12 15 1993 Council Minutes
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WBDNBS~Y# DBCBKBBR 15# 1993 41 7100 P.M. - COUNCIL CBAMBBRS
1'OR'.rY-SIXTH MEftING 1991-1994 COUNCIL
council met this evening pursuant to adjournment @ 7:00 p.m. with
the following members present:
Reeve Robert E. Drury
Deputy Reeve David Caldwell
Councillor Alastair Crawford
Councillor Joanne Crokam
Councillor Leonard Mortson
staff Present:
Mr. Henry Sander, Treasurer/C.A.O.,
Mr. Paul Eenhoorn, Fire Chief, Ms.
Deborah Broderick, Parks and
Recreation Supervisor, Mr. Ron 'Kolbe,
Chief Building Official, Mr. F~ed
Haughton, Public Service
Administrator, Ms. Lynda Aiken,
Deputy-Clerk, Ms. Ann Brousseau,
Secretarial Services Co-ordinator,
Mrs. Joan Fletcher, Tax Collector, Ms.
Kris Menzies, Planner, Ms. Andria
Darby, Secretary/Receptionist,
Roads Department - Mr. Keith
Mathieson, Mr. Robert Bidwell, 'Mr.
Bruce Campbell, Mr. Randy Wuensch, Mr.
Brian Roubos, Mr. Jeremy Leigh and Mr.
Dean Mawdsley
Also Present Was:
Mrs. Lynn Drury, Mr. Colin McKim, Mr.
Henry Neufeld, Mr. Robert Tudhope, Mr.
Earl Robertson, Mr. Gordon Horne, Ms.
Dorothy Horne, Mrs. Shirley Woodrow,
Mrs. Orma Leigh, Mr. William Eui May,
Ms. Edna Caldwell, Mr. Murray Langman,
Mr. Randy Langstaff, Mr. Allan Lees,
Mr. Jim Noble, Mr. Bert Jamieson, Mr.
Myrle Mason, Mr. Robert Besse, Mrs.
Jacquie Besse, Ms. Susan Grant, Ms.
Christina Wrigley, Mr. Al Wrigley, Mr.
Fred Kolbe, Mr. Garry Shoebridge, Mr.
Robert Jermey, Mr. Edmund Piotrowski,
Mr. Sandy Richmond, Mr. Lloyd
Fletcher, Mr. Murray Martin, Mr. Larry
Cotton, Mrs. Marg Mortson, Mr. Roy
Campbell, Mr. Ian Crokam, Mr. curtis
Crokam, Mr. Don McArthur, Ms. Berit
McArthur, Ms. Angela Baldwin, Mr.
Allan K. McLean, M.P.P., Mr. Alex
Bowman, Mr. Jack Henson and One Member
of the Press.
OTE:
As this was the last Regular Council Meeting for the
Township of Oro, prior to the January 1st, 1994,
amalgamation, a Special Ceremony with acknowledgements and
presentations was held, after adjournment, followed by a
small reception. The attached addendum is the transcript
to those proceedings.
eeve Robert E. Drury assumed the chair and opened the meeting with
rayer.
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1. "DISCLOSURE OF PECUNIARY INTEREST AND THE GENERAL NATURE
THEREOF - IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ACT":
Deputy Reeve David Caldwell, Reeve Robert Drury and Councillor
Alastair Crawford, declared a Conflict of Interest with Item 5
General Accounts, on the agenda, #016461 to Aird and Berlis.
The nature being, the members are engaged in a litigation suit
with the B.A.F.M.A. Company for which the legal services have
been retained. For the purpose of discussion and resolution
the accounts, the members left the diocese and Councillor
Crokam assumed the chair.
2. DEPUTATIONS:
None.
3. CONSENT AGENDA:
a) Sandy Richmond, reply to Brett Appleby's letter sent to
Township of Oro, re: Village Green in Shanty Bay;
b) City of Orillia, correspondence to the Minister of Municipal
Affairs, re: Boundary Adjustment - City of orillia/Township 0
Orillia;
c) R.G. Robinson and Associates Limited, correspondence re:
sugarbush - Phase III, stage IV;
d) Township of Orillia, Notice of Proposed Zoning By-Law
Amendment, Part Lot 5, Concession 2, S.D.
4. REPORTS OF MUNICIPAL OFFICERS:
a) Ron Kolbe, Chief Building Official, Monthly report for the
month of November;
b) Kris Menzies, Planner, Report re: City of Barrie Class
Environmental Assessment;
5. COMMUNICATIONS:
a) Oro Township Horticultural Society, correspondence re: Request
for Grant;
b) Jane Blackstock, President, Oro Trails Association,
correspondence re: Request for Grant;
c) Crime Stoppers of Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka, correspondence re:
Request for Council to declare January as "Crime Stopper
Month" ;
OTION NO. 1
oved by Caldwell, seconded by Crokam
Be it resolved that the Agenda for the Council Meeting dated
ednesday, December 15, 1993, be adopted as printed and circulated,
ith the addition of the following:
13. (b)
By-Law No. 93-101
Being a By-Law to authorize the
conveyance of land (Part Lot 22,
Plan 728)
Carried,
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MOTION NO. 2
Moved by Mortson, seconded by Crawford
Be it resolved that the minutes of the Regular Meeting of Council
held Wednesday, December 1, 1993, be adopted as printed and
circulated.
Carried
MOTION NO. 3
Moved by Crokam, seconded by Caldwell
Be it resolved that the minutes of the Special Meeting of Council
held Wednesday, December 8, 1993, be adopted as printed and
circulated.
Carried.
MOTION NO. 4
Moved by Mortson, seconded by Crokam
Be it resolved that the accounts presented for the period ending
Wednesday, December 15, 1993, in the amount of $191,131.76, plus
payroll for the period ending Thursday, December 9, 1993, in the
amount of $28,090.46, in accordance with the computer print-out
presented to Council, be approved for payment.
Carried.
MOTION NO. 5
Moved by Crawford, seconded by Mortson
Be it resolved that the Road Expenditures for the period ending
Wednesday, December 15, 1993, be accepted as presented, and further,
the Treasurer be authorized to issue cheques in the amount of
$28,797.06.
Carried.
MOTION NO. 6
Moved by Crokam, seconded by Caldwell
Be it resolved that the additional accounts presented for the period
ending, Wednesday, December 15, 1993, in the amount of $64,448.62,
in accordance with the computer print-out presented to Council, be
approved for payment.
Carried.
OTION NO. 7
oved by Mortson, seconded by Crawford
e it resolved that the additional Road Expenditures for the period
nding Wednesday, December 15, 1993, be accepted as presented, and
urther the Treasurer be authorized to issue cheques in the amount
f $22,601.76.
Carried.
OTION NO. 8
oved by Crawford, seconded by Mortson
e it resolved that the Recommendations listed on the Consent
genda, Item No.6, be received.
Carried.
t:
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MOTION NO. 9
Moved by Caldwell, seconded by Crokam
Be it resolved that the Monthly Activity Report from Ron Kolbe,
Chief Building Official, for November, 1993, in the amount of
$1,300,084.00, be received.
Carried
MOTION NO. 10
Moved by Mortson, seconded by Crawford
Be it resolved that the report from Kris Menzies, Planner, regardin
City of Barrie, Class Environmental Assessment, be received and
adopted.
Carried
MOTION NO. 11
Moved by Crokam, seconded by Caldwell
Be it resolved that the correspondence from the Oro Township
Horticultural Society, requesting financial support for the year
1994, be received and acknowledged and referred to the 1994 Budget.
Carried.
MOTION NO. 12
Moved by Mortson, seconded by Crawford
Be it resolved that the correspondence fro Jane Blackstock,
President, Oro Trails Association, requesting financial support for
the 1994 year, be received and acknowledged and referred to the 1994
Budget.
Carried .1
MOTION NO. 13
Moved by Crawford, seconded by Mortson
Be it resolved that the Council of the Township of Oro, do hereby
proclaim the month of January, 1994, as "crime stoppers Month", in
the Township of Oro and request all citizens to take note of this
special month, and further, we commend the Volunteer citizens of
Crime Stoppers of Simcoe-Dufferin-Muskoka for their dedication and
efforts for the betterment of our community.
Carried.
OTION NO. 14
oved by Caldwell, seconded by Crokam
e it resolved that the minutes of the Oro Community Centres Parks
nd Recreation Committee Meeting held Thursday, December 2, 1993, be
eceived as printed and circulated.
Carried.
OTION NO. 15
oved by Mortson, seconded by Crawford
e it resolved that the amended report by Bob Gregory, with regard
o the year end review and direction, be made available to the 1994
arks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
Carried.
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MOTION NO. 16
Moved by Caldwell, seconded by Crokam
Be it resolved that Report No. 93-20, Committee of the Whole Meetin
held wednesday, December 8, 1993, and the recommendations contained
therein, be adopted as printed and circulated.
carried
MOTION NO. 17
Moved by Crokam, seconded by Caldwell
Be it resolved that a By-Law to Rezone Part of Lot 1 and West Part
of Lot 2, Concession 7, (Sabiston) be introduced and read a first
and second time and numbered By-Law No. 93-100.
Carried
That By-Law No. 93-100 be read a third time and finally passed, be
engrossed by the Clerk, signed and sealed by the Reeve.
Recorded Vote Requested by Reeve Drury
Deputy Reeve Caldwell
Councillor Crawford
Councillor Crokam
Councillor Mortson
Reeve Drury
Yea
Yea
Yea
Yea
Yea
Carried.
MOTION NO. 18
Moved by Crawford, seconded by Mortson
Be it resolved that a By-Law to Convey certain lands, known as Part
Lot 22, Plan 728, Concession 13, be introduced and read a first and
second time and numbered By-Law No. 93-101.
Carried,
That By-Law No. 93-101 be read a third time and finally passed, be
engrossed by the Clerk, signed and sealed by the Reeve.
Recorded Vote Requested by Deputy Reeve Caldwell
Councillor Mortson
Councillor Crawford
Councillor Crokam
Deputy Reeve Caldwell
Reeve Drury
Yea
Yea
Yea
Yea
Yea
Carried.
MOTION NO. 19
Moved by Caldwell, seconded by Crokam
Be it resolved that a By-Law to Confirm the Proceedings of Council,
be introduced and read a first and second time and numbered By-Law
No. 93-102.
Carried.
rhat By-Law No. 93-102 be read a third time and finally passed, be
engrossed by the Clerk, signed and sealed by the Reeve.
Carried.
40.,
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MOTION NO. 20
Moved by Crawford, seconded by Mortson
Be it resolved that we do now adjourn @ 7:35 p.m.
Recorded Vote Requested by Reeve Drury
Deputy Reeve Caldwell
Councillor Crawford
councillor Crokam
councillor Mortson
Reeve Drury
Nay
Yea
Yea
Yea
Yea
Carried
REEV~E. (~
..
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ADDENDUM
Reeve Drury:
, ,
We wrestled with ways that we could come up w1th some way to
recognize as many of the people that have put time into Oro Townshi
as possible. We thought about having a large party, but we rul~d
that out because we felt it would be too expensive. We looked at
other areas and ways and finally came up with an idea to put an add
in the local papers for our last meeting, probably most people did
see it. What we have done in the add is to thank everyone who has
ever been involved in Oro Township from its conception well over on
hundred years ago, but we have gone back twenty years and
endeavoured to name all the peoples involved in the Councils and th
Committees and if we have missed anyone we certainly apologize. It
is quite an ordeal for staff to go back and search all the records
and they did a very good job. We have recognized past Councils,
Canada Day Committee, the Arena Board Committee, the Airport
Commission, citizens of the year, Committee of Adjustment, Fence
Viewers, the Edgar Hall Board, Guthrie Hall Board, Hawkestone Hall
Board, History committee, Library Board, Livestock Valuators, Pound
Keepers, Hawkestone Police Village Trustees, Jarratt Hall Board,
Tile Drainage Inspectors, Parks and Recreation Committee, Planning
Advisory Committee, Planning Board, Canada Day Youth Award and the
Community Policing Committee. Perhaps what I will do is just read
what they have on here, out to you, before we begin part of the
program.
The Council of the Township of Oro wish to recognize all the
individuals and appointees who have served their municipality with
enthusiasm and dedication since its incorporation. The names shown
represent some of those individuals over the last 20 year period.
As the final preparations are being made for the January 1st
amalgamation with the Township of Medonte and area within the former
Flos, Vespra and orillia Townships, we reflect on our past and
acknowledge the individuals who served in various capacities and
gave their time and shared their wisdom for the benefit of the
ownship of Oro.
e also wish to acknowledge and recognize the following groups and
rganizations who have played active roles within the Township and
ave made a difference within your communities:
rgyle, Clowes, Coulson, Craighurst, Crown Hill, Dalston, Guthrie,
awkestone, Mitchell Square and Rugby - Women Institutes
Ora Horticultural Society
Oro Agricultural Society
Ora Lions/Lioness Club
Various Ratepayers Groups
Shanty Bay Community and
School Centre Committee
Oro Firefighters Association
o Ora Minor Hockey
o Oro Ringette
o Oro Minor Ball
o Rugby Community Hall Board
o Oro Figure Skating
o Oro Station
Community Hall Board
n behalf of all Ora residents, our sincerest "Thank You" for makinc)
our Township - Your community, that better place to live and we
ook forward to retaining and/or establishing new partnerships
ithin the Township of Oro-Medonte.
would like to call on Councillor Joanne Crokam now, she is going
o give an overview of some of the events that have taken place in
roo
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Joanne Crokam:
I have been a councillor for two years and I have enjoyed very much
working with this Council, it has been a true learning experience.
Over the past two years I have also been involved in other
Committees and it is my privilege to acknowledge the dedicated
volunteers from the past and today, involved in Recreational
Services. Parks and Recreation Committees, the Arena Board
Committees, the Hall Boards in the Communities of Jarratt, Edgar,
Hawkestone, Guthrie, Shanty Bay, Oro station and Rugby, they have
all generously served this municipality and its residents. We all
know the benefits of recreation in our daily lives and the high
priority we give leisure activities. Sound mind, sound bodies, as
the saying goes and in these stressful economic times, we need
recreation and community spirit even more. We have a lot to be
proud of in our arena and our parks and that is thanks to the
accomplishment of the Committees who work so hard for you and I and
our families. I have been in a lot of arenas over the past ten
years, with two boys in hockey, and I feel our arena is one of the
finest and my son here tonight will attest to that.
And then I think its thanks to our great staff, past and present, ac
well as the Arena Board who have worked so hard for us since 1958
and the many Parks and Recreation Committees who have volunteered
their time and efforts to the recreations services we have all
enjoyed in our arena and our parks. Our Community Hall Boards have
continually worked above and beyond the call of duty. There has
been a real resurgence in the Hall Boards, the community spirit and
ride becoming once again a common goal. It is nice to know your
eighbours and to get to know them and your kids friends and what
hey are doing and what better place to meet them than in community
aIls, for a jam, a dance, a game of cards or even a talent night.
have been involved for the past two years on the Shanty Bay Hall
oard and I can appreciate just how many volunteers and how many
ours are spent in maintaining the community Centres for its
esidents. Sometimes we don't realize, unless we are involved, just
ow much work is involved in keeping those halls running.
would also like to recognize the volunteer groups of minor hockey,
ingette, minor baseball, figure skating and the Oro Trails
ssociation. There are many people, too numerous to mention in
hese organizations, but without them, we wouldn't be able to enjoy
he sport or activities that we do. From the executive members, who
irect, develop and maintain the programs, to the coaches, the
'nstructors and the team moms and dads and all the other volunteers
'nvolved, thank you for a job well done.
would like to suggest that the next time that you are in our
rena, either to watch your son or your daughters hockey game, or
ay be you are there for ringette or figure skating, take a good
ook around and think of the many fine people who help to make those
ames and those activities possible and remember to take the time to
hank someone, either committee members on the Parks and Rec.
ommittee or one of the volunteer groups. Take a look around next
ime you are at one of those parks, or your playing or watching a
all game and remember these events wouldn't be possible, if not for
he volunteers that helped put it there. If you are out hiking on
ne of the trails and asked by the Oro Trails Association, take the
ime to thank someone for making that trail safe and accessible. It
s always a great feeling to know that you did something that made a
ifference and that your efforts are appreciated.
n behalf of this Council and past Councils, I would like to say
nce again, thanks.
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Reeve Drury:
Is there anyone here that you would like to introduce here this
evening.
counoillor Crokam:
Just my husband and my youngest son curtis, nine years old, who
plays a lot of hockey and minor ball.
counoillor Crawford:
I would just like to touch on some of the organizations that have t
do with Planning in the Township and perhaps start with the Plannin
Board. This was a group that was brought together some years ago
and has been updated as the Planning Advisory Committee now. They
were groups of people from the Community who met to discuss such
things as Official Plans, Official Plan Amendments, Zoning
Applications, Subdivision Agreements and all those things that go
into Planning a good life style and a place where you can live
happily within your Township. To those people who have served on
the Planning Board over the years, I would like to say a special
thank you.
This has been updated to the Planning Advisory Committee which has
five members of Council plus four members of the public, serving.
What we try to do, especially this last five years is get people on
there with adverse interests. For instance we try to have someone
there who looks at development as it will affect farm life. We hay
had a real estate person on there, who looks at it from a real
estate developers point of view. We have someone on there who
understands septic tanks and septic and sewage systems and so on. .
It is always good to have that kind of input when you are discussin .
planning. Also, we have tried to have someone there with a special
interest in environment so that we are always constantly aware of
those things in the environment that can be touched by planning. T
those people who served on the Planning Advisory Committee, I say a
special thanks on behalf of the council and the people of Oro
Township.
Another area of Planning is of course, Committee of Adjustment.
with planning documents, there is always a situation that arises
over the years that doesn't fit into the slots set out by Official
Plan and set out by the Zoning documents. You have set backs, etc.
etc. and in order to get a building in/or set something in, the
Committee of Adjustment looks at those situations and makes a
decision on whether or not the variance is called minor and will not
affect the neighbouring people or the community and not cause
problems in the future and make a decision based on that. Also they
have to do with changing boundary lines, whether a severance or
changing the boundary line between two pieces of property. There
are certain specifications set out in the Official Plan under two
different sections, one that deals with various zonings and various
catagories and designations of land and another section that deals
strickly with farming. Those desicions over the years in Oro
ownship, I think have been wise decisions, very, very few have ever
been anything but wise and of course if anyone objects they can go
,to the O.M.B. Not always does the O.M.B. make a wise decision, as
some of us know. Those people who have served on the Committee of
djustment over the years, we do thank you and thanks for the input
nd thanks for the help and I know that Oro Township is a better
lace because you worked there.
orne of the social aspects of the Township, and one is the
orticultural society. The Horticultural Society was organized in
ro Township about 1924 and reorganized in 1968. In 1968, the group
hat started the Horticultural society was a very, very, vigorous
roup, a young group and as I worked through the chairs of the
.
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organization, I was always proud of the fact that Oro Township
Horticultural Society was a leader among the rural organizations.
have always been proud the way that took a challenge and the way
they led. There two objectives were civic beautification and I
don't think anyone in this room can deny that they have done that iJ
Oro and education, and those are the two things that they really
specialize in. As far as civic beautification is concerned, there
is this building, there is the arena, there is the parks and this
year the Oro Lea Hall was completely redeveloped. This year we wil
be looking at perhaps the Police Office on No. 11 Highway. They ar
always looking for challenges. They do receive a grant from the
Township but as I can figure it, with volunteer hours, they get
about $2.00 per hour. That helps them with the materials they need
to do the jOb they want to do.
Another Society within the Township is the Agricultural Society and
I have always looked on the Society as presenting the showcase of
Agriculture and a showcase of rural life and a rural lifestyle
within the Township. I think over the 100 and some odd years they
have been going, they have certainly done that, they presented the
showcase, they presented a day or two of fun and you and the people,
within and outside the Township get a real good look at rural life
and the farming industry within the Township of Oro. I would like
to thank all those people that is involved in this.
Also, there is another Association starting, which wasn't mentioned
in this slip, because it is fairly new, and that is the Oro Trails
Association. It has been going for about two years and what they
are trying to do is layout trails so that you can walk.
What we have done in the planning process over the last few years is
to try to put walkways in all new developments within the rural
areas. We feel that people want to go out and walk among the trees
and walk in the natural environment, so we put walkways in most of
the new subdivisions in the Township. And what the Oro Trails
ssociation is doing, is running trails through the County folest
and some of the older forests through the rural areas of Oro, where
ou can get out and walk for a mile or two, or three on a trail that
is designated. You will not get lost and nobody will bother you.
hese trails are being documented and mapped and so those maps will
e available and you can try the trails. I have been out on a few
of them and they are just fine. This is a new organization and I
ould like to thank them for their efforts so far.
he other area I would like to touch on is the History Committee.
n planning for the future, you have to really know where you have
orne from. The History Committee has done a fabulous job of doing
esearch and documenting the things that happened in Oro since it
egan. There is some books out, Kith N' Kin, was one, which gave us
orne of our ancestory and how it is all put together. I know in
iewing that I found out that some of my ancestors married other
amilies and I have very close relatives out there in Oro Township
hat are Crawfords. The girls come through the families and marry
ut and you kind of loose track of them because they don't carry the
arne, but still and all the ancestory is there. It has been a real
leasure for us to have the work of the History Committee over the
ears, document all that stuff for us. Also, it was the History of
ro which talks about the development of the communities in Oro. It
as taken a lot of work and I think that we owe a great debt of
ratitude to those members of the History Committee over the years,
ave done the research and documentation of the History of Oro.
Iso, the newest book is the Hills of Oro and it is being used, not
nly as part of the history of Oro, but also being used, I
nderstand, as an educational document, as well, because of some of
he things that are in it. To all those people, I would like sayan
ehalf of Council and the people of Oro, thank you. Thank you for
our effort and it is appreciated and will be known in the future,
'ust what a great impact it had.
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counoillor Mortson:
It has been my pleasure to serve as Oro Councillor for the last two
years. I have enjoyed working with the present Council and
anticipate a good relation with Medonte Township, after
amalgamation. This being our last official Council Meeting in Oro
Township, I wish to convey on behalf of Council and Oro Township
Residents, their appreciation to those who have made Oro the very
special place it has become. Although people serving as Fence
Viewers and Pound Keepers roles, have become significant, in ~he
past they served the community well. At the present, the Livestock
Evaluators are kept quite busy and we appreciate their service. A
fairly new volunteer group, is the Oro Community Policing Committee
and this committee has members from across the Township who work
with the O.P.P. in identifing and prevention of problems. They hay
organized the Community Watch Program and quite recently completed
the Identification Task Force in the Public Schools in Oro and also
the Marchmount and Medonte Central School, in Medonte Township.
They are now planning to work with the O.P.P. in the Ski
Identification Program, at the Ski Resorts in Oro and Medonte.
Quite probably the organization having the deepest roots in the
Township is the Women's Institutes. Just a quote from them, "A lot
of the world problems, both here and far away, would be eliminated
if everyone would put himself in another persons place. 'I There are
nine institutes in the Township, with the first one having its
beginning in 1912, eighty years ago. These women have been a
contributing factor to the young people in the community with 4H
Clubs and bursaries. One of these institutes readings amplifies no
only the believe of those belonging to the institute, but also the
good way of life of the past and hopefully of the future. I would
just like to read a versus out of their collection:
"Keep us O'Lord from cleanthiness, let us be large in thought, in
word, in deed. Let us be done with fault finding and leave off self
seeking. May we put away all pretense and meet each other face to
face, without self pity and without prejudice. May we never be
hasty in judgement and always generous. Let us take time for all
things. Make us grow calm, sincere and gentle. Teach us to put
into action out better inpulses, straight forward and unafraid.
Grant that we may realize that it is the little things that create
the differences, that in the big things in life we are one. And may
we strive to touch and know the great human heart common to us all.
And O'Lord let us not forget to be kind."
Deputy Reeve Caldwell:
It is a pleasure to have been Deputy Reeve to all those prese~t and
on behalf of the who have served as volunteers in past, I have been
on Council for eight years, so I have seen more of these people on
these Committees and see how they sometimes move from Committee to
Committee and get involved in new interests and really take an
active role and it is certainly appreciated. One of the things that
eeps the taxes in the rural areas, lower than they are in the urban
areas, is the volunteer help. If it wasn't for that and you had to
ire it all done, it would cost a lot more.
he first group I would like to recognize is the Canada Day
ommittee. Made up initially of volunteers, I believe the Reeve
its an ex-officio as a Council representative and initially it/was
initiated by members of the public. I believe Norm Emms was one of
he first people involved in it. It was sort of an inspirational
hing where two people got together and decided they were going to
elebrate Canada Day and it has grown from that, with a good number
f increased people on the volunteer group. One of the things they
ave decided to do as a Committee is to choose the citizen of the
ear and recognize each year on July 1st, a citizen. Usually it is
omeone who has put out a tremendous amount of effort in the
l
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Community, probably more than one year. The Committee decides who
is the most worthy candidate in any given year. The also pick out
Youth Award to any Oro Youth who has made a significant contributio
in the Township, in generally volunteer type work. It is totally a
volunteer Committee, with virtually no funding provided by the
Township. They run the Canada Day Parade every year.
The next organization is the Library Board. There is two that Oro
participates with and that is Barrie and Orillia, by contributing t
their operating costs and I have had the pleasure of sitting on the
orillia Library for approximately six years. The Library in Orilli
has about 1/3 of the total number of hours that are put in given by
volunteers. If if wasn't for that, the cost of Library Services
would be considerably higher. The cost to an Oro resident is
approximately $60.00 per year, per household. The same resident in
Orillia, would pay $80.00 per year. We negotiated an agreement wit]
the City of orillia and we were able to get a twenty-five percent
discount. The reason behind it was that the people in orillia have
much easier access by transit system, to their Library, and it is a
lot more convenient for them, whereas Oro residents have to go alot
further. Secondly, the City has an Industrial and Commercial tax
base which helps carry the costs of the Library. That same
agreement applies to both the Township of orillia and the Township
of Rama in terms of how they set up the costs, so we are given a
slight break there.
The next item I wanted to discuss was the Police Village. Many of
the people may not be aware but Police Villages were a separate
body, incorporated under the County of Simcoe, back in the thirtys.
What initiated them was they wanted to have a higher level of
service than the basic rural areas of the Township. Keep in mind
basically all it was back in those days was roads. Village
residents wanted sidewalks, better streets, sometimes hydro service
and so forth. In order to get those, they formed their own
Trustees, who are elected every three years, the same as Council.
They were entitled to levy up to fifteen mills and it was added to
the regular tax bill, collected by the Township at the time. Those
funds were used to provide services only within the Police Villages.
We only had one in Oro and that was Hawkestone. In 1993 the Police
Village of Hawkestone was dissolved; they did not run anybody for
Public Office and yet there were a number of responsibilities to be
carried out, including street lights, and so forth, that the
Township had to maintain. So under a provision of the Provincial
Legislation, the Township applied to have the Police Village
discontinued so the Council could assume those responsibilities, and
that was granted this past summer. The interesting thing is, with
Bill 51, changing the County of Simcoe Act, all Police Villages in
the County of Simcoe, will discontinue to be. They will simply
become part of the municipality which they are currently located in.
One of the purposes behind them was supposedly to keep the powder
dry. That was the responsibilities of the Trustees, back in the
days when they might have had a war/battle. That function,
hopefully doesn't need to be met today. The responsibilities of the
services of the Police Villages, have been assumed by the Township
and they will be carried on under the combined Township after
anuary 1, 1994, after Oro and Medonte merges.
nother organization that I should mention is the Association of the
unicipalities of ontario, which Oro Township has been a member of
hat Association and has been fortunate enough to have either
embers of its staff or Council, on the Board of Directors of that
rganization. I see Henry Neufeld here tonight, and Henry might be
ble to enlighten us as to how long he was on the Board of
irectors. Could you give us a quick comment on that Henry.
enry Neufeld:
was on the Board of Directors for four years.
- 13 -
Deputy Reeve Caldwell:
After Henry retired, our new Administrator, Bob Small, was on the
Board and went to the position of Vice-President, the highest
position a staff member could get to. Two years ago, I was
fortunate enough to be elected to the Board and served for a few
years. Didn't succeed this past summer when I ran for the Board
again, but have been appointed to the Resolutions Committee, so I a
still involved.
The organizations primary function is to represent collective
interest of municipalities across ontario to the Provincial
Government. So when the Province is looking at passing new
legislation, they usually provide a draft of it to the Association
of the Municipalities of ontario and there is an opportunity to
comment on how it is going to impact on the municipalities. The
unfortunate thing has been in the last few years, our Provincial
Government has not paid much attention to what A.M.O. has said and
just gone ahead and past the legislation anyway. We do at least
have a voice, even though it hasn't been always successful. There
is approximately 700 of the 832 municipalities in the Province that
belong to the Association.
The Oro-Barrie-Orillia Airport Commission. This started out as a
co-operative joint venture with the Cities of Barrie and Orillia,
with each municipality appointing three members to the Commission
with equal voting powers. The funding under the original agreement
was to be paid for based on each municipalities assessment base. I
the case of Barrie, approximately 65%, in the case of Orillia, 23%
and in the case of Oro, 12%. It is to be adjusted every three year
as the assessment bases change. Development so far consists of a
575 acres with a 5000 foot, 100 foot wide, paved runway, with
supporting taxiway and apron. There was over 10,000 white cedar
planted last year to replace some of the trees that had been
removed. The new terminal building is 3,500 square feet on each
floor. It was built and occupied in April of this year. We now
have two tenants in that building, paying rent, in the lower level.
There is also been a new hanger for servicing aircraft, built by
private enterprise and they are paying lease payments on the land to
the Airport commission. The building is 60 feet by 80 feet. The
proposed new development and hopefully this will go forward, we have
had a number of meetings, and I have been fortunate enough to be on
the Airport Commission and have been the Property Chairman now for
three years and so I get the opportunity to negotiate with all these
prospective tenants and listen to how they want to come and have
land on their site, but they don't want to pay much rent. So it has
been quite a challenge to convince them that they should pay the
full tab and be happy to be there.
The most recent approach and it has been announced publicly, is from
Zlin Aircraft Corporation, they are a Czechoslovakian Company and
the engines that they use are manufactured engines, the propellors
are manufactured in United States and the rest of the component of
the aircraft will be paid in May. It is their intention to set up
an assembly plant where they can actually assemble the aircraft at
the Oro-Barrie Orillia Airport site. The company currently sell
aerocraft out of a Barrie location, simply a sales office there.
The intent is to become a sales, servicing office, as well as an
assembly plant. The size has not been determined. Initially they
ere talking, seven hundred thousand 'dollars would get them off the
ground, they are now talking a million and a half because they are
lanning on starting up much larger than initially proposed. The
rincipals have assured us that they already have standing orders
for 42 of these aircraft. They expect to start construction, early
in 1994.
\
f
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We are currently experiencing at the Airport, approximately 800. \
flights per month. In the months of June and July, there were over
1000 in each of those months. certainly, even with the Airport, a I
lot of volunteer hours put in, even though there are members 1
appointed to the Commission.
At this time, I would like to say thank you to all those people
involved in all those various organizations and making things happe
in Oro Township for the benefit of everybody. \
Reeve Drury:
Do any of the Council Members have anybody they would like to
recognize this evening.
Deputy Reeve Caldwell:
No, I don't have any family here this evening, I invited several of
them, but Christmas comes first.
counoillor crawford:
Yes, my wife, I saw come in just a few minutes ago. She is the one
that keeps things warm at home when I am sitting up here at
Committee Meetings, and I really appreciate that.
councillor Mortson:
Yes, my wife Margaret, she is down there, I cant see her for the
poinsettia, but.
eeve Drury:
Ladies and Gentleman, I have the duties of wrapping up here this
evening. I will begin by recognizing my wife Lynn. Lynn has been
ehind me with everything I have done in council, and she puts up
ith the late hours and some nights not home to one o'clock in the
orning when we have a heavy duty meeting. We are always running
ere and there and going somewhere. I thank you for standing behind
e and supporting me all these years.
would like to introduce Councillor Murray Martin, from the
ownship of Medonte. I believe Murray, you are the only one here
rom Medonte this evening. Thank you for showing an interest in
oming down Murray, we have worked together for almost three years
ow and it has been a pleasure working with you and we look forward
o January 1st.
think what I will do first is introduce our Department Heads:
red Haughton, Public Services Administrator
arlene Shoebridge, Clerk
enry Sander, TreasurerjC.A.O.
aul Eenhoorn, Fire Chief
eborah Broderick, Parks and Recreation Director
on Kolbe, Chief Building Official
ris Menzies, Township Planner
get a lot of letters in my possession, as Reeve, and I have a
ouple here over the last number of years that I would like to read,
ome of them are humourous and some of them are not.
one was dated April 27th, 1991,
ttention: Fred Haughton, Road Superintendent
- 15 -
Dear Fred:
Further our letter to you of December 31st, 1990, and our follow-up
telephone call on February 1991, regarding the drainage problem,in
front of our home and a twelve year old ----- that was onc~ a dltch
across the road. You do mention in March 1990 should be d1tched an
the water will go from the Oro parkland should be drain~d ~n the
vacant Township land into Joy Avenue and not across a s1nk1ng
culvert onto our property. You asked us to remind you of this
ongoing problem around May 1s~ and ~nderstand thi~ is on your
priority list. Please note w1th wh1te caps and f1Shs enclosed. We
look forward to your professional attention to this matter at your
earliest convenience.
Yours sincerely
Jim and Ellie Noble
P.S. Unfortunately we didn't put this in writing a few years ago
when this was looked at by Oro Township.
Jim Noble I believe is here this evening and I think Jim that
problem has been looked after.
Jim Noble:
Just ripples now.
Reeve Drury:
I also have a letter here from a gentleman complaining about Highwa
93 and the ramp onto Highway 400. We get all different kinds of
letters.
I have a letter that was brough to my attention, late in the year 0
1991, it was the resignation from the former Administrator/Clerk,
Robert Small and it was effective as of September 13, 1991, and tha
being an election year, it certainly put us in a real bind in the
Township. We were without a Clerk, we were without an Administrato
and we really didn't know what to do. So we put an add in the pape
very quickly and we were very fortunate, the people that replied to
it were of very high calibur and the young lady sitting over there,
Darlene Shoebridge, was our former Deputy Clerk. She seen fit, for
some two years, before that in 1989, to wonder off to Flos Township
under the guidance of the Flos Council. She learned a lot up there,
enough to bring her back into Oro Township and take over the head
post. There was a lot to be done when Darlene came back to Oro in
1991, an election to prepare for and very short notice. She did an
excellent job and I was certainly shocked when I was handed this
letter from the former Administrator, Bob Small, but he went on to
bigger and better things. He went to the Town of Lindsay and is
doing quite well there. So that was another typical letter that we
get.
I have another neat letter here from the residents from Big Cedar
Estates and it is addressed to myself.
Dear Sir:
Recently the residents of Big Cedar Estates had a delegation with
Oro Township Council to explain the advantage of Big Cedar to remaiJ
part of the Township of Oro in the restructuring of the Townships.
It is thought that with the Tax dollars, Big Cedar makes some
contribution to the recreational facilities of Oro Township. ????thE
park as we are far removed, we are unable to use the equipment.
Last year our Shuffleboard Committee advise the office that funds
for recreation had been spent. We now were wondering if perhaps
your 1991 budget could include some financial help for us. We are
.
- 16 -
close to having necessary funds which will enable us to direct
contracts to work on two shuffle boards courts. The game of shuffl
board is a natural game for people in their retirment years, it
assists in maintaining their health a well being.
Yours truly
???
The Shuffle Board Committee
The letters go on and on and I have a file this thick, for a couple
of years of letters that we do receive and they are quite
interesting and council acts in every letter that comes in. There
is nothing that goes unnoticed, everything is replied to in one for
or the other.
Oro Township was incorporated in 1851 and there must be a tremendouJ
amount of changes in those number of years. Many, many Councils fOl
a long time they had one year terms. I don't know how they would
ever put up with that, it would be quite a chore to have an electio
every year. Then again, there wasn't half as many people in the
municipality as there is today. In 1982, was the first time for a
three year term. That is when I was first elected as a Council
Member, in 1982 and sat a few years as a Council Member and then in
the election of 1985, I moved up and ran for the position of Reeve
and have been here ever since. This will be my twelfth year coming
up in 1994 in being involved in the politics of Oro Township.
I was introduced to politics by a very good friend of mine and who
is here this evening. He came to me one day on the farm and said t
me, Bob why don't you run for Council. I said no, I am a little to
shy to do that. Al McLean saw me fit to have me appointed to the
Planning Board in 1980 and I got a feel of what goes on and became
interested in the well being of the municipality and from there on,
the rest is history.
At this time I would like to introduce Al McLean, our Member of
Parliament, for Simcoe East. AI, I hear you have two or three
onths off now and you are not going to do anything and you are off
for the year. AI, could you favour us with a few words please.
11an K. McLean, M.P.P.:
First of all, I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy
ew Year. It is interesting, I get the opportunity to reminisce a
fair bit when I am back and forth to Toronto and we are talking
bout those one year terms, there is probably some other here that
aybe experienced some of them and I know I had eight one year terms
nd six two year terms. You never did prepare for an election, Mr.
eeve, because you done what you thought was right and if the people
elt like re-electing you and were happy with what you done, you got
e-elected. Most of us had other work to do anyway and it didn't
eally matter because we still were busy.
here is a lot of history in Oro. I had the opportunity last night
o speak sometime in the legislature with regard to Bill 51 which
assed and had Royal Ascent last night, and talked about some of the
istory of the County; talked about Tiny, Tay and Flos, of course
he three dogs that the Lieutenant Governor had and the Lieutenant
overnor's wife. So there is a lot of History in this County and
here is a lot of History in Oro. We have been fortunate in Oro to
ave had people that were involved and were interested in the
istory and those people are to be commended for what they have done
ver the years to make sure that the History has been documented and
'n the form of probably one of the best books that I have ever known
r seen in any municipality, and Joanna McEwen, Howard Campbell and
hose people put tireless hours in and really preserved and made the
istory of Oro. So when we close off this year and the next 150
ears, celebration of Simcoe county and start into a new era with
- 17 -
with the changes, I think it will be exciting times. And as I said
last night, some of the differences that people have had over Count
Restructuring, we got to put that aside now and realize that this i
a fact and do what we think is best for the County. After all it i
a great place to live and a great community and Simcoe County, I
think is one of the best.
I bring you greetings and see some of the people here that I had th
opportunity to sit with. Bob Tudhope, I remember when he first cam
in, he was Deputy Clerk when Henry was still here, Henry Neufeld
and some of the people I was involved in the Planning Board. I see
Campbell back there and I remember so many pleasant years that I ha
sitting with his dad on Council in Oro. There has been so many of
them, George MacKay, Ken Gillespie and we can go back and talk abou
those, but they are the type of people that really made a
difference. You progressed and have done well, and I commend you
all for that.
Thank you for the opportunity to say a few words.
Reeve Drury:
I would next like to mention that this is also the 150th Anniversar
of the County of Simcoe and there was a booklet put out, it went ou
in the tabloid of both the Orillia Packet and Times and the Barrie
Examiner and hopefully everyone did receive a copy of that. It
tells quite a bit of the History of the county. We have had a very
busy year, the Warden of the County, Ross Hastings, was extremely
busy this year attending functions for the 150th Anniversary. It
has gone over quite well, we budgetted about ten or eleven thousand
dollars for it and I think we are coming in at the plus side,' we
have sold a lot of T-Shirts, hats and one thing or another.
I will speak to restructuring for a few minutes. It began almost
three years ago now. The motion in County Council to look at
restructuring and it progressed along and it only seemed to make a
lot of common sense that we do in fact restructure our municipality.
I think from Oro Township's point of view, we have two big sisters
on either side of us and it has always been a threat that the City
of Barrie and the City of orillia would like to come out and take a
little nip of Oro Township. Many, Many thanks go out to all of pas
Councils who have seen fit not to allow develop on the borders of
either the City of Barrie or the City of Orillia. The City of
Barrie, there have been many, many temptations to develop that land
right next towards the City. In my time we have turned down
schools, we have turned down churches, we have turned down
subdivisions. We believe that there is an area there that will som
day go to expansion to the City of Barrie and likewise on the other
end of the City of Orillia. Our position of this Council is that
when the Cities can show us that they can service these houses that
are there and service the land that is there with water and sewer a
a reasonable cost. Some day they are going to need some of our lan
and we are going to keep it in a state of none development.
This municipality looked at restructuring as an opportunity to stop
the famous word "Regional Government". It has been on the back
burner since the 1960's. I firmly believe that what we have done
with restructuring will prevent any form of Regional Government for
perhaps, thirty, forty, fifty years, who knows. I think the plan we
have on restructuring is a good one and will stand the test of time,
for that many years, who knows, it may even go out one hundred
years. But I think we made a wise move by restructuring, there have
been a lot of hurdles to get over and the next couple of years there
will be many more hurdles to get over.
Enough of that, I would like to talk about the Lions Club a little
bit. The Oro District Lions Club is a Club that formed in Oro
Township some twenty years ago, this will be its twentieth year.
- 18 -
Some of their major community projects includes the Lions Quest
Program, the Anti-Drug Program, taught in the Public Schools, they
contribute to the Royal victoria Hospital Building Fund, the
Community Hall Programs, and approved facilities through
renovations, the Barrie Christmas Cheer Program, building a few bal
diamonds at the Sports Complex at Guthrie or at the Oro Township
Arena, financial support for Community Policing, and support variou
minor sports associations, they have done many, many good deeds in
the Township of Oro. From the Oro Lions Club, the Lioness Club
began about five years ago, and some of their major projects
include, financial support to the Oro Ringette and the purchase of
sweaters, support the Alzheimers Association, financial support to
the Diabetic Association, support to the Simcoe Womens Centre for a
Oro child, financial support to Queen Street interested parents for
playground equipment at the Sports Complex. For those of you who d
not know where Queen Street is, it is in downtown Guthrie.
We also have the Oro Fire Fighters Association, they were salvaged
about ten years ago. They have been many things, they have turkey
shoots, raised money for different projects and some of those
projects are the purchase of the jaws of life, they purchased C.P.R
tank and the dolls they practice on, they acquired the original
Rescue Van, and purchased all cold water ice rescue equipment.
To these three groups, I certainly extend my warmest thanks for all
the volunteer work you have done.
It would be remiss not to talk about the different ratepayers group
in the Township of Oro. We have quite a few of them. Some of them
don't do a whole lot until an issue comes foward and they rise and
they spring into action. Such groups as the Shanty Bay Ratepayers,
who were a tremendous help to us in the restructuring. We met with
them, consulted with them, and they prepared their own document on
restructuring, did a survey on restructuring, and they had a war
chest ready, I don't know how many dollars it was but they had many
thousands of dollars if we needed it. They certainly did a great
job there. We have the Central Oro Ratepayers Association, the
Jarratt Coulson Ratepayers Association, the Northwest Oro Ratepayer
Association which is also a fairly new Association, and many other
ratepayers associations which have certainly contributed to our
municipality. We have always left our doors open and any
suggestions they have, we certainly listen to them and consider
them.
We want to thank all the ratepayers groups for playing a very
important part in the Township of Oro. Sometimes Council may be
remiss in not looking at something, they certainly bring it to our
attention in a hurry if we have overlooked something or have done
something that they don't think is fair and just.
At this time I would like to mention staff members, in particular,
the late Jim Clayden, I believe everyone here was touched by Jimmy
Clayden, our Landfill Operator. Jimmy was with us over twenty
years, a very, very, very loyal employee. I considered Jimmy one of
my better friends. He was someone that I think had more of a handle
on what is going on in the municipality than anyone else. He spoke
to just about everyone at sometime throughout the year when they
brought their garbage into the landfill site. Jimmy is very much
missed by everyone. I would just like to mention Jimmy Clayden and
Council at this time is considering naming a Park after him. There
is a proposal for a new subdivision in the Village of Edgar and it
was discussed briefly at one of the Planning Advisory Committee
Meetings, and there may well be a Park named after Jimmy Clayden,
right close to where he worked for many, many years.
I would also like to mention Joan Fletcher who has been with the
municipality over twenty years. I won't say how many years over
twenty years, Joan. But your faithfulness to the municipality is
- 19 -
very much appreciated. It is nice to see you here this evening.
several years ago, I had the opportunity of presenting both ~oan a~
Jim Clayden with their twenty year watch. Thank you for com1ng thl
evening Joan and Lloyd.
At this time I would like to call on Henry Sander and Ron Kolbe, we
have some flowers sitting in front of us and I am getting tired of
looking up around them and through them. I would like Henry and Ro
to present them to our spouses please. If our spouses could stand.
Ian, get back here, we have one for you as well.
At this time I would like to call upon Fred Haughton, who has some
long term rewards we would like to present.
Fred Haughton:
Mr. Reeve, we have one of our long service employees, Robert
Bidwell, we have a twenty year memento for him that I would
appreciate Mr Reeve if you could present to him. Robert has
actually exceeded the twenty years and due to some circumstances, w
waited until this opportunity to have it presented to him. In fact
a couple more weeks and it will be starting his twenty third year.
Reeve Drury:
Robert, on behalf of Council, it is a pleasure for me to present yo
with this watch for having worked for Oro Township for over twenty
years. This type of dedication and service is next to none and is
really appreciated by Council and all the people within the
municipality. I know the Township Staff when they look over to you
here and they know the roads are being well looked after. So Bob t
you, I say congratulations. I don't know if you will be around for
another twenty years or not, but if you are, we will see you then.
Robert Bidwell:
Thank you very, very much.
Reeve Drury:
Bob started on January 1st, 1971, so will very shortly will have hi
twenty-two years in. Bob thank you very much for a job well done.
We have an employee who wasn't able to make it this evening, he carn
down with the flu. Cecil Phillips has been a very special employee
of the municipality. Cec has not service twenty years
consecutively, but has served a total of twenty-two years. He beg a
in 1969 and worked through to 1986, he put seventeen years in. In
1989, then Cec came back with us and put another five years in, to
make a total of twenty-two years.
I remember back to the old arena in 1969 when they began renovation
and a great deal of work was done. Cec was very, very interested i
every aspect of the arena and every person that came into the arena.
Such people as Jim Rice, Charlie Hastings, volunteered, many, many
hours on the Arena Board, along with Cec, who worked things out to
make that arena work smoothly and it has worked very smoothly. Our
staff tells us this year that they are hoping to bring us into a
positive position, we have been running a small deficit at the
arena. Hopefully this year, our staff will bring it in and actually
Istart working,on a prof~t,basis, that w~uld be fantast~c if ~hey
'could. Cec wlll be retlr1ng after the 1ce goes out thlS Sprlng and
we are going to miss Cec, his expertise and his loyalty to the
municipality and his love for the municipality, he certainly is
concerned with everything that has gone on at that arena and a very,
very, dedicated employee.
Deborah, I would like to present you with this to present to Cec,
f
- 20 -
please if you would. I am sure I will get an opportunity to speak
to Cec before he does leave and perhaps in a couple of weeks we wil
sit down and have a little chat.
Deborah Broderiok:
I am very honoured to receive this, this evening, on behalf Cec and
he did leave me a note and ask me if I would read if this evening.
What Cec says is very straight forward, as you all know Ceca
I never expected anything like this to happen to me. I am sorry I
cannot be here tonight. In recreation, the laughter of the childre
and the fun of the adults, the words you have a nice arena, or what
a beautiful park you have, are our memories. This is our reward fo
the years we have worked and provided recreation for Oro. We are
proud of our Township facility. And now I would like to thank
Council for thoughts and their gift tonight, and a Special Thanks t
Deborah Broderick, my Supervisor in Oro Parks and Recreation. Than
you all.
cecil
Reeve Drury:
I would like to call upon the Fire Chief, Paul Eenhoorn, please.
Paul Eenhoorn:
Mr. Reeve and Members of Council; there is a couple of volunteer
fire fighters here this evening that in my opinion are to be
recognized here this evening. I would like to call on retired
District Chief, Jack Hensen and retired Captain Alex Bowman. I
invited one more individual to be here this evening which was fire
fighter Leigh Reevie, but unfortunately he had another engagement
and couldn't be here. These three gentlemen have just retired, all
three from station No.1, Shanty Bay and started with fire fighter
Leigh Reevie, he has put in thirty-five years of service with
station No.1. Captain Alex Bowman, this gentleman just put in
thirty-five years of service with Station No. 1 and District Chief
Jack Hensen with thirty-seven years, with a combined total of one
hundred and seven years of volunteer service. I think in my opinio
it takes a special individual to be volunteer fire fighter, to just
drop everything that he is doing, at the spur of the moment, just t
rush out and either to go help his friend, his neighbour or just
someone passing through the Township that needs his assistance, tha
is in trouble somewhere. These gentlemen, day or night, winter or
summer, just leave everything and they just respond and hopefully
most of the situations were brought back in Oro with the least
expectancy of injuries and that type of thing, to the individual.
also think it takes a special wife behine these gentlemen, because
we all know they have to keep the boss happy and I tell you that is
quite a task. I think they too, need to be recognized to put up
with these guys for all these years to leave at any time, at any
place.
I brought with me a little verse, I think that represents these two
gentlemen here this evening, and not only these two guys, I think
the other seventeen plus volunteers in Ontario. I would like to
read it to you at this time. It is called the "Fire Fighters
Prayer" .
I am called to duty God, wherever flame may rage
Give me strength to save some life, whatever be its age
Help me embrace a little child, before it is too late
Or save an older person from the horror of that fate
Enable me to be alert and hear the weakest shout
And quickly and efficiently to put the fire out
I want to sole my calling and to give my destiny
j
- 21 -
To guard my every neighbour and protect his propertr
And if according to your will, I have to loose my 11fe
Please bless with your protecting hands, my children and my wife.
I think that says it all. Jack we are going to miss you at the Fir
Hall. Alex you too. The door will always be open.
Reeve Drury:
Jack, it is a pleasure for me as Reeve of the Township and to have
known you for as many years as I have. been around th~ municipality,
to present this to you. We hear noth1ng but good th1ngs a~out'you.
On behalf of council, I can't say enough about volunteer f1remen,
and people who have served over thirty-five.year~, it ta~es a
tremendous dedication. All too aften the f1re f1ghters Just go out
and be alert and they don't hear much from Council and it is only
times like this that we get an opportunity to express our feelings
to the volunteer firemen. congratulations.
Jaok Hensen:
That is very kind of you. It has been a pleasure, it really has.
don't think the people here want another speech. It is actually th
people you work with that make it so easy to stay on that long. It
doesn't seem that long, but everybody gets older. I would like to
say thank you, it has been a real pleasure. I worked at another
place a good number of years and they just locked the doors and
kicked my out.
Reeve Drury:
Alex, also the same words to you, on behalf of the Township of Oro,
I have known you for the same amount of years, and your family is
certainly well respected in the area and the work you have done as
volunteer for that many years, many times you have been called out;
it is just so much appreciated. So thank you very much on behalf 0
Council, we will miss you and Good Luck.
Alex Bowman:
I have enjoyed myself for thirty five years, sometimes I didn't wan
to go but overall it has been pretty good experience. Like Jack
said, it is the people you worked with.
Paul Eenhoorn:
District Chief Hensen, just because you made it to the top and ther
was only one position, and you weren't going to get that one I
woul~ like to present you with this helmut, in memory of the' fire
serV1ce.
Reeve Drury:
I would like to call on Robert Jermey, please. Robert, I have a se'
of keys for tonight and its not for a limousen or anything like
that. It is for a 1964 Fire Truck. It was purchased many years ag
and has become obsolete now and I think Al McLean was probably
around w~en that was ~urchased, and we don't have any use for it
anymore.1n the Townsh1p. S~ on behalf of the Township of Oro, I
would.11~e to present you w1th these keys as a donation to the
Assoc1at10n and I unde~stand you have many things that you have
planned for that old f1re truck. Good Luck with it, and here is
your keys.
Robert Jermey:
I would like to thank you.
t
I. . '
- 22 -
Reeve Drury:
Ladies and Gentlemen, that pretty well wraps it up. I would just
like to give a very brief overview of what is going to happen on
January 1st.
When we amalgamate, they are going to change some of our names.
am going to be named the Mayor of the municipality. Reeve Beard
will be the Deputy Mayor. Deputy Reeve Caldwell, will be the Ree
of the municipality and Deputy Reeve Dalziel will be the Deputy
Reeve of the new municipality. That will take place for one year
and the election of course is one year from now and what will tak
place then, it will be made up of a Mayor, Deputy Mayor and there
will be five wards which the Council will run independently in one
ward. So it is going to be quite a change in 1995 when that takes
place. The municipality Head Quarters are going to be in this
office right here. The Roads Department is going to move to what s
now the Township of Medonte Administration Building. It is going 0
take a while to get organized in the next couple of weeks but I am
sure staff will work out very good. I just want to thank all of
staff that are here this evening and that staff that are not here,
for helping to make sure that Oro is a safe, clean place to live a d
work in. You have done a great job in Oro Township and all to oft n
the work you do goes unrecognized. When nature calls out, the
firemen are called out whenever. I say to the young inspiring
volunteer firemen, get in there and help out. I don't think there
is a fireman that you can speak to that is not thrilled with the j b
he does and is fully dedicated. Our roads department, I can say th
same for, they are on call most of the time, as well as the winter
time. They can be called out at any time to cut a tree off the ro d
or start sanding the roads or ice blading them, whatever may be th
case. To you gentlemen I certainly want to extend on behalf of
Council, a great deal of appreciation for the work you do and I
actually apologize from time to time that we don't recognize you a d
see you often enough. unfortunately, the roles of Council members
have become very, very busy over the last number of years and has
got to the position where to be on Council is practically a full
time job. Council members are very busy and we meet or see each
other almost everyday. It doesn't leave us much time to go out an
see what is going on in the municipality. Department heads bring
report back and we act on that and I think we act very well on the
reports brought back in. To the staff in the office here, you do
marvellous jOb in here, we get very few complaints of any type. A
a matter of fact, maybe I shouldn't say it here but, I don't think
receive one phone call a month of complaint from people in our
municipality. I receive the odd one of concerns but very, very fe
complaints and I think that goes for the rest of the Council membe
as well. That has to tell you that someone out there is doing an
excellent job. So to all our staff and our volunteers, thank you,
congratulations and we look forward to working with you for at lea
another year.
At this time, we have some refreshments in the other room. We will
adjourn the meeting. I want to thank everyone for coming out and
sharing with us this last historical Oro Township Council Meeting
and please feel free to come to the joint - I guess it is not joint
any more, it is Oro-Medonte, that is a term we are going to have to
get use to, Oro-Medonte as of last night, is actually in place, and
we will meet at the same time and the same place on a regular basis
for the next year. Thank you very much and thank you Council
members for helping me with the work this evening and sharing and
letting people know. I think you touched on pretty well every
aspect of the Municipality. Thank you very much.