Councillors address concerns raised by resident

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Wide-ranging concerns raised by a long-time Tillsonburg resident were addressed by council following a presentation at the Feb. 9 meeting.

Kevan Rouse spoke to council as a delegation, raising multiple concerns. He presented council what he termed his ‘wish list’ of items he wanted council to look into.

“I spoke to a lot of people in Tillsonburg and they would like you to freeze your spending,” he started, explaining residents want to see a zero per cent tax increase.

He mentioned the pickleball courts cost too much money.

“There’s got to be somebody out there that does this work cheaper,” he said. “My wife plays pickleball, and most of the time when I pick her up or drop her off, there’s room there.”

He mentioned the elevator at Annandale House, which is on this year’s list of capital projects, as one possible area of savings.

“Everybody I spoke to, says there’s nothing wrong with it,” he said, and later suggested selling the facility as it costs too much.

He also mentioned hydro poles in the Annandale subdivision, the cost of the town’s works trucks, the loss of obstetrics in Tillsonburg District Memorial Hospital and, having worked there, that the Customer Service Centre wouldn’t work for a town hall. He also shot down the possibility of another arena, which is a few years out in the capital plan.

“People don’t want to hear about another facility, more taxes,” he said.

Rouse said he has no debt, but if his wife were to pass away, he wouldn’t have enough money to pay the bills.

“I’ll have two choices, pay my taxes or eat,” he said.

Rouse said Lake Lisgar was drained when he was 14, and he claimed it has never came back.

“They wanted it drained because they thought a big snapping turtle would bite a kid,” he said.

Rouse understands someone bought the turtles that were removed.

“That lake never rebounded,” he said. “If you hear 2,000 carp and turtles thrashing around in the back of a truck, it was awful. I still cry thinking about it. To do that to that many animals, it was horrendous.”

Coun. Chris Parker asked Rouse what certifications he has to inspect elevators.

Rouse said he used to work part-time for a guy, adding, “Why fix it, if it’s not broken. You’re spending money that doesn’t need to be spent.”

Andrea Greenway, Director of Recreation, Culture and Parks, answered the Annandale House elevator was installed in 1988, has been creating problems and actually quit earlier that day.

When Rouse suggested people could take the stairs, Greenway answered that wouldn’t meeting accessibility standards.

Mayor Deb Gilvesy explained it’s a provincial law to have public facilities meet accessibility regulations. She also explained the company who will be completing the additional pickleball courts was the cheapest by far the last time, and that the pickleball court construction does not come from the taxes, but from development fees generated from new construction.

The mayor turned to Coun. Kelly Spencer to answer questions about babies being born in Tillsonburg, as her training is as a registered nurse. She explained if a natural birth is to take place, there has to be an anesthesiologists on call, and there is only one in town. She said there also are protocols that must be met in case there are problems in the birthing process.

“I’m just saying that if a woman’s water breaks in the middle of the night,” Rouse said, saying it is better if the mother didn’t have to be taken to Woodstock.

Gilvesy also clarified that the area where work is being done on Lake Lisgar is not turtle habitat, and it’s being completed under the oversight of the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources and Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Council voted to accept the presentation as information.