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BMRA Member Update

BMRA Board Member Recognitions

We are thrilled to share some news about  2 of the BMRA’s board members

Jim Torrance receives Community Leader Award

Jim Torrance, President of the Blue Mountains Ratepayers Association (BMRA), was presented with a 2024 Community Leader Award by MP Terry Dowdall in recognition of Jim's volunteer service. Jim has served on the BMRA since 2018 and as its President since 2020.

As MP Terry Dowdall outlined on his website, "In every community in Simcoe-Grey, we all know generous individuals who enrich the lives of others everyday through selfless volunteer work. If it wasn’t for these volunteers, our communities would not be what they are today."

Congratulations and thanks go out to Jim on this well earned award!

Brian Harkness Named 2024 Senior of the Year

Brian has been a director of the BMRA since 2018.

The Town’s Press Release:

“The Town has announced that local resident Brian Harkness has been selected as the recipient of the 2024 Province of Ontario Senior of the Year Award for the Town of The Blue Mountains.

Established in 1994, the Senior of the Year Award honours one outstanding local senior in each municipality in Ontario. The nominee must be over the age of 65 and have enriched the social, cultural or civic life of the community.

Brian received the award from Mayor Matrosovs and Council at the June 24 Council Meeting. “Brian was humble in accepting this nomination because like many volunteers in our community, he serves without expecting recognition,” said Mayor Andrea Matrosovs. “Brian has been a member of the Thornbury-Clarksburg Rotary Club for over a decade, including terms as Treasurer and President. He is a board member of the community-owned North East Grey Health Clinics, where he began as treasurer and has now served as Chair for the last eight years. He is the secretary of the Meaford Hospital Foundation, and he is a good neighbour too.

Brian volunteers his time to provide leadership with both the Blue Mountain Ratepayers Association and the Lora Bay Community Association.” Mayor Matrosovs continued: “Brian is a doer in our community and all of Council is proud to select him as our Town of The Blue Mountains Senior of the Year. We want to thank him for everything he does.”

A video of the award presentation is available on the Town’s website. To learn more about the Ontario Senior of the Year Award, please visit: https://www.ontario.ca/page/honours-and-awards-community#section-3”

BMRA Meets with our MPP, Brian Saunderson

The board of the BMRA met with our MPP, Brian Saunderson on Sept 23, 2024.

The BMRA sees value in building a connection with our MPP,  and ensuring the Province is well informed of the critical issues affecting our community, including:

• Provincial Hearings on Simcoe County restructuring:

  • Grey County Initiates Study of Greater Planning Centralization

  
  

• TBM Declaration of a Housing Crisis:

  • BMRA has initiated a TBM Housing Strategy Working Group with Developer and Chamber of Commerce participation

  • Pushed TBM Council to declare a Housing Crisis, which passed the related  motion

    
    

• Infrastructure Challenges and Limitations:

  • Water and Sewage

  • Pace of Housing Development now being impacted by water and sewage capacity limitations

  • Campus of Care project - 160 bed LTC facility plus workforce housing, senior housing and market housing exacerbating capacity issues

  • Parkbridge has proposed a 1,200 unit development east end of Meaford, which has serious infrastructure gaps

    
    

•  Transportation:

  • Highway 26 enhancements through MTO

  • Thornbury bypass - County responsibility, no action initiated. Next step public forum similar to Bill 23 session

  
  

• Provincial Priorities Impacting TBM:

  • Determining where TBM and Provincial interests align, how BMRA can help to push priorities forward

Mr. Saunderson reports that the Provincial government is keenly aware of the infrastructure funding and construction challenges facing many municipalities, and especially smaller ones like TBM.  The government is encouraging collaboration between neighbouring municipalities, as one key to meeting those challenges.

Shared Service Delivery Corporations are a way to facilitate the build-out of infrastructure that growing communities like ours need.  The BMRA has been actively promoting their consideration at the Municipal, County and Regional levels of government

We thank MPP Saunderson for making the time to meet with us.

Please forward this email to interested friends & neighbours

(They may thank you… or they may not care.  But they won’t hate you!)