MidlandToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected]. Please include your daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). This letter is in response to a recent column entitled Midland should charge out-of-towners more to play at rec centre.
Dear Editor,
This proposal highlights the need for greater cooperation in the delivery of services across the region. In fact, I call on the province to begin the process of amalgamaing Tay, Tiny, Penetanguishene and Midland.
The idea that we, as residents of Tay Township, contribute nothing to the economic well-being of Midland is insulting. We do all our shopping in Midland. We buy fuel for our vehicles and service them in Midland. We're members of Midland-based clubs and keep our boat in a Midland marina. We patronize local restaurants and entertainment venues.
Tourist attractions like the Wye Marsh, Sainte-Marie among the Hurons, the SS Keewatin and those inviting beaches in Tiny all draw visitors to Midland where business owners profit by providing goods, services and lodging.
I think it's fair to say that if everyone from outside of Midland were to suddenly stop doing business with any establishment in town that Midland itself would surely struggle to survive.
Who would be left to use those confusing high-tech parking meters?
Yet we have absolutely no voice in decisions made in Midland that affect many aspects of our daily lives.
Amalgamating the municipalities in our region would allow for more cost-effective, efficient and equitable delivery of services with fewer unnecessary duplications while sharing the costs across the region more fairly.
It would also put an end to this kind of me-first thinking that has led to the exclusion of regional residents from amenities like beaches and parks that were traditionally used by the entire community without regard for artificial political boundaries.
I'd like to remind the author that it's called the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre for a reason. It's not the Midland Sports and Recreation Centre because it was intended for the entire community.
Bob Codd
Tay Township
