Whether the door is open wide, open a crack or closed for negotiations, Tiny Township councillors had strong words about the ongoing saga with the Penetanguishene Library Board, and by extension, Penetanguishene council.
The dispute began in one of the first Penetanguishene council meetings for the new term in 2022, where appointees were made to various municipal boards; instead of going with the historic verbal agreement over three decades, Penetanguishene council chose to appoint their own Tiny representative.
North Simcoe residents facing non-resident fees for use with the Penetanguishene Public Library and Penetanguishene Memorial Community Centre, as well as in Midland for both the Midland Public Library as well as the North Simcoe Sports and Recreation Centre, have been caught in a municipal maelstrom for the past year while solutions are sought.
An agreement for Tiny use with the Midland and neighbouring Springwater Township public libraries was reached for residents to have full membership access for $200. However, the dispute with Penetanguishene continued.
From the Penetanguishene Library Board to Tiny council, a mid-December letter included a one-year draft contract which stated if Tiny paid outstanding invoices for roughly $26,000 from 2023, that they would allow for a Tiny-recommended board representative along with library services provided. As well, the annual cost for the contract was listed as $15,000 plus HST, in addition to the $200 per household membership.
That letter was discussed at the recent Tiny committee of the whole meeting.
From staff, one option was to accept the contract; that would have meant paying in addition to sending out previous invoices by Tiny for nearly $31,000 in 2023; the second option was to amend the contract; and the third option would to reject the contract and write off the $31,000 invoices to Penetanguishene as a bad debt expense.
Both Mayor Dave Evans and CAO Robert Lamb described the situation as “perplexing.”
Evans emphasized that the matter was between Tiny Township and the Penetanguishene Library Board, but added that it “essentially came down to somebody changing the agreement that we had in place for over 30 years – unilaterally – and not giving us any choice on this.”
Evans’ words were barbed, stressing that “Tiny Township didn’t start this fight.”
“If you create a storm, you can’t then complain about the rain,” said Evans, borrowing a family colloquialism. “They’ve created this storm, they’ve created this problem.
“They’re continuing to play the victim to us in trying to say that… we’re the cause of all your trouble and all your woes, you’re not doing this.” He added: “That $15,000 to me is punitive and childish. It has no justification, no basis, it’s in excess of the current agreements we have in place. To me, it’s totally untenable.”
Evans pointed out that just over 20 Tiny residents had signed up to use the Penetanguishene Public Library so far this year, understanding that the amount would increase for seasonal and summer registrations; Lamb later shared that the number had risen to over 30 users.
Coun. Kelly Helowka was in agreement, stating: “I feel like this is a form of extortion, it’s heavy-handed, and they're trying to hold us for a form of ransom.” Also siding with Evans was Deputy Mayor Sean Miskimins who called the matter “bad business.”
To make the discussion interesting, Coun. Dave Brunelle put in a bid for negotiation and asked if council could hold a closed session discussion with their library board appointee, which was swiftly rebuked by Lamb who instructed Brunelle: “We don’t have a representative on the Penetanguishene Library Board. That’s what started all of this; there is no individual that is our approved representative sitting on that board.”
Another attempt at negotiation was put forward by Coun. Steffen Walma who requested council try to reach out again, only to be informed by both Lamb and corporate services director deputy CAO Haley Leblond that Tiny staff had attempted and failed in receiving any correspondence from the board as per negotiations.
“I think that’s what’s perplexing with this response back from the library board,” said Lamb on a point by Miskmins about Penetanguishene council’s procedural bylaw. “Our issue and our discussion were with council-to-council; it was their council’s decision – not the library board – to not appoint our representative to it.
“I have not seen a letter come back from their council that they’re not in agreement with this; this comes from the library board,” added Lamb. “So there seems to be a disconnect of authority as to where it comes, because ultimately appointments to the library board are by council appointment only; not a library board scenario.”
When the vote was taken, Tiny council agreed to reject the contract and write off the previous $31,000 total invoices.
The discussion wrapped up as Walma, Brunelle and Helowka added that they weren’t against future negotiations. Said Helowka: “We have a feeling of how things have gone moving forward, and I too supported that motion, but my door is always open to renegotiate at any time.”
That same evening, Penetanguishene council was in session with their regular meeting of council.
Upon discussing non-resident user fees, Mayor Doug Rawson told MidlandToday on the unity of North Simcoe residents: “All that fell to the wayside for literally $25,000.” However, he stressed that there would still be room for future negotiations.
Information on Tiny Township library services can be found on the municipal website.
The report on the 2024 Penetanguishene Library proposed agreement, including correspondence and draft one-year contract, can be viewed on the agenda page on the Township of Tiny website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the township’s YouTube channel.
