It was clearly evident that half of the members of city council are loath to ruffle the feathers of upper-tier government officials.
This relates to a matter discussed during Monday’s (Dec. 15) council meeting, dealing with the province’s move to consolidate Ontario’s 37 conservation authorities into seven regional authorities.
Under the consolidation, much of southwestern Ontario would fall into the Lake Erie Regional Conservation Authority (see map below), which would cover southwestern Ontario watersheds draining into Lake Erie, including the Thames, Grand, and Sydenham systems, supporting agriculture, industry, and shoreline communities.
The seven authorities would be bound by the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency.
The move toward consolidation has raised warning flags in municipalities across the province, with many municipal councils approving resolutions opposed to the actions of the province.
Coun. Lori Baldwin-Sands had tabled such a motion that read in part, “Be it resolved that the council of the City of St. Thomas calls on the Government of Ontario to maintain local independent municipally owned watershed-based conservation authorities to ensure strong local representation in decisions relating to municipal levies, community-focused service delivery and the protection and management of conservation lands and further that while the City of St. Thomas supports provincial goals for consistent permit approval processes, shared services and digital modernization, imposing a new top-down agency structure without strong local accountability and governance risks creating unnecessary cost, red tape and bureaucracy, thereby undermining efficiency and responsiveness to local community needs.”
Before any debate even began, City Manager Lisa Higgs proposed a change to the wording of the second resolution “to reflect the city’s positive working relationship with this government and be less critically framed.”
“Every single municipality and every single conservation authority that was in attendance pretty much said the absolute same thing about how opposed that they are for this moving forward.”
In other words, water it down so as not to offend anyone in the Ford government.
Originally, the second resolution read, “While the city of St. Thomas supports provincial goals for consistent permit approval processes, shared services and digital modernization, imposing a new top-down agency structure without strong local accountability and governance risks creating unnecessary cost, red tape and bureaucracy, thereby undermining efficiency and responsiveness to local community needs.”
The city manager’s watered-down resolution reads, “The city of St. Thomas supports provincial goals for consistent permit approval processes, shared services, digital modernization, and strong local accountability and governance. The city supports collaborative local governance that reduces unnecessary costs while limiting red tape and bureaucracy.”
So, reference to the top-down agency structure – the Ontario Provincial Conservation Agency – which risks “creating unnecessary cost, red tape and bureaucracy undermining efficiency and responsiveness to local community needs,” is removed from the motion.
A genuine concern was wiped away because the city doesn’t want to ruffle feathers at Queen’s Park?
But there is no problem throwing the two local conservation authorities under the bus.
Coun. Baldwin-Sands opened the discussion by noting she attended a consultation meeting for the new Lake Erie regional authority and, “Every single municipality and every single conservation authority that was in attendance pretty much said the absolute same thing about how opposed that they are for this moving forward.”
What Baldwin-Sands was hoping for was unanimous support for her resolution, but, just in case, she requested a recorded vote.
Smart move.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever voted for a motion that told another level of government how to better do their jobs. So, I will be voting against (the motion).”
Coun. Jim Herbert followed with, “There’s not one municipality in Ontario that has any support for this (the consolidation) at all. It’s just it makes no sense.”
Herbert and Baldwin-Sands both sit on the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority board.
Coun. Steve Wookey observed, “I think there’s room for some consolidation with conservation authorities.
“There are parts of this I like, and there are parts of it I don’t like. I don’t necessarily want all the conservation authorities to stay as they are.
“I’d love to see some consolidation. I don’t want to see seven. I don’t think that makes much sense to me. I think that gets a little out of hand. So, where do you draw the line? “Well, I don’t draw the line at seven, but I also don’t draw the line at 36. So, that’s where I’m at with this at the moment.”
For Mayor Joe Preston, it was a case of falling on that same sword again.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever voted for a motion that told another level of
government how to better do their jobs. So, I will be voting against (the motion).”
The mayor forgets that the province has never felt shy about telling municipalities how to better do their jobs.
As the recorded vote was called, the motion to maintain local independent municipally owned watershed-based conservation authorities was defeated on a 4-4 vote.
Coun. Joan Rymal was absent.
Councillors Rose Gibson, Kohler, Wookey and Mayor Preston were opposed to the motion.
Jeopardizing the outstanding efforts of the Kettle Creek and Catfish Creek conservation authorities, moving forward.
And St. Thomas now has the distinction of being one of the few municipalities in the province that failed to support a resolution to maintain local conservation expertise.
WALNUT MANOR IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR
The site of the infamous Walnut Manor residential home is back on the city’s radar.
Cyril J. Demeyere Limited, on behalf of Walnut Park Inc., is seeking to build a three-storey apartment building with 22 units where Walnut Manor once stood.
The application was before city council this past Monday, and there is a glaring error in the report from Michelle Knieriem, Manager of Planning Services.
Walnut Manor was not destroyed by a fire in 2022.
Perhaps the city is trying to whitewash the history of that dreadful hovel where some of the most vulnerable in the community were warehoused.
On July 7, 2021, this corner documented the shuttering of Walnut Manor under a Section 13 closure order as the facility was “an unfit, unsafe environment for living.”
That item continued, “Seven years after the health unit closed the kitchen for three days due to food handling and storage violations, Southwestern Public Health ordered Walnut Manor closed due to public health violations.
“After years of enduring rodents, bed bugs, mould, and food best described as appalling and not appealing, the health unit today (July 7) issued a Section 13 Order under the Health Protection and Promotion Act to close Walnut Manor in St. Thomas due to the existence of significant health hazards.”
The closure came on the heels of an exterior fire in May 2021 in which, luckily, no one was injured.
You can read about the closure here, where we concluded, “The only surprise in this closure order is the fact it took the health unit, city hall, mayors and councils, the fire department and other agencies in St. Thomas years to send a message to owner Vishal Chityal of SupportiveLiving.ca that our most vulnerable residents do not deserve to be warehoused in the fashion they are at Walnut Manor.”
And so Cyril J. Demeyere Limited is seeking a zoning bylaw amendment to allow for the apartment development.
The firm has already received zoning approval for residential development at 59, 65, and 75 Walnut Street.
For those not familiar, the issue with 57 Walnut Street is that it borders Old St. Thomas Church, and that opened up discussion at Monday’s council meeting.
Kicked off in unique fashion by Coun. Steve Wookey.
“My name is Steve, and I’m speaking for the other Steve tonight. I’m going to be Steve Peters and make sure I express something he would certainly express should he have been here.
“I know there’s going to be a public meeting, but what popped into my head was that if this is very close to the lot line of a church built 200 years ago, I was thinking about fire protection.
“What if somebody’s on the third floor on their balcony, takes a cigarette and throws the butt out onto the lawn. Obviously, you can’t control that, but is there a heritage building setback? Is there anything in the planning act that, if there’s something that old and that vulnerable to being on fire that we can do to protect it?
“Can we ask for an extra three-foot setback?
“Obviously, a new building with proper fire protection is way better than what was there. Going forward, I just want to make sure that we do what we can to protect that asset.”
Lou Pompilii, the city’s Director of Planning & Building, responded, “The applicant was very diligent with this submission. They have already started some consultation not only with the church itself, but also with the church property, but with the heritage committee. One of the primary concerns of the church is with vibration during construction. That no damage occur, and so there will be steps taken during construction to monitor the church building itself.
“But all these other matters that you raise are valid matters and those are things that we generally will deal with through the site plan process.”
A public meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 12 in the council chamber at city hall.
ROUNDABOUT RESOLUTION
Last month, we noted concerns raised by Greg Fentie, President of the Elgin Federation of Agriculture.
The federation was directing city council’s attention “to an urgent road safety concern regarding the transportation of agricultural equipment and transport trucks through the roundabout at Ron McNeil Line and Electric Avenue.”
He continued, “Agricultural equipment is considerably larger and slower-moving than standard vehicles. Many pieces of equipment extend beyond a single lane and require a wide turning radius to maneuver safely.
“Unfortunately, the current design of the Ron McNeil Line and Electric Avenue roundabout does not adequately support these realities.”
Nathan Bokma, senior project manager with the city, addressed the concerns with a report to council at the Dec. 8 meeting.
He explained, “The roundabouts were designed with a standard 53-foot-long transport truck as the design vehicle as per standard engineering practices and standards, and the roundabout was modelled for turning movements by this vehicle to ensure it works.”
Bokma continued, “As part of the design, staff were aware that agricultural vehicles of varying widths would be using this roundabout, given the adjacent farms nearby and that Ron McNeil Line has been a busy corridor for farm vehicles. As a result, staff made additional design changes to allow for the travel of agricultural vehicles through the roundabout, including:
Semi-mountable curb on the outsides of the entry and exit lanes of the roundabout to allow agricultural vehicles and equipment to mount the curbs.
2.0m wide Concrete aprons behind the curbs for a wider driving surface.
Signage mounted 1.5m behind the aprons for additional clearance zone.
Obviously, nothing can be done now to remedy the situation; however, Bokma advised, “There is a second roundabout being planned further to the east at the intersection of Ron McNeil Line and Battery Boulevard. Staff will continue to improve upon lessons learned and will slightly widen the travel lanes in this next roundabout to continue to ease the movement of agricultural equipment.”
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OUR CHRISTMAS WISH FOR YOU
As has been the custom for quite some time now, we offer these last-minute gift suggestions to distribute appropriately.
To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect.
And, to all faithful City Scope readers, in particular, those with birthdays at this time of year – when your special day too often is lost in the hustle and bustle that is the lead-up to the day itself – may this Christmas bring you peace, health and happiness.
City Scope will take a one-week pause to close out the year and return to this corner on Jan. 3, 2026.
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And a reminder, I can be heard weekday afternoons as news anchor and reporter on 94.1 myFM in St. Thomas. As always, your comments and input are appreciated.
Some consolidation makes sense. This is overkill. Joe wimps out.