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An overall rosy picture was painted for the next year of the Midland Bay Landing with one small hitch, it needed permission from Midland council to carry over allocated funds in a pre-approval request.
Chair Bill Kernohan requested the $175,000 of forecasted operating expenses budgeted for the 2021 budget be pre-approved in council’s 2022 budget considerations, as the Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation (MBLDC) operation budget couldn’t roll over into the next year.
CFO Michael Jermey added, “We need to be in a position to award a contract and at this stage we don’t have approval for 2022 yet. So we’re kind of stuck in between.”
The request was raised at the MBLDC's annual general meeting presented at a special meeting of council Wednesday. A presentation by Kernohan touched upon achievements and a financial report for 2021, and a work plan and draft budget for 2022.
Constant praise was given to Midland Bay Landing (MBL) by nearly all attendees, with special attention given to its consideration as a UNESCO Global Geopark from earlier in the year.
“To have a contiguous harbour with our beautiful downtown that winds into those 40 acres is unparalleled,” said CAO David Denault. “We saw that in the UNESCO Geopark analysis; this is a world-class asset we have.”
That promise of making the most of the waterfront property swayed council into voting yea for the pre-approval for the 2022 budget.
Coun. Cody Oschefski offered his support for the pre-approval, stating “This is the highest potential property for Midland in the future; I think this is our ticket out of the highest-taxed municipality in Simcoe County. I will sleep better the day people stop saying that out loud.”
The topic of its status as a brownfield site was raised by Coun. Jonathan Main who asked about the remediation required on the property.
Director of environment and infrastructure Andy Campbell explained that the MECP (Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks) had provided a Notice of Risk Assessment recently, providing the ability to manage soil contaminants on-site which would be a large cost-saving measure for the town, as long as certain conditions were met.
“A tree, for example,” Campbell explained. “Normally, you’d dig a tree pit and it’s a cubic-metre of soil that has to be dug around each and every tree. The MECP is suggesting 32 cubic metres of clean soil has to be put around every single tree.”
Campbell added that the designation of trees on the property as woodlot more closely resembled scrub, and whatever happens to the property will be a result of the plans of a developer still not known.
Coun. Beth Prost asked when the public would receive a zero per cent tax increase as a result of the property being sold.
A response was given that an influx of residents to town from the MCR (Municipal Comprehensive Review) projections and attraction to the world-class waterfront would increase the tax base over years to pay off debt before touching the levy.
Mayor Stewart Strathearn noted that it would also be up to the council of the day to make any decisions in that regard.
Tensions rose when Coun. Bill Gordon brought up the issue of unannounced construction recently on the site, demanding a clear and concise reason as to what town equipment was doing there.
Staff and council reminded Gordon that his question, brought forward through earlier detailed internal correspondence since the incident, had been answered previously.
Denault stated that suspicious queries of that nature were unhelpful, reduced trust in staff and fostered frustration.
In a deputation at regular meeting of Midland council hours later, a plea was made to keep the MBL woodlot intact for environmental and personal reasons. When council asked the deputant about the brownfield status of the scrub, the member of the public stated that reports of its contaminated soil were false and fabricated by the MBLDC as an excuse to raze the land for money.
The MBLDC annual report presentation and financial statements for the year ended 2020 can be found on the town of Midland website.
Archives of MBLDC meetings can be found on the town of Midland YouTube channel.
