Seven wards, new boundaries
The people spoke and Council listened. Amid a swell of public feedback, Clearview Township decided unanimously Monday night to take the advice of consultants and adopt a revamped seven-ward system, one they say will improve representation for residents.
“The status quo is inequitable,” said Deputy Mayor Alicia Savage at the meeting, before the Councillors make their decision. “Do we wish to maintain the status quo?”
The answer was a resounding “no.”
Council listened to public feedback at four town hall meetings held throughout the township last month and considered the recommendations of consultants Watson and Associates Economists Ltd.
It chose to maintain the ward system but adjust boundaries for the wards rather than increase or decrease the number of wards or adopt an at-large system. In an at-large system, all voters can vote for all seats that are up for election.
Approximately 35 members of the public attended Monday night’s Council meeting.
“[This] Option 7A (see map on page 3) keeps communities together because residents can identify with their local representative,” said Robert Walker, Councillor for Ward 5.
“It finally provides the rural population with their own voice,” added Savage. Thom Paterson, who represents Ward 4, agreed.
Ward 7 Councillor Shawn Davidson thanked the public for attending public meetings at harvest time, which was not ideal for the rural community.
At the public meeting, Council agreed that option 7A was the best fit for Clearview. However, it requested that the consultants revise their proposal to include three amendments: move east to Fairgrounds Road the east boundary of Ward 2 from the 33/34 Sideroad at the north to the 15/16 Sideroad at the south; move the border of Ward 1 to the 30/31 Sideroad; and keep all the residents of Old Sunnidale in Ward 7 (see map on page 3).
The consultants will amend the boundaries for the new wards before Council’s next meeting on October 21.
Public input integral
Both Council and the consultants credited comments from the community – received through formal and informal channels – with influencing their decisions. Through written and oral feedback, they received overwhelming support for the ward system.
Brent Preston, Councillor for Ward 3, reported that the town hall meeting drew a total of 242 people. Thirty-one took to the microphone to voice an opinion, he said.
In addition, a petition from Nottawa contained 96 names in favour of the ward system.
Council invited members of the public to make a public address and fill out questionnaires at each town hall last month.
As well, Councillors entertained feedback at such community events as the Great Northern Exhibition and Milton McArthur’s 80th birthday party in Creemore last Sunday.
The consultants reported they used public feedback to revise their preliminary recommendations, for example, adjusting the boundaries for their proposed Ward 6 to increase its population in response to requests from the public.
They also proposed a fourth option with all of Stayner in one ward as a response to what they heard from the community at the town hall meetings. In the other options Stayner was split into different wards.
However, they said they could not endorse this option because the population of this new ward would be too high and therefore inequitable compared to the other wards.
An initial supporter of reducing the number of wards to five, Orville Brown (Ward 2) said he changed his mind to seven wards as the process evolved.
Feedback results
In 65 feedback questionnaires Council and the consultants received from the public about which ward system to take, opinions varied.
“The results were all over the place,” said Dr. Robert J. Williams, who presented the consultants’ report.
Some respondents supported five wards and some supported seven. A “tiny proportion” supported expanding to nine wards or adopting an at-large system, Preston said.
“There was no clear definitive answer,” he said. “It was not a case of majority wins because there was no majority,” Dr. Williams reported.
Little support for at-large
After a brief discussion earlier in the meeting, Council put the option to adopt an at-large system to rest.
“The ward system works best for our community; it’s not difficult for community members to see,” said Preston.
“It has received no public support and there is no theoretical information to support it. I don’t think it can be counted on consistently to provide equitable representation.”
Savage, however, felt that an at-large system had some benefits. But she said that Council had heard very clearly from the public that there is no reason to consider it at this time.
Council held Monday’s meeting at the Stayner Community Centre to accommodate the members of the public it expected to attend. Council meetings are usually held in council chamber at the municipal office in Stayner.
