It was a week of persistence for Tay Township council members.
First, it was Mayor Ted Walker, who came to council with a request to clear sections of the Tay Trail for residents to use. Then Coun. Mary Warnock made her case for council support for an Inclusive Community Grant through the Ministry for Seniors and Accessibility.
The request had come forward at a recent council committee meeting, but had led to contentious opinions around the table as to due process not having being followed to bring it to council.
Warnock had taken the questions and tried her best to answer them, however, she was unable to convince council to endorse the application for $64,810, inclusive of $5,000 of in-kind contributions from the municipality. The advisory committee was also looking for approval to use grant money to fund a part-time, age-friendly coordinator position.
Council members were concerned about some of the asks and the fact that the age-friendly plan hadn't even been brought forward to the forum yet.
Despite all the opposition, Warnock wasn't ready to give up, and that was why she brought it up again at this week's council meeting.
"I'd like to try and explain why the committee feels this is a grant they'd like to take advantage of," said Warnock. "Tay is ahead of many of the municipalities when it comes to a solid plan for seniors. Tiny was the first to complete their local aging plan and then we sat with them to create a plan that is being used by the county.
"Last year, we got a grant to hire a consultant to create a local plan, sharing the cost with the Town of Midland. We completed that plan this year and we have seen the results and have completed our needs assessment study."
The application is based on all the needs that came forward through the study, she added.
"It's an ambitious plan and that's why we need a part-time coordinator," said Warnock as she addressed one of the main points that concerned her peers. "We would not be able to achieve any of these goals without this position. With all due respect, our staff don't have the time or the background knowledge. I'd also like to stress this is a contract position. The position ends when the grant ends."
However, she added, it's a no-go without the coordinator position.
That ticked off Deputy Mayor Gerard LaChapelle, who pointed out the report didn't specify the position was only for the duration of the grant.
"It's not acceptable when you tell me this is it or nothing," he said. "I don't like that threat. I have not changed my thoughts and opinion. I'd rather wait till I see what the age-friendly study suggests."
Walker wasn't happy with the situation either.
"I have real concerns with where we are on this," he said. "Council have not yet had the presentation from the consultant. We're unaware of what those recommendations may be, or if we're going to be able to action them all, or even a portion of them, both financially and resource-wise."
The report, said Walker, referenced a staff person, not a consultant.
"As well, it did mention that the staff person would be re-evaluated after," he said. "That to me hints that it could be a request for an extension or a full-time position. Coun. Warnock has clarified but that's not what was written down."
The report talks about the part-time coordinator position as a 12-month pilot position to be evaluated on the merits of what value it brings to the township at the close of the funding period.
Another issue involved digital tablets being given out to seniors so they could stay connected with friends and family and to be able to access virtual programming. The $8,000 for that part of the project was also to be covered using grant money.
"We're not sure what the concerns are, maybe it's around how we will roll it out," said Warnock. "The purpose was that we're going to be living in a world not much different than 2020.
"Isolation is very common in our seniors, COVID or no COVID. We looked at what other organizations are doing and Askennonia received funding for something similar. The iPads were for seniors to keep and now many of our seniors do exercise programs with Askennonia. Others need it to stay in touch with their family. That program was very successful at Askennonia."
However, she said, the advisory committee is flexible around that.
"It's good to be able to take advantage of a grant opportunity, but we have to be careful that it, in fact, doesn't end up costing us money," said Walker. "For example, the tablets referred to in the cost page. On that original report, the need, purpose, number, software and maintenance cost and requirements for staff time and distribution were not addressed."
He said that Warnock has also referenced several staff members she's going to have to rely on for administering pieces of the programming.
"She's spoken to the CAO, but the CAO hasn't spoken to council yet," Walker said. "We haven't seen the report so how much time is this council willing to commit for staff?"
The entire process with which the request was brought forward to council, he said, set off a lot of alarm bells.
"In my mind, committing to an unnecessary expense at this point is something we're not in a position for," Walker said. "I think it would be irresponsible of us to do that."
He then suggested skipping the grant application.
"It's okay to say we'll pull the application but that will leave a bad stain on our attempts to get further grants," said Walker, talking about Warnock's offer to withdraw the application if council did not feel comfortable after reviewing the age-friendly study recommendations.
"With COVID restrictions, I'm not sure any of the actionable items can even be undertaken in 2021," said Walker.
Coun. Paul Raymond tried to offer some support to Warnock.
"I've talked to a few council members to understand the scope of the arguments and I do struggle with them," he said. "Yeah, maybe it's a bit too loose, but it is in their terms of reference that they keep an open line of communication with the staff, hence the use of staff time. We've had consultants on stuff before and I don't see what the problem is having a consultant here."
Raymond said the proposition wasn't a bad idea, but maybe the committee had put the horse before the cart.
"We're going to say no just to spite that aspect?" he asked.
Walker said he didn't want residents and the Seniors Advisory Committee to think council was against supporting such endeavours, so he suggested a compromise after Warnock's request was voted down.
Warnock said council should receive the presentation and set out a process to outline the action items they agree to and related timelines and then meet with the committee to consult on how it will be executed.
