- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
There are two items on Monday's Owen Sound council agenda that beg the questions: how can the City – council and staff – look at an issue from many perspectives when making decisions and taking action? How should consultation with those most affected take place?
The first item appears only on the Correspondence for Information list. These items are received without being read aloud; unless a member of council asks for a discussion, no action is taken.
The letter involved, concerning the lack of access to public washrooms in the City core, was sent by the most senior staff of our local United Way, CMHA (Canadian Mental Health Association), Family Y and Safe 'n Sound to Mayor Boddy and the City Manager, Tim Simmonds, on January 11. It was also sent to the Chair of the River District Board of Management (RDBOM, formerly the DIA) the same day.
As of Friday, none of the signators, nor the CEO of the local Chamber of Commerce who also wrote of the concerns of her members on the same subject, had received a response from anyone at the City or River District. As per a motion at the RDBOM, there was at least one poster downtown concerning washroom hours. Unfortunately, the opening hours printed seem to be inaccurate. At least on Friday, the washroom at the Farmers' Market was locked (not occupied) at 2 p.m. and again at 2:30 p.m. when Hub staff checked.
We sent a photograph of the poster to the agencies who authored the letter. The staff at Safe n' Sound replied that this was the first they had seen it, and that their actual hours are as follows:
Monday 9am to 3:00pm - evening 5pm-9pm
Tuesday to Friday 9am-3:30pm-evening 5pm-9pm
Saturday-10am to 4pm then-evening 5pm-9pm
The issue of accessible washrooms will continue even when city hall re-opens later this month. The marketing company hired to re-brand our downtown highlighted the need to have washrooms available if people are being encouraged to enjoy the river's edge and harbour front outside of Monday to Friday business hours.
The second item on the council's agenda also concerns downtown. It is a report from the recently hired Community Development 
Coordinator, about a potential travelling “Poutine Feast” in mid-July in the 800 block of 1st Avenue East. The Ottawa-based organizers are planning for up to 50 vendors, including food trucks, free entertainment, and as many as 12,500 people in the city block over the 4 days of the event. Parking Lot 1 (the city hall and market customer lot) would be in use throughout the event, from Wednesday set-up to Monday tear-down, presumably providing space for whatever number of porta-potties are required for those numbers of participants.
The staff are seeking council's approval in principal, but “Owen Sound must agree to host on or before January 25, 2022” - the day after the meeting. Following that, there will be consultations with the River District Board of Management.
There are 37 businesses selling food or drink in downtown Owen Sound, some of which even sell Canada's favourite combination of fat, salt and flavour. None of their owners are on the Board of Management for the River District, which is composed of six people with downtown businesses or properties and five without. No business owner voted for the Board of Management, because there has not been an election for over a decade.
The proposal says there are no financial implications for the City, although the venue was chosen because of access to water and electricity. While local food businesses continue to pay for their utilities, will the visiting vendors receive theirs free from the city?
By a provincial ministry calculation, an attendance of 10,000 would add as much half a million dollars to the local economy, although it is unclear whether this calculation is true regardless of whether the attendees are residents or visitors. Without doubt, visitors will patronize the lovely businesses of RDBOM members to shop, but what will the impact be on our food, drink and entertainment venues that have been so hard hit these past two years?
This was on the mind of those representing the downtown businesses of Timmins. It was their withdrawal from the travelling “Poutine Feast” calendar that made space for Owen Sound. The Timmins BIA began to plan in 2019 for their first such event, but the whole Ontario tour was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021 due to Covid.
According to the President of their BIA, “We decided that 2022 was not the most appropriate year to host an event that brought a large number of out-of-town vendors to the Downtown. We often have the Beavertail people, that has proven very popular, however, they complement our events, and are not the focus. It is our intention to host a summer festival this year, but it will be a local event with as much local content as we can muster.”
It's ironic that while the “Poutine Feast” is a free event (except for the $10-17 servings of poutine), it offers an option for a paid VIP pass, with, among other perks, “dedicated washroom facilities”.
