The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

RT SS NR ETS Pa NONE OY hree munici Me QE Tee Drew Ptah SNE EMO Salt ike Loan dD ON MN NR Lie ten ie ie Sore MNP OPPO OY palities' stands on annexation proposal TEA Although no written documents have been received by Medonte Township, it is the un- derstanding of the township councillors that the Ontario Municipal Board hearing set for September 12 dealing with Coldwater's proposed annexation of approximately 1,700 acres of Medonte land has been postponed _ in- definitely at the request of the township. According to the reeve Ingram Amos, the township ratepayers are objecting to being an- nexed by the village of Coldwater. "In my election campaign, I stated that I would follow the wishes of the Fe 1. Tay Township 2.3.Medonte Township COLDWATER Boundaries of annexation proposal; 4. Proposed EWEHTE! area 6. County Rd. 23 Medonte objects to losing commercial, industrial revenues ratepayers" Amos commented. "'If they wanted annexation, then I would work to} give it to them," he said> "but if the people of Medonte were against the proposed annexation by Coldwater, then I said I would respect their wishes," added Amos. The Medonte council, according to the Reeve, also feel Coldwater would be taking away some of the townships tax dollars, since the property Coldwater wants includes commercial establish- ments already flourishing in the township. Those commercial outlets in- clude, Athrone Marine, Taman Industries, a Golf course, Rolling Hills and Glen plumbing Restaurant, Dunlop's business. Medonte without planners To complicate matters even more for Medonte, they are _ presently without a consulting firm. This predicament came about when the township solicitor, Wilfrid Trivett,' suggested the township release their present consultants, Winland Associates | Engineering Limited, in Orillia. Reeve Amos stated that Medonte council followed the-advise of council and did in fact release the consulting firm. He ex- plained that the town- ships solicitor _ felt Winland| may not be acting in best interests for 5. Proposed park site Medonte, since Trivett believed the consulting firm was also representing the village of Coldwater. Medonte council is presently looking for a new consulting firm, and will meet with several bidders at their next council meeting. The postponement of the O.M.B. hearing on annexation will give Medonte time to hire a new consulting firm and will alow the new firm more time to assess the problems. of annexation. The delay will also give Medonte ratepayers and council more time to further discuss the proposed Coldwater annexation. Coldwater: we need more land to survive by Dagmar Kanzler For Coldwater, an- nexation is simply a matter of survival. It's becoming im- possible economically for a tiny village such as is Coldwater to survive without increasing its assessment base. There's hardly any vacant land within present Coldwater boundaries, none of it suitable for much needed industry. "Planning is necessary because the government says so - but it's becoming more and more costly. We need more hydro customers to help meet increased costs' of maintenance - and so on,"' explains. Coldwater Reeve Earl Brandon. But more important to the adamant reeve is the matter of the Medonte Secondary plan first drawn up in 1976 but not yet accepted by the Ministry of Housing. Extensive residential, commercial and_ in- dustrial development is planned for the north eastern border of Medonte Township, fronting directly onto Coldwater's southern boundaries. "With that,"' says the reeve gesturing em- phatically at the plan," we'd be swallowed up in no time at all!" It's because the reeve and his council want future growth in the area to be within the boun- daries of Coldwater and not at the expense of the municipality that they're proposing annexation of 500 acres of Tay and 1,400 acres of Medonte Township, thus ef- fectively enlarging its territory from the present 347 acres to 2,200 acres. That land, says Brandon, will be necessary to ac- commodate the 3,000 population he forsees for the area in the next quarter century. Although Coldwater itself was not designated a growth area in the much talked about. Simcoe Georgian Task Force report, substantial growth is anticipated in the surrounding area. Brandon is determined to see that Coldwater be at We Are RENOVATING Our Showroom To Become Your Complete Decorating Centre Trained salespeople the centre of that growth, that it is the one directing growth. "If we annex this land, we will be able to' properly serve that population and maintain our autonomy," he has said. Also to be considered is the substantial tax revenue likely to flow Coldwater's way if in- dustries such as Athron Marine, Taman Industries and the Rolling Hills Restaurant, to name but a few and homes along County Rd. 23 are absorbed into the town. The industries lie on a provincial highway ahd access route their upkeep is the respon- sibility of the province. And the county road is maintained by Simcoe County's roads depart- ment. All of which means Coldwater will pay out little for upwards of $15,000 in extra tax revenues. Industries will come The Industries in- strumental for growth are not there now, but they'll come says the reeve. His expansion plans have already received the tacit approval of officials from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism; Taman Industries, a manufac- turer of stainless steel fixtures and Coldwater's major employer is presently just outside Coldwater boundaries in Medonte but has ex- pressed an interest to expand on neighbouring land. The industries which are now located in Medonte support. Cold- water's annexation bid simply because they figure they'll save money in the process. Hard services are now their responsibility (neither Tay nor Medonte supply water or sewage ser- vices), and cost them plenty. Once hooked into the Coldwater systems, the savings might be substantial. Then there's'_ the Land zoned 'environmental' of no use to Coldwater, says Tay A proposed annexation of approximately 500 acres of Tay Township by the village of Coldwater will be strongly opposed by the township, Tay Council has decided. At a special July 21 meeting, the council authorized its solicitor to prepare a brief outlining the township's reasons for opposing annexation. Tay councillors are opposed to the an- nexation primarily because they see no use to Coldwater annexing an area which, ac- cording to the proposed Tay zoning by-laws, would be largely zoned 'environmental protection.' The 500 acre area includes a part of the environmentally sensitive Matchedash Bay watershed and one lot in each of con- cession 12 and 13, as well as half a lot in concession 11. The only uses for the majority of this land would be as a conservation / wildlife area, some outdoor recreation areas; all development, be it commercial, industrial or residential would be prohibited in most of the 500 acres proposed for annexation by Cold- water. "There is some assessment in there," Dave Walker, Tay Township councillor admits referring to the 20 homes located along County Road 17. But the assessment is insufficient to warrant further development hopes. "We feel there's no particular reason for the amount of area they're annexing,"' Reeve Charles Rawson of Tay emphasizes, adding that a large part of the area, including the Coldwater River floods each spring when the waters of Georgian Bay rise. "The Wye Marsh and Matchedash Bay are two unique areas in Ontario and Canada," Walker says. "To protect the bay area, we feel it is best to Keep it under the control of one municipality."' Biting off more than it can chew Walker and Rawson also argue that Coldwater may be out to bite off more than it can chew in terms of land needs for growth and costs of servicing the annexed area. Walker points out that Tay agreed to the annexation of 1,000 acres of its land by Midland because council recognized the need for industrial expansion in Midland and felt the town could financially support the heavy costs of servicing the Heritage Drive area But Coldwater, they argue, will not need the 1,500 acres it wants. "How fast does one grow? How big a chunk do you bite off all at once?" asks Walker. "Maybe they can justify some growth, but they have to come a long way through Medonte before they can even consider annexation in Tay." Medonte Township surrounds the present Coldwater village boundaries. Reeve Rawson also objects to the fact that Coldwater Reeve Earl Brandon '"'Never sat down and negotiated," but rather publicly announced his village's intentions to annex 1,500 acres. "The only negotiations we had were about a joint planning area - and on that the Ministry of Housing said Tay wouldn't be contributing much so we wouldn't have a voting member," Rawson said in an in- terview on Monday. But, he added, he's heard nothing further since and presumes this committee has fallen through. "'We're in a great position - we have Port MeNicoll Victoria Harbour, Midland and Penetanguishene all in our township boun- daries,"' Rawson points out. "If each took a notion to take a piece of Tay, we'd have very little left." Rawson left no doubt whatsoever that Tay won't be nearly as "'generous" in the Cold- water annexation bid as it had been with Midland. question of soft services - the facilities such as doctors, post office, service stations, recreation facilities - all now used by the ap- proximately 225 people who live on the fringes of Coldwater. Coldwater is their town, says Brandon, they use the arena, fair grounds, but the village doesn't get a cent of tax from these residents. For example, Coldwater residents rent 15 per cent of available arena time. The rest goes to outside groups, but Medonte pays only $200 annually to the village, says Brandon, and Tay contributes nothing A few of the fringe residents are now without fire protection since Medonte cancelled its fire protection agreement with Coldwater two weeks ago. Although they're a stones' throw from Coldwater and often a half hour drive from Medonte firehall, the village cannot provide fire services because its insurance simply won't cover firemen on duty outside town limits. The village, says the reeve, is caught in the middle. All Brandon says he can hope for is that there is no disaster just outside town limits According to Brandon, a poll of border residents indicates 50 per cent favour Coldwater's an- nexation proposal Medonte, using the same logic, claims 50 per cent of its residents in the proposed annexed area are against annexation Brandon, among others has suggested that Medonte's opposition to absorption by Coldwater dates back to a_ half century old bitterness between the two municipalities. Medonte residents never quite forgave those who pulled out of the township 1908 to form an _ independent village of Coldwater. That move radically changed the future assessment base of Medonte township cont'd p. 9 Ss "a er.) ~~ wide selection The latest designs and colors- in all < price ranges who can help you | } select the color and design "just right" for your home rattsmen to insure the outstanding appearance and performance of your new. floor. & professional installation . Ci budget payments Convenient time- Payment arrangements that will help you buy the floor of your choice Now Introducing a New Selection of Textured, Solid and Stripe Vinyl Wall Coverings & PECIALLY PRICED at The girl you cua. anda P D. MURPHY DIAMOND SINGLE ROLL Give yoursgi credit "fen a P-D Murphy charge actount 4 { Mied gue P.D. Murphy Jewellers "A NAME YOU CAN TRUST" 251 KING ST., MIDLAND Ring Cleaning and inspection is a free service at all P.D. Murphy stores. ee THE CARPET SHOPPE @ymstrong a een sient oer , a ace ELMVALE LUMBER CO. LTD., agseticuts sess iF | HWY. 27 322-2841 bi': FREE ESTIMATE & SHOP-AT-HOME SERVICE Wednesday, August 17, 1977, Page 5