Wait! Don’t leave yet please…

Happy New Year.

When Cheryl and I and the boys moved out here to New Brunswick about 12 years ago it was quite full of our Scammell family.
We were moving to a place that actually had a whole bunch of us in reasonably close proximity to each other, give or take 50 kilometers.

My grandmother Annie was living in her house in Fredericton on Hansen Street near the University of New Brunswick. She was entering her 90’s and still getting around and living quite independently.
Her house was, and still is, the one that I associated with Fredericton for my whole life.
As I was growing up, whenever my family travelled here this house was our destination.
When I think about Christmas I will always think about Fredericton and being at Granny’s house.

I always hated that drive from Ontario to Fredericton but man did I love it when we got here! I have so many wonderful memories of the Christmas season in Fredericton I could fill pages of a separate entry on that topic alone.

I’ve mentioned this before but throughout my life I always felt more at home when I was in Fredericton than anywhere else in the world. When we decided to move out here it was quite easy for me.

Of course when we were in Fredericton we drove across the Saint John River to Devon to visit two of my favourite people in the whole world, Uncle Maurice and Aunt Dorie. They were actually my great-uncle and great-aunt, my father’s uncle and aunt. It was always such a fantastic treat when we went to visit.
Sadly, Dorie passed away a few years before we moved here but Uncle Maurice still lived alone on School Street in Devon.
Just prior to our moving here Maurice was moved into a home in Oromocto but the house sat empty.

My dad’s older brother, my Uncle Jim and Aunt Margie had moved back to New Brunswick when Jim retired and bought a house in Beaverdam. Beaverdam is about 5 minutes further out of Fredericton than New Maryland is. Uncle Jim also passed away a few years before we moved here but Aunt Margie stayed in the house in Beaverdam.

My lovely cousin Megan and her husband Peter lived in a great place just outside of Stanley. It was a hobby farm where they had all sorts of different animals such as horses, dogs, cats, chickens and whatever else roamed around the place.
It was a bit of a drive and lousy during bad weather but we loved visiting them. The boys loved interacting with the assorted creatures and would help with whatever needed to be done.
We would have a delicious dinner then head out to the back for a bonfire when it became dark.

Peter worked for Fundy National Park in a little place called Alma which was down on the Bay of Fundy. During the week he would stay at a cottage that they had bought on Mechanic Lake just outside the park. This saved him driving many hours every day to and from home to work.

Many times in the summers Peter and Megan would let us use their cottage during the weekend and our family would have a Fundy weekend in the park and surrounding area.
These trips were priceless with the beautiful scenery and trails to explore.
On one of the trips the boys rented kayaks as Cheryl and I watched from the shore. While they were on the water a mother and two young moose came to the water’s edge for a drink and look around! The boys were able to get within 30 feet of them!
That’s a valuable rare opportunity for certain.

Very shortly after moving to New Brunswick Uncle Maurice passed away and we were robbed of the opportunity to spend more time with a great man.
Their little house on School Street was sold and the “SCAMMELL” letters that Uncle Maurice had put up beside the front door were taken down.
One of my thoughts when we were coming to live here was that the boys would get to spend time with Maurice and enjoy being around him as I had growing up. I think they only saw him 2 or 3 times in their lives. And that sucks.

In late 2013 Megan was taken away from us. Another huge hole was punched into the family that could never be filled again.
Understandably, it was difficult for Peter to remain in the home and life that they had made together without her. Peter sold the place at Mechanic Lake and in the end of 2014 sold the house near Stanley and moved to Toronto to take a great job.

A few days before my birthday in June we lost my grandmother. She was 102 years old!
I thought that perhaps she would make a run for a few more years but she decided that she had done well enough. She used to tell people that she wanted to beat her sister who had passed away in her 90’s.
Now that she had done so she was okay to go any time.
It may have been okay for her but it still hurt like hell for the rest of us. One thing I am very thankful of is that we were able to spend a lot of time with her while living here.
I think that I met my great-grandmothers once or twice before they died but I don't remember them at all. My sons saw Granny quite a but and are old enough to always have clear memories of her.
But it’s a strange feeling when we realize that someone that has been here for our whole lives is now gone.

Granny’s house had sat empty for several years when she moved into the home. My dad told me that even though it was empty, nothing would be changed as long as Granny was alive.
As of this moment, her house on Hansen Street is up for sale.

A few months ago it was decided that my Aunt Margie would sell the house in Beaverdam and move into a place in Ottawa to be closer to my cousin Jamie. The house was put up for sale and sold just a little while ago. The deal actually closes today.

So, in a few short months New Brunswick has gone from having our Scammells in many areas to only two. My father and step-mother in Lower Queensbury and ourselves in New Maryland.

It would be great if someone in the family would move back to New Brunswick someday but in the meantime let’s not get any smaller, okay?

I don’t like goodbyes and don’t want to say any more.

Stay well,
Tim

Wow...

Something really insane happened at the Transportation Committee meeting tonight when the Mayor showed up to have a word with the members. 

I won't get into the details here yet out of respect and the Mayor's request that we keep it confidential until she has had a chance to speak to the members of all of the other Committees of Council as well as the Transportation Committee members that weren't there tonight. 

I'll just say that the mood and energy of the committee up to that point tonight came crashing down to nothing. 

Plus, I really didn't care what we talked about after that anyway because it is now clear that the Village clearly places a value of zero on what the public members of its committees contribute or say. 

I suppose it could be a control thing too. That is probably a very large part of what is about to go down. 

Anyway, there will be first and second reading of the Village bylaw amendment soon and the third and final reading will follow the month afterwards. 

My biggest fear is that the Village business and expertise is about to be drastically changed and not for the better. 

What some people may see as a savings of time and money will end up costing much much more in the long run. Shortsightedness is a constant trait in many groups and organizations that I have been a part of throughout my life. 

Too many little bean counters want their little piles of beans to look wonderful when someone comes by to see it. 

There is no regard or consideration for what is sacrificed from other crucial bean piles to get their piles so lovely but they usually don't care. 

Plus, these beaners HATE when someone comes by and tries to tell them what to do with those beans and suggest ways to use the beans wisely. 

So the beaners shut them out and have the well meaning folks taken out of the equation with everything within their power. 

I'm glad that I've met several beaners that genuinely appreciate input and find ways to listen and implement suggestions that come their way. 

But the Village looks like it's not going to be one of the good ones. 

And that's a shame. 

It's looking more and more like I may have to take another stab at that Council thing sooner than later to see just what the hell is going on in there. 

If the people will take me. 

We have a while to talk about that though. 

For now I'll just get kicked around along with the other members. 

Stay well,

Tim

Hi there

It's summer, I'm doing stuff, and I really don't have much to blog about right now. The boys are in volleyball camp this week which is great for them. A few of their friends are there to keep it fun. Next week will be interesting for them. This year they are too old to participate in the New Maryland day camps that they've loved since they were small. However, now they are the exact age that they can now become Counsellors (not Councillors, hehe) In Training at the camps. They don't get paid to be CITs but it should have them in line for the real jobs of Counsellors next summer. They're doing it for a couple of weeks over the summer. I know they'll have a lot of fun. Other than that. Things are quiet with me. I can't believe how much time I have now that I'm not on Council. There are so few emails and no meetings anymore. Apparently I'm not invited to be on any committees yet since the new mayor has to mull it over for the summer as to who will be joining the committees where there are openings. That strikes me as odd since the committees are still meeting over the summer. Why wait to fill the spots? It seems a no-brainer to me that if you have a volunteer for a committee who knows the stuff pretty well you should take advantage of the offer and use them. When I was on Council we were begging people to join committees. I'll let you know how this works out. The lads are playing AA baseball in Fredericton this season which is going pretty well. They're not getting to play the positions that I know they would be best playing too often. I think there may be some politics involved as to where certain players are from or who their parents are but this isn't Rec ball anymore and the rules of Fair Play don't apply. A couple of weeks ago one of the boys sat the entire game out and the coach said it was an accident and he forgot to put him in. Hmm. As long as they have fun that's all I care about but I don't think they're both enjoying it as much as previous seasons. I could be wrong. Summer has only just started. Stay well, Tim

My Farewell to New Maryland Council (The Mooning)

This is another long one so pour a coffee and get comfortable before reading it.
I know several people that are going to be disappointed when they read this that it is not quite what they expected but I would like to point out that I am considering an attempt for a Council position in the future.
Of course that is a long way off and many things can change by then but I don't want to burn bridges regardless.

Last night was my last formal New Maryland Council meeting as a Councillor (for now anyway). Prior to the meeting I was under the impression that I would be required to be at the June Council in Committee meeting so I figured that I still had two meetings to go.
However, during the meeting last night Council decided that the swearing-in ceremony would take place prior to the June CIC so last night was officially my last meeting. That sounded just perfect to me.
It's funny that I had been looking to this moment so much but when it was finally upon me I started to feel a little sad.
When I think back over the four years of my term there were so many events and emotions that had taken place. I may not have enjoyed them all but they certainly have been memorable.
Try thinking back to something that you did four years ago and see how long ago it feels like.
Even when I was away somewhere on vacation or otherwise it was often somewhere in my head that I was a Councillor with work to do.
You may recall that in 2008 as I was sitting at my mother's bedside in Ontario just prior to her passing I used some of this time to send a detailed letter to Council from my Blackberry.
It was a full-time job really. If people wanted to reach me they would send emails to me or call me at home. There was no such thing as office hours.

But, as trying and frustrating as being a Councillor may be at times there will always be something inside me that loved the experience.
I'm thinking that part of it is the satisfaction that what we did or tried to do was in some way making our Village a better place.

Before I go further I want to mention that the election results from Monday night were exactly what I was hoping for.
The Councillors that have served with me, Scott Sparks, Gisele McCaie-Burke, and Paul LeBlanc were all re-elected. I am very pleased with this. Our Mayor Frank Dunn had decided not to seek another term as Mayor and ran for a Council seat instead. He was successful. I am pleased with this as well.
It was mentioned to me that the election results were a good indicator that the voters were satisfied with Council and the job that we were doing.
The exception to this are the residents of Baker Brook Court who will likely never be satisfied at anything no matter how much is given to them on a platter.
I was saddened to hear that a couple of the incumbent Council candidates placed campaign signs on Village property near the entrance to Baker Brook Court only to have these signs disappear within a few hours.
If the person(s) responsible for this ever happen to stumble onto this blog I want to point out that no matter how much you loathe somebody, removing a campaign sign from public property is against the law.
Smarten up and grow up. Get over it.

The Deputy Mayor Judy Wilson-Shee ran for Mayor and was acclaimed as no-one ran against her.

A chap by the name of Peter Wiggins was elected and will likely be sitting in my old seat in Council chambers.
Peter has been on the Recreation Committee with me for a while now and has prior municipal Council experience from where he used to live. He's a smart, likable guy and I know he'll do well. I was rooting for him in the election.

None of the candidates that I referred to in my last blog post were successful but I'm sure that they gained a fair amount of insight during their campaigning.

All righty. Back to last night.

Usually when I'm going to a meeting I have dressed fairly casual. Usually blue jeans and a fairly nice shirt.
Scott always wears a suit but I think that's usually because he doesn't have much time between his day job and the Council meetings so he doesn't get changed.
Paul usually wears blue jeans which was a perfect idea to me so I usually did as well.

While I was getting dressed for last night I decided to wear a dress shirt with a tie and beige pants with dress shoes. I figured that I should look nice for the last big meeting.

Part of this was also that I was hoping that some media may be present when I read my finale that I had planned. I should look nice for that, shouldn't I?

Sadly, the media never did show up. We've sort of gotten used to that in New Maryland. It's nice when someone does show up but it's usually because there is a hot topic on the agenda and there will probably be someone there who is ticked off about it.
No matter.

I guess I should have spotted it prior to the meeting but there was something on the agenda right near the end of the meeting. It was a presentation by Mayor Dunn and the CAO Cynthia Geldart.
This didn't initially get my attention. From what I could recall when someone had been leaving a Council position there was something special for them but I thought that it took place later than this after they had left the spot.

It turned out that the special presentation did involve me and during the meeting my wife and two handsome lads came into the Public Gallery to be there for it. Yes, I was surprised. :)

What I didn't realize was that they were in the hallway for a while and heard me when I gave my final Committee report and farewell.

Now, about that report and my farewell.

For regular sessions of Council each Councillor provides an update and report of what transpired at the committee meeting that they chaired. If there were any motions coming from a committee they were read following the committee report being read and moved, seconded and approved by a majority vote. (This sounds like much hoohaw but it's really a very smooth process).

Here's something really cool. Usually the seconder of a motion will be any member of Council except the person who made the motion. It's really just who happens to say it first.
Last night before the meeting I suggested to the others that I will second every single motion of the night except for my report which I was moving. As the meeting went on my family and the others in the public gallery caught on to what was going on and it was pretty amusing.
I'm looking forward to seeing the final minutes of the meeting with my name seconding everything.

I was somewhat nervous as my turn got closer. This was my big one. The last one is the one people usually remember right? I think much of being nervous was worrying that I wouldn't choke up while reading. I had heard a clip on the radio of my pal Jordan Graham doing his farewell at Fredericton Council the night before. He really had a hard time getting through it.

When it came my turn I read my summary of the Transportation meeting of the week before.

Then I read this:

"I’d just like to say a couple of words as this is my last formal session as a New Maryland Councillor.
First, I salute the Village staff for all of their hard work and for putting up with me for the last 4 years. Especially Cynthia for being my brain when my own wasn’t keeping up with the task at times.
I also thank my fellow committee members for caring enough about the Village to dedicate their personal time.
As I have mentioned in the past, I would like to continue as a member of committees as a public member.
To my fellow Councillors and Mayor Dunn, the last 4 years have been much more educational than I expected them to be. Thank you all for being such a great team and making the lessons go smoothly.
Congratulations to you all for being re-elected, to our incoming mayor Judy Wilson-Shee and to Peter Wiggins for his victory.
I wish you all nothing but the best of luck for the next 4 years.
Also, congratulations to the other candidates for all of their hard work and efforts.
I have learned that even though our group has a diverse background, we all have the best interests of New Maryland at heart which is all that matters."

This next part was fun. Here comes the moon.:

"I am now going to do something that several of my Twitter followers and Facebook friends have told me to do. I am mooning you all."

And held this up.

Everyone got a good chuckle out of that.
Then I continued. This is where I choked up but I got through.

"The reason for this choice is that the moon is like us.
For years it was struck by objects which left all of these craters and marks. This was due to no fault of its own except that it was where it was at the time.
As members of Council, over the years we have also taken numerous hits. Some justified. Some unjustified. But we took them for the simple reason that this is where we are at this time.
Our craters aren’t visible like those on the moon but some impacts do leave marks on us.
However, just like the moon, we have continued in our orbits and stayed on the paths that we have chosen to be on. And for that I am proud to have been a part of this group.
And with that I move acceptance of my final report."

And that was that. It felt good to be done but sad at the same time.

When the reports were finished Mayor Dunn stood up to the podium and read this. I could see that Cheryl was a little teary and I was feeling it too:

"As many of you know, Councillor Tim Scammell decided not to re-offer in the recent municipal election, and therefore tonight will be Tim's last official Council meeting as an elected official.

On behalf of my collegues and Village staff, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Tim for his hard work and dedication while serving as Councillor for the past four years.

Tim was elected to Council in 2008 and during his term has served as Chairperson of the Water & Wastewater Committee and the Transportation Committee, as well as Vice-Chair of the Recreation Committee, and a member of the Community Council of Policing Committee. He was an active participant in our development strategy, strategic planning, the Sidewalk Installation Plan, and the establishment of the Trails and Bikeways Master Plan currently under review. Tim has worked hard on behalf of our residents and the Village benefited from his experience and expertise. He always represented the Village with professionalism and enthusiasm. Tim also brought a great sense of humor to our meetings which helped provide a positive and creative work environment.

We are definitely going to miss having Tim around the Council table. However, we understand the dedication to his family. His family is extremely busy right now with his twin sons being involved in various activities and groups. Due to the time commitment required of a council member, Tim has missed a number of important events with his family over the past few years, and made the decision to ensure thay are his first priority.

Tim has graciously offered to serve on our various committees as a resident, and we look forward to continuing to work with him and benefit from his knowledge and skills.

It gives me great pleasure to present a small token of our thanks and gratitude to Councillor Tim Scammell."

Mayor Dunn then presented me with a gift box from Aitken's Pewter containing this awesome desk clock.

The inscription says "Tim Scammell, Councillor, Village of New Maryland, 2008-2012".
What a wonderful gesture.

Mayor Dunn was also presented with a gift for his years of service as the Mayor.

It was a great evening.
I'm going to miss those folks.
Four years may creep up quickly and it will again be time to decide what I'd like to do and what would be best for my family.

What am I going to do until then with all of my spare time?

Not to worry. I'll be around.

Stay well,
Tim

It's been interesting, Thanks

To many this isn't news since I made this decision several weeks ago.
I haven't kept it a secret but I figured that I should say something publicly.

There's no better place to do so than right here where people can see it.

This decision has actually been brewing in my mind for a pretty long time.

In my July 21st post I referred to the Council meeting of that week.
Specifically a member of the public who showed up and was somewhat annoying.
What I didn't mention was that to be at that Council meeting I had to leave my sons' baseball game in the second inning.

As I sat in the meeting listening to that gentleman a nagging thought in my head was saying "I am missing my boys' baseball game for this".

That wasn't the first time I had heard that thought.

I'll admit that I've been pretty lucky in my term on Council as far as schedule conflicts. Usually these things have worked out pretty well.
However, there have been several occasions that I have missed a game due to a meeting.

I won't blame New Maryland Council for all that I've missed.

I missed T's very first hockey goal several years ago to be at a meeting of NBSCETT Council. I was the president at the time. (I'm not currently involved with NBSCETT Council.)

I still feel the sting of that day.
I remember clearly when my cell phone rang during the meeting. I excused myself to take the call.

It was T calling to tell me that he scored his very first goal that day.
I was so damn proud of him and announced it to everyone at the meeting that my son had scored his first goal.

An awesome feeling and a terrible feeling at the same time.
I wasn't there when he scored the goal.

Honestly, I don't know how my boys feel when I wave goodbye to them while they are on the ball diamond or hockey rink in the middle of a game.

If you were to ask them they would probably tell you that it's okay and no big deal but I'm not sure that would be the whole truth.

Do you know why I think this? Because of the bad feeling I have in my stomach as I am waving goodbye to them while they are in the middle of a game.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love watching my sons in anything that they are involved in.
That's no surprise. Any decent parent has that feeling.

My sons will be 14 years old next year when the municipal election comes along.
If I were to run for a Council position and win, that would mean another 4 year term on New Maryland Council.

At the end of that 4 years my boys will be 18 years old.
I'm not trying to predict the future but I'm thinking that by the time my sons are 18 years old they may not have as much time in their lives for baseball, hockey and activities as they do right now.

The next few years in my sons' lives are going to be pretty special ones.
My being there with them may be important for them.
It will be critical to me.

So, I've made up my mind that I will not be running for a position on New Maryland Council in the upcoming election.

I'm not saying that I will never run again though.

I plan to stay on at least one of the committees that I am on right now.

Perhaps in a few years when the boys have grown up and have lives that are mainly independent of my own I'll decide to jump into the fray again.

I'm not leaving the game. I just want to sit on the bench for a while.

Thanks for putting me in Coach.


Stay well,
Tim

The facts? That would be great please.

After this entry I hope to never discuss Baker Brook ever again on this blog.

This was taken directly from FOX FM News page this morning and was played on the air as I was travelling to work.

"A resident of New Maryland is concerned that flooding may start on Baker Brook Court if the village keeps just a paved curb on the street instead of digging a ditch. Bela Galantai made a presentation to the council about his concern last night, he says he wanted to educate council about the problem and hopes council can look into fixing it.
New Maryland Mayor Frank Dunn says he appreciates Galantai coming forward and he will take a look into his concern."

As you know, I am on New Maryland Council and happened to be there. I also have a little knowledge of details that were overlooked by the reporter on hand last night.

I really don't want to go back and detail all of the problems that have taken place with the Baker Brook project. I don't have enough time.
If you like, there's some details here in my blog entry from last year. A little bit weary I suppose. How are you?

I accept that far less people will read this than who heard the radio news item this morning. Plus, most reading this will not have heard it or even care about what I'm talking about.

So I guess I'm writing this as personal way to get things off my back and give some small satisfaction that (to steal a phrase from X-Files) "The Truth is Out There" since my local media outlets don't appear to share my attention to detail.

That's okay. They are very busy with many things.

Okay, let's go.

First of all, when the Baker Brook work was being planned as part of the larger Infrastucture project it was agreed that we should give the residents as much as we possibly can since it had been far too long since their street had been upgraded.

The sanitary system upgrade was mandatory since the existing wastewater lagoon had long passed the end of its lifespan and likely become an environmental hazard.

While this work was to happen the Council decided that we would go that extra mile and connect the residents to the Village municipal water supply. The new water tower being built in the project added some water capacity and hooking on a few more homes onto the system would be no problem.
Presently about 1/3 or so of the Village homes are connected to the Village system. The rest of us are on our own wells.

So that was added to what was to be done.

Prior to the project both sides of the street had sufficient drainage of storm water.
There had been no reports of inablity to handle the capacity of storm water that flowed on the street.
However, there were some funds available so that we could improve the storm drainage on the high side of the street and add curb and gutter and catchbasins while we were in there.
So we chose to go for it. After all, we were giving the residents of Baker Brook a sweet new street with sparkling new features already.

Keep in mind that there was nothing wrong with the system as it was. By rights all we really should have done was fix the road and keep the rest as it was.
This upgrade to the upper side of the street would add appeal to the appearance and also improve the stormwater drainage capacity. Just in case.

The lower side of the street was to remain as it is since we could not afford to do both sides.
That was okay though.
There are other places in New Maryland with curb on one side and none on the other. It's quite common and functions adequately.

The Village's consulting engineer has been satisfied with the work that we have decided to do.
This chap is a Professional Engineer who gets paid well to have knowledge in these things and provide these opinions to his clients.

That was fine with me.

Now to the present day.

The Baker Brook portion of the project is in its final stages.
The watermain laterals are installed in all except one home.
The sanitary system has been modified and that stuff is now travelling to our treatment plant instead of the derelict lagoon which it did before.

The stone is all down and the new curbing is finished on the upper side of the road.

There are a couple of things being tidied up and then it's paving time.
Brand new blacktop.
It will be quite a street to see.

Just prior to our Council meeting last night I received a message detailing this chap's concerns which he brought up with the engineer.
The engineer advised him that it is what it is but that he could go to the meeting and say what was on his mind if he wished.

When this dude started talking he indicated that he has been building concrete foundations for many years and personally did many of the homes in New Maryland.

Somewhere I thought I heard it mentioned that he stated that he is a developer but that is very different than building foundations for someone else completing a home.

Here's my thing.

As you see in the above news item he told the news that he wanted to educate Council about the problem.

First of all, who the heck is he to say that he will "educate" me??
I completely understand the value of practical experience related to formal education. In fact, there is a man I work with who has more experience-gained knowledge in his little finger than most people who are university or college educated.

But for this guy to stroll in out of nowhere and proclaim himself to be an expert and show us what's really going on? I don't think so.
Thanks anyway.

Secondly, this is the very end of the project. No-one has had any issues with the way we were doing this up until now.

Thirdly, there is no more money even if we wanted to add more curbs. The Infrastructure funds are done.
If there is to be more curbing it will have to come out of my Transportation budget. And that will not happen.

Right now we are working on a 5-year plan to add to the sidewalk system in the areas surrounding New Maryland Elementary School so that kids walking to school won't have to walk in the roadways as they do now.
This is my priority and you can't have any money from that.

Lastly, and this is pretty huge.
This guy ISN'T a New Maryland resident!
He lives in Fredericton and just bought a vacant lot on Baker Brook.
His plan is to build a house on the lot and probably sell it.
I don't think that he has ever had any intention of becoming a resident of the Village.
What I see is that he thinks that a new house with a new curb in front of it would fetch more than one without.

I should point out that the news item is confused about what is to go in and what this guy wants.

There is no problem with that drainage.
Will there ever be in the future? Maybe. Maybe not. Who the heck knows? With the wild weather the world is being hit with these days I think that we could all be in for surprises now and then.
The major flooding in New Brunswick last December was a perfect example of it.

I mentioned something last night which I'll say here.

Even if the Village had an extra $100,000, for example, to go out and build some curbs, what makes that piece of Baker Brook any more deserving than any other Village street that is in the same situation?

I'll wrap it up now.

Keep in mind that not all that you read is precise or even true and that even if it is true, there may be details not included that could change the entire tone or meaning.

Stay well,
Tim

Stuffing

I'm stuffing the blog with this post and our family is stuffing this week.
We are stuffed with things to do and I really don't think we could fit any more in.
I'm not complaining though. It's an awesome week.

I'll start with Sunday. Even though the weather wasn't the greatest it was a great day.
Coincidentally, it was Father's Day.
I don't think that I have mentioned this but the boys have started their summer hockey league and have already played 3 of the 10 games.
I'm the main coach of the team.

This is the league that mixes all levels of boys and girls from beginner to Triple A. The biggest rule is that they have fun. Another rule that I greatly admire is that any one player is only allowed to score 3 goals in a game. If they score 4, they get a penalty and the goal doesn't count.

Our team hasn't started off so well. We've actually been pounded in each game so far. We're trying to be positive about the whole thing but I can't help but notice how mismatched the teams are.
I won't dwell on it but there was some shiftiness when the teams were being selected by some who have been doing this for a while and enjoy winning more than some other people do.
Not to worry, we were told that if the teams are eneven that there will be a realignment soon. We'll see.
Honestly? I don't care. I like the kids we have on our team and would prefer not to lose any of them for the sake of a few more goals.

Anyhoo, the kids played a game on Sunday evening and I enjoyed it. Even though we lost.

My father and step-mother made it out which was great.
They are very busy folks and don't really live very close to us so it becomes difficult for getting together.

After the game the boys, Cheryl, my dad and step-mother and myself headed over to Swiss Chalet in Fredericton for a late dinner.
We were pretty hungry by this time and fortunately the Father's Day mobs were long gone when we arrived. We practically had the whole place to ourselves. Sweet.

The next item of awesomeness (awesomeality, awesomeivity?) is that our Baseball season started last night! I'm an assistant coach this season.
It feels like so long since we last played. Actually it has been a long time.
We've been having practices but gametime is where it gets good.

The team that we played last night was actually the team that we beat in the final game last season.
They were pretty good but didn't seem to have what they had last season. Not yet anyway. The season has just started and much can, and likely will change.
Our guys won 14-4 which set a good tone to start the season off.

As always, we were very proud of T and B.

The pitching duties were divided into two innings each. B played first base and was the second pitcher on the mound.
At first he let a couple of pitches get away and seemed to be getting a little upset but managed to rein it in and bring his focus back all by himself.
He pitched two solid innings.

T was outstanding on third base and center field.
One huge shot was smacked out toward him and would certainly have been a triple. That is, if T wasn't on the job. He made it look easy as he jogged over and pulled the ball out of the air to make the out.

How did these guys get so good? I don't remember being that good. :)

Continuing in my awesome week, TODAY is my birthday.
I know that you Facebook pals out there already know because I spent quite a while this morning thanking everyone who posted birthday wishes on my wall.
Thanks again everyone. I have the best friends in the world.

For my birthday present, I want a nice sunny day outside and to watch my sons play baseball again.
What luck! It's a lovely sunny day out right now. I hope it stays that way for another 7 hours or so.
And look! There just happens to be a baseball game scheduled for tonight in Nackawic. Nice.
We have never played against a team from Nackawic before and have no idea what to expect. Nackawic is a mill town and for all we know the baseball players will all be lumberjacks built like Paul Bunyan. :D
It will be fun no matter what.

Nackawic is about halfway from my office to Fredericton so I will be meeting my crew at the ball field near the big axe.
It's true! Go here and see for yourself! It's the world's biggest axe. It's huge.

Town of Nackawic

After the game if all goes well, we'll be celebrating the victory and having birthday cake at my dad's house a short distance along the river from Nackawic.

That's a pretty amazing week isn't it? And it's only Tuesday. :)

Tomorrow we just happen to have another hockey game at Base Gagetown.

As thrilled as I am at how this week is working out but the boys are more thrilled than I am.

This is their last week of school.
Grade 7 is a wrap.

Holy moley, wasn't it just recently that I posted about their first day at Middle School? Two years can't be done already can they? They are? Wow.

I distinctly remember asking very politely for time to slow down just a little bit to let me keep up.
I suppose that's not going to happen.

I'll just try to enjoy the ride then.


Stay well,
Tim

The future? What about it?

Immediately following the municipal elections in 2008 I received a message from a friend congratulating me on being elected onto New Maryland Council.

In it, she said something which I had not thought about until then.

"Congratulations on becoming one of the very few members of society chosen to lead it".

Lead it? Wow. I guess so.

She was right with some of what she said but maybe not all.

The population of the Village of New Maryland is roughly 4500 people.
Village Council consists of 5 Councillors and 1 mayor. That equates to about 900 residents for each Councillor. However, our Council is at large so 5 Councillors for 4500 residents is a more fitting way of looking at it.

The province of New Brunswick has a population of approximately 750,000. The Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick is made up of 55 elected MLAs of which the Premier is included as he has his own riding.
That's 55 people to govern roughly 750,000.

The Federal Parliament consists of 308 Members of Parliament each representing their own electoral districts across the country. The Prime Minister of Canada also has a riding of his own.
Each of the federal ridings vary in size but generally there are 308 individuals elected to serve an estimated 34,000,000 people, give or take a few hundred thousand.

In summary, there are 5 of us for 4500 people in New Maryland, 55 MLAs for about 750,000 people in New Brunswick and 308 MPs for roughly 34,000,000 people in Canada.

Looking at it, it's true that there really are only a few people that are elected to govern the entire population, isn't it?
I realize that the Minicipal level isn't the same as the Federal one but we are all paid to serve those that have elected us.

This is why I agree with the part of the statement "few members of society chosen".

What I have some question with is the "to lead it" part.
Are we really the leaders?
Do the voters look at the candidates and think "I want that person to lead us" or do they say "I want that person to represent my interests" and think that they can do it better than the other candidates who are not elected?

My thinking is that I am not someone standing in front of a group heading in a direction with the Village citizens behind me. I agree that is a component of much of what we do as a Council.

I think a better way of seeing our position is of standing in the middle of a large circle with comments, instructions and wishes coming into the center from all points of the circle.
Then we are to take what we have gathered and go to a smaller circle (in my case 5 and 1 mayor) and ensure that what we have heard is relayed to the others and reasonably acted upon.

The word "reasonable" plays a very large role here. There have been several occasions where I may not have agreed with something that has been brought to Council but have seen that it is reasonable.
In other cases there have been things so bizarre that have come up which have left me shaking my head.
I'm not going to tell you any details of what things I have placed into what category so don't even bother asking.

But it is surprising at the frequency of which the bizarre things do come up.
Sometimes I have felt irritation that an item that I have felt is just stupid has been discussed.
Regular Council meetings are once a month for a few hours and the "Council-in-Committee" meetings are also once a month.
If we have to spend meeting time talking about frivilous items then time is taken away from other topics right? Perhaps.
But you know what? That item has as much right to be considered as any other even if only one solitary person wants it to be.

I said it a long time ago in this blog but no matter how strange something may seem to the rest of us the fact is that one person's reality is just as important and real to them as ours is to us.
That person is a person and has a vote and a voice like the rest of us.

I can say without a doubt that becoming a Councillor has given me far more education than I could have imagined.

Sometimes we have dealt with things that are so time-consuming and involved that my head hurt.
On occasion Council has made a decision that I felt so good about and strongly for that I could never imagine that anyone could take issue with it. Then the matter has gone south leaving me bewildered that it wasn't loved by all.

I am fortunate that my engineering background helps give me a basic understanding of how a water system operates or how a paving operation works. On our committees we go into great detail with these topics and others on a regular basis.
Imagine how a Councillor feels when they have to learn about this stuff from the start in order to keep up!

This is far more education than most schools can offer us.

I've told my MLA friends how jealous I am that they are able to do what they do on a full time basis while we Councillors have to hold day jobs to survive.
I say this jokingly but do think that the whole political thing would be a wee bit more enjoyable if I could focus on it entirely.

The downside of the MLA or MP position is that they have to devote all of their time and resources seeking the nomination of the party in a riding THEN have to do more to get elected by the people.

If they are not successful they have to find another job. Also, even if they are elected there is always a possibility that the next election will see them beaten and unemployed.

For me campaigning is a matter of knocking on doors and talking to all of the residents, getting several campaign signs up and a flyer in every mail box.
Then hope that the people like me enough to choose me.

In 2004 I ran for a position on Council and didn't succeed.
It was upsetting but not the end of the world. I still had a regular job.



The reason for this post is that the next municipal election is just over a year away. I have been on Council almost 3 years now.
That year is going to fly by just as the last 3 have so I had better make sure that things are in order and my next campaign is ready when the time comes.

Anything can happen in the next year but I'm quite certain that I will be running again.

Admittedly, being a Councillor has its trying times but I truly feel that I am doing what I can to make a piece of the world the best it can be for the residents, our kids, myself and the future.

That makes it all worthwhile.

Stay well,
Tim

Steve! You're Back! You Brought The Steaks?

One quick note.
The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper is rolling through New Brunswick today and is popping into New Maryland for a barbecue later this afternoon.
It's interesting that he chose our fair village to rest and have a bite but a fine choice if I do say so myself.

The Council was told about this last week but we were told not to say anything until the word went public. (It has, don't worry. I'm not breaking any rules.)
At first we were told that this would be open to the Mayor and Councillors only and no spouses or family were invited.
Then I had a voicemail message from the Progressive Conservative party indicating that anyone was invited but at a cost of $30 per person.
I didn't really want to pay that for Cheryl and the boys and they didn't want to be there that badly as to pay for it.
Then yesterday I had another message from the PCs saying that anyone could come at no cost!
I like that price so Cheryl and the boys will be coming as well.
One thing I'm not sure about is what the difference is between the list that I am on and the list that they were put on.
We shall see.

Now, who is bringing what for this barbecue? If I have to bring salads and Stephen only needs a bag of chips I'm going to say something. :)
I kid, I kid. I'm looking forward to this. Everyone knows how much I love photo-ops.

I had my picture with Stephen a couple of years ago when he zipped through town on the day before the election.
Maybe he'll let me do another picture like that.

I heard that a lady was arrested earlier today up in Miramichi for slapping someone when she couldn't get in to see Mr. Harper up there. I think she is a Liberal but I'm not positive.

I'll report back later after our BBQ.

Stay well,
Tim

Water you looking at?

Hello again. This one is one of my "political" blogs but it's actually pretty interesting if you stay with me and follow along.
As some of you know the Village Council of New Maryland presented our annual budget Wednesday night in our regular Council meeting at the Village Council chambers.
It was read by Councillor Scott Sparks who chairs the Finance Committee who did a great job. Scott usually does.
The gist of the budgets is to officially provide details publicly of the municipality's capital and operating costs as well the tax rate that will be charged to the residents. Information of the New Maryland budgets is available here http://www.vonm.ca/mayorandcouncil/budget/ . The new budget hasn't been posted yet but will be shortly.
Also included in the budget, which I am directing this blog at, is the rates which will be charged to the Village residents that are connected to the Village water and sanitary sewage system.
This falls under my care as I am the Chair of the Water and Wastewater Committee.
Our committee is charged with the task of beating about figures in order to come up with rates that are fair to the users and are sufficient to cover all operating costs associated with these systems. We are not allowed to operate under a deficit situation.
New Maryland is unique in that not all residents are connected to the municipal water supply.
It's slightly higher than one third of the Village's households that are.
The difficulty that this presents is that any and all costs associated with the water system must be paid by those that are on it and not by the other residents who are still on their own wells. (I am on my own well.)
Over the last couple of years the Village has undertaken the task of installing water meters on the properties connected to the system.
There were a few reasons for doing this but the two major reasons were
1. to provide an incentive for the municipal system users to reduce water consumption and conserve where possible and not be wasteful and
2. to make those users that choose to use excess water pay for doing this.

It's not very fair that a household with one or two people should pay the same amount for their water as a household with ten people in it, is it?
At the end of 2008 the majority of the homes getting meters had them installed.
The Water and Wastewater Committee, Council and Village staff then needed to figure out what amount per cubic metre to charge in order to cover the operating costs of the system and allow those reducing water consumption to realize a savings.
In order to do this we needed to gather historical data of the water consumption and calculate from there.
Unfortunately there was not very much historical data available at the end of 2008 to work with. Even so, we did our best and came up with what we believed would work.
I'm not going to rehash the fun of last year when there were differing opinions of what the rates should be. It was done and we did as well as could be expected.
One would think that by the end of 2009 it would be pretty easy to work out the rate for 2010 with a whole year of data available to us.
Almost easy.
A couple of things arose which we felt needed to be taken into consideration.
What about a household which uses absolutely no water over a certain period of time? An example of this would be residents that travel south during winter months.
Currently the only thing they would be required to pay would be the $5 per quarter fee for the actual meter. (This amount is to reserve funds for replacement of the meter at the end of its lifecycle.) Everyone pays that who has a Village meter.
But what about the costs of the system itself? Even though one household may not use water in a given period the costs to operate the system continue in order for the system to still be there for when this household does use it again.
You have no idea how tricky this process was! There were many things to consider and we knew that whatever we came up with had to be totally fair for those who chose to do their civic duty and conserve water.
I'll make this long story shorter here.
My committee with help from Village staff worked tirelessly through several meetings and worked out an amount to recommend to Council for the 2010 water rate.
There was a little back and forth corresponding between Council and the committee but in the end we did it.
I felt pretty darn good about it too. In my mind I am convinced that the new rate is completely fair and will enable the system to operate soundly.
Those who choose to conserve and reduce water consumption will be rewarded accordingly by realizing a savings in their water bill.
The 2010 water rate was set and announced on Wednesday night as part of the budget. This was followed by a motion presented by me to amend By-law No. 40-01-2009 Water Rates and Sewer Rentals By-law to reflect the new rate. This rate is to take effect on January 1, 2010.

I'd like to detail this just a little.

Prior to the new rate taking effect, users of the municipal water system in New Maryland are being charged $1.60 per cubic metre of water metered. In addition there is a charge of $5 per quarter for the meter itself as I mentioned above.
As of January 1, 2010 the water rate will become $1.30 per cubic metre of water as well as a flat fee of $35 per quarter (to allow for all users to contribute to the system's operating costs).
The charge of $5 per quarter for the meter remains in place.
In reality the new water rate is less than the current one.


I would like to use a scenario to illustrate.


Let's take an example of a household which which uses 250 cubic metres of water in a quarter (three month period).

At the present rate of $1.60 this household will pay:


250 cubic metres @ $1.60 equals $400. Adding the $5 meter fee and their charge in this quarter is $405.


The same household at the new rate of $1.30 and $35 per quarter flat fee will pay:

250 cubic metres @ $1.30 is $325. Adding the $35 flat fee and $5 meter fee this works out to a total of $365 in this quarter.

To summarize, $405 based on the current rate and $325 at the new rate as of January 1, 2010.


I am very happy with this. I was very happy with this on Wednesday night.
In my entire time as a Councillor I have never come out of a Council meeting feeling so positive and convinced that we had done a top notch job for the residents.
I truly felt great.

I'm thinking that perhaps it also had something to do with the fact that I had decided to dress nicely in my suit and festive Christmas tie for the meeting. Perhaps by dressing nicely I subconsciously created a positive vibe within me?

It was a good night.

Yesterday morning I read the Daily Gleaner article by Shawn Berry covering our budget. It's at http://dailygleaner.canadaeast.com/search/article/892787 and as you'll see Mr. Berry has done the professional job I have come to expect from him.
He interviewed Councillor Sparks immediately after the budget was presented and gathered additional facts and opinions right away to complement the details he already had.
This is why I have come to really admire Shawn and the work he does.


As I drove to work I listened to the news on the radio. The report spoke of the Village's new tax rate and several other details.
Then he said "residents of the Village will be paying more for water."

For crying out loud...

That's all I'll say about that.

Stay well,

Tim

I'll find water for you my pretty! And your little dog too!

Hi again. I've been in summer vacation mode so this blog has been lacking of late.
In fact, I started this one back on July 19th or 20th but I'm only getting back to it now.
The story is still relevant though.
Do you like the "Wizard of Oz" reference in the title? You'll see how well it fits when you read this.

This story is amusing.
Before you read the newspaper article below let me tell you what happened.

It involves the Village's ongoing search for good capacity wells to maintain the supply for the residents currently on the Village system and possibly consider new development.
We are also reviewing the possibility of adding more of the existing homes in New Maryland onto the system who presently have their own wells.

Last year the Village purchased a piece of property known by many folks as the "Forbes property" on account of the name of the previous owners.

There is a well sitting on the property which was drilled years ago but not brought on-line since it is not potable without proper treatment.
We haven't ruled out the possibility of treating it as needed and using it.

However, Council (on the recommendation of the Water and Wastewater Committee, which I am still a member of) decided to drill to seek other wells on the Forbes property.

The Village has a consulting company who are experts in water exploration.
They examine and review land features and available data to determine where they believe the best spot to hit a gusher will be.

This can't be an easy job. If they had x-ray vision I'm sure they could nail it every time but they don't.
In all honesty no-one knows exactly what's down there and exactly where the water is.
We're talking about millions of years of rock formation and water aquifers forcing their way through the path of least resistance making their winding way through thousands of miles of weaving trails underground.

In my opinion this is not an exact science. It's as close as it can be with what we can determine.

Anyhow, a little while ago this company reviewed the Forbes property and looked at all that they could and told the drilling company where to do their thing.

The result was disappointing and we were not successful in finding a decent flowing spot.

The Village Public Works Supervisor reported the result to the members of the Water and Wastewater committee at our last meeting.

This is where I come into this and it gets interesting.

A long while back I was having a chat with a local guy about the water situation in New Maryland.
He casually mentioned to me that he has a slight knack for being able to get the lay of the land and having pretty good feelings where water may be.
I found that interesting and remarked that we may call him up to have a look at the Forbes property one day.

I mentioned this to the Committee and said that we should buy him a coffee and take him out for a stroll and ask his thoughts.
No pressure, just a stroll to compare his feelings with those of the consultant.
It couldn't hurt could it?
It would most certainly be cheaper.

From what I understand the Public Works Supervisor met our lad out there and walked around the property.

I don't believe the Public Works Supervisor had much faith in what he was told.
I'm not sure why that is.

Oh well, at least he went out there and told us his thoughts and it didn't cost us anything. Right?
No harm, no foul as they say.

Well, this stuff was brought up at the next Council meeting during discussions.
The next thing I know people were asking why we used that guy when there are other guys around who are known for their divining at "witching stick" abilities.
Then it was decided that the Village is going to contact one of these guys and have them look around for water.

I'll let you read the rest of the story here as it appeared in the Gleaner under the heading:

Village turns to water witchery

Published Saturday July 18th, 2009

New Maryland has no luck using conventional methods to find water source for development.

By JENNIFER DUNVILLE
Canadaeast News Service
NEW MARYLAND - The village of New Maryland may try witchery to find a water source on one of its properties.
Mayor Frank Dunn said it might sound silly, but dowsing to find water has been in practice since ancient times and some people put a lot of faith in it. "This all started after we dug for water and were unsuccessful on the old Forbes property we own right on Highway 101," Dunn said.
"A council member made the suggestion that we hire a dowser. It was said in jest, but we figured it might be worth a try. "Dowsing, which is also known as water witchery or divining, is used to locate something underground, including oil, metals or water. A dowser walks with a Y-shaped stick or rod, which points down abruptly when over the right spot.
Some dowsers also use a pendulum or two rods, which cross when over water. There are many skeptics of dowsing because there is no scientific evidence the process works, and Dunn admits he has no idea if it will help, but he said the village has nothing to lose by trying it.
"We have a guy in mind who does dowsing, so we figured we'll contact him and at least give it a chance if he's willing to do it," Dunn said. "In order to continue development in New Maryland in the future, we'll need to find more wells, and so far on this particular property, we haven't been successful in more conventional ways of searching for a water source. "The village is in the process of building a new water tower to improve water distribution, water storage capacity, system operating reliability and firefighting capabilities. Tenders for the elevated reservoir system are expected to be awarded this month, with construction beginning in the fall.
One-third of the village's residents are hooked to the municipal water system, while the rest have wells, and Dunn said the point of finding additional water sources is to have the option of hooking more people to the new system in the future.
"We've been searching for water sources for two years and have been successful in finding three wells, which are currently capped. When we have the funding, those wells will be tied into the new tower in the future," Dunn said.
"We have sufficient water for now. We're just planning ahead for future development." Dunn said a core sample has already been extracted from one area on the property, but it didn't turn up any water. He said two more digs are planned.
"That's the way it is; every time you do a core sample you take a risk that it'll be unsuccessful," Dunn said. "We'll probably drill in two more areas at least, but in the meantime may try contacting a dowser that we have in mind, and give that a try."
Dunn said he won't disclose the name of the dowser the village may use until he's had a chance to talk to him about it.

"Village turns to water witchery"??? What???
Come on. Really...

There's a story about the topic of witchery which I will have to tell you one day.
Let's just say that it isn't a very good word to throw around lightly.

As for the article content it's me that he refers to in the beginning of the article.
But for the record, I did NOT make the suggestion to hire a dowser. I mentioned my pal going for a stroll. That's all.

Nor did I make the suggestion in jest.
I was very serious about getting an opinion, at no cost, to compare with that of the "experts".

Now you know.

Stay well,
Tim

Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Now what?

In an hour and a half or so my 2 year term as president of NBSCETT will be over.
What AM I going to do with all of the spare time I'm going to have now??
Don't worry. That won't happen.
Several years ago when I first accepted the nomination I questioned my decision.
Now I question why I questioned.
It's been hell at times but thinking back I've realized where the real education in our lives comes from.
It's not school.
It's in the things we do as volunteers or present ourselves into the public eye for.
This has been great education.
Without it I truly believe that I may not have been prepared to take a position on New Maryland Council.
Fear not however, after 2 years as past President I will become the New Brunswick director on CCTT.
That will be a whole new bundle of fun.
At least I have 2 years to rest up for it.

Stay well,
Tim
Sent on the TELUS Mobility network with BlackBerry

Shhh! It's a secret!

I'm going to share one of the biggest secrets of New Maryland. I'm doing this because I trust you not to tell the whole world.
I don't want everyone from Fredericton, Oromocto or anywhere else hearing this or they'll want to come and use it.
Most of the people who live in New Maryland seem to be unaware of this little gem as well.

Not a problem.
It gives the boys and I more room to play.
You see, in winter the Village floods the basketball and tennis courts to turn into skating rinks.
The basketball courts are for those who want to play hockey and the tennis courts are for skating only.

You can see from the two pictures with this blog that this seems to be such a secret that nobody uses them!
Except for my boys and I that is.
One of the pictures shows the ice when it was brand new a couple of weeks ago. We were the first ones to use it.
The other picture was taken just a short while ago. It's flippin cold and windy today but it's better than it was.

In both pictures we are alone.
Don't get me wrong. Many times we come here and there are people skating and hockey players everywhere.

Most of the time it's just us though.
I don't understand.
Another thing about the rinks which the pictures may not quite get across is that the ice surface is amazing!

In the years we have been here this is the best I have ever seen.
I think this is perhaps suitable for curling.

Well, maybe not that good but darn close.

We love it here.
It's close to our house and centrally located in the Village.

But it's a secret so don't tell anyone, okay?

Hidden in plain sight.

Tim

Reruns Already?!?

This isn't really a rerun but a toned down version of the post last week that I removed.
This will not happen regularly.
I believe that blogs are the place for anyone and everyone to express their thoughts, opinions and feelings on anything they want, even if I don't agree with them.

I have amended the post to reflect the time passed since the original.

Here you go.

I suppose I have too much time on my hands as I sit here browsing the internet on my BlackBerry.
I still don't know how many folks outside of my friends and family will see this so here I go again with another blast at the Village water issue.
Of special interest is the comments section that have been added online to the Gleaner story.
This portion of one comment amazes me; "his predecessor probably came into cold also. Maybe he shouldn't have run till he was prepared to take on a position of responsibility."

For the record, prior to the 2004 election and my being asked to sit as a public member on the Water and Wastewater Committee it had consisted entirely of the Mayor, all Councillors and Village staff. Councillor Bill O'Donnell was the chair but every Councillor was part of it and had to take responsibility for the decisions.
They all went in cold really.
I wonder why Mr. O'Donnell was not re-elected this year? It certainly was not because of a lack of hard work on his part.
Here is something else to think about.
The major complaint every one of us heard while campaigning was that the roads need to be repaired.
All members of Council agreed that this is a top priority.
Budgets from every part of the Village were shaved in order to push funds to Transportation and reduce the amount of borrowing that would be necessary to do repairs and reconstruction. Reductions came from Recreation, Human Resources. The Fire Department cut their wish list of purchases. Everyone sent money to the roads.
Everyone except Water and Wastewater.
Under the current Municipalities Act the Water and Wastewater have to stand alone.
Funds can't be taken out to go somewhere else and funds can't come in to help finance things.
Heck, we can't even use money taken in by the Wastewater to put to Water, or vice-versa.
So, Transportation has plenty of money for its projects and the residents will never feel an increase for it.
Another comment blasted me with this,
"I find this outburst by Councillor Scammell "laughable" at best. He sat on the Water & Wastewater Committee for 4 years...he knew these rate increases had been discussed at length and that they were going to be necessary. Of course he didn't want to Chair this Committee... everyone wants the committees with all the publicity and feel-good decision-making. It's VERY easy to sit back when you're not on Council and make lots of criticisms and talk about all the things you would do differently. It's a very different perspective once the economic realities hit home when you are a Councillor. Sorry Tim but you can't always just grab the "glory" and if the Village wants a $4.5M reservoir and distribution system, 1/3 of that money MUST be
paid by the Village and it has to come from the rate-payers. It's just the way it is and you knew that for the past four years as did ALL the councillors I might add."

If I could make a tiny correction to this.
I never criticized the Council when I was not on it.
When I was campaigning people would often express their displeasure at the current Council. I would always state that I was not comfortable commenting as I didn't know the discussions behind their decisions.
I did not say that I would do things differently but promised that I would always do my best if given the chance.
Mine was not a negative campaign. I don't like negative campaigns.
To say that I knew for the past 4 years that these rate increases were necessary is not true.
Why are we figuring them out now if we knew what rates were needed 4 years ago?
An $80 per year increase in the water rates to help finance the tower is acceptable. We asked our current public committee members their opinions and they felt this was fair.
However, to double the water rate and continue to provide the same service will raise eyebrows and tempers.
I don't have the full figures with me but Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee calculated what the residents currently pay per quarter flat rate and what the data was predicting with the proposed meter rate.
She figured that a household was going to approximately double what they pay now.
When I reviewed it again I agreed with her.
It certainly does appear that the commenter has taken a shot at Deputy Mayor
Wilson-Shee by throwing in that last line of the comment.
The commenter has forgotten to mention that even though the Councillors and Mayor likely knew that 1/3 would have to come from the rate payers, they were not informed of how much and to what degree this would be charged to them.
I didn't realize this myself until the Village Treasurer attended the Committee meetings to provide us with the numbers.
When I heard the initial figures I rejected them outright and advised that I was not prepared to accept this proposal or bring it forth for consideration.
I felt that this was not fair or reasonable.
When the treasurer revisited this and came back with lower amounts for a loan taken over a longer term I was still uneasy but have gone along with it.
Councillor Paul LeBlanc was co-chair of the Committee when I was a public member and Bill O'Donnell was Chair. Wouldn't he have been a wiser choice for Water and Wastewater after sitting on that Committee since Day 1?
Councillor LeBlanc chairs the Transportation Committee which looks after the Village roads.
In case you aren't aware, I am a Professional Technologist in Civil Engineering.
For the entire time that I worked in Ontario following College graduation I worked in design, construction and management of roads.
At one time I managed a company that tested the materials being used to assure quality standards were being met.
The Mayor is aware of my background.
Wouldn't these be ideal qualifications to Chair a Transportation Committee?
I wasn't even asked to Co-Chair or even sit on the Committee.
I don't get it, do you?

Tim

Re: Agenda for Dec. 30th Special Session

I am not prepared to write a long blog right now since I am still with my Mom in the hospice in Ontario.
She is still giving a fight.
I do want to show you a letter I send to Council last night though.
This had been bothering me and I was relieved to get it off my chest. For those not familiar with this topic I will try and post a link to the article later.
I may be reprimanded when I get back, especially if anyone actually finds out that I put this on my blog.
From Mayor Dunn's reply today I understand the vote is going to proceed without me.
I am not pleased about this and know that at least two of the other Councillors are not either.
This will be interesting but is not of great concern to me at this time.

Mom is continuing to battle bravely but is so tired.
She has been asleep for almost three days and hasn't eaten or drank anything.
I stay here holding her hand and tell her it's okay to let go now but her body doesn't want to yet.
I haven't left this building since Christmas day or this room except to shower or eat.
Sleep has been very unusual since I wake up at least every hour to make sure she is still breathing.
I've lost track of the days and if it weren't for the clocks you could tell me any time and I would believe you.
There will be plenty of time for sleep later.
My Mom doesn't want to leave yet so I'm not going anywhere until she decides that it's time.

Tim

------Original Message------
To: Gisele McCaie-Burke
To: 'Cynthia Geldart'
To: Frank Dunn
To: Judy Wilson-Shee
To: Frank Dunn
To: Paul Leblanc
To: Scott Sparks
Subject: Re: Agenda for Dec. 30th Special Session
Sent: Dec 28, 2008 1:42 AM

Good evening everyone. As some of you know I am presently in Ontario with my mother to be with her for her remaining time in life.
She has been deteriorating as I have sat here with her and I don't expect her to last too much longer.
However, my sister was also a fighter and stood her ground for a good amount of time before succumbing.
I may or may not make it back in time for the December 30th meeting but either way we are going to have an issue with 40-01-2008 Bylaw reading.
If Your Worship wishes I can present the following personally at the next meeting I am in attendance but this is also for you all to read.
Last week I received a call from a resident who also lives on Phillips Drive. She had a question to ask me but also wanted to express her displeasure at what I am doing with the water and sewer rates.
Please note that her displeasure was directed at me personally because I am the Chair of the Water and Wastewater Committee.
She did not wish to direct her anger at the Council but to me personally.
She said that she voted for me because she trusted that I would be working for those who elected me and now she sees that I don't care about residents with fixed incomes or financial difficulties.
I tried to explain to her how we were calculating the water rate and that we were working to lessen the impact of a loan for the future water tower.
She did not seem to even want to hear it but remained focused on something that I am doing to affect residents of the Village which will have a great impact.
It occurred to me afterwards right or wrong this lady had a valid point.
What right do I have to make a push for something that will affect so many of the residents but not myself?
If my name is to be attached to something as far reaching as this then it should be something which involves me too.
Otherwise I don't feel that I have the right.
That is my feeling on that.
The day following the election I personally attended the Mayor's home with only one pleading request, that I please don't be given the Water and Wastewater Committee chair position.
I was completely willing to be co-chair of the committee but I made it completely clear that I was not comfortable with taking the chair role.
Even though I had been a member of the committee for four years I did not feel qualified and correctly realized that there was some information that I would not be fully aware of in a public member capacity.
For some reason my request was disregarded and I was given the exact position I had asked not to have.
Up to this point in time I have been a trooper and have done my best with things I do not claim to be an expert in.
I am not going to do this any more.
It has been suggested to me that with the meters and the tower was also to come much protest from the residents. It was suggested to me that who better to have the displeasure and protest aimed at but the new guy on Council? What a perfect way to assure that he does not stand a chance at reelection? The difficult items are sent through and the new guy will be disposed of come next election.
Of course I scoffed at this theory as conspiracy minded.
The problem that we are going to have with 40-01-2008 Bylaw reading is how am I to be the one reading it when I am now planning to vote against it?
I feel that the water tower project and water meters have been pushed by others and I have been along for the ride.
I expressed my displeasure at the financial burden on the residents quite a while ago and never felt that displeasure went away.
When Deputy Mayor Wilson-Shee presented her disagreement with the figures I felt distraught as I felt that we had done so much number crunching and figuring based on data and statistics that we HAD to be right. It had taken so much work.
I now agree with our deputy mayor fully.
I realize that we as Councillors hope to present a united front to the public as far as our decisions are concerned but I feel that if the Village Deputy Mayor is able to publicly voice her displeasure with what is occurring on Council then I am permitted to do so as well.
I do not feel that I have been treated fairly and I am prepared to express these feelings publicly before my public image is completely destroyed.

Now if you will excuse me, I am going back to holding my mother's hand and watching her breathe.

Tim

To Those Who Wait...

I truly want to thank those of you who dropped in and left good wishes the other day.
Please accept my apologies for taking so long to do my follow up post.

The Remembrance Day service at Victoria Hall in New Maryland went very well.
One thing I wasn't thrilled about was that for the first time in all the years I have attended this ceremony they decided not to have chairs for those on the stage.
You recall that I was very sick the entire day prior and really could have used a seat. I almost took an involuntary nap a couple of times but stayed upright thankfully.

My reading expressed Remembrance Day completely.
It was quite short though.
So short that I don't mind typing it out for you.

Act of Remembrance
Read by Councillor Tim Scammell

Shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

I have found out that this passage is part of the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon (1869-1943).

It is unlikely that I could have found a more fitting passage and hope that everyone really listened to the words and thought about their meaning.
I tried as hard as I could to speak in such a way that might make people do so.
I think it worked but I was too nervous to look up from the paper to see.
The kids told me I did very well. Those little guys made me so proud by behaving perfectly and doing everything when the rest of the people did.
This was the first time in their lives that neither Cheryl or myself were with them during the ceremony.
They're little men now. I wish they would stop growing up but I'm happy that they will have the chance to do so and become anything they choose to be.

Could we ever imagine the thoughts of the mothers and fathers of the boys (they were only boys) as they watched their childen leave home to fight in the wars?

Nothing could possibly describe a parent's fear that their child may not come home alive.
In these times it's difficult to imagine but it was common not very long ago.

I want to remind everyone of something that is more easily identifiable to us.
Remembrance Day is just as much about the loss of men and women in modern times.
On October 2nd 2003, a young Canadian soldier Sergeant Robert Alan Short was killed when the jeep he was in drove over a landmine outside of Kabul in Afghanistan.
That is Robert in the photo above.
He was only 42 years old at the time. Only slightly older than me.
I will always remember his passing with great sadness.
You see, Sergeant Short was from Fredericton.
He was buried in a little cemetery only a short way down the road from my house. The funeral was one of the largest and saddest events I have ever seen.
Some friends of ours at the time had known Robert for many years from their time at Petawawa, Ontario in the Forces together.
When his body was flown back to Canada it was televised across the country. Our friends had to send their son over to play with our boys while they watched it to spare him the emotion.
The most powerful memory I have of Sergent Short's passing is that on November 11, 2003 his wife, son and daughter were at the Remembrance Day service in New Maryland.
Just over 1 month later!

I felt such sadness that day as I saw Robert's family and the overpowering grief they were feeling.
I remember looking at his son's face and wondering if he could ever feel happiness again.
At the end I shook his hand and he gave me a small smile in appreciation.
He didn't know me but I wished I could have been his best friend.

On November 11, 2008 Robert's family was there again, as every year.
I am very happy to say that his son was smiling this year. He was there with his own little one and it was clear to see he has been feeling much happiness.

I smiled when I saw them together.

Robert would be so proud.

Tim