Last weekend, the annual Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference was held in London, and representatives from Midland were in attendance.
Ontario is home to 443 municipalities, and AMO provides a way for those lower-tier government officials, such as mayors and CAOs, to get a one-on-one conversation with provincial officials.
Representing Midland were Mayor Bill Gordon, Deputy Mayor Jack Contin, councillors Jamie-Lee Ball, Bill Meridis and Beth Prost, and members of staff including new town CAO Rhonda Bunn as well as acting planning director Steve Farquharson.
Gordon had previously stated the town had secured a delegation with the staff of Tourism, Culture and Sport Minister Neil Lumsden to discuss the waterfront master plan as well as the town’s tourism strategy for the Great Lakes. At an expense of roughly $10,000 to attend, he had said the town’s largest return on investment could take place at the event.
“All in all, it was a worthwhile conference,” Gordon told MidlandToday.
On Gordon’s personal website, he said the town wielded its iconic butter tarts to share with Lumsden and other provincial staff throughout the three-day conference.
Said Bunn, “Our delegation with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport was an opportunity for us to bring to the province’s attention the limitless potential for Midland as a premier tourism destination in Ontario. Hosting cruise ships such as the Pearl Mist has allowed us to proudly showcase our beautiful harbour, inviting downtown, and the rich cultural heritage of north Simcoe.”
She added she anticipates more tourists from cruise ships to the area from across the continent.
Other events attended by council and staff included infrastructure and asset management, planning changes, affordable housing and homelessness prevention, and more.
“I can add that I am looking into joining a pilot for automated speed enforcement — photo radar,” said Gordon, “with a new AMO LAS (local authority services) partnership that would see centralized monitoring and ticketing, thus reducing the replication of services and costs to each participating municipality.
“I am still collecting background on estimated costs for the upcoming budget as well as potential timing to join the pilot that is getting underway in Barrie.”
A formal announcement of the town’s accomplishments at AMO is likely to be shared at a regular meeting of council next month.
