Deputation to Council RE: Library Services

Good evening Council & Staff,

My name is Janice Murton and I live and work here in Tiny. I am here today as a single representative of a much larger group who are very concerned about a proposed new library situation and how it matters to our residents. Your library community is upset. Included in your package is a compilation of comments and emails about how your residents feel about the situation that has been created. It also includes nine letters or articles from The Gout de Vivre, BarrieToday.com and MidlandToday.com published since October 25th which also speak to its importance along with the results of a recent survey. This subject has touched a lot of folks. Libraries are near and dear to your residents. They want positive relationships restored. They are saddened by the current decisions the Council has made.

In a Letter to the Editor to MidlandToday.com, former Midland Councillor Bob Jeffreys says we haven't been paying enough for these fantastic services. Bill Molesworth, a retired CEO and chief librarian says you weren't aware of the bargain we were getting in his Letter to the Editor in MidlandToday.com

There are a lot of disappointed people. Most say they do not want a library in Tiny. There is a group of people, upset about the fact that their library services have been reduced. The citizens want to restore our positive relationships and good partnerships with the libraries.

The original petition done by longtime Tiny resident Adrienne Gardener was withdrawn after four days where it had garnered more than 400 signatures because it was believed Council would restore services. But we now see that you have not restored the Reciprocal Agreement. The Strategic Plan says you are committed to delivering efficient and extraordinary municipal services.

Since March of 2021 residents of Tiny Township have cherished the access to excellent libraries in our neighbouring towns of Midland, Penetanguishene and Springwater through a Reciprocal Agreement. To quote Mr. Bill Molesworth again, "for a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year in user fees, three well-established and professionally-run libraries are easily accessible" I agree with Mr Molesworth, "it's hard to understand how Tiny's Council doesn't see the bargain they were getting."

Libraries are more than books. In a recent article published by local francophone journalist and Tiny resident Annique Maheu in Le Gout de Vivre, it states that Penetanguishene Library offers legal literacy courses and that 75% of participants are Tiny residents. The library also puts on bus tours and excursions, 50% of the participants to these programs are Tiny residents.

You can access cognitive care kits, tech help, preschool crafternoons, money management series, safe space access for teens, you can make a will with the Bar Association. Want to learn ukulele or guitar? They lend those. eBooks on a Cloud system. It goes on and on. Next year Midland's offerings will include online card sign up for those who have transportation issues and online comics.

At the Penetanguishene Library, the francophone services are indispensable and are now only accessible to financially capable households. Jody Delgado, Springwater Library CEO made a fantastic presentation to you back on June 28th of this year about the Springwater Public Library activities including Township of Tiny memberships and programming offered.

Councillor Brunelle, you were blown away by the awareness she brought. Deputy Mayor Miskimins, you admitted it had been a while since you were physically in a library. You said you loved the diversification of the offerings and the programming being offered. It piqued your interest to get a library card. Did you ever get that card? You said we were blessed here in Tiny for having these types of services available to us. Today those services are no longer available to us because our Reciprocal Agreement is gone. Councillor Helowka, you were told that each library has strengths. Mayor Evans, you made a suggestion that perhaps the libraries were too far for our ageing population to access and that perhaps the idea partnerships within our township could be explored. The Ontario Library Association recommends that a library be within a 2km radius of a grocery store, pharmacy and bank.

The Reciprocal Agreement granted access to everything all three libraries have to offer. Now we have to pick and choose what services are important to us. This whole issue has come at a huge cost to the library users. This new deal has cut the amount of francophone services that are now provided to residents. You shutdown a Reciprocal Agreement that only came into effect in March of 2021. Being able to access all libraries is important because most library services do not overlap.

Remember we love this strategic plan. It is good. Transparency, fiscal responsibility, open governance and commitment to building an informed and engaged community. These are the standards you as Council pridefully said were the principle you were going to govern us by. Please follow that commitment and revisit this library situation. Mayor Evans, in a November 23rd article in Midlantoday you are quoted saying " We are fully in favour of libraries and providing access to libraries" You also said that the township would look to maintain and improve services. It is clear that that isn't happening.

The strategic plan says you are committed to supporting our diverse communities. We love this.The strategic plan says you want to deliver efficient and extraordinary municipal services yet you put the horse before the cart by slashing the exceptional services we were getting. The recent decision of paying up front for access to more than one library per household has a financial burden on families who want to continue to use the libraries.

Residents now have to pay out of pocket to retain the level of library service they have come to expect. The Strategic Plan states you " are committed to finding collaborative and creative solutions" but rather than maintain status quo while negotiations occur, you made the decision to withhold funding last January without public consultation. In doing so we have lost the Reciprocal Agreement. Councillor Walma says "there has been no Council direction to build a new library". Mayor Evans you have said you "know people want a library. We will be building a library" When did you consult with the public? Councillor Brunelle in an email dated November 16 you stated that you "firmly believe that now is the time for the Township of Tiny to make a commitment and invest in a library."

Where at any time in the last year did Tiny Council let the community members know about what was going on with their library services until it was too late?

The Strategic Plan states that you intend to protect future generations from the burden of debt and deficits. We have excellent services being offered by our surrounding libraries for good money. Tiny resident Mr Paul Bell stated it quite well in his Letter to the Editor in MidlandToday.com November 26th, 2023. We need reciprocal relationships. Now that we are being bound by one library membership, for example if I choose to be a member of the Midland Library, I have now lost access to all the services provided by Penetanguishene. The handout "Libraries giving access to a million possibilities to Tiny Township residents" has been included in your package shows all the services provided by the Penetanguishene Library that members of Springwater or Midland will no longer have access to. We are now being asked to pay $200 upfront to access the services in Penetanguishene then drive to Tiny Township Office to ask for reimbursement. This is not streamlined, nor is it seamless . You say we will be reimbursed. As of December 4th Mr Bell still has not been reimbursed. He continues to be a "victim of process" as Councillor Walma put it.

The strategic Plan speaks to responsive and responsible government. You say you will work hard to engage our community members and strengthen our partnerships with others. We believe you have the ability to restore goodwill.

We are asking that you do not proceed with anything regarding a new library aside from setting up a reserve fund until you have consulted with the public We are asking that you negotiate and restore our library services to the full level of the reciprocal agreement.

We are asking you to restore goodwill and pay for services already delivered. Our community depends on it for education, information and connection with others. You believe in this.

Mr Mayor, when you were on the campaign trail what was it that people kept saying to you? Keep it the same. So I ask today that you please keep our library services the same as they were. We aren't asking for anything that you haven't already held yourself to doing. (Holding up the strategic plan)