​Is Kincardine council ready to listen to citizens and make real change?

To the Editor:

I attended the "in-person workshop" hosted by the Municipality of Kincardine and McQueen Galloway Associates (MGA), Sept. 20, for the Parks and Recreation Master Plan. It was a cluster-jam. The following are my observations.

After identifying that the municipality has ample park space, trail systems, facilities and events, MGA consultants broke the participants into smaller groups to put post-it notes on a placard. The placard was broken down into categories, such as "Strengths," "Opportunities" and "Aspirations.” MGA consultants then gathered feedback from participants on these areas. The placards were nice and I'm sure we paid for it.

Kincardine director of community services Jayne Jagelewski and MGA consultants both remarked the number of participants was larger than they expected. I'm not sure if what they expected was a small group of participants happy to write on post-it notes things like "great beaches" or "less garbage in the park after Scottish Festival," because that is not what happened and the first misgiving that perhaps, they didn't know what they were in for.

Instead, the consultants (or at least the one for the group I participated in) were met with passionate and informed individuals, advocating for their stake in the community: coaches of baseball and hockey, members of the agricultural society, gymnastic club advocates, trail volunteers, a member of the Inverhuron and District Ratepayers’ Association (great corn roast), Kincardine Tennis Club member, grandparents, parents, store owners and concerned citizens.

One reflection I walked away with, was that MGA staff members were completely unprepared to answer the questions the group had, such as if MGA consultants were stating that while the municipality demonstrated a sufficient amount of park space, trail systems, facilities and events but that the maintenance and investment on many (if not all) of these assets were "beyond past due," what is the action plan? What are the next steps? How do we craft a cohesive vision and prioritize each demand and interest in an equitable way? How do we know what needs to be abandoned and what needs to be maintained? How did you think writing things on post-it notes was going to capture ANYTHING valuable that will actually move the needle.

The second reflection I walked away with, was that the participants who showed up for this "in-person workshop" are frustrated, angry and disillusioned with the municipality and council and are desperately looking for outlets to share their experiences/roadblocks and sentiments.

The bulk of this anger and frustration was directed at the MGA consultants. I'm not saying any participant was rude or disrespectful, but I'll tell you, if MGA thought this group was going to be happy writing positive accolades on a post-it and feel satisfied about it ... it was a massive misfire!

Some members of the current council were present. I wonder if they walked away with the same reflections. The reputation of the current and past council is sitting and never doing. Hard to turn a ship in rough waters. I'm not sure what the answer is. I also didn't run for council.

I was optimistic when the new council came in, some (not all, ahem) young members and fresh ideas. I was promptly disappointed when council “robbed Peter to pay Paul” as a solution for the operating budget.

I was hoping that instead of shortsightedly cutting things, such as the reuse centre, summer students, and maintenance, council might start holding accountable the municipal staff and councils prior, with such questions as: Does the municipality have a bloated level of administration - what is the benchmark for comparable municipalities? How many consulting firms are being hired and HOW MUCH DO THEY COST for what we get out of them which so far has been ... nothing?

(As an aside, I also attended the Waterfront Master Plan “sip-and-see” or whatever the intent of that evening was supposed to be. I met a "landscape architect." People are getting their money, for that, there is no doubt).

I heard deputy mayor Andrea Clarke comment to a participant at the workshop, that the last Parks and Recreation Master Plan was from 2017 (not approved, of course). So, it makes sense to me why our citizens will not be placated writing do-goodisms on post-it notes and feeling as if they are participating in change.

The question is, council and the municipality, are you hearing them?

S.B.
Kincardine