Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney

I would like to begin by expressing my appreciation to the members of Imagine Meaford for the opportunity to answer these very important questions and for your generosity in sharing candidate responses on your website.

Q1: Meaford is experiencing dynamic growth. How do you see ratepayers’ involvement in that growth?

Firstly, I am grateful to the concerned residents who have come together to create” Imagine Meaford”. You have already demonstrated expertise and diligence in your efforts regarding the Loon Call project. As a municipality we will have a more attractive development, less dense with more green space and with highway side landscaping. You developed a relationship with staff, council, and the developer thru this process. This “working together” collaborative approach is how I would like to see ratepayer involvement going forward. To make this possible, effective, and successful we must all participate in a visioning exercise very early in the new term of council. Everyone should have the opportunity to share their ideas and together we will come to an understanding of how we want our Meaford to look going forward into the future. Our residents will need to be better informed of upcoming proposals, more avenues for communication on developments must be made available to the public, notices related to projects must be more widely distributed and there must be time made available to everyone who wishes to speak at public meetings the timing of which should be reviewed.

Q2: Currently there is a debate on the effectiveness of the Municipality of Meaford`s Advisory Committees as they are currently structured. How would you ensure community committees are used more effectively by council and the Municipality in the next term of Council?

I agree, our current Advisory Committee structure isn`t working. There is a great degree of frustration felt by all including members of council participating, community volunteers and staff. Firstly, I think it’s imperative we recognise the great level of expertise we have residing within this municipality. We are fortunate to have ratepayers who are active, who want to be involved and who really care about making Meaford the best it can be. This includes current and new residents which is a wonderful mix of experience and knowledge about Meaford.

The new council will have discussion on which committees they wish to engage over the next four years. I believe the Economic Development, Heritage, Accessibility and Parks Committees that exist currently are vital going forward as well as the Community Safety and Well Being Committee. Other groups such as the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority, Property Standards and the Northeast Grey Health Clinics are ongoing. You mention a “Planning and Development” committee which I will address under Question #3.

To make our current Advisory Committees more effective and more rewarding for the volunteers who commit their time and expertise to the subject matter I believe more frequent meetings are necessary. It’s difficult to be productive getting together just 3 or 4 times per year. Ideally the A.C.`s would gather every month, the chairs should not necessarily be members of council although I will add I have thoroughly enjoyed leading our Economic Advisory Committee. Sub Working Groups are an excellent avenue for additional research which can be taken to the main committee for consideration. These committees should be more connected to council, we should more often hear recommendations from A.C.`s which means these groups have to be given agendas that foster such discussions.

Q3: Would you support the creation of a community-based Advisory Committee for Planning and Development?

My first thought…..would Imagine Meaford like to become a Committee of Council so as to formally continue the work you`ve begun with staff and developers? I see opportunity as well for another group to be formed to focus on downtown beautification, to participate in the choosing of flowers for our downtown, to work on signage, the placement of benches and so on.

If an Advisory Committee is formed, I imagine it conducting the same type of work as I.M. did with Loon Call, bringing greater public awareness to the project, offering advisement on the site plan, and undertaking communication with staff and the developer to create a more compatible development for Meaford.

Q4: What is the role of council and the Municipality in supporting the development of downtown Meaford? In rural areas? Please provide examples.

Council and the Municipality have several roles: I find this question interesting; I am going to assume we are referring to the economic development of our urban and rural areas in my response.

a) Property Standards, it’s up to council to approve the Bylaw to establish standards regarding the safety aspects of our downtown buildings, urban structures as well. This bylaw includes “standards for garbage and discarded vehicles, grass, and noxious weeds, collapsed structures, insects and pests, sewage and drainage, parking etc”. Complaints can be registered thru our “Report a Concern” link on the municipal website. An example – the Capital Theatre Building – the municipality has undertaken structural work to keep this property safe for passers by.

b) The Heritage Advisory Committee is a committee of council. This group plays a major role in providing recommendations to council on any developments in the heritage district such as they have on the Collingwood Street project, this one is very exciting!

c) Council can approve or not approve proposed projects, example we did not approve the Boucher Street Boutique Hotel when first presented. The proposal was taken to the Tribunal by the developer and in the end, Council had to accept it.

d) Council approves funding thru our budgeting process for beautification projects such as the purchasing of flowers, banners, Christmas decorations etc.

e) The Economic Development Committee also provides recommendations to council. This committee worked extensively on the creation of our current Economic Development Strategy.

The wonderful thing about this strategy is that for the large part it is still very pertinent even post covid. EDAC also supported the Covid Business Recovery team.

f) Council also approves the BIA budget. This Downtown Business Association participates in various activities, this year they are big supporters of the Christmas on the Bay event.

g) Council also approves funding for the Scarecrow Invasion and Meaford Dragons. The Scarecrow Invasion draws thousands of tourists to Meaford, some of whom now call Meaford their home. Meaford Dragons has assisted 65 new and expanding businesses over the past 14 years with an injection of $275,000 in cash and prizes into our economy.

h) Our Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw outline the type of development than can occur in our downtown and rural areas. Our O.P process has included a great deal of public engagement and I look forward to reviewing the draft plan this month.

i) Agriculture is our #1 industry; I believe we need to do much more to support our farmers, I am focused on the reopening of bridges 21/22 and to further engagement with the agricultural group that has been formed.

Q5: What role does Meaford’s Official Plan have in guiding development?

Meaford`s new Official Plan will be unveiled later this month. It’s been an exciting process with much opportunity for public engagement. This plan will “guide Meaford’s land use and development strategies. It contains the goals and objectives of the community and establishes policies to direct the form, location, nature, and rate of growth and change for the future. Official Plans have legal status, deriving their authority form the Planning Act of Ontario, and all Municipal public works and bylaws must conform to the plan and its standards”. (Municipal website)

My expectation is that our Official Plan Update will be more specific in its language regarding land uses, density, and height restrictions. Meaford has a very special opportunity to get things right, to learn from the massive growth in our neighboring communities and to take the time to make sure everything we approve is going to meet our vision for a beautiful, vibrant community respectful of its heritage and small-town charm.

Q6: There are many issues that need to be addressed in the coming four-year term, including affordable housing, staffing shortages, the downtown heritage district, business development, climate change, tourism, and a host of infrastructure needs supporting agriculture, bridges, roads, water and sewer and urban green spaces.

a) What, in your opinion, are the most urgent issues to address?

b) As a member of Council, how will you work with local and county/regional partners and Meaford’s CAO and staff to move the municipality forward on the above issues? Can you provide any examples.

This is a big question, all of the issues mentioned are important. For me the issue of attracting affordable housing to address our workforce challenges is critical. I have put considerable effort into this problem, I believe the housing will come. To attract a workforce, we need to focus on becoming an even more welcoming community to diversity. We must make sure newcomers to Canada are supported should they choose to make their home here. Our CIP (Community Improvement Plan) is designed to support the creation of affordable housing units with incentives in areas such as taxation and permitting.

I have sat this term on the Grey County Affordable Housing Taskforce where we made the bold move of recommending to county council a 1% budget commitment which was unanimously supported.

We have all seen signs in business windows not just looking for help but also expressing reduced hours or requests to “please be kind to those who showed up”. We see People Care advertising to fill positions at our new Nursing Home, a beautiful facility about to open without enough support staff. I hear the same comments everywhere from our Grocery Store to our OPP to our Military, from our farm operations to our trades to our restaurants. There simply aren’t enough people to take the jobs.

I have been an organizer of our Meaford Job Fair for many years, I have talked with developers whom I can’t name to build affordable units, I have encouraged seniors to take on a day or two a week in retail operations. I have been part of a Social Finance group whose objective it is to find alternate funding sources for Affordable Housing projects. I’ve been a Co-Chair then Director of the Four County Labor Market Planning Board where we undertake the work of providing employment data, operating a Connect to Skills website listing current jobs and undertaking such studies as “Business counts” from which we learned that in 2021 Grey County had 11,178 businesses, a drop from 2020 where there were 11,605. FCLMPB also studied the impacts of precarious work and of covid on women in the workplace.

I also must mention the importance of following thru on initiatives related to Climate Change. Grey County has set a target of Net Zero by 2045, that’s an aggressive goal. A big part of this is moving to electric vehicles, we are anxiously awaiting the availability of electric snowplows for example.

I can’t leave this question without speaking to roads and bridges. We recently completed our Asset Management Plan which revealed that even though we have been dedicating 1% to roads and 1% to bridges for the past two terms we are still facing an annual funding gap of $4.67M against the full value of our core assets, $582,597.893M.

Additionally, we have a very expensive wastewater plant expansion ahead of us, somewhere around the $45M mark. Without this Meaford will not be able to entertain much more new development.

Back in January of 2015 the twin bridges 21/22 in Bognor were closed. The economic impact of this closure is significant to the neighboring ag producers but more importantly the safety of the detour is a major issue. I have been lobbying for two terms to have these crossings reopened. The matter now lies with Grey County, council should see a report hopefully before the end if this term establishing whether G.C. will assume ownership of one of the bridges.  I will be undertaking the same effort from 2022-2026, let’s hope the third time is a charm.

Green spaces are precious, our parks are well maintained this year thanks to council`s support of bringing grass cutting services back in house. Our parks draw tourists, especially Memorial and our beautiful harbor. These spaces must be preserved, upgraded as necessary and maintained. There is a plan in place to create a new park at the old landfill site on Centre Street and I would love to see the long-awaited footbridge built to make Beautiful Joe Park accessible.

Q7: What is the Municipality of Meaford’s share of tax dollars collected by Grey County? How will you ensure that Meaford’s needs are met through county initiatives (via these tax dollars).

First of all, Meaford collects the taxation dollars from our residents, businesses, farms and institutions on behalf of Grey County. For 2022 61% of taxation remains with the Municipality of Meaford, 27% goes to Grey County and 12% to education. Meaford contributes 11% or just over $7M. of the county levy. In comparison the Town of the Blue Mountains contributes 28%, $18M.

I am a proud member of Grey County Council. It`s very humbling to sit in that beautiful Chamber and realize you are one of just eighteen individuals chosen to represent the over 100,000 residents of our vast county. We are instructed at County to wear our “county” hats, to always consider any decision from the perspective of what is best for the county as a whole not our individual municipalities. That being said our weighted vote 6 for our Mayor and 5 for myself as Deputy are critically important when decisions are controversial such as the determination of whether or not to sell Grey Gables in Markdale. There is certainly opportunity to work with the amazing staff at Grey County such as we are doing with Economic Development who are undertaking a Business Mix Analysis Study for Meaford as we speak. This work will help us better understand the impacts of covid on our local economy, will give us a listing of businesses and will identify gaps as well.

I sit on four County Committees which are excellent opportunities to bring knowledge and influence to County Council thru recommendations about various subject matters.

I find all aspects of county work bring a new perspective of knowledge that is very helpful to my work with our local council. For example, Meaford Council passed a motion to invite County Council to consider a county wide waste management operation rather than continuing with Miller Waste after their rates increased dramatically last year.

The section of Road between Highway 26 and Muir Street in front of our new school will be upgraded in 2023. Collaboration has occurred between Meaford and County staff which will allow us to install water/wastewater infrastructure during the reconstruction of the road which will provide better access into the school.

There are also opportunities for delegations to provincial ministers such as were undertaken at the recent AMO conference. Again, these discussions are based on county concerns.

Recently, County Council passed a motion to permit lower tiers the ability to approve certain situations of development such as subdivisions and condo projects rather than having both tiers review the proposals and present reports/recommendations to their councils. Meaford will go forward with this process which will speed up approvals for certain developments.

County staff recently prepared comments on the province`s Bill 108 which addresses approval times for developments. There was much collaboration with our planning staff as with members of other lower tiers. These inclusive discussions are an important element of how we all work together.

County Council works as a whole, focused on what`s best for the county rather than each lower tier speaking about their needs or requests.

I am including the chart of 2022 Grey County taxation amounts and percentages for each lower tier that you may find interesting.