Thanks Deputy Mayor O'Leary for raising this item. It's not one that I can be supportive of. I think Councillor Merton's comment of “regressive” hit the nail right on the head, and I think the comments about communication from Councillor Tamming are exactly bang on, and I think that's what trumps your comments Councillor Koepke about downtown – parking being paid for by members of the DIA – that's kind of irrelevant in the eyes of the public. The public sees it as free, so it doesn't matter who's paying for it – they're NOT paying for it. That's what matters to the public, that's why it's been a success.

I don't support a parking fee at City facilities. To these people who think it's less expensive to live beyond a few kilometres from town, I would challenge them very quickly on that. I believe it's very remedial math to calculate the increased insurance from hydrant and fire station on your home insurance, the fuel consumption, the usage of your vehicle, God forbid you get an invoice from Nickasons or Mac Taylor, for a new septic because your monthly or quarterly water bill now looks tiny in relation to that.

Downsides to this would include higher municipal costs for implementation and monitoring, this would be in the red $40 thousand prior to even starting. I know I don't need to spend $40 thousand personally to tell me an outcome I already know I would not want to implement on behalf of the Owen Sound taxpayer.

I think that the Owen Sound taxpayer does not wish to see their hard earned tax dollars spent hiring summer students just to support them, as was commented earlier.

I think there is a warranted concern about the loss of volunteers supporting local programs, for instance hockey, lacrosse, ball volunteers, tournament organizers. The Rec Centre hosted a couple of very successful broomball tournaments a few years ago, one was provincial, one was nationals. The organizers of those tournament all came from outside of Owen Sound. Charging for parking is the last message I want to convey to these valuable people who contribute hundreds of hours in support of our local communities and programs.

I think there's a placement of an onus on the residents of Owen Sound, and it's a tremendous Desboro inconvenience just to have to obtain a pass so that you can take your children down to Harrison Park for an evening of toboganning. It's the greatest joy of most people at the park is hearing the joys and happiness of kids playing. I would not want to do anything to offset that.

I think there is a possible misalignment with the responsibility of council to scrutinize closer capital expenditures. I was in Desboro this past summer when they had a public meeting regarding the removal of the ice at the Desboro Community Centre. That's not an easy decision. And that ice is not there this winter. I can tell you what - there's lots of people at that meeting that were very much in favour of that.
But that's the decisions that council has to take and consider. So when we're at budget, I have no problem spending an extra hour digging and digging and digging, because other municipalities are willing to do that, and I think it is incumbent upon us.

I am concerned about a decrease in the lease value of Harrison Park Inn and I think Councillor Hamley spoke to some other aligned businesses that I hadn't thought of leading up to this.

In terms of Parks Ambassadors – sitting on the Conservation Authority, we've used Parks Ambassadors quite successfully but the installation of them was for much different purposes. These Ambassadors were originally deployed at Eugenia Falls to help offset the risk to the Conservation Authority from
people trespassing and placing themselves into dangerous and extremely unsafe positions, so an entirely different reasoning for deploying Ambassadors at Conservation Authority properties.

Lastly I have no interest in casting a vote in support of paid parking at Harrison Park, a park I am certain was gifted to the City as a jewel to enjoyed by all visitors without judgement.

So anything other than to receive the report as information with no further action is not something that I'm supportive of.