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.
Recently the President of the Norfolk ATV Club came to council to ask for our approval to allow ATV’s to be able to drive on a few more roads in the county to access the existing trail systems in Delhi and Courtland. On July 1st, 2015, the Province passed a law that would allow ATV’s to be driven on the shoulders of any roads if the municipality also passed a bylaw. When this law came into effect many people were asking me if they were allowed to ride on the shoulders legally and were under the impression that it was province wide. To drive on the shoulders you must have at least a valid G2/M2 license, and the vehicle must be registered and insured and the proper safety equipment. Speed limits are set to a maximum of 50km/h. The ministry of transportation consulted the industry, municipal, enforcement and health and safety officials before approving the change.
Power sports are a huge industry in Canada, including Norfolk County. Gopher Dunes will be hosting this year’s Rockstar Energy Triple Crown Series right here in Courtland. 18 races held all across the country including cities of Abbotsford, BC, Calgary, AB and Ottawa and Hamilton. It’s a huge event and is a massive tourist draw to our area. Businesses like Lockharts and McKee’s to name a few will certainly benefit from this exposure.
I moved the motion to allow the roads, for which the club had asked, to be approved and this was seconded by Councilor Roger Geysens of Courtland. I then also made a motion to ask for a staff report to seek additional details on ramifications and legal advice pertaining to road use and allowance for ATV’s on other roads.
Contrary to reports in the printed media that my request was denied, council did approve it after a lively debate. It should come back to council this summer and I would ask that you contact me and the rest of council to voice your opinion on the matter.
While I’m on the topic of power sports, I would like to remind people to take extra care when out on the water. Bass season will be upon us soon and the bay will be filled with boats and other pleasure craft.
I’m happy to tell you that there won’t be a lineup of vehicles and boats being held up at the Big Creek Bridge during the Bass opener because the bridge will have a temporary solution in place by then! While this stop gap measure will not see the speed limit increased it will remove the load restrictions. I will be just as happy as everyone else when delivery, water and waste water trucks get back to business. Thank you for your patience during this stressful time. I’ve been following up on the Class environmental assessment that is taking place on the Causeway right now. If there are no appeals, the Causeway rebuild should start this fall as scheduled. This is a big step in dealing with a permanent fix for the bridge as well. While this temporary solution is good news, it still comes with a price tag. It’s the cost of not keeping your infrastructure in order. Like the old saying goes ‘you can pay now or you can pay later – later is always more expensive.’
I have a motion prepared to move the Big Creek Bridge project with the same tender that will go out with the Causeway rebuild and if passed by council, this should get us some favourable pricing and also to keep construction in this area down to a minimum. Tax payers in Long Point contribute approximately $4 million dollars per year and they see very little services for their money. I hope to change that as I try to advance the bridge reconstruction in conjunction with the Causeway rebuild. It’s time money is spent where it comes from. The Causeway isn’t the only road in poor shape on Long Point. Most of them are and County is again taking temporary measures to breathe a little more life into them. Fix it right the first time!
Council receives a yearly report that highlights the capital projects that have been approved. As of December 31st, 2017 we have $111,881,700 in outstanding projects on a total of $140,106,200. If you ever wonder why our roads and other assets are falling apart, this may help to explain it. We are not able to maintain the assets that we have and much of this has to do with limited funding.
With changes coming from the latest provincial election, I certainly hope that Norfolk County can receive more infrastructure funding from the province than in the past. I know that the province isn’t in the best financial shape and their funding comes from the tax payers as well but at least it’s the watered down version and I’d like to see some of our own money come back to our area. I wonder how much money they would have lost if their two provincial parks on Long Point were closed due to bridge failure?
By the time you read this, you will know the outcome of my motion to deal with delinquent tenant water and waste water bills. In a report last year, staff recommended charging those delinquent accounts back to the land owner and I agree with that completely but council did not. Norfolk has some of the highest water bills in the entire province and we should not be sending that bill to the rest of the rate payers. Landlords rent building for a profit and these unpaid bills are approximately $100,000 per year!
I’m very pleased to tell you that we have filled the General Manager’s position at the LPRCA in June. Congratulations to Mrs. Judy Maxwell for her deserved promotion. Judy was the manager of corporate services at LPRCA for almost ten years before moving up. She’s had a hectic 5 months as we were without both a GM and Parks & Lands Manager during that time.
When I was first on that board, the financial situation was very bleak. Reserves were almost completely gone and infrastructure was falling apart. The board made some tough decisions and decided to ask for a large rate increase and we made necessary capital repairs to improve the customer experience. This lead to more revenue which was invested back into our parks. We’ve been able to save money again and are on sound financial footing and the good news keeps coming. I’m looking forward to going into a budget meeting where we actually have money to spend on enhancements instead of band aid solutions and damage control. I need to thank Judy for putting up with me and the countless financial reports I asked for and the questions that followed. It takes a strong team to get so much done in a few short years and all of the staff put in a ton of work to get us where we are today. Now if we could only get ‘Long Point’ RCA located back in Norfolk County…
Remember it’s free day use admission to all of the Long Point Region Conservation Authority parks on Canada Day.
Happy Canada Day everyone!