Re-imagining Southern Georgian Bay

The Province is holding a series of meetings to evaluate the current structure of Simcoe County, and determine whether there are alternatives that could provide greater operational efficiencies.

The BMRA was granted standing to appear before the Simcoe panel at a July 8 session held in Orillia. While TBM is clearly not part of Simcoe County, the BMRA believed there was value in us presenting our views.

SGBR

SBGR is an acronym for Southern Georgian Bay Region.

This region encompasses the municipalities of  Meaford, Grey Highlands, TBM, Collingwood, Clearview and Wasaga Beach.

The municipalites of the SBGR have held meetings over the past few years with their Mayors and CAOs to discuss shared issues.

The current Mayor of Collingwood, Yvonne Hamlin, is a strong proponent of those municipalities collectively approaching common challenges and opportunities. This is reflective of the geographic, transportation, economic, cultural and recreational ties that exist within SGBR. These points of connection can make it viable for the municipalities to pursue integrated service delivery and infrastructure development.

Our Presentation

In our presentation, we stressed the point that across the SGBR, it is anticipated that there will likely be a need to invest upwards of $1 billion in infrastructure to support growth - in particular water and wastewater systems.

It seems unrealistic to expect that each of the regional municipalities will have the required capabilities and resources to deliver such a large investment in a timely and cost effective manner.

We have seen the TBM struggle to deal with the challenges of planning, executing and financing infrastructure development, despite best efforts by Town Staff.

Municipal Service Corporation

For that reason, the formation of a Municipal Service Corporation is an idea that has been gaining traction. This would entail the formation of a third party entity that could plan and execute infrastructure projects across SGBR.

It would allow for centralization of the technical and financial management expertise to drive the substantial projects our area must build. It would help to avoid the pitfalls of "siloed" thinking, where the needs and preferences of an individual municipality can work against the best interests of the other municipalities in the region.

It’s Early Days…

Our interest in presenting our viewpoints is not political; rather we are focussed on ensuring TBM’s financial sustainability.

We strongly believe that for the sustainability of our community's growth, it is not appropriate to assume that "more of the same" will be sufficient.

That is why we wanted the Province, as it conducts its review of Simcoe County, to understand that there are neighbours of Simcoe who should also be taken into consideration.

In fact, we suggested that the Province appoint a facilitator who could lead the exercise of looking at SGBR, and determine whether the scope of the Simcoe initiative should be expanded to also address our interests.

We will await to hear whether the Province agrees with our request.