August 12, 2016
1940
Dear Editor:
Re: "In Kincardine, a healthy dose of skepticism is a good thing"
I apologize, but we have been on vacation and I just got caught up on my Kincardine Record fix and have many thoughts, some of which, I care to share with you and your readers.
How transparent was the decision to rename the Kincardine medical clinic? Officials at the facility, itself, weren't even consulted on the name re-dedication and found out by reading about it in the local press! I am sure Mr. (Duncan) Hawthorne appreciates the gesture, but surely, the medical centre building could have been re-named after someone from our local medical community who has contributed to the fabric of the local area, and has been influential as a medical practitioner.
Mr. Hawthorne has supported physician recruitment, as have the Municipalities of Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Saugeen Shores, to support the work and employment of the local physician recruiter, but Mr. Hawthorne has not contributed to what the medical profession is, or will, become. That important work is left to the professionals working at the facility, providing care and services to our families.
Then I heard the Municipality of Kincardine scheduled to have the event on the date the clinic was planning a celebration to honour and recognize their leader, Dr. Gary Gurbin, for his 50-year commitment to health care and the community" volunteerism in sport - hockey trainer and coach; local MP; credited for having spearheaded the Kincardine Physicians Group - responsible for bringing all physicians together into the creation of what the clinic is today. Gary was also instrumental in locating the Family Health Team in Kincardine.
Another hot button topic for discussion - the medical clinic! What about a leak (yes, another one) that was discovered last winter and not yet fixed, but apparently, requires more work (yes, not a minor little repair) to stop leaking groundwater from entering the clinic! I’m sure anyone who keeps up-to-date with council coverage can confirm a budgeted amount was approved to fix the leak, again!
The municipality is responsible for the upkeep of the medical clinic and it's obvious the municipality hasn't maintained the grounds for many, many years - all the "grass" is actually weeds, crab grass and shrubs growing wildly. Say, it wasn't for the "building re-dedication" that the shrubs were trimmed and parking lines freshened up ... oh and wait, some of the metal parking signs at the front and side of the building were removed and replaced with nice 4x4s all in time for Duncan (Hawthorne)'s arrival!
I have noticed the odd post or comment in the local press the past year or so, and having been up at the clinic, note much on the exterior has been done to maintain our expensive medical clinic - which has ballooned in cost due to the lack of education/experience/knowledge or oversight from the building department to ensure adequate maintenance of the building.
Now back to the crab grass ... oh wait, besides the crab grass, have you noticed that the rock garden on the side of the clinic has been overgrown for years and not maintained, but efforts were made to make it nice for Duncan (Hawthorne)'s arrival? A big truck backed up and dumped loads of gravel over the weeds!
Now back to the clinic, the HVAC (heating and cooling) system was apparently not installed correctly during the first or second build/renovation - apparently it has also been in need of fixing! The municipality’s capital budget report approved $20,000 for HVAC!
I don’t think skeptical is the word, and I could go on and on about the lack of foresight with some of these projects. Kincardine council believes increasing taxes each year is a good thing and when polled individually, our elected officials don’t feel that what we pay for is out of line.
But ask yourself, what do we get for our Toronto comparator taxes? We have to pay to dispose of garbage, and recycling bins have been removed due to some ignorant people abusing them. We can’t trust our elected officials to do a good job because most have no idea how to run a business to begin with, and during municipal elections in rural ridings, usually the options are slim to choose from so you settle for who you think may do a ‘decent’ job.
I don’t know that skeptical is the right word, but perhaps, it could be said that the bar or standard for services that we pay as the taxpayer, could be better or raised higher. However, we have grown accustomed to mediocre expectations and are no longer familiar with what is decent or right – we just settle and complain.
Truly yours,
Marta McBride
Fergus
Seasonal resident of Kincardine
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