A night to be proud of
We all know that governments at all levels get their fair share of criticism and more often than not contribute to the growing cynicism directed at politicians and public officials. There are days when politicians and bureaucrats just can’t seem to do anything right. Clearview Township has not been spared.
Monday evening at Clearview Council was not one of those days.
The night was highlighted by the announcement from both the Provincial and Federal governments, that Clearview would be receiving a combined grant of $10 million towards the Stayner wastewater project. This grant secures the promise by Council that the agreement to share facilities with Wasaga Beach would proceed, funded largely through grants and development contributions with no impact on residential taxes.
Not to be lost in the excitement of the grant announcements, Council moved on several other important community initiatives.
The Township approved the creation of a service board to ensure the continuation of The Robotics Team at Stayner Collegiate Institute. The team was notified by the school in December that the program would not be continued. The Cyber Gnomes have been competing successfully in robotic competitions for several years. The program encourages students to further their education and aspire to careers in related science and technology fields. In the resolution passed on Monday the Council stated “a desire to ensure that the youth involved in this program continue to compete and develop skills that are crucial to today’s fast paced society”. This service board will bring together a student team and parent volunteers to oversee the teams activities. The team will benefit from banking and insurance support from the Township, while continuing to raise funds from the community to cover all their expenses.
Monday night also saw the initiation of the Clearview Heritage Conservation Project, a project focussed on identifying and protecting our naural landscapes and our distinct heritage structures. Council approved the first step to consult with the public and interested community partners to seek their input. A public meeting will be scheduled to make the residents aware of the Township’s interest in identifying significant heritage resources and to assess the public desire to move forward on this initiative.
Creemore Medical Centre was given Council approval to proceed with the expansion of its building. Having access to a medical centre in the village has been an essential part of life in Creemore. Its expansion is necessary to ensure that health care will continue to be available locally and that the facility will be made more flexible to accommodate additional health care professionals and services such as laboratory, physiotherapy and clinic services. The expansion will also ensure that the building will meet new accessibility standards and is provided with a much needed face-lift.
On Monday night, the Township also responded to a request from residents who depend on kidney dialysis for their continued health and who use a hemodialysis machine in their homes. The daily use of this machine consumes a large amount of water and a request was made for a water bill subsidy. Council approved a 90% rebate to qualifying residents, a savings of approximately $150 per month.
There was even a discussion at Council about the real possibility of a bus route linking Clearview to Wasaga Beach and Collingwood and our volunteer firefighters were praised for their performance from the Fire Marshall’s office and thanked for their help with the Stayner Food Bank Christmas Hamper distribution.
Overall a good night’s work for Council and Staff and one that I hope you can be as proud of as I was to be a Council member.
Thom Paterson is Clearview Township’s Councillor for Ward 4.
