One of the worst council meetings to date

Theatre of the Absurd.

I was giddy with laughter as I made the joke initially, at 11 p.m. Monday night.
But shortly afterwards as I drove home, I was disappointed, perhaps even slightly peeved, at how accurate the description was.

This week’s Barrie council meeting was perhaps one of the worst I’ve ever attended in my eight years covering City Hall, perhaps among the worst meetings I’ve ever attended in my 25 years as a reporter.
There were decisions, some with rationales and others without, that made the mind boggle.

There was the quote from Mayor Dave Aspden about train whistles; they disturb people in long-term care centres, including the one for the deaf. Despite a $10,000 study recommending the city keep the whistle or face virtually unlimited liability, city councillors opted to silence the whistle.

OK. It’s a quality of life issue – and they were within their right to make that decision. That’s what politicians are elected to do: make tough decisions that balance the good of the corporation with the good that is quality of life.

Despite stretching their necks out to stop the whistle, they wouldn’t move a fraction of an inch to bolster quality of life in the southwest area of the city, the area south of Dunlop Street and west of Highway 400.

Residents there have been asking for some sort of library service – at least a pick-up/drop-off service. Obstacle after obstacle has been put in the way of this basic request, justified by the city’s plans to open a southend branch in Painswick.

But when we examine quality of life, the branch that will open late in 2010 won’t be any more convenient for southwest residents than the downtown library. In fact, the post-commute drive to downtown Barrie is likely easier than the trek along Mapleview Drive to Painswick would be.

Still, councillors refused to allow two southwest councillors the opportunity to consult with their residents about library services they’d find most useful.

What? Refuse to consult citizens about a service they pay for? This, from a council that claims one of its strategic priorities is “ensure proactive communications with the public?”

They also argued about whether to support a federal recreation renewal grant application to renovate the Eastview Arena – a project the city has wanted to do but couldn’t afford to do – and add an artificial ice rink to the city stock.

The mind boggled here for a few reasons, including the possibility of risking federal funding, fixing an old arena that could go the way of Dunlop Arena due to neglect, and enhancing public opportunities to skate and play hockey in a neighbourhood.

They argued too about money to upgrade 36 Mulcaster St., former MPP Joe Tascona’s constituency office, for public use for a new museum partnership between the Grey and Simcoe Foresters and the Barrie Historical Association.

It really was theatre of the absurd. Thankfully, the curtain fell at 11 p.m.

Comments

[Robert Viera]

If people can't be bothered to go downtown to return their library books, perhaps they should try Amazon.ca or Chapters.ca. You can pick your books from home, they'll be delivered to you, and you don't have to return them! Of course, if you would rather borrow a book, I think the least you can do is return it when you're done. If you're not done, you can even renew your library books without leaving home!

[Laurie]

Yes, Robert -- Chapters is a great resource for those in the south end of the city; in fact, as I venture down there, I see a lot of adults and kids hanging around reading, exploring and playing, in much the same way as is the case at the downtown library. The fact is, some of those residents in the southwest have been Barrie residents for almost 20 years and they too deserve acccess to a public library and its programs and services, some of which are not market-driven. Barrie council did change its mind -- thankfully.

[Robert Viera]

Hi Laurie. I was actually referring to the Chapters/Indigo web site, but the store is nice place to spend time as well. I don't understand why you say that residents of southwest Barrie don't have access to a library. They have access to the downtown library now, and will have access to the library in Painswick when it opens. It seems to me that the issue here is convenience, not access.

[Laurie]

But convenience does matter -- it affects access. Library stats show that southwest residents aren't using the library to the same degree as others. Literacy and life-long learning are critical skills in today's information-based world and economy, and planning for another branch to serve this area (which is more-established than the one getting the satellite.

We also have to remember the only reason Painswick is getting the library is because the city has to do something with the site or return it to the developer).

[Grim Reaper]

What about quality of life for people near the noisy 400? Why isn't the council doing something about jig brakes that go on all night? Because councillors and members of parliament don't live nearby that's why! These people don't represent the electorate in any way whatsoever.

[Robert Viera]

There's a price for convenience. When I say 'convenient', to be specific, I mean to say 'convenient for automobiles' because that's what we're really talking about. Ever wider roads. Ever more expansive parking lots. Drive-through everything. There's more to the cost of this than the large sums of money we spend as a city to maintain this automobile infrastructure. The roadsides and ditches across the city are filled with litter as people driving by throw garbage out their window. They don't give it a second thought. To them these public areas of our city are just a blur as they whiz by. People like to put the blame for this litter on teenagers, but I see this kind of litter in commercial and industrial areas too. Now that we've filled our city with roads and parking lots, we're looking south for yet more land. If we hadn't used up so much of our city's land for the convenience of the automobile, we'd have more of it for people to live, work, and play on. Spring is almost here and summer is on it's way. So leave the car at home, hop on the bus, or your bike, or walk to the library, borrow a good book and enjoy it on a nice sunny day in one of our city parks. I'm not going to worry about figuring out whether it's quicker to drive to the downtown library or a new one in Painswick. I'll leave it the the traffic bureaucrats to figure out that one. If people really appreciate the services the library provides, they'll make the effort to get there.