Letters From Our Readers
Growth process draws blank stares

I would like to applaud the County of Simcoe for taking a progressive and proactive role providing information about the current growth management process and the pressures facing this region.

After attending three of six public forums held recently, I would like to share these observations:

The session held at the Thornton Arena on Oct. 18 was well-attended and informative.

Residents lined up to ask questions about traffic, density and other topics.

Innisfil's Mayor, a member of the Growth Steering Committee, dropped in for a few minutes and then headed to another event.

A day long session allowed developers to share their views at the county administration centre in Midhurst on Thursday October 25.

The majority of committee members were on hand to listen to the selfserving development presentations that were focused on individual parcels of land.

However, on Saturday October 27, an extremely important session in my view, only eight of 13 committee members were present at the 9 a.m. start time.

On that day, individuals representing global interests from across the county made presentations about how growth will impact our communities.

I'm sure I wasn't the only person who was disappointed to see that many committee members, including Innisfil's Mayor, were not present to hear the views of the stakeholders.

By noon, fewer than half the committee members were in attendance.

Kudos to speakers from Duck's Unlimited, Gilford District Community Association, the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit, Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and other individuals for bringing important issues to the forefront and for telling those interested committee members what matters to residents of the county.

Too bad many of the decision makers weren't listening.

Barb Baguley,

Innisfil