Haldimand "Arena Twin Pad Proposal"

Dunnville group proposes twin pad funding idea

By Dave Dunham (President) Margaret Rose (Treasure) Bob Allen (Member) (For Volunteers of Maple Creek Leisureplex 2000 Inc.)

Letters
May 11, 2010

In support of Haldimand County making provisions for adding a second pad to Dunnville’s new arena – consultant F. J. Galloway justified doing so in his Feasibility Study as written:

“Based on the data for this study, this strategy would likely result in a twin pad in Dunnville, for the following reasons:

• The Dunnville Arena has an evidently higher utilization level and will have higher population growth over future years;

• Dunnville is further away from other arena facilities, while Cayuga is centrally located and has relatively shorter drive times to either Caledonia or Dunnville;

• Dunnville has a closer proximity to other population sectors that could be interested in using the facility or create a larger market for special event activities beyond ice use

The main reasons for building the second pad now are all too obvious:

• Haldimand wishes to be fair and equitable to its residents.

• If Dunnville only needs one pad for 15,000 residents, then West Haldimand only needs 2 pads for 30,000. Otherwise, if the West needs 4 pads for 30,000, then Dunnville needs 2 pads for 15,000. It is that simple.

• Building a second pad now will cost $4 million as quoted by two arena contractors – instead of $8 million later.

• Building the second pad now means the walking track will not be needed and its $250,000 cost can be used to reduce the cost of the second pad from $4 to $3.75 million.

• Building a second pad later would disrupt site parking and decrease site safety for about one year of construction.

• Dunnville residents have signed over 2,000 petitions to have their twin pad built now, because they know they need it.

• Only allowing for one pad in Dunnville is currently hurting fundraising and affecting confidence in our County.

• Building a second pad later is not a good business choice based on Ontario’s trend to build twin pads and not single pads.

• County staff and volunteers would not have to go through the costly planning, fundraising and building processes all over again if the twin pad is built now.

• To avoid passing an $8 million expense to the next Council and our trusting taxpayers.

Pay It Forward Plan:

Based on our County making provisions to add a second pad, Galloway’s professional justification for a twin pad in Dunnville, and current Ontario arena trends favouring twin pads; Maple Creek volunteers are proposing a “Pay It Forward Plan.”

• We will borrow $3.75 -4 million from a local bank or trust company to pay for our second pad now. With either private investors or our County as our co-signers for the loan.

• We will fundraise for the second pad to cover interest, principle, and to reduce the amount owing on the second pad, so we can save taxpayers and future Council over $4 million.

• Then, our future Council can realize the savings by paying for the balance of the loan from the $4 million saved.

• The “Pay It Forward Plan” will create a win-win-win scenario for this Council, our future Council and Haldimand taxpayers.

Let’s help make Haldimand a fair and equitable place to live!

Dunnville Sachem, May 11, 2010
http://www.sachem.ca/opinions/article/209780

Haldimand "Are You On the Voters List"

Information for VOTERS

Who is eligible to vote in Haldimand County?

A person is entitled to be an elector in a municipal election if, on voting day, he or she

•is 18 years of age
•a Canadian citizen
•resides in Haldimand County or is the owner or tenant of land in Haldimand County, or the spouse of such owner or tenant
•not prohibited from voting under any law

New for 2010: As a result of the Good Government Act, before receiving a ballot, eligible voters must produce proof of identity and residence as part of their qualification to vote. Sufficient identification includes all of the following:

1. Name
2. Qualifying Address
3. Signature

An example of such ID would be a current driver’s licence or photo health card. If you do not have a piece of ID with all three components, it is possible that you may need two pieces of ID to cover all three requirements. For example a Voter Notification Card (issued by the municipality) AND a document with your signature.

Find out more about Identification that will be accepted

Who is not eligible to vote in Haldimand County?

•A person serving a sentence of imprisonment in a penal or correctional institution
•A corporation
•A person acting as an executor or trustee or in any other representative capacity, except as a voting proxy in accordance with Section 44 of the Municipal Elections Act
•A person convicted of a corrupt practice if voting day in the current election is less than five years after voting day in the election in respect of which he or she was convicted.


Am I on the Voters’ List?

Each municipality prepares a Voters’ List based on a Preliminary List of Electors provided to it by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC). Municipalities utilize this list to print the Voters’ List by September 1st of the election year. In order to comply with legislation, MPAC’s Preliminary List of Electors must contain only qualified electors.

New in 2010: To meet new requirements, if MPAC does not have confirmation that local residents are Canadian citizens, those names will not be included on the preliminary list and subsequently, the Voters’ List. As a result, approximately 3300 electors have been removed from the primary voter list and will need to be updated!

In order to update their records, MPAC is sending out Municipal Enumeration Forms in the spring of 2010. If you receive this form, please complete it and return it to MPAC by June 1, 2010, ensuring that the “Canadian Citizen” category is filled out for each individual listed on the form.

Ensure you are on the voters list to decrease wait times at the poll!

How does an elector vote?

The 2010 Municipal Election Day is Monday, October 25, 2010. Eligible voters (as outlined above) can vote at their designated poll, when they provide valid identification. Locations will be posted as they become available

For electors who are not able to vote on election day, advance polls are to be held in October . Electors voting at an advanced poll can vote at any of the advanced locations. Dates and locations will be posted as they become available

There is also a provision whereby electors who are not able to vote, at either the advance poll or on Election Day, can appoint someone to vote by proxy in their place.

Proof of identity and residence will be required for all voters.

Haldimand "Haldimand County 100k Club"

Every Year Ontario Municipalities are legislated to make public any employee of a local Municipality that is paid $100,000.00 or more a year. This is the amount that is on the individuals T4 slip for tax purposes.

I have been waiting for the local newspapers to report these findings as I know that these numbers come out usually in mid March of each year. After reading nothing of this in the local newspapers I went to the Haldimand County website.

Here is the following information that I found from a staff report dated February 16, 2010, that was presented to Council on March 1,2010.

This report was received by Haldimand County Council on March 1, 2010 Recommendation #5, and passed by Resolution #57-10 on March 8, 2010.

Below is our Haldimand County "100k Club".

I put in brackets last years numbers for salary earned in 2008. These numbers are what these individuals earned in 2009. First figure is salary and the second figure below is their taxable benefits.

This is also from the staff report; Each person to whom Haldimand County provided a 2009 T4 slip is considered an employee. For employees paid $100,000 or more, exclusive of taxable benefits, a “Record of Employees’ 2009 Salaries and Benefits” report must be submitted to the funding ministry, in our case, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, not later than March 5, 2010.

BOYLE DONALD CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
$156,666.48 $6,892.20 ($149,765.34 $7,053.00)

HANLY B. HUGH GM, COMMUNITY SERVICES
$128,490.84 $761.37 ($129,245.47 $880.18)

GENERAL KAREN GM, CORPORATE SERVICES
$140,863.34 $808.97 ($134,780.24, $954.74)

MANLEY CRAIG GM PLANNING & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
$123,586.41 $743.78 ($120,588.68 $833.38)

RAE GEOFFREY GM, PUBLIC WORKS
$117,032.75 $701.89 ($111,357.17 $793.26)

MUNGAR PAUL MANAGER, ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES
$102,759.71 $618.25

OAKES WRAY MANAGER, ROADS OPERATIONS
$103,258.29 $624.54

WITTIG DONALD MANAGER, FLEET & FACILITIES
$103,258.28 $624.54

Haldimand "Dunnville are there any Unheard Voices Out there"?

Have you ever asked yourself any of these questions? Why should I vote? Will my vote really make a difference? Does my one vote really count?

Have you ever felt like an Unheard Voice?

Well I hope that in the upcoming months I can inspire you to go out and “Vote”, “Change the norm”, and “help you understand that your vote does count. Your voice will and can be heard!

I registered in early January as a candidate for Ward 6 (Dunnville) for the upcoming Municipal Elections that will be held this coming October. For some of you this may be a bit soon to be talking about an election that is months away, but for me it will probably takes months to get the word out on the street that I am running for Council.

I have heard so many people say, “When was that issue discussed”? “How come I never heard about that one”? “When was that open house”? “Why doesn't anyone hold "Town Hall" meetings anymore?

I personally feel that we have a communication problem here in Haldimand County and it is not of our own making.

Our newspapers are weekly, so if you miss reading one paper you can miss very vital information that could affect you and your taxes.

Many of us do not get cable so we cannot access Council Meetings.

Many of us are still on dial up internet (I AM!) and cannot access vital County information because the files are too big and we get timed out.

Most of us are too busy to attend a Council Meeting.

And the most important communication problem is that currently there are no “Town Hall” meetings in the Dunnville area, in fact there are currently no “Town Hall” meetings anywhere in Haldimand County.

Can you tell that I am a big fan of “Town Hall” meetings?

I seriously wonder how a member of council could know what people are concerned about if they do not give residents a regular time and place to have their voices heard. Of course there will be some that will say that it is up to “You” to keep up to date on local issues.

I believe that “Town Hall” meetings are vital and necessary for the community. What harm can a meet and greet coffee night every say three months do?

Your Vote does count! Your voice can be heard!

Please feel free to post any issues that are of a concern to you here.

If you wish to contact me you can call me at 905-701-1627 or email me at dpitcher@sympatico.ca

Haldimand "Pitcher First to File for Elections"

I want to thank Cathy Pelletier for a great article!

For the past ten months I have been writing for the Dunnville Chronicle covering Haldimand County Council meetings and local politics. It has been a great learning experience for me and I am very fortunate that Bob Liddycoat (past editor of the Dunnville Chronicle) had faith in me when he asked me to write for the paper. Thanks Bob!

On Monday January 18, 2010, I registered as a candidate for the upcoming Municipal Elections that will take place on October 25, 2010. I am running in Ward 6 (Dunnville).

Last Friday I met with Cathy from the Dunnville Chronicle and we chatted for about an hour, (of course I could have talked about politics for hours and hours) the following article was in today's paper.

Pitcher First to File for Elections
Posted By CATHY PELLETIER , CHRONICLE STAFF WRITER
January 27, 2010

Donna Pitcher was the first to sign up to run in this year's municipal elections.

First to register in Haldimand County for November's municipal elections, Donna Pitcher said it's her love of Dunnville that compelled her to run as a councillor in Ward 6.

"I have always loved Dunnville," said the South Cayuga resident. "I loved my months of being on the Disaster Relief Committee and though we did the fundraising County-wide, we did the bulk of it right here in Dunnville. It just confirmed to me I should represent the people of Dunnville."

After donating building materials to flood victims last February, she decided to join Haldimand's Disaster Relief Committee, singlehandedly bringing 7,000 empty beer cans and bottles to the liquor store during a fundraising bottle drive.

"My car smelled like liquor for three and a half months," she chuckled.

The self-described "family-oriented" leader with a passion for politics has been frequently vocal about issues affecting Haldimand residents, particularly during her 2005 crusade to keep Hydro local.

"Haldimand County discussed selling our Hydro for six months and announced they were putting it up for sale," stated Pitcher. "I collected 3,267 signatures and spoke at Council. Together, we were successful in keeping a strong business in Haldimand where it belongs."

Born and raised in Hamilton, Pitcher co-founded the Hamilton Parks Foundation, a beautification program partnering schools, City Council and employees, and since moving to South Cayuga in 1999, has been president of the thriving Community Hall for six years.

"I think in order to go into this type of work, you have to have a certain amount of work experience, life experience, and people experience," as well as community involvement, she said.
"You can't promise to change things because in reality, you're only one vote. However, I promise I will stand up and be your voice. The first place anyone can make a difference is at the grassroots level."

A firm believer in fiscal responsibility to taxpayers, "I will never put myself above others" if elected, said Pitcher, adding she gained "so much experience" and a broader perspective while covering Council as a freelance writer for the Chronicle the past 10 months.

"When I was going to Council extensively on my own before that, it was different than reporting and interviewing, when you get to hear from the general public," she said.

Married to Ted for 35 years, she's the mother of Melanie and grandmother of two. An outside sales rep for 10 years, Pitcher worked with hydraulics and pneumatics in a job that taught her to routinely handle crisis situations.

"I built and designed power units. I'm the second woman to receive my Fluid Power certification."

More recently, she began her own business, called Pitcher's Cove Welding. "When I get frustrated, I love to bend steel." Donna's Critters, cowboy dinner bells and other steel crafts are the creative result.

When not bending steel or riding Haldimand's roads with Ted on their Harley, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2278630