BSRA Home > Who We Are > General Meetings> AGM 2003 Review

BLUEWATER   SHORELINE   RESIDENTS’   ASSOCIATION

  

1.0     Review  of  2002-03  Activities  and  Initiatives

 1.1     BSRA Reserve Fund

                 At our 2000 Annual Meeting, the Executive was directed to pursue with the Municipality resolution of the inequity existing with respect to taxes and road services for shoreline subdivisions.  BSRA made a written and oral presentation to Bluewater Council in May, 2001, requesting assumption of roads accessing shoreline residences.

                Continuing frustration with respect to the priority placed by Council on resolution of the inequity,

concerns about inadequate representation of concerns of shoreline constituents by their four ward councillors,

and questions about the availability of voting by mail in the upcoming municipal election led to the calling

of a Special Meeting of the Association in May, 2002.  At a subsequent General Meeting in June, 2002,

motions were passed by the member associations:

“1.  That the BSRA establish a separate fund for the purposes of financing:  whatever legal action may be required to protect the interests of shoreline residents; and political expenses related to the 2003 municipal election.  2.  That the BSRA member associations be requested to contribute to the above fund an amount equal to $50 for each member of that association.  3.  That the Executive Committee, in consultation with legal counsel, be authorized to take appropriate action to protect the interests of shoreline residents, including,

where deemed necessary, initiating legal action through either the courts or the Ontario Municipal Board. 

4.  That the BSRA initiate on behalf of shoreline electors a petition to the Bluewater Council ...

to pass a by-law redividing the municipality to create one shoreline ward consisting of those lands

west of Highway 21 within Hay and Stanley Wards.”

                In June, 2003, a recommendation of the Environmental Committee resulted in a General Meeting resolution: “that the water testing program presently being done at St. Joseph be expanded to include the rest of the Bluewater shoreline and that this be funded by the BSRA Reserve Fund up to $2,000.” 

                This action, designed to effect improvement in the quality of our surface water, is intended

“to protect the interests of shoreline residents” – the principle upon which the Reserve Fund was established.

                It is anticipated that Reserve Fund will be available for any contingencies that may arise in the future where the interests of shoreline residents need to be protected.  A Reserve Fund financial report is presented separately by the Treasurer.  In summary, contributions to the Reserve Fund during the summer and fall of 2002 exceeded $35,000; contributions continue to be received.

 1.2     Unassumed Shoreline Roads

                 In the fall of 2002, an alternative mechanism to partially offset the taxation/services inequity was introduced

at Bluewater Council.  Council established a “Roads Grant Committee”, consisting of 3 members of Council and

2 BSRA representatives.  The resulting grant program provides for reimbursement of eligible road maintenance expenses up to an annual maximum of $1,900/kilometer of unassumed shoreline subdivision access roads. 

                The Committee continues in operation with two primary functions: the monitoring of the road grant program, and the development of a municipal roads policy to define the road standards under which a shoreline road could be assumed by the Municipality, should that subdivision wish to pursue the matter in lieu of receiving the annual road grant.

                It is anticipated that a draft roads policy will be presented for consideration by Council this fall.

 1.3     Representation of Shoreline Interests / Concerns

                 As referenced in sub-section 1.1 above, continuing concerns about inadequate representation by the four

ward councillors of concerns of their shoreline constituents led to the presentation of an 1,134-signature petition

requesting that Council redivide the Municipality to create a shoreline ward west of Highway 21 with councillor representation proportionate to the number of shoreline electors.  When Council failed to act within the 30 days prescribed in the Municipal Act, BSRA solicitors referred the matter to the Ontario Municipal Board for a determination. 

In November, just prior to the scheduled OMB hearing date, Council passed a by-law creating two shoreline wards

with one councillor each.  Our solicitors then requested the OMB to allow BSRA to withdraw its petition.

1.4     BSRA Correspondence to Municipality of Bluewater

       Date                                                          Subject

September 16                        Response to Administration report re Maintenance Grant for Unassumed Shoreline Roads

November                             Draft By-law to restructure Council

November 14                        Ward Restructuring Proposal # 2

December 18                         2003 Tender for Gravel / Grading

April 23                  Limitation on types of eligible expenditures – road maintenance grant program

May                                       Observations re:  Preliminary Bluewater Budget; Roads Department Budget

May 22                                  Shift in Tax Burden to Hay West and Stanley West Wards

June                                       Observations re method of financing – new arena facility

June 9                                    Roads Policy / “Road Standards”

July 3                                     Request to Freeze Rezoning Applications, pending development of Bluewater Official Plan

July 29                                   Environmental Issue – Surface Water Quality

                                   

1.5     2003 Municipal Election

                 BSRA involvement in the 2003 municipal election includes the following:  seeking quality candidates;

endorsing those candidates whose qualifications, experience, and track record are consistent with the expectations

the Association has defined as the ideal qualities for elected representatives; assisting in the election campaigns of endorsed candidates; and recommending in a letter to shoreline electors those candidates that the Political Action Committee believes will best contribute to making Bluewater Council effective over the next three years.

                To date, BSRA has announced its endorsement of candidates for the following positions:

                         Councillor-at-large                                    Jim Fergusson

                        Hay West Councillor                        Bill MacDougall

                        Stanley West Councillor                        George Irvin

             Shoreline electors are strongly urged to vote for BSRA-endorsed candidates.

 1.6     Establishment of BSRA Committees

 At the 2002 Annual Meeting, the Executive Committee announced the establishment of the following six committees:

Communications; Economic Development; Environment; Member Services; Political Action; and Road Services. 

The objectives of this initiative are:  to enable the Association to deal more effectively with a broader range of increasingly complex issues of concern or interest to shoreline residents; and to utilize the various skills, experiences,

or interests of a greater number of shoreline residents in the work of the Association.

                Section 2.0 of this report, “Summary of Committee Initiatives / Activities: 2002-03", documents our progress to date.  It is anticipated that even more shoreline residents will become involved in committee work during 2003-04.

 1.7     New Initiatives

 Although Section 2.0 provides an overview of our committee activities, several new initiatives warrant highlighting:

"the establishment of our Association website: www.bsra.ca

"                      the development of a member data base to enable the future production of a Shoreline Resident Directory.

"                      the provision of a reliable snow-blowing service at reasonable cost.

"                      our program of testing water quality at several Lake Huron sites within Bluewater on a weekly basis.

"                      Association involvement in the 2003 election campaign with a view to contributing to the quality of the next

                                Bluewater Council, and ensuring effective representation for shoreline residents.

 1.8     2003-04 BSRA Priorities

                 See Section 3.0 for “2003-04 Association Priorities”, as identified by the Executive Committee.