A Word from the President

Stokes Bay Ratepayers Association
Mail: c/o R. Fortune, Secretary, General Delivery, Stokes Bay, ON N0H 2M0
Web Address: http://users.auracom.com/hogarth1/ratepayers

Late Summer Newsletter
September 2003

A “Long” Word From The President

First, I must start by apologizing for the delay in getting news out to you, the members, but we, as an Executive, are trying to do it right the first time around.

As most of you know from the membership meetings, I tend to get long winded so I will attempt to keep it as short as the importance of the issue allows. This summer, elections were held for the new executive of the association. The following members were elected to (2) year terms.

President	Nigel Allwood	160 Tamarac Rd., Stokes Bay 188 Kings Forest Dr., Hamilton allwood@sympatico.ca	N0H 2M0 L8T 4K5	519-592-5703 905-575-4838
Vice-President	Jim Sauve	7 Heron Point Rd., Stokes Bay colsblueroof@aol.com	N0H 2M0	519-592-5752
Secretary	Reg Fortune	293 Tamarac Rd., Stokes Bay randcfortune@aol.com	N0H 2M0	519-592-5767
Treasurer	Martin Hogarth	98 Tamarac Rd., Stokes Bay hogarth@auracom.com	N0H 2M0	519-592-5839
Trustee	Mike Tyler	272 Tamarac Rd., Stokes Bay nonstopnacho@golden.net	N0H 2M0	519-592-5606

I wish to thank those who voted for me at the July membership meeting. I hope that I and the other members elected to the executive will live up to your expectations. The executive feels that the Association has to become a strong presence at council to protect and further the interests of the community. When the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula was incorporated, and the ward system we all knew disappeared, we lost the right of having a local councilor to further and protect our interests, and bring issues at council that impact on us to the attention of the electorate for our input. Intentionally or not, this results in councilors or candidates having to ‘play to the audience’ if they want to get elected or re-elected, which, in this case, means Lion’s Head and Tobermory, where the greatest concentration of voters are. Now you may ask what affects that will have on our members. I think a good example of this is, two issues that were before council revolving around the Comprehensive Zoning By-law that may impact on your and my enjoyment of our community and property.

In one case council was preparing to pass a By-law that, as worded, meant that you and I would have been barred from having a camper or tent set up on our property for a couple of weeks for the grandchildren to stay in. It was only after objections from non-council members that the issue was sent to public hearings that resulted in saner minds having an impact. In a second case involving this By-law, I have been informed by several sources that as passed, I could open a veterinary clinic in Stokes Bay, but a doctor would have to go through several months of paperwork to get a variance to set up a clinic. Now I agree that veterinarians are important, but with the growing population in our hamlet and the number of retirees here, I think in this case whoever framed and passed this By-law or allowed it to be framed and passed as it stands, did a great disservice to and failed this community.

No matter how many times the residents of the Municipal Office tell me that proposed By-laws, either new or revisions, are advertised, they will not convince me that posting them at the town hall and putting them in the Bruce Peninsula Press constitutes adequate notification. Until we are properly consulted and kept informed by the Municipality, our only remedy is the Ratepayers Association and a presence at council. It is only through group action that we, as a community, can get results, one voice crying in the wilderness tends to get ignored by bureaucrats and politicians, but it is hard to ignore a large choir.

On a recent Sunday morning the executive met to discuss what we feel are some of the important issues facing our community and our association. I will now talk to each of these issues. Although those of you who were at the General Membership meeting will recognize some of these issues, I am including them here as this letter is going out to all the members who signed up last year.

The State Of The Membership

A year ago this past April at the founding membership meeting, over 100 individuals paid a membership fee to join the Stokes Bay Ratepayers Association, and elect an executive. At the general membership meeting that followed on June 29, 2002 only 36 members attended to get an update on the Greenough Point development, discuss the condition of Tamarac Road and debate, revise, and pass a temporary version of the proposed Constitution of the Association. At the 2003 General Membership meeting held on July 5th only approximately 30 members attended.

I realize that some people joined initially hoping that we could stop the Greenough Point development that, in the years down the road, has the potential to change the character of our hamlet. I feel that unless the township failed to perform it’s duties as outlined in the Municipal Act and/or the developer failed to meet the requirements laid out by the Township and the various Ministries of the Provincial Government involved, this was an unrealistic expectation considering the funding such a challenge would require. I will speak more on this later. Only an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board can overturn the townships decision to give the developer the go ahead, and with the way the O.M.B. works these days, this would succeed only if it could be shown that the township or the developer had not met the appropriate environmental, archeological, and legal requirements even if the majority of the townships residents were to sign a petition against the development. As members of an association that represents the ratepayers of Stokes Bay I hope you understand that while we may not always be able to prevent change from taking place, what we can do is to attempt to make sure that change takes place to the benefit of the members of the community and hold the feet of all the parties involved to the fire (so to speak) to make sure it happens in the light of day instead of behind closed doors. A good example of this is the hard work of the last and this executive and others in attending council meetings and keeping constant pressure on council. This has led to the moving up of improvements to Tamarac Road to this fall. See Below for details.

At this years membership meeting the annual membership fees were raised to $10 per member in recognition of the increased costs we face for stationary supplies and mailing. Now I realize that for some of you, especially pensioners, this may seem high for the amount of participation you wish to have in the Association but it is necessary if we are to continue to survive and grow as an effective group in representing the ratepayers of Stokes Bay.

In the near future with thanks to Bob and Michelle at the Stokes Bay General Store the Association will be putting up an information holder where you will be able to pick up copies of the constitution and membership forms. We will also be putting up a suggestion box where you can drop off correspondence and information on matters around town that concern you.

Membership forms are now available for completion from any member of the executive.

P.S. – Don’t forget your address(s), phone number(s) here and home, and email address if you have one.

At Long Last, Tamarac Road Reconstruction Scheduled to Begin

At a ‘Committee of the Whole’ meeting of council I attended September the 8th, a sum of approximately $180,000 was voted to be spent this year to begin the reconstruction, starting with drainage ditches and cross road drains. This work is scheduled to begin the 3rd or 4th week of September starting at the junction of Stokes River Road and Tamarac Road and will continue till freeze up. Some restriction of traffic flow may be required with the occasional complete stoppage for no more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, so please lets all be patient and take it easy in the construction zone.

Lions Head Water Treatment Plant

The North Bruce Council has indicated that it appears the Province is going to legislate that new water treatment plants will be paid for on a user pay basis, but no one has seen the details of the legislation yet and there is a provincial election coming. I know what I pay for water in Hamilton where the infrastructure is already in place, and believe me if the residents of Lions Head and Tobermory in the future are required to pay the full cost we will hear the screams in Stokes Bay. Remember, the councilors on North Bruce Municipal Council are elected at large, make sure that they understand your views and represent all residents of the Municipality, not just the larger centers.

Stokes Bay’s Street Lights

As many of you know, for years the good people of the Community Center Committee have done a wonderful job looking after the town’s streetlights. They have raised funds, organized for the maintenance of the lights, and paid for their operation, with a grant to assist first from Eastnor Township and now from the Municipality of North Bruce Peninsula. But the executive of our Association think it is time to change this. This is the only place I know where a basic community service, for the good of a safe community, is paid for by a not for profit community group and not by the Municipality out of property taxes. When you consider this, think about the following: If a streetlight was out on a dark, foggy night, who would be liable for an accident at that location if the insurer of the vehicles involved claimed the missing light was an influencing factor? We get very little for the amount of taxes we pay (by the way both assessment and the mil rate went up this year and in reality the Municipality is just down loading a hidden tax or user fee on the residents of Stokes Bay who contribute to the street lights).

Our roads are barely wide enough for two vehicles to pass one another. God help the pedestrians that may be using the road to walk on. There are no sidewalks. They have to step onto the grass, into the weeds, and/or the snow banks in winter to dodge the traffic. If we were all athletic and eighteen again this would not be a problem, but pensioners, kids, and others need to see and be seen by the traffic. This is a basic issue of providing a safe environment for pedestrians, especially as Stokes River Road, Tamarac Road, and Stokes Bay Road become busier and busier. It is time for the Municipal Council to step up, assume the responsibilities of a growing Municipality that are rightfully theirs and take over the operation of the streetlights. This would also allow the good people of the Community Center to go on to other things for the benefit of the pensioners and kids in the community.

Speed Limits In Town

Recently the County took over the setting of speed limits in the Municipalities that make up Bruce County and have ruled that all municipalities shall have a speed limit of 50 km/h in residential areas unless specifically requested otherwise by the local municipality. Up until now we have had a mixed bag of speed limits about town, depending on which road you were on and which direction you were traveling. The sign posted on the way into town from Colonel Clark Road at the bend on Stokes Bay Road says 40 km/h, the sign at the Southern town limits on the Stokes Bay Road reads 50 km/h and Tamarac Road bounces up and down like a yo-yo whether you are traveling East or West.

For the same reasons as I raised above it is our position that the speed limits within the Hamlet of Stokes Bay and the outlying surveys should be 40 km/h throughout. This was raised by a representative of the Association with the Northern Bruce Council prior to the County acting but it was not raised at the County level. We have now been asked to submit a formal request in writing. This is a basic issue of providing a safe environment for pedestrians and other traffic, especially as Stokes Bay’s roads become busier and busier as more people make this their permanent home and new construction expands. A standard speed limit through out the Town would also make enforcement easier for the OPP.

The Need For Liability Insurance

Liability insurance is just as important for the Association to have as it is for you as an individual to have. Without it the members of the executive and the members of the group are in a precarious position if some one was to be injured at an event we as an Association were to sponsor, such as a roadside cleanup day, or a community fundraising barbeque.

At present we are discussing several options with the various Ratepayers groups in the Municipality of Northern Bruce to assess what the costs of this insurance would be. When we have some definite figures and details the executive will give you and update so that a well reasoned decision could be made.

Thank you,
Nigel

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