I’ve been watching Minden Hills council meetings for more than 10 years. There have been times elected officials have not agreed on things, but, for the most part, they have appeared to be respectful of each other.
I’ve seen a shift at the council table and it appears to be getting worse as some incumbent councillors prepare for the October municipal election. The July 23 meeting was somewhat painful to watch. It has become clear that councillors Tammy McKelvey, Ivan Ingram, and Bob Sisson share a similar ideology. Mayor Bob Carter and councillor Pam Sayne are usually on the same page. Depending on the issue, councillors Lisa Schell and Shirley Johannessen can be swing voters.
Sometimes, I worry that differences of personality may be impacting decision-making on behalf of constituents. The back-and-forth is certainly stalling some projects moving forward.
For example, a consultant presented the township’s strategic plan for 2026-2031. To complete the final document, 424 residents did a survey, 700 people took part in community engagement, there were four facilitated meet-ups with council, community and businesses and a lot of one-on-one consultations.
It was interesting to see that 37 per cent of folks flagged strong leadership and decision-making as one of the top values for the township.
Strategic plans are meant to guide municipalities and help with good decision-making. I thought council would endorse the document, and staff and council could start using it as a game plan going forward. However, Johannessen, McKelvey, Ingram and Sisson felt the plan should go to the next council. They argued it was too late in the term to advance it.
In a perfect world, this strategic plan would have been done mid-term. For a variety of reasons, it was not. Staff and Carter, Sayne, and Schell argued council should proceed since it was not just a township document, but belonged to the people.
In the end, the motion was defeated 4-3 and the plan now goes to the incoming council. They will be sworn in this December. With the steep learning curve for new councillors, and the County’s affordability and governance study slated to land on their table in mid-January, I worry about when this strategic plan will be passed. Will a new council like the body of work? Will it end up on a shelf?
Personally, as a ratepayer in Minden Hills, I would have preferred endorsement of the plan. It is a living document. Changes can be made. Not having a strategic plan amounts to a rudderless ship.
Another contentious item has been a pedestrian crosswalk for the centre of Bobcaygeon Road in the downtown. Council has talked about this one several times and we have yet to see a request for tenders or proposals go out for the work.
Council passed an RFP for sidewalks at the meeting, but it’s now too late to do the crosswalk at the same time. What a waste of taxpayers’ money.
I’ve talked to lots of folks who think the crosswalk is badly needed, feeling it unsafe crossing the courtesy walks at either end of the street. And, yet, Ingram maintains he doesn’t think there’s a safety concern. McKelvey keeps raising the issue of parking loss, despite staff saying they can formalize parking on Water Street. The project was passed at budget, yet some councillors keep bringing it up; using valuable staff time to do report after report. How is this good governance?
If council does not want the crosswalk, bring forward a motion of reconsideration and defeat it. But, please, don’t keep going around and around in circles.
The problem is it appears to be personal. When Carter brought up the issue of pedestrian safety, Ingram snapped back about how the public dock is unsafe, but there’s little to stop people from accessing it. Off topic and an outburst because, presumably, he didn’t like the mayor’s opinion.
It’s long past time Minden Hills councillors had a good, long, look in the mirror. They say they were elected to represent the people. They need to remember to do that.
