King politicians network at AMO

September 3, 2013 · 0 Comments

King’s representatives at AMO included Councillors Cleve Mortelliti, Peter Grandilli, Avia Eek, Debbie Schaefer and Mayor Steve Pellegrini.

By Mark Pavilons
Leveraging the opportunity to get a provincial minister’s ear, made the recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario AGM and annual conference a success for King Township officials.
King Mayor Steve Pellegrini said it was quite interesting and beneficial for King’s elected representatives.
The Ottawa event, held Aug. 18-21, was a great networking opportunity and a chance for King councillors to make their voices heard.
Attendees chose their events and presentations of interest, and some high-profile politicians on hand included Premier Kathleen Wynne, PC Leader Tim Hudak and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.
Mayor Pellegrini was joined by Councillors Cleve Mortelliti, Debbie Schaefer, Avia Eek and Peter Grandilli. They had an opportunity to speak with Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Linda Jeffrey. Mayor Pellegrini also had an informal, three-hour meeting with the minister, discussing provincial downloading and the impacts to our rural municipality.
Pellegrini explained the province has cut farm tax credits to municipalities by 6% in 2012-2013 and that translates to a direct 6% tax hike locally. In King’s case, we will have to find roughly $800,000 to make up the loss.
The mayor and Jeffrey also discussed greenbelt and Oak Ridges Moraine legislation, since the review of these important plans is slated for 2015. Pellegrini stressed municipalities like King want to be on the front end of the consultation process. The province, he said, has to think things through as the review process approaches, taking municipal interests into consideration.
The mayor said he “planted some seeds” for the minister to consider.
Along with seeing other mayors and networking, King’s representatives took in sessions on MPAC (Municipal Property Assessment Corporation), farm assessments, wind and solar power options.
Mayor Pellegrini said he’s particularly interested in looking at solar panels for King’s arenas, noting the province pays all the costs, and enjoys the benefits, for the first 15 years, before they’re reverted back to the municipality. In the end, though, they will provide much-needed revenue for the municipality.
Pellegrini said he doesn’t want to “sit back and wait” for fear of “missing the boat” in this regard.
Councillor Schaefer was impressed by the presentation by astronaut Chris Hadfield, who spoke about vision, goals and leadership.
“For me both the comments about maintenance of vision and acceptance of +-90 degrees from one’s personal goal are very relevant,” Schaefer said. “Implementing our Sustainable King vision is like Hadfield’s path of going from being a 5-year-old in a cardboard box waiting for blast off and being in space. “
Mention was also made of community engagement, reflected in King’s efforts to seek community input into the future of the old Schomberg arena.
She learned how some communities are being very aggressive in investing in solar power and admitted that “King is far behind on this.”
Schaefer said it was a very worthwhile event.
“It’s valuable for one to get out of their usual space with its specific issues. You hear new things. You come home and look at your usual space differently and then hopefully you do your work better and/or differently,” she said.
AMO was interesting and for Councillor Cleve Mortelliti, the presentation by Chris Hadfield was the highlight.
“The guy is fascinating to listen to and watch,” Mortelliti said. “His presentations are professor-like, like being in university again with a really great prof. A real motivator. Very inspiring guy to listen to.”
The councillor noted he made some good contacts with LED street light manufacturers and took in some seminars.
Councillor Eek said one of the most inspiring speakers was Premier Wynne. She spoke to a standing-room only audience of delegates, talking about building strong relationships in our municipalities; about having meaningful conversations with us; and the importance of collaborating with us.
“There were so many opportunities to learn, engage colleagues, and share ideas at this conference,” Eek said.
“Our farmers and residents have put their trust in us to represent them locally, and at other levels of government. Attending conferences such as the AMO conference helps us develop our leadership abilities, and provides us with access to more tools so that we are able to help create communities where we can truly live, work and play, while maintaining our vision of King Township.”