Ladies
and Gentlemen
First it’s too much snow - now too much melt water. And weather
predictions indicate that the “El Nino” may be back this summer. Can’t say it’s
ever dull.
This past week there has been a lot of local media
coverage about a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued by our North Simcoe Muskoka
LHIN. The RFP was asking hospitals and private clinics to propose how they would
provide ophthalmological services (eg. cataract surgery) , currently provided
in 4 locations in the LHIN. The end result would likely have been a reorganization
of cataract services, with Midland likely being serviced out of Barrie. The people
of Midland were told what was happening on April 4th and the reaction
was overwhelmingly negative. Thanks to some
direct civic action the RFP process was stopped by the LHIN.
Our province and our LHIN are under great pressure to
provide our area’s healthcare services more efficiently. What we saw with
ophthalmology is likely to be repeated with other healthcare services. Change
is coming. North Simcoe, having a small population area will always face the
uphill battle that services can be provided more efficiently if they are located
in a larger population centre. What the efficiency argument fails to address is
the quality of service to our residents and ultimately the attractiveness of
our area to all who might want to live here.
Over the next few months the four mayors will be working
with doctors, our hospital, our citizens and the LHIN to create a sustainable “healthcare
charter” for North Simcoe. Essentially, “What healthcare services must be
available in North Simcoe to properly serve our population?” I expect a number of public meetings over the next
few months as we work with the LHIN and the citizens of North Simcoe to ensure proper
healthcare stays close to home.
*****
A number of meetings on Monday April 14th
starting at 7:00 pm. It starts with a Public Meeting (you may
speak) on recommendations for changes to our development charges. Right after that is a special meeting of
Council to accept government funding to help us with our 2014 downtown master planning
exercise. Then the General Committee meeting including:
-
Two reports on special requests for parking
permissions in the downtown
-
The Treasurer will make recommendations on
what should become of the 2013 budgetary surplus of $891,000
-
Those recommendations may link to the report
on snowplowing, where we have already used up 62% of the 2014 budget allotment
-
An announcement on our negotiations with
Hydro One
Tuesday April 15th will feature the Meridian Business Women of the Year awards from 4:00 to
9:00 pm at the Midland Cultural Centre. At
6:30 pm that evening is a very special event at the Boathouse Eatery entitled “Taste
of the Titanic”. The Keewatin will open
a new model ship museum this year and will kick that off with the unveiling of
a 10 foot scale model of the RMS Titanic. The “taste” comes into play as the
evening will feature food items from the Titanic’s menu from that fateful
voyage. Call the Keewatin for tickets.
Wednesday April 16th will also be busy. Our local manufacturers will hold a meeting
to share ideas about manufacturing excellence. While the manufacturing base
across Ontario has been under considerable pressure to reinvent itself, there are
a number of success stories in our own backyard. A fine example of our local
industry pulling together.
At 4:00 pm you are invited to Town Hall for the regular Police Service Board
meeting. Then at 7:00 pm at the MCC, David Phillips will be the guest of
Fred Hacker on A Day in the Life.
It will be a lively and intimate conversation
concerning a topic we all love to discuss – our weather.
The weekend will be special for many with the celebration
of Easter. Town offices will be closed on the Friday and the Monday.
Gord
McKay
Be
part of Midland’s Year of Making Decisions - 2014
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