candidacy. I had high hopes for the current council when they were elected in 2018. The majority seemed positive and forward-thinking. I’m not sure if they got dragged down by social media, got led astray by a sly fox or just started listening too much to the very vocal minority. Either way, it’s unfortunate, I think so much more could have been accomplished in the last three years. I am going to guess that the next 6 months, it will be a race to try to get something done so that those who want to run again will have something (anything) on which to hang their hat. At least that will be more interesting to watch than the race to the bottom that I’ve been watching.
Conclusion
Well, if you made it to the end here, congratulations! I know this was a long one! I tried to cover as many highlights as I could. I hope I thought of most of them. Whether you agreed with every word, some of the words or none of the words, thank you for reading! Happy New Year! And for those of you who get my humour (or sarcasm at times), a double thank you for reading! 🙂 See you on the flip side Amherstburg!
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