AMO conference of value to Fort Erie councillors – Times of Fort Erie

Its important to make every minute count in meetings at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference, according to Stephen Passero, a municipal councillor from Fort Erie who attended the annual gathering in Ottawa earlier this month.

Held in Ottawa, the three-day gathering of politicians is held in a different city in Ontario each time. In 2015, AMO was held in Niagara Falls at Scotiabank Convention Centre.

It brings together thousands of municipal leaders, as well as provincial politicians and staff. Passero said because formal and scheduled meetings can be brief and to the point, its critical to focus on issues and projects that are fresh rather than pushing for action on matters that have been on Fort Eries radar for many years without much support or interest from the province.

At a certain point, you have to realize a government is not going to change its position a year and a half before an election, said Passero, who is serving his second term.

Whether its a spontaneous discussion at a restaurant or a planned sitdown with a provincial cabinet minister and their staff on the agenda for the day, Passero said there is value in both.

Its always a great opportunity to advance projects, put in a key word or two, and just raise issues to a higher profile with them, said Passero.

There were specific projects discussed at the AMO conference, such as the Canadian Motor Speedway and the Millers Creek Marina Project, two developments that have been touted in Fort Erie as potential economic drivers for all of Niagara but have not seen shovels in the ground after many years of ups and downs.

Passero said these projects were mentioned, but he feels conversations about water, wastewater and other infrastructure needs were the most valuable, also saying that most towns and cities likely had similar discussions.

Were not unique in the issues that were facing, said Passero, also saying that the representatives who travelled to AMO from Fort Erie were able to come to the table with solutions and concerns about getting policies changed at the province and that they werent just looking for a handout.

Also attending were Mayor Wayne Redekop, chief administrative officer Tom Kuchyt and Ward 6 Coun. Chris Knutt, representing Fort Eries Stevensville area.

Knutt said talks with the Ministry of Natural Resources on how the town could find a way to clean up Waverly Beach were had, as well as possible ways to alleviate Fort Eries already-expensive and ongoing battle with the emerald ash borer. He said he learned about a provincial fund that will provide for the planting of 50 million trees by 2025, and to date, has assisted more than 4,000 landowners.

Were going to investigate to see if Fort Erie could qualify for it, said Knutt.

Fort Erie has budgeted $579,000 in 2017 to combat the invasive insect that has infested more than 15,000 trees, 80 per cent of them on private property.

Another point of interest at AMO for Knutt was what he discovered about the City of Barrie and its workflow system that allows developers and property owners to track their applications for permits and inspections online, allowing them to see how far along they are in the approval process.

I was really intrigued by technologies some of the other municipalities have, said Knutt.

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AMO conference of value to Fort Erie councillors - Times of Fort Erie