Originally written for Port Rowan Good News during Noel Haydt’s 2014–2018 term as Ward 1 Councillor. Published here from the original archived document; spelling and wording have been preserved.
I imagine that everyone is just as happy as I am to see Old Man Winter retreat and see spring finally arrive. Where ever I go while representing Norfolk County, I introduce myself as, ‘Noel Haydt, Norfolk County councilor representing Ward 1, the most beautiful ward in Norfolk County’ and it truly is a beautiful spot on the planet. Every season brings new sights, sounds and smells. The birds are back with their songs, buds are appearing on the trees, soon to be leaves turning our forests bright green and the smell of fresh turned earth as the crops go into the ground. When you think of the great things in our area, you can’t forget about the lake that’s for sure. What a beautiful view whether you’re driving down Front road, the Causeway or right in Port Rowan, it’s always breath taking and inviting. I always receive compliments from visitors about how inviting and helpful people are in our area.
Boating and camping is a huge recreational activity in this area and we receive huge amounts of tourism that come for a glimpse of what we see every day. If you haven’t been to Backus Mill and Heritage Village, you should mark it on your calendar this year. There’s been a ton of work done there and the grounds are in great condition. The pool will be open soon and there’s fishing and hiking and a history lesson for everyone. Deer Creek and Norfolk ‘Port Ryerse’ Conservation Parks are all open and have many great camping locations still available.
Old man winter sure didn’t go out without a fight and left a lot of trees and branches down in the past bit. There were also quite a few downed power lines causing long black outs and I thank everyone for their patience while things were restored and cleaned up. Our public works department must have put in some very long hours and I certainly appreciate their efforts and timely response to so many issues.
Norfolk County has certainly had a busy year in the construction industry. 2017 brought in more than $142 million in building projects with $79 million in single family homes and agriculture at $18.7 million leading the way. These high growth numbers really affect the tax levy as it expands the base. I still receive complaints frequently about how hard it is to do business in Norfolk and wonder what those figures would have been if so many people hadn’t quit their projects in frustration. While growth does have its growing pains, it is very much required to keep the tax levy in check. I’ve been going over financial figures getting prepped for our 2017 year end and the figures are staggering.
In 2014 the net tax levy was $70 million and 2018 it’s going to be over $84 million. This $14 million increase doesn’t include the deficit that County has run 3 years straight which is almost another $4 million. For a reference, 2012 was $65 million with a $800,000 surplus. I was very disappointed when we received the investment results of the Legacy Fund from the sale of Norfolk Power. The $67-million invested received a paltry $275,000 in interest compared to $2.1 million last year. This is certainly going to be a hit to our 2017 bottom line and I expect another deficit for the 4th year in a row. The surpluses from previous administrations are being reduced very quickly and there isn’t a lot in the tank right now. I will continue to fight against wasteful spending and to reduce our operating costs. It’s nice to see at council how some departments are really using the tendering system to get competitive bids for projects. Getting the bids out early has saved us substantially and very few projects have been going over budget in the past few years.
It appears that Execulink is putting the finishing touches on the internet fibre line in St Williams and Booths Harbour. Having the County partner in that project appears to have helped Execulink run more fibre in other area’s in Norfolk County, including Walsh and now into Port Dover. Earlier in the week, I attended our Telecommunications Advisory Committee and we are starting to plan the next step. While the federal and provincial governments have promised money for these projects, none has started to flow yet. I firmly believe that we will receive a good portion of our investment back when the funding is released and would like to see it re-invested so we can continue to connect. Obviously the south west end of Norfolk is under serviced and I feel the next step would be to run fibre either from highway 59 in the east or from 55 in the west along highway 45. This would be able to be split at 23 and on 28.
I believe that it will take many years for fibre to be laid to every home, if not a decade and I’m not that patient. Norfolk County should also look at partnering with wireless networking providers connected to the fibre and pushing the signal to area’s via wifi on towers. There are many powerful wireless technologies available now and while just checking I see that Walmart even sells high power Yagi and Parabolic antenna’s for less than $100.
The committee is also looking at fibre optic options for Long Point when the Causeway rebuild takes place this fall. Hopefully the province get’s onboard to service their parks and helps with the funding.
It’s less than a month away for our provincial election and I encourage everyone to get out and vote. The province sets policy for municipalities to follow. It certainly makes my job a lot harder when those policies are written by people who don’t live in the country. Two of my major peeves are farm severances and their stance on hamlet expansions. I don’t have a problem with a farmer who’s worked all his life and wants to stay on the farm but have one of his family members run the business. Why shouldn’t he be allowed to build a retirement home where they have lived their entire lives? Why is it so hard for hamlets to get permits to expand? With all of the development that went on in Norfolk it was nice to see council fight for hamlet expansion somewhat. Hamlets could be really thriving right now if they were opened up for housing. Stores would receive more business and people wouldn’t have to drive as far. The argument coming from the province claims that these severances and hamlet expansion takes away farm land and reduces food supply. Technology has changed how we grow food and we produce record yields. When I drive around I see homes on what could have been farm land but we have to live somewhere. Not everyone wants to live in a city or big town.
I think the people writing those policies need to go for a drive in Ward 1.
The most beautiful ward in Norfolk County!