If you see signs and hear horns at the Tiny Township municipal office at 130 Balm Beach Rd. W. this afternoon, it's likely a protest planned ahead of the scheduled public information centre meeting.
While the two-hour meeting is scheduled for a start time of 6 p.m., protesters will be waving various ‘Stop the Build’ signs beginning at 4:45 p.m.
The protest is the latest in a series of appearances by Tiny residents who are opposed to the proposed $21-million build of a modern net-zero carbon administration centre, which they claim could balloon into $40-million costs and above through future loans and payments, all, they stress, on the taxpayer dime.
As a municipality, Tiny is run and operated out of several satellite locations ranging from buildings to portables, with the main facility at 130 Balm Beach Rd. W. built in 1967 operating past its lifecycle.
Residents in opposition have resisted the new build while simultaneously complaining about lack of accessibility, lack of proper lighting, and unreasonable conditions for council meetings in the current building.
The proposed facility, aimed for lasting more than 60 years, has been shown in the early design phase to achieve a low-impact site development with universal accessibility, enhancing public services and spaces, as well as achieving regenerative design and a design to meet post-disaster standards.
The meeting will be the third in a three-part information session which presents the same information for residents at varying times to reach as many people as possible, and to gain insight for the proposed community hub and public use spaces which residents would like to have.
Originally scheduled for August as per the project timeline, opponents of the ‘Stop the Build’ demanded that council move the public information centre ahead in the timeframe in order to address their concerns, proposing that the meeting could be held within the Midland or Penetanguishene arenas; Tiny staff at the time informed the group that such short-notice bookings couldn’t happen in those venues, instead compromising for the three sessions.
Previous protests have been peaceful, although online rhetoric in the Tiny Township: Community Discussion All Things Council social media page as well as disruptions within council chambers had prompted one Tiny council member to denounce “cyberbullying” within the discourse. Prior to tonight’s meeting, a call was put out within the group to maintain a peaceful protest for the session.
To accommodate all attending residents, the meeting will be hybrid with in-person attendance as well as through the virtual Zoom platform. Tiny staff encouraged those with questions to participate by submitting ahead of the meeting, during the meeting through the virtual platform or in person, or through the new administration building page of the township website.
Archives of council meetings are available to view on the township’s YouTube channel.
