Being a community of communities - Denny Scott editorial

Last week, as I sat through a North Huron Township Council meeting during which the number of specific types of facilities across the municipality were being compared (and used as justification for suggesting getting rid of one), I was reminded of something that North Huron Reeve Bernie Bailey once said: North Huron is a community of communities.

 

It’s not groundbreaking; since amalgamation there are pretty much only communities of communities (except for Howick and Goderich, going strong solo). Huron East has so many communities of varying sizes it can be easy to forget some of them. North Huron has a number of villages either fully or partially within its borders. From communities like Blyth and Westfield, which are (legally) fully encapsulated within North Huron’s boundaries to communities like Whitechurch, Auburn and even Wingham, which straddle the boundaries between North Huron and its neighbours.

 

The needs of each of those communities are significantly different, as are the very people who live there. The history of those communities is important to them, as are the facilities that make the community what residents want it to be. In some cases, those facilities aren’t feasible anymore (according to North Huron Council), like the Howson Dam. I’m not arguing against that, just saying that things do need to change. However, making that decision about what needs to change, which facilities will continue and which ones shouldn’t, should not be made by comparing communities.

 

For reference sake, the facilities being discussed were baseball diamonds and it was part of Monteith Brown Planning Consultants’ Parks, Recreation and Cultural Master Plan that was presented to council.

 

While I could (at length) talk about the failures of that report and that firm, that’s not the point of what I’m talking about here.
When those consultants sat down and looked at North Huron, they saw five baseball diamonds (two each in Wingham and Blyth and one in Belgrave) and felt that Blyth’s weren’t seeing the use of the other three, so it made sense to get rid of one of Blyth’s baseball diamonds. However, that very way of considering the future of the facilities is flawed because, as Bailey said, North Huron is a community of communities.

 

We don’t have five baseball diamonds. Wingham has two, Belgrave has one and Blyth has two. Blyth’s are uniquely situated in such a way that baseball tournaments can be held while making use of the adjacent campgrounds. As a matter of fact, that very thing happened earlier this year, bringing hundreds to the campground.

 

So you can’t really say that North Huron needs one fewer baseball diamond. You could say Blyth needs one fewer, however I’d argue even with that. I mean, do we really need two theatres in North Huron? Probably not. But does Wingham need one? I’d say the fundraising that took place to improve it shows that the Wingham Town Hall Theatre is important to that community, just as the Blyth Memorial Hall theatre is important to Blyth.

 

The issue was illustrated perfectly later in the evening when council was debating what to do with Galbraith Field. 
Galbraith Field, known as the Turnberry flood plain area, is owned by the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority and, if the numbers quoted that night are accurate, North Huron pays upwards of $40,000 to maintain it. The problem, however, is that the land is actually in Morris-Turnberry.

 

North Huron’s costs include the actual maintenance of the land, like grass cutting, as well as the taxes on the land, which are being paid to Morris-Turnberry. A similar situation existed at the Richard W. LeVan Airport, which council recently sold.

 

In council’s discussions about the field, which is the primary soccer field for Wingham Minor Soccer, according to staff, no one even thought to say, “Well, we have a perfectly good field just south of Blyth, why not use that?” Aside from the fact that that field is also in a neighbouring municipality, no one would have thought it a good idea to send people who want to play soccer in Wingham 25 kilometres away to a field in Blyth. If someone wants to play a tournament in Blyth, both those fields are going to be necessary: no one wants to camp in Blyth but play in Belgrave or Wingham (especially if the tournament will include a beverage tent).

 

We have to remember that, as much as North Huron is a community, it is, as Bailey said, a community of communities and sometimes, what’s good for the goose isn’t always good for the gander.