Council goes 'back to the future' as clock ticks on term

The clock is ticking on the current term for municipal councillors and, as time slips away, it seems that Kings County council has taken the municipality’s business back to the future.

There are only eight regular monthly council sessions left until the current term expires, including the session tonight, Tuesday, March 4. That means there are only seven committee of the whole sessions remaining to debate issues and prepare recommendations. We believe it’s fair comment at this point to say we doubt that certain issues will be resolved within the current term.

Not to continue to dwell on the recent Farm Commercial rezoning for Greenwich farm markets, but there’s an observation that begs attention. It wasn’t long after the last round of province-wide municipal elections that the original application from four landowners and farm businessmen in Greenwich was filed.

It was decided to have a consultant study future development in the community at a cost of $25,000. Some recommendations were given serious consideration, but, in the end, it was a proposal to rezone the farm market portions of the subject properties, and one property inside the current hamlet boundary, to C13 Farm Commercial that went through.

This didn’t satisfy the four original applicants and, even though the Farm Commercial zoning was approved, a motion carried to have the planning advisory committee review the original application.

Council’s business has gone back to the future in this regard. Aside from the current farm market operations being legalized through the Farm Commercial rezoning, nothing has been resolved and this is the only concrete step forward since the controversy began. Why was $25,000 spent on the study? How long will it take for the matter to be resolved? If it hasn’t been resolved yet, it might not be before the election and it could conceivably drag on for years.

We’ve taken county council to task lately for struggling to find a legacy and for allowing important matters drag on for far too long, but it isn’t all doom and gloom. Council has accomplished a great deal and has covered a lot of ground, but the hot potatoes don’t seem cool off as the years roll by. As more time is spent passing off hot button issues, other business gets pushed to the back burner.

We’re not saying council avoids the issues deliberately because there has always been due process. But it would be nice if long-standing matters could be resolved before the next election.

If certain issues continue to be handled like hot potatoes, without consensus being reached, can we believe they will be resolved in the short window of opportunity that now exists? Not likely.

With so much background, history and water under the bridge, it would be unfair to expect new councillors to have sufficient grasp of long-standing issues to make informed decisions coming in cold. Or should the electorate oblige new councillors to have educated themselves and pick up where others have left off?

That, too, doesn’t seem right. We suggest there’s plenty to be done and not nearly enough time, and can’t help but wonder: what legacy will we inherit?