Ingrid Regier is unhappy with a long list of things.
The long-time Niagara-on-the-Lake resident, who has lived here since 1955, voiced some of her concerns on Sunday’s community open house with Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa at the Virgil arena.
The village open house series aims to let residents talk to council members and town staff, ask questions and give feedback. It starts with a talk from Zalepa, then a question and answer period. People can send questions in advance or ask during the meeting.
Regier was one of those residents who took the chance to make some comments.
First up, she said she feels she’s not being heard.
She said she’s constantly redirected to staff who lack the proper resources to help and feels like the only one speaking up since residents are intimidated by the town at meetings.
“When I go to council, everybody’s scared and they don’t want to say anything,” Regier said to Zalepa during the meeting.
“I’ve been here most of my life and I’m just really annoyed,” she told The Lake Report.
Zalepa said the town is listening — hence the open house. He outlined plans for 2024-2025, including updating the town’s official plan, which guides a community’s growth.
Cindy Grant asked for clarity on whether it builds on the last term’s version or starts fresh. Zalepa confirmed they’re building on what’s in place, but Regier remained skeptical.
“You need to keep building on that. You can’t just start from scratch,” Regier said to Zalepa.
“Well, that’s what I said,” Zalepa fired back.
Traffic was another concern. Regier asked about a past plan to reroute traffic away from Pleasant Manor in Virgil and insisted on answers.
Zalepa said that plan was under review and clarified it was part of a transportation plan, not the official plan, but Regier didn’t care — she just wanted to know what happened to it.
“Ingrid, I’m talking to you,” said Zalepa after his sentence was cut off by Regier, who repeated “I want to know what happened to it.”
“(Councillors) weren’t happy with the document,” he said, reaffirming that the plan is still in progress and is being updated due to council’s feedback on the 2021-2022 version.
Turning to questions Regier submitted in writing, he read out loud: “Why do we have rules?”
“I think you’re asking that because you feel that perhaps they don’t get followed,” said Zalepa.
“They don’t get followed,” responded Regier. “Because every little corner has to be developed,” she told The Lake Report.
Zalepa said while rules aren’t changing, planners review requests and recommend approval or denial.
“Therefore, you’ve got an application that’s somewhat not in the rules, but the professional planners think it might be in alignment (with provincial guidelines),” Zalepa said.
Regier questioned if staff visit properties when reviewing applications, to which Zalepa and director of community and development services Kirsten McCauley confirmed they do.
Regier told The Lake Report that the concerns are regarding the new five-story townhouse near Pleasant Manor. She worries it would worsen parking and traffic. McCauley would not speak about the specific property.
Zalepa told The Lake Report the meeting was for updating the town’s plans, not for talking about individual concerns.
For more specific issues, he suggests reaching out to council members or staff, or attending other public meetings (not open houses).
Peter Zimmerman emailed in about a “rumour” circulating that the town will be responsible if the underground garage at Parliament Oak leaks.
“In Peter’s opinion, and I would say I agree, a private builder should be taking on their own risks and benefits of ownership,” said Zalepa.
“If something goes wrong, is it the town that gets sued, or is it the developer?” asked Coun. Burroughs.
“I would think it would be the engineers,” said Zalepa.
Coun. Wiens added that developers leave a money deposit (letter of credit) in case they bail.
“So, if they walk away — we have an amount of money, based on the size,” he said.
Lidija Biro called out the town for not acting on its 2022 climate plan.
Council approved a schedule to implement it back in 2022 but, in her words, “time is running out.”
Zalepa said 27 items from that plan are in the current strategic plan and they just hired a climate co-ordinator to focus on this significant topic.
Wiens pointed out some efforts from the town to be more eco-friendly, like using sand-salt on roads and working with Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority and Ducks Unlimited. Zalepa added that council also set aside $50K for planting trees.
Burroughs asked for a progress report on climate. Zalepa said the co-ordinator just started and that a report would come later.
Biro argued climate action needs to be part of everything the town does, to which Zalepa agreed. He said the town is requesting help from the province to upgrade various infrastructure to lessen impact on the climate.
The next open houses in the series are in Old Town on Feb. 18, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Simpson Room at the community centre and in Queenston on Feb. 20 at Fire Station 4.
If you want to send your questions in advance, you can send them to communications@notl.com.
