Springwater Mayor Jennifer Coughlin lashed out at Deputy Mayor George Cabral last night, calling a motion without notice he introduced late into the meeting “irresponsible.”
“This information you’re bringing forward today is, in my opinion, irresponsible,” Coughlin said Wednesday after Cabral introduced a motion that resolved “no contact or engagement with the provincial facilitator or any other similar agent or agency shall take place until such time as staff have reported their findings to council and the council has then directed such contact or engagement to be made.”
“I was elected as head of council to be at the table to get information and to make decisions for Springwater Township,” Coughlin added.
Despite her desire, this is one table Coughlin isn’t allowed to sit at as council passed Cabral’s motion by a 4-3 vote, with Cabral and Couns. Phil Fisher, Anita Moore and Danielle Alexander voting to support.
Coughlin and Couns. Brad Thompson and Matt Garwood didn’t support the motion.
According to Cabral, engaging the services of a provincial facilitator to assist them with the City of Barrie’s boundary expansion plans would be “completely premature and irresponsible” prior to staff presenting their findings.
“I think it’s imperative that we do get the report from staff so that we can actually formulate a position and look at the options and see exactly where we stand with respect to the items and topics that we asked staff to do research on and provide us a fulsome report on,” Cabral said.
Cabral said a neighbouring municipality (Oro-Medonte) went through a clear process to get to the stage where they decided that it was the proper time to reach out to a facilitator. He thinks Springwater should be doing pretty much the same thing.
“When we’ve got our report from staff and we’ve had an opportunity to digest it and review it and talk about it and see where we’re going to go, that if a provincial facilitator is needed at that point in time, then that’s the point in time where this council should determine that we reach out to the provincial facilitator,” he said.
According to Jeff Schmidt, Springwater's chief administrative officer (CAO), council should receive the staff report in time for the township’s May 15 meeting.
Schmidt said the report will address the four items council requested additional information on, identified during its March 6 meeting:
- Review and analyze existing township planning policies alongside provincial direction through Bill 23, More Homes Built Faster Act, to identify potential areas suitable for increased residential and/or industrial development beyond existing predefined settlement areas that can be reasonably serviced.
- Explore the possibility of establishing "special economic zone(s)" through collaborative partnerships with neighbouring municipalities that aim to address potential employment opportunities.
- Assess and evaluate current cross border servicing arrangements/agreements in other municipalities in Ontario to determine their effectiveness, efficiency, and overall viability.
- Consider the potential for collaborating with the County of Simcoe to establish water and wastewater infrastructure that would support further development of employment land in and around Springwater Township.
Coughlin, who hasn’t had any conversation with the province regarding the facilitator, asked Schmidt, who’s had two interactions with the province’s facilitator, to provide council with an update on those conversations.
“The details of the conversation would have to be discussed in a closed session based on the discussion with the facilitator,” Schmidt said.
“But you’re correct," he added. "The provincial facilitator did reach out recently to myself, which I advised members of council that they had done so, and subsequent to that, there was an informal meeting with the provincial facilitator, a virtual meeting, which I believe also my colleagues, the CAO for Barrie and Oro-Medonte, went through that same process."
That essentially gauges whether or not the township would be interested in participating in a facilitation process, Schmidt said, "and that they have not been, at that time and still today, they have not been appointed by the minister.
“They have to be appointed by the minister in order for them to proceed, and to my knowledge that has not happened,” the CAO added.
“If the province appoints a facilitator, I think we take our marching orders from the province,” said Thompson.
Thompson asked Schmidt whether he could say council has directed him not to talk.
“My apologies,” Schmidt responded. “The provincial facilitator is optional. The municipalities are not required to participate should they not wish to. I was very clear with the facilitator that I do not have that direction at this time from council."
This is the second time Springwater has decided to remove itself from conversations regarding the Barrie’s boundary expansion plans.
On Nov. 15, 2023, council voted to terminate discussions with Barrie regarding boundary expansion.
On March 6, Springwater council voted to reverse that decision somewhat, as council voted to hold talks with the Barrie officials, but only regarding cross-border servicing.
Council demanded there be no discussion with Barrie about boundary expansion.
At the March 20 meeting, Coughlin told council that township officials had a meeting with Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall to discuss the possibility of a partnership and were rebuffed.
“It was made very clear that we have nothing to offer if not land,” Coughlin said at the time. “They are not looking for a fee-for-service or ‘a la carte’ service to their pipes, their treatment facility and their water.
“If we’re not talking about boundary adjustment, the conversation with Barrie no longer exists,” she added.
