County councillors here like the Green Legacy program that sees thousands of trees planted in Wellington each year – but they are unsure about promoting it too much outside of the county.
County Treasurer Craig Dyer reported to the county planning committee prior to the Feb. 28 county council meeting that the schedule of promotion for this year includes:
– $,1,500, Good Roads and ROMA (now over), Toronto;
– $3,800, Federation of Canadian Municipalities, early June, Quebec City;
– $2,700, Associated Municipalities of Ontario, in Ottawa, in August; and
– $1,000, local trade shows and exhibits, including the Drayton Farm Show April 2 and 3.
The planning committee agreed a week prior to the Toronto conferences that the Green Legacy program should be on display there, but it then considered a motion that the county not participate in the Quebec City conference for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and suggested that the budget for attendance at local trade shows be increased from $1,000 to $2,000.
That motion was lost, but the committee then voted to skip the AMO conference in August.
Councillor Brad Whitcombe, who has been a driving force behind the Green Legacy program, asked to send the defeated conference motion back to committee for more consideration.
He argued there is “value” when the county takes the Green Legacy to such conferences as AMO, and the county has an image because of the program. He was at the booth at the ROMA and Good Roads conference in Toronto when top Minister of Municipal Affairs officials visited, and so did Environmental Commissioner of Ontario Gord Miller.
He added, “Plus, other communities want to try the whole thing. We’re changing the attitude of the province towards trying to get trees in the ground.”
Whitcombe added that the Green Legacy also supported the Eden Mills carbon neutral project, where that hamlet hopes to become the first carbon neutral village in North America. (The hamlet was scheduled to be featured on CBC’s The National on March 11.)
“It was one of the slickest presentations I’ve ever seen,” said Whitcombe, who noted Green Legacy was a partner in that. “The Green Legacy was mentioned in front of nearly 1,000 people. It costs a little – but it has value.”
Planning committee chairman Walter Trachsel wondered, “Why is it always my committee that gets things sent back?” He said he sat in on the presentations, and noted that the booths this year were not as well attended as they had been in the past.
He suggested the county not send the display to all the conferences every year. He would rather see it “in our own community,” and added that the county can consider sending the display again in 2009.
Councillor Joanne Ross-Zuj said she is concerned about procedure, because one of the motions the planning committee defeated had two parts, one positive, and the other a negative, which is confusing.
Councillor Chris White said it is difficult to put a dollar figure on the publicity the Green Legacy program gets at conferences.
But, he said, the environmental concerns that it raised has already has had an effect on such things as pesticide laws, and the county is having an effect on provincial legislation because “We have a presence at the table.”
He said he gets calls for his opinions about environmental legislation, and, “It’s at these conferences you sit down with [cabinet] ministers. One didn’t know about the farm tax rebate,” but does now.
Councillor Lou Maieron opposed sending the Green Legacy to Ottawa.
He said there was no increase in the budget for the display to go to local events “to promote what we do that taxpayers pay for within our own county.”
He said Erin has the biggest and best fall fair in Wellington, the largest one before the Royal Winter Fair, and yet it has never had the display.
“We’ve never had a presentation of Green Legacy – yet we get 30,000 to 40,000 people.”
He said it is going to “two outside trade shows,” and council should “do more in this county.”
Whitcombe then said if council has no interest in sending the display to AMO, he can live with that.
However, before the council meeting ended, Ross-Zuj presented a notice of motion for debate at the March 27 meeting that the Green Legacy program be taken to AMO this August.
