We often forget that all five neighbourhood “pods” here in NOTL have so much in common. Our elected officials, our operating budgets and our futures are all joined at various hips.
Lord Mayor Gary Zalepa is doing his best this winter to reach out to the various wee population centres. Last Thursday evening at the St. Davids Firehall, a full house of NOTLers did a deep dive into the complexities of running a municipality.
Most every chair was sat in, and our Lord Mayor efficiently expanded upon a number of subjects that most of us mere citizens don’t really understand. There were no snacks provided, as 6:30 p.m. is an awkward starting time.
And, even in our historic town, not a formal chain of office to be seen. The venue was chock-a-block and the organizing team from the town did a great job planning the evening. They welcomed attendees with professionalism and genuine gemutlichkeit.
I do hope that the Mary Snider Room (Feb. 3) and the Simpson Room (Feb. 18, my birthday) and the Queenston Library (Feb. 20) will accommodate the attendees. Would it have been better to have this worthwhile get together tout ensemble (all together) at the Shaw’s Festival Theatre? We’ll never know, will we?
An Old Town location might conceivably encourage members of the rumoured NOTLAR to attend. OK, OK, I have only heard a rumour, third or fourth hand, of a new lobbying group in town, called the Niagara-on-the-Lake Association of Residents. Or is the name going to be the Old Town Residents Association? The more affinity groups, the better.
Stay tuned. As news of NOTLAR breaks, I will ramble in a timely fashion.
Still resisting Facebook groups and social media, I am regularly out of touch. Several friends, and my two children, attempt to drag me, kicking and screaming, into the third decade of the 21st century. Frankly, I probably couldn’t abide some of the vitriolic, anonymous and occasionally cowardly postings, so perhaps it’s best if I stay away, eh? I need my sleep.
Our hard working and process-driven lord mayor, who seems to be omnipresent, as well as ubiquitous and everywhere, in our historic and bucolic and pretty town, explained the official plan and the secondary plan. Then, the intricacies of the municipal budgeting process. Apparently we compare very favourably with similar sized towns in Ontario.
The delicate and ongoing balancing act between our high-profile tourism sector and our equally important agricultural interests create a challenging yin and yang. All ratepayers rightfully demand politician and town staff time and attention.
The long-range planning processes were explained, and I never thought I would learn so much about grinder pumps. This St. Davids-centric issue has become a cause celebre, a true dog’s breakfast — and apparently there will be no efficient solution in the near future.
Standing at the back of the room in the St. Davids Fire Hall, from what I could understand, competing interests seem to be pointing fingers at each other. He said, she said.
After we had been overwhelmed by grinder pump minutae and angst, the elephant in the room reared its passionate head. A good old-fashioned small town bun fight started about the dreaded St. Davids roundabout.
A couple of wise and wound-up St. Davids residents took the gloves off. As their faces turned red and the veins in their necks bulged a bit, they aggressively disagreed with Zalepa.
Now, Zalepa didn’t survive many seasons as a volunteer minor hockey referee, listening to parents telling him how to do his job better, without having a strong backbone and thick skin. He would have studied the rules of fair play in hockey and done his best to call every game to the best of his confident and considerable ability.
I attend the occasional kids hockey game at the arena and often wonder how some adults can behave the way they do. Especially in front of their children, who just want to have fun with their pals. To play their best.
So, my takeaways from the first of five village open houses, a.k.a. meet the lord mayor were “Good on the lord mayor for putting himself out there,” and “Good on the NOTL attendees who were there.”
In a rambling conclusion, may I suggest you attend a village open house. You will see democracy in action and learn about the operations and issues in our chosen town.
And for a good laugh, watch Canadian Bacon again. Before Jan. 20. We are going to need a lot of laughs.
We are so fortunate to live in Canada. Our home and native land.