Small Halls Festival committee dissolved

As part of an ongoing process of eliminating volunteer committees of council, the Small Halls Festival committee has been dissolved.

This year’s event will be managed by township staff, although as of Wednesday committee members had not been informed.

The Small Halls Festival takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving at nine venues in Clearview Township, and is said to have the manpower of 300 volunteers.

Last year, on May 29, a special council meeting was called for a fifth round of committee review, when council voted for option 3 of the report, as recommended by the CAO.

Option 3 included clauses to “maintain the existing structure and mandate for the Clearview Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee” as well as to “Maintain the Small Halls Committee for 2017 and upon completion of the 2017 festival staff will provide Council with a subsequent report to Council to consider alternatives for 2018.”

Staff said when the May 29 motion was amended to dissolve the Recreation and Culture committee, it was decided the Small Halls Committee was to be dissolved also.

Staff says that is because, at an earlier meeting on March 22 the Small Halls Committee was moved under the Recreation and Culture Advisory Committee.

During several round of cuts, readers may remember, the Creemore Medical Centre Board, the Sunnidale Winterama board, Cybergnomes, New Lowell Recreation Board, Avening’s Carruthers Memorial Park and Nottawa park committees were also dissolved, while the Creemore Log Cabin board was saved after a plea from volunteers.

Hall boards, cemetery boards and the youth services committee are among the committees not impacted by the changes while a number of committees deemed to be no longer necessary, economic development, tender opening and trails committee included.

The Sunnidale Winterama and the Tree Society of Creemore have transitioned to be less formal committees.

The cuts are in anticipation of more stringent accountability requirements legislated by the province.

A committee clerk was recently hired to assist the remaining boards and committees meet legislative requirements for setting agendas, reporting minutes and finances.