Haldimand County will be closing down all of its satellite administration offices, and instead, building a new main building in central Cayuga.
That was the decision councillors made at their Feb. 2 council-in-committee meeting, after dealing with lengthy staff presentations, as well as hearing final comments from the public.
“All we’re doing is cleaning up a mess that was given to us by the province of Ontario,” said Coun. Tony Dalimonte, who feels this decision will see Haldimand revert back to the way things used to be before amalgamation.
Dalimonte said when it was a regional municipality, they had one centralized location in Townsend. He said councillors and mayors around the table at the time believed the central location worked.
But that approach ended after amalgamation, leaving Haldimand with costly satellite offices scattered around the county.
“To me, what we’re doing here is no different than what many other businesses across Ontario are doing,” Dalimonte said, adding that he believes this will provide efficiencies.
Going into the committee meeting, councillors were faced with four options to choose from as part of the county’s review on administration buildings in Haldimand.
Two options included a modified status quo with most satellite offices staying open, and the other two included a more centralized approach with satellite offices closing.
In all options, though, the Dunnville office would close.
At the meeting, residents had mixed opinions about whether they wanted to see administration buildings consolidate and the county take on a more e-government approach with library branches used as community hubs.
“If you don’t get it right it’s over, especially in Dunnville,” said Dunnville resident Mike Ramsey, who cited recent school and fire hall closures in town that he said has changed residents’ attitude toward local government.
“We are different than the west. There’s this conception that if we build it in Cayuga, Dunnville will come,” Ramsey said. “I have news for you. We’re not coming. We’ve got other alternatives to the east.”
Ramsey was referring to the Niagara Region. He proposed the county put a significant office in Dunnville “because our needs are hugely different.”
And former Dunnville mayor Bob Blake also agreed.
“Certainly, if I had a business in Cayuga, a centralized office is perfect, but I live in Dunnville,” he said. “I want an office, as we have had for many years, on Broad Street. We are different. That must be recognized.”
He said the majority of people in Dunnville are well over 50 years old, and eliminating their satellite office and turning to an e-government approach wouldn’t work for those people.
But just as there were residents against consolidation, there were also residents who believed moving to a centralized approach was a smart move.
John Edelman, owner of Haldimand Motors in Cayuga, admitted that while he might be biased to the idea of having a main building in Cayuga, he believes it’s a smart investment for the future.
“We need to look at what we’re investing in 20 years from now,” Edelman said, who encouraged council to use the savings from consolidation and invest it in more technology for the future.
Debbie Thomas, president of the Dunnville Horticultural Society, said she was also in favour of consolidation.
“I really like the idea of the libraries being used as more than a library,” she said, who feels that embracing technology is the way to go.
While residents may have had mixed opinions that day, staff said the responses from an online survey, four open houses and focus groups with social and business groups showed a trend toward consolidation.
About 243 people participated in the public consultation process in some way and about 215 provided some form of feedback.
Overall, staff said two-thirds of the people who provided feedback supported a consolidation approach
Caledonia, Cayuga and rural communities strongly supported the idea, but the vote was split 50/50 in Dunnville and Hagersville.
Taking the results into account, staff recommended councillors consolidate administration buildings and close down satellite offices, and council agreed.
But some councillors were conflicted since there was a lack of community input on the issue.
A total of 28 people attended the four open houses, with Dunnville having the best attendance at 14.
Coun. Craig Grice said there must be a problem with communication if residents aren’t voicing their opinions about this big decision.
But Don Boyle, Haldimand’s chief administrative officer, said he’s taking the numbers to mean the issue isn’t as important for residents.
The CAO was backed by other councillors who believed communication about the project had been achieved.
“We started the accommodation in my first term on council. This is something that has been ongoing for eight-plus years,” Coun. Leroy Bartlett said, adding that this was also an item he ran on in the last election.
“By in large, people in Ward 1 were in favour of centralization,” he said.
The accommodation review was also something Mayor Ken Hewitt publicized during his election as well, and he feels the consultation process was intense and well planned out.
“Bricks and mortar are bricks and mortar,” Hewitt said. “They don’t offer the services. It’s the people.”
The council table was heavily leaning toward consolidation, but one councillor wasn’t fully convinced that was the right decision.
“I do not favour centralization for many reasons,” Dunnville Coun. Bernie Corbett said.
One of the main reasons was that he didn’t feel his town wanted it. He said while the majority of survey takers might have supported centralization, the majority of people who contacted him directly favoured maintaining face-to-face customer service.
In the end, councillors voted 6-1 to consolidate the buildings. Corbett voted against it.
For residents, the decision means closing and selling the Dunnville satellite office and Cayuga administration building.
The county will also close the Caledonia satellite office and end its lease, as well as use the Hagersville satellite office for OPP purposes and rental space.
The Haldimand County Caledonia Centre will be used to expand OPP services in Caledonia, and the Dunnville multi-purpose building will be used for health and social services, OPP, ambulance services and Dunnville water and wastewater staff.
All administration staff would move to a new consolidated building constructed somewhere in Cayuga, and the county will take a more e-government approach with local library branches used as community hubs to assist residents.
Staff will now look for potential locations for a new building in Cayuga, with the goal of starting construction by late 2017.
Council's decision on the issue still needs to be ratified at Monday night's council meeting.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Jen Nevans
Quelle/Source: The Sachem, 06.02.2016
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