County of Haliburton physician recruitment coordinator Wendy Welch said her goal is to hire two to three family doctors in 2024.

However, she acknowledged that would still leave the Haliburton Highlands Family Health Team (HHFHT) – which is not accepting new patients – short-staffed.

“For the family medical centre, we are now five physicians short. We have eight on staff and we have openings for five,” Welch said. She was responding to a question from coun. Bob Carter.

He asked her for her goal, noting it did not include the need for emergency room staff, which he said is “obviously a big deal here.”

Carter estimated 50 per cent of the population has a family doctor “and we’re growing” so estimated six to 10 doctors are needed at the HHFHT.

Reporting to council on her work over the past few months, Welch said having two rental properties is helping. There is one on Anson Street in Minden, with a lease in place until June. She said two physicians are staying there, providing relief to the Urgent Care Clinic in Minden. The County also has a rental on Deer Point Lane, Haliburton, for another year. Welch said they have reservations there.

“We’ve had some doctors that are coming back because they’ve enjoyed the stay, the experience of being in town,” Welch said. She added she had feedback from a doctor staying in Minden that ‘you guys make this easy. You make us want to come here.’ “I really think these properties make a big difference.”

That being said, Welch said recruitment is highly competitive. For example, she attended an event for McMaster University with 40 student residents and 38 communities vying for doctors. In addition, “the physicians seem more interested in locum opportunities rather than settling anywhere full-time, unfortunately.”

Welch said their marketing is grabbing attention, in particular posters depicting kayaks parked on a beach as staff parking. She said residents vacationing in the Highlands thought the accompanying billboards were “great”.

She and Haliburton Highlands Health Services acting CEO Veronica Nelson were attending a University of Ottawa recruitment event last week and Welch will be heading to others in the fall and winter.

She told council she has had some success getting temporary staff for inpatient services at the hospital, ER and HHFHT.

She is working with HHHS to try to recruit a medical director for Highland Wood long-term care home.

Welch said one “exciting” development is Queen’s University now has a teaching site at Lakeridge Hospital in Oshawa, “and there is a potential of Haliburton County being exposed to more learners through this program.”

She said she had also run ads in the British Medical Journal. She noted the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) had loosened requirements for doctors from Australia, the UK, the U.S. and Ireland.

She said 22 physicians reached out to her. “Three are very strong leads.”

However, she said it takes about seven weeks to go through the process with the CPSO to get confirmation that the candidates are eligible.”

Welch said she is also looking into the federal government’s Labor Market Impact Assessment (LMIA), a document an employer in Canada may need to get before hiring a foreign worker.

Going forward, Welch said her plan is to attend more recruitment events; identify and create a streamline process or checklist when dealing with international clients; more overseas marketing and engaging directly with med students.

County council wants staff from all four municipalities to look into the possibility of a garbage incinerator for the Highlands.

Coun. Walt McKechnie raised the issue, as he has in the past, during a discussion about expanding the Countywide FoodCycler program, aimed at reducing the amount of organic waste going into landfills.

He said Dysart et al council had a report Oct. 24 on its landfills, “and we have a lot of concerns.

“The amount of money that we’re spending trucking to Peterborough, to Leamington or Chatham or Michigan. How do you think those trucks are running down the highways? To me, we’re hypocrites.” He added he had a “crazy vision” of Haliburton County having a central incinerator “which we all feed and generate some energy.” He said he checks the incinerators in Durham Region and Dysart’s director of public works has told him there is nothing bad going in the air. “All over the world, they’re doing it.

“I just can’t get my head around how we’re just kicking a bad can down the road. Our landfill sites are costing us a lot of money and I think they’re doing a lot of harm to the environment, too, not just with the issues we have at the landfill sites but what’s going in the air.”

Warden Liz Danielsen said McKechnie’s comments “were not out of order” and there had been discussions for a long time about the possibility of incineration. She recalled that when she worked as a reporter, she covered a Dysart et al discussion about a partnership for an incinerator but at the time it was deemed to be unaffordable.

However, she said it was something the service delivery review’s waste management working group could look into. “What’s the feasibility? What would it cost us all if we were to partner on an incinerator?”

Coun. Lisa Schell recalled a study done 12-15 years ago determined the County did not generate enough garbage for an incinerator. “So, we’d actually have garbage trucked into the County.” Since, she said there had probably been new techniques and smaller incinerators “so, it’s definitely something that maybe we should consider.” She noted they also have a greater population than 10 years ago.

McKechnie agreed, saying the cost of operating landfill sites is just going up. “I’d love us all to be, whether it’s the next council, it’s not going to happen overnight in my part of the world, that Haliburton County took the initiative in rural Ontario to generate a proper incinerator and make sure it’s not [putting] anything into the air…”

Coun. Cec Ryall said the service delivery review is dynamic, and issues surrounding aging landfills are not going to go away. “It’s going to get worse and if technology, as we believe, is going to assist in the possibility of coming up with a solution, then we certainly should be investigating it. And if the solution isn’t on the table today, where is it in terms of time?”

Danielsen suggested a motion that the waste management working group look into the possibility of incineration. Coun. Bob Carter moved the motion, suggesting if economies of scale are required, they could talk to the City of Kawartha Lakes. He added incineration could also entail using the heat from the process to heat buildings or produce power. “I think the technology has changed from 12-15 years ago and I think it’s a viable alternative.”

Foodcycler program expanded

During the debate, council gave budget pre-approval to climate change coordinator Korey McKay to expand the Foodcycler program.

She was seeking $83,000 for 2024 expansion. She said staff plan to leverage the funds in a grant application to Environment and Climate Change Canada.

Even without a grant, she said they’d like to offer an additional 500 units at the same price as 2023. While she will provide a more fulsome report to a future council meeting, McKay said, “early results indicate the program was extremely successful.” She added comments from users had been “overwhelmingly positive.”

She said it is reducing greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and estimated savings of $166,500 to $222,000 in landfill costs every year.

County coun. Walt McKechnie has wanted an incinerator for some time now,

Eels Lake cottager Sandy Kilgour is calling on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) to re-evaluate proposed changes to winter ice fishing regulations in the region.

As reported by The Highlander last November, the ministry is looking to implement new legislation that would outlaw ice fishing of brook trout and lake trout on all lakes in Fisheries Management Zone (FMZ) 15, which encompasses Haliburton County, considered to have low natural populations.

In its plan, the MNRF says the zone is experiencing high pressure from a wide range of users, including commercial tourist operators, resident and non-resident anglers, and Indigenous subsistence fishers. Natural Coldwater fish populations have been in decline in the area for years, leading to the ministry proposing new, condensed seasons.

While the plan appears to support the regeneration of fish populations in lakes, it could have the opposite effect on Eels Lake, Kilgour contends. The plan proposes the elimination of all existing winter fish sanctuaries, with the exception of Lake Joseph in Muskoka.

“Eels Lake has been a designated winter fish sanctuary for many, many years – after the exploitation and overharvesting of lake trout, primarily through ice fishing in the 80s and 90s,” he said. “That means there’s no winter fishing for any species at all, it’s closed.”

The new plan introduces a 30-day window for ice fishing on any lake, beginning Jan. 1, 2025.

The Eels Lake Cottagers Association, where Kilgour is a director, launched a petition in June calling on the ministry to maintain Eels Lake’s winter sanctuary designation. To date, it has been signed by 635 people.

The ELCA is worried about the implications of opening Eels Lake up for ice fishing again. He notes a lake trout rehabilitation program, in operation since 2011, has led to a re-emergence of the species in recent years.

Garnet Nelson, a resident of Eels Lake since 1968 and avid angler, agrees.

The program is going really well – there are some natural lake trout coming to the lake, spawning here and thriving here,” Nelson said.

Kilgour said he recently discussed the issue with two resident anglers who have fished on Eels Lake for decades.

They said it takes about 10 years before lake trout begin to spawn themselves and become mature. We’re at that point now, where we’re seeing some positive results,” Kilgour said. “The anglers said of about 200 catches in 2022, 70 of them were natural lake trout that reproduced here. That’s in part because of the winter sanctuary designation.”

The ministry states the 30-day window would allow anglers to fish for attractive species such as walleye, which they contend has a presence in Eels Lake. Nelson doesn’t agree.

“I can assure you there’s no walleye here – they’ve all died out. If we could get the ministry to do a new krill census here, they’d find that out,” Nelson said. He notes the last census was completed 13 years ago. “The data they’re using today and posting online is the same [as back in 2010]. There’s no way those numbers are true or accurate, it’s impossible.”

Kilgour said if ice fishing is permitted on the lake following the implementation of the new plan without modification, it could result in the devastation of the natural lake trout population that has built up over the past decade.

“We’ll be right back at square one,” he said.

“The ministry is saying fishermen will have to put any trout caught back into the water, but even if you come across a responsible angler who would do that… the survival rate of a trout after it’s been pulled from the water is about 50 per cent.”

Another permanent resident of Eels Lake stated to Kilgour over the summer, he remembered looking out at the lake years ago, when there would be 30 or 40 fishing huts out there in the winter.

“I just don’t want to see us get back to that,” Kilgour said. “I want to know what the downside is to allowing Eels Lake to maintain its designation, to continue the lake trout rehabilitation program and really giving it a chance to succeed.”

Nelson added, “Nobody likes fishing more than me and my family, but we realize the sanctuary is in place for a reason. We’re trying to look after the lake as best we can. The stance the ministry is taking is wrong.”

The Highlander was unable to secure an interview with ministry officials, while questions submitted went unanswered.

Ministry spokesperson Sarah Figueiredo said the plan had not yet been finalized.

“MNRF is reviewing and considering the many comments received on the draft plan. Once all comments are considered and feedback is obtained from the FMZ 15 advisory council, it will be posted on the environmental registry of Ontario, along with a summary of the types of comments received and any updates made to the plan,” Figueiredo wrote in an email.

“The implementation of the proposed regulation changes for FMZ 15 requires approval of the draft fisheries management plan. The plan will be implemented following approval,” she added.

It was noted the earliest any changes would come into effect is Jan. 1, 2025.

Mike Waller admits to being “conflicted” about the Commissioner’s Citation for Lifesaving he received at an OPP Central Region awards ceremony Oct. 26.

Waller, who is the president of the Haliburton Legion, shares that the woman he tried to save May 12, 2022 did not make it. She took her own life. Although she was from out-of-County, he feels for her family as well as the people for whom she was staying with when the tragic incident occurred.

However, OPP felt his knowledge, and use of First Aid, attempting to save a life in Dysart et al was deserving of being honoured. Waller and another local, Doug Austin, were recognized during the awards ceremony in Orillia.

Waller recalls that when the ice went out on Loon Lake that day, the water was rough and cold.

“I was sitting in my sunroom and I noticed a person out on the lake, which was strange because of the weather.

He said the person was standing up in a paddleboat and, it appeared, was trying to fill it with water.

His wife, Cheryl came in and asked, “what’s that person doing out on the lake? and I said ‘I think she’s trying to commit suicide’.”

Cheryl said, “you have to go out and help her and I said ‘I’m not going out.”

However, he went down to the shoreline and got into his boat with a blanket that Cheryl had given him. She worked at Whitby Mental Health Centre for 41 years (now called Ontario Shores for Mental Health Sciences), which is why Mike had an idea of what might be going on.

“I went out, got to her, was talking to her for quite a bit. I was able to talk her into my boat. I tied a rope to the paddle boat to pull it with us.”

They began boating towards where the woman was staying. He said the woman stood up once and he told her to sit down because he didn’t want the boat to tip in the two-foot waves. She sat back down.

“Then all of a sudden, she stood up and said ‘I want to die’ and she dove in the water.” Waller untied the paddle boat and went over to try to throw her the rope a few times but she wouldn’t grab it.

Waller went to Austin’s dock, and asked him to get in the boat because he needed help.

By the time they got back out in the water, the woman was facedown. They pulled her into the boat and Waller started CPR. Meanwhile, Austin’s wife called 911.

They went to Austin’s dock with the woman and continued CPR while waiting for EMS. However, the woman passed away.

Austin said when Waller called out to him, “you don’t give it a second thought.” However, “it was a sad, sad, day.”

Waller said he takes some solace in the fact the body was recovered, and not lost on the lake. In that way, there would have been some closure for the family and friends. He added it puts a spotlight on mental health issues.

The fact he went from an initial instinct of not going out, to doing what he did, “that’s what you should do, right?” Waller says.

“But I do feel conflicted because it wasn’t a Hollywood ending.”

Waller added being honoured for what they did hasn’t phased him much. “I’d have been more satisfied if she had survived. That’s where it’s sad. I’ll always think about it now when I’m out there.”

Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott has tabled a new private member’s bill at Queen’s Park seeking to prevent convicted sex offenders from legally changing their names in Ontario.

The local politician brought the legislation forward Oct. 19 as a joint endeavour with Thornhill MPP Laura Smith. It will be brought back for second reading Nov. 14. If passed, it will stop convicted offenders under Christopher’s Law from securing new identities at any time in the future.

“We need to eliminate the opportunity for sexual offenders to sever the tie between their criminal past and their current identity,” Scott said. “To sexually assault another human being is a violating deed, not only physically, but psychologically and emotionally. Sexual assault can have profound implications beyond the initial attack. The effects can linger for years.

“We want to close this loophole, like other provinces have, so that sexual offenders are not given the chance to hide their criminal past. These victims deserve to know their attacker will not be able to escape the accountability,” Scott added.

The bill was initially introduced by former Scarborough Centre MPP Christina Mitas in 2021, but a decision on its implementation was delayed until after the 2022 provincial election. Mitas was not re-elected, so Scott and Smith picked up where she left off.

The local MPP said she has spent 12 months consulting with fellow politicians, government agencies and other stakeholders to reshape the bill. She said it’s something MPPs across all parties have expressed interest in supporting.

She noted that, today, there are no obstacles for offenders seeking to change their name, noting some choose to do so before leaving jail.

“This makes it easier for them to conduct further harm against unsuspecting communities – we want to prevent this possibility,” Scott said.

She noted recent reports released by Statistics Canada suggest a visible upward trend in the number of sexual assaults, especially against children, in recent years. People with a prior sexual offence conviction are more likely to re-offend, Scott noted, pegging the recidivism rate at around 35 per cent.

“These are people that are charged with sexual abuse against children. These are people who have violated another human being in a way that has altered the life of the victim forever,” Scott said. “We will always stand up for victims and survivors to make sure that an offender’s rights are not held above their own.”

Following second reading, the bill will go to review by committee where public hearings may be held and amendments considered. A report will then be submitted to the house and brought back for third reading. Should it be approved, it will be sent to the lieutenant governor for signing, where it will become law.

Scott said she hopes to see the bill formally adopted in the new year.

Haliburton County Huskies head coach Ryan Ramsay is challenging his team to put their recent struggles behind them and re-establish themselves as one of the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s top contenders.

The hometown team slumped to successive defeats last weekend, dropping a 4-2 decision on the road Friday (Oct. 27) to the St. Michael’s Buzzers and losing Saturday’s (Oct. 28) tilt in Minden against the Cobourg Cougars 4-1.

The results saw the Huskies slip to 10th in the league’s East Conference – outside a playoff spot – with the team boasting a negative record of seven wins, nine defeats and two ties.

“Costly errors and untimely mistakes are really killing us,” Ramsay told The Highlander. “Against St. Mike’s, I thought we played well for the first part of the game, then there were a couple of slips and we fell into a hole… same thing Saturday. It’s different players, but the same kind of issues where a guy loses his battle, loses his guy and they go and score.

“When we’re in a little bit of a slump too in terms of scoring goals, it’s obviously not a good combination,” Ramsay added, noting the team needs more offensive contributions from depth players.

The Huskies started Friday’s tilt on top, taking the game to a Buzzers outfit that had won four of its last five games on home ice. Charlie Fink gave the visitors the lead 4:03 into the opening frame, assisted by Ty Petrou and Nicholas Lamont – acquired via trade from the Collingwood Blues last week.

There was a new face between the sticks for the Huskies – 19-year-old Brett Fullerton, who has split time over the past two seasons between the Blues and the Ontario Hockey League’s Saginaw Spirit. He made some good early stops to keep the Huskies on top, but was beaten midway through the period, David Green tying the game at 10:25. The Buzzers landed a killer blow late on, David Elmy scoring his 16th goal of the season with 13 seconds remaining in the first.

Brandon Cohen added a powerplay marker for the Buzzers five minutes into the second, after Jack Staniland was punished for goaltender interference. Petrou got the Huskies back into the game at 11:59, notching his fourth goal of the year assisted by Raine Nadeau and Patrick Saini.

That was as good as it got for the blue and white, who gave up a fourth in the final frame, Julian Campoli beating Fullerton at 10:44.

Cobourg 4 Minden 1

Welcoming the Cougars to town Saturday for Pink in the Rink, the Huskies wanted to lay down a marker and get one over their fierce rival. Their previous encounter, at S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena Sept. 30, ended in a 4-4 tie.

It was a tense opening, with both sides taking turns controlling the puck. The Huskies had a few openings, but couldn’t find a way past Ryan Piros in the Cougars goal. Gavin McGahey-Smith took a tripping penalty midway through the period, giving the dangerous Cobourg powerplay a chance to get on the board. Trevor Hoskin, the team’s leading scorer, wasted no time, firing past Fullerton at 11:05 for his 13th goal of the season.

Hoskin added his second of the game during the middle frame, notching at 4:52 to put the Huskies into a hole.

Saini provided some hope of a fight back, getting the home side on the board 7:20 into the third, assisted by Lucas Stevenson and Lucas Vacca, but it was short lived. Matt Mueller re-established a two-goal lead for the Cougars at 14:08, with Jack Falkner adding an empty-netter at 18:47.

Ramsay said his team needs to retain their focus during games, even when things aren’t going their way.

“We need to stay true to our principles and practice good habits – hitting the net, stopping on pucks, finishing hits. Sometimes, for an amateur hockey player, when things aren’t going their way, they tend to veer off from what got them here. They get into their own head and end up doing more damage. We’re telling the guys they just need to stay the course and work hard,” Ramsay said.

“When you’re in a slump, I always preach working harder. If you do that and are persistent, you’ll get out of it,” he added.

The Huskies are back in action Saturday when they welcome the Buzzers to Minden. Puck drop is 4 p.m. They will be at home again Tuesday, Nov. 2, when the Stouffville Spirit come to town. Puck drop is 7:30 p.m.

Pink in the Rink jerseys are available for purchase, with money supporting cancer research. Ramsay said they can be bought at any home game until Nov. 25 – when the team will host its second Pink in the Rink event, going against the Aurora Tigers.

On Saturday, Oct. 28, the U13 LL Cheryl Smith RE/MAX team thumped Parry Sound in their home opener.

James Gooley opened the scoring for the Storm at the sixminute mark, assisted by Moss Davis. Bently Bull added two unassisted goals and Nash Wilson ended the first period with three goals, assisted by Travis Mann and Oakley Craftchick.

Kelson Bagshaw continued to add to the Storm’s lead in the second, scoring twice and Benton Lloyd added two as well. Wilson closed the second with his fourth.

In the third, Lloyd scored, assisted by Bagshaw. Parry Sound finally snuck one past Storm goalie Carter Shaw. Wilson retaliated, scoring two more times. McKay Windover added two goals, assisted by Gooley and Bull. Mann scored with an assist by Davis. Wilson added yet another, assisted by Huxlee Campbell. Bagshaw finished the scoring with two more goals assisted by Davis. The Storm took the win 20-1.

Organizers of the Haliburton International Film Festival are back from Cinefest, Sudbury and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and have announced films to be screened the Nov. 3-5 weekend.

One of the spokespeople, Tammy Rea, said, “from Friday, Nov. 3 at 7:15 p.m. until Sunday, Nov. 5 in the afternoon, we will journey around the world and right back to ourselves exploring and remembering who we truly are.”

She said the theme of the first HIFF since COVID is ‘Love is Stronger than Fear’ and “it comes shining through in these stories, as the characters puzzle the pieces of their lives back together and find joy in more radiant ways.”

Some of the films include:

• The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry – 107 minutes, UK, drama. An ordinary man passes through life on the sidelines until the day he goes to mail a letter and just keeps walking. Starring Jim Broadbent and Penelope Wilton.

• Les Hommes De Ma Mère /My Mother’s Men – 126 minutes, Canada, subtitles, drama. A woman sets out to honour her dead mother’s wish that her ashes be distributed amongst her five ex-husbands to scatter in a place most significant to each of them. Starring Léane LabrècheDor, Jean-Simon Leduc, Colm Feore, Patrick Huard.

• Rose – 106 minutes, Denmark, subtitles, drama. Among a group of tourists travelling by bus from Denmark to Paris are two sisters, Inger and Ellen. The bus has barely hit the highway when Inger shares her mental illness with the rest of the party. This will be a journey they all will never forget. Rose is a film about love and care for each other, in spite of our differences, as much as it is a film about not judging a book by its cover.

• The Old Oak – 113 minutes, UK/France/ Belgium, drama. Imbued with the fiercely humanistic spirit that has defined director Ken Loach’s filmography, The Old Oak serves as a fitting finale to a remarkable career. A landlord, in a previously thriving mining community, struggles to hold onto his pub. Meanwhile, tensions rise when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses. This film was the “audience choice award” winner at the Sudbury and Calgary International Film Festivals.

• Boundless – 10 minutes, Canada, drama. Haliburton-raised filmmaker, Kate Campbell, brings her multi-award-winning short film inspired by her grandmother’s experience as a Second World War airforce service pilot. Rea said, “last time, Kate gave us an update on the production.

This year, we see the short, and then find out what’s next. Kate will be present to introduce the film and for a Q and A.

Rea said, “meanwhile, it is suggested to avoid watching the trailers for these films, as they can give too much away and take away from the magic.”

Those Other Movies, which puts on HIFF, is a not-for-profit, volunteer organization that provides film fans unique experiences through year-round programming. Rea said they are proud of their association with The Film Circuit, a division of the TIFF Group and with their membership in the Haliburton County Community Cooperative.

Find out more at ThoseOtherMovies.com.

There’s a new name in the Highlands’ hospitality sector – Boshkung Smokehouse.

Announced late last week, Boshkung Brewing and Truss Foodworks are merging. New owners Mathew Renda and Mike Rae are bringing two businesses together under one umbrella, with the goal of making the Boshkung brand a household name not just in Haliburton County, but nationwide.

The business will boast four locations across the County – Boshkung Social taphouse in Minden; the Boshkung Lakeside retail location in Carnarvon; Boshkung Smokehouse at Haliburton Forest; and the Smoke on the Water pario and bar, seasonally on Kennisis Lake.

Renda, who has served as general manager of the brewery since 2021, reached out to Rae late in 2022 when the business’ previous ownership decided to sell. The two had been familiar with one another for several years and had experience working together after Truss came on board for ‘Smokehouse Sundays’ at the Social.

“I think we knew after that very first Sunday there was something special here, there was an opportunity for us to work more closely together,” Rae said.

“Sundays had always traditionally been slow, but when we partnered with Mike to bring a new, refreshing food menu to town, there was a lot of interest. It was a huge success,” Renda added.

Now, every day at the Social can be a ‘Smokehouse Sunday’ Renda said, with the kitchen open year-round serving specialties that have been enjoyed by Truss customers for years. People will also have the chance to taste test a Boshkung brew at the revamped Haliburton Forest location.

“It’s the best of both worlds now at all our locations,” Rae said.

While the deal only closed in mid-October, the pair have been working together for much of this year on the understanding they would soon be partners. Collaborations between the businesses were common through the summer, which they say were well received. Now, patrons can expect them to continue for years to come.

One of the other big wins, Rae said, is that more staff will be retained year-round.

“I’ve been there myself, working a busy summer or winter season only to be laid off once things die down. The most exciting thing for me is we now have a unique business that will operate 12 months of the year, meaning we can keep our staff employed all year,” Rae said. “That helps us retain staff, but it also lets us show the workers we do have that we do value them.”

Rae said he also wants to provide opportunities to people looking to turn their lives around.

“I’ve battled addiction before. Because of the help I had, I’ve been able to rebuild my life. I want to do that for other people,” Rae said. “I want to provide a safe space for employees who are struggling, or who have struggled. I want [Boshkung] to be that company that supports people and helps people get back on their feet. Everybody deserves a second chance.”

With the brewery set to celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, Renda believes this new direction will set Boshkung up for years to come.

“Growth is important, and that’s our primary focus with this merger. The Boshkung brand is recognized all over Canada, now we just want to build on that. By bringing everything Boshkung and Truss has together, we’re building a hub for people here in Haliburton County,” Renda said.

“We want to be the heart and soul of the hospitality service within this County,” Rae added.

Dysart et al plans to get rid of pay and display machines, as well as parking meters in Haliburton village.

Council voted to take the action at its Oct. 24 meeting.

The meters are to be bagged immediately – as is done over the festive Christmas shopping season – until they can be removed.

Mayor Murray Fearrey said the Business Improvement Area (BIA) want them, however the municipality is having to replace sidewalks as winter ploughing around the machines and meters is causing damage.

Chief building official Karl Korpela added council should take into consideration that the pay and display machines are nearing the end of their life, and parking meter heads are “antiquated” and would need to be replaced.

Korpela noted the BIA likes them as they control the amount of time that people can park on the main streets, allowing turnover for customers of their businesses. But Fearrey said he thinks the biggest problem is staff parking there. “I don’t think it’s the visitors. They come. They shop and they leave. I would like to think that owners have some discretion about how they provide parking on the back street or somewhere.”

Treasurer Barb Swannell said they have a parking meter reserve fund. She said Maple Avenue and Highland Street generate about $22,000-a-year in revenue, offset somewhat by municipal bylaw enforcement staffing costs. “Typically, we’ve been drawing $20,000-a-year to put into the municipal operating budget. At the end of 2022, the reserve had a balance of just over $100,000,” she said.

But Fearrey countered it was for two streets and had been accumulating for 30 years. Swannell said they’d consistently drawn on the reserve each year as well. Fearrey countered, “compare that to replacing the sidewalks every four or five years… not a very good business deal.”

It was pointed out the machines and meters make ploughing difficult in winter.

Coun. Pat Casey, said he felt “stuck” because he sits on the BIA board.

“They definitely want them to stay but the resounding feedback I get from the general public is they’re a nuisance, and I say that respectfully. But on the same note, if you’re sitting at Kozy Korner, you’re watching people with disabilities, elderly people, trying to get parking. They have to go back to their car and put the card in… there’s definitely concerns on both sides.”

Fearrey added “parking meters are a great tool if you’ve got somebody on the street all day because I see violation after violation.”

CAO Tamara Wilbee said time limits could still be enforced without machines and meters.

Korpela said they could be and that was in the report before the last council. For example, he said there is a hotspot app; or old school chalking of tires, “but that means that we’d have to go out, verify that vehicles are there, and then go out and see if they’re still there two hours later. It’s not a very effective means.” He told council he could revisit the report to come up with options.

Deputy mayor Walt McKechnie was vocal in wanting them gone as soon as possible.

“I think we should remove them and move on like so many other communities have.” However, he was interested in seeing what Korpela could come up with so people don’t park in the same spot for a full day.

“But… we all go to different communities, and quite a few of the communities I go to, there’s not any parking meters and it just seems more of a friendly atmosphere in our town, and you see people struggling. You don’t want them leaving here with a bad experience because of a silly parking ticket.” As for staff using up parking spots, McKechnie added, “it’s on the owners of the businesses. Common sense should prevail there.”

Coun. Barry Boice said it should lead to quicker snow removal, which should appeal to the BIA.

Council passed a motion that staff do what’s needed to remove the machines and meters and report back on how it will happen and how much it will cost. Fearrey suggested they could take some money out of the $100,000 reserve.

Wilbee said, “if you direct us that you want them removed at this point, we can figure out those details. And if there’s anything that’s outside what we can do, we can bring it back.

BIA weighs in

Business improvement association chair, David Zilstra, said it there are no machines and meters, they are worried about people staying in one spot all day. He added, “our area is growing, obviously more people, and the downtown is only so big. So that would be our concern. That was our concern and that still is a concern.”

He said he understands machines and meters are expensive to install and maintain, and if the expense is “way” greater than the revenue he gets where council is coming from. But, “I don’t think anybody was ticketing this summer.”

Zilstra added he understands staff are looking at alternative ways to police parking times. “That would be fine. As long as it’s enforced somehow or other.” He would like council to look at a long-term parking strategy for the downtown as well.