A crowd of approximately 70 attended the public meeting regarding plaza user fees held at the Civic Centre in Iroquois on Wed., April 15. Those in attendance made it clear that any small savings on their property tax bill was not worth the risk of losing anything that the plaza provides to the community. Tinkess Photo

IROQUOIS – The public meeting concerning the implementation of proposed plaza user fees drew a crowd of approximately 70, but despite several antagonistic comments on Facebook, it was completed in a completely respectful manner and without incident.

The meeting, the first of two, took place at the Iroquois Civic Centre on Wed., April 15, and began as scheduled at 6:00 p.m. Deputy Mayor Marc St. Pierre chaired the meeting. Councillors Danielle Ward and Tom Smyth were both also on hand. Attendees were asked to sign in upon arrival.

Unlike most council meetings this public meeting was not live streamed, as the equipment required to do so was not available in this location. As a result, and to maintain equal treatment, the meeting in Morrisburg was also not livestreamed.

The evening began with a visual presentation by CAO Ben de Haan and David Jansen, director of parks, recreation and facilities. The presentation provided a bit of history of the plaza as well as what was being proposed. At its completion, the floor was opened for questions and comments from anyone who wished to speak.

Ryan Gilmer and Candice Latulippe spoke on behalf of the Iroquois and District Business Group and explained how much the businesses in the plaza give back to the community and that the imposition of a user fee structure could adversely hurt them, in some cases to the point where they might be forced to close.

Approximately ten other speakers took the time to express their opinions, each of whom spoke against the imposition of user fees.

Council and administration had but a great deal of work completing research on this matter, something that was recognized by almost all the speakers, but the message that was delivered to the council members in attendance was that the small savings on their municipal tax bill was not worth the risk of losing everything that the businesses in the plaza provide to the community.

While it was made clear multiple times that no decision had been made, or would be made that evening, Council how has a much clearer picture of what the public’s concerns are. The following evening the venue would switch to Morrisburg, and an additional opportunity to speak would be offered.

The meeting, which could have been used as a demonstration of proper behaviour at public meetings, wrapped up at 7:29 p.m.