The amalgamation process involving Sundridge, Strong, and Joly now has Joly saying it doesn’t plan to fund the process any further.
Mayor Brian McCabe says residents of all three municipalities he’s spoken to are not interested in merging the three municipalities into one.
Additionally, Joly Coun. Chris Nicholson says when he combines an informal poll on the What’s Up Sundridge page on Facebook with comments made at a public engagement session on Jan. 25 to gauge public interest about the process, he found about 70 per cent oppose amalgamation, around 20 per cent want more information and nine per cent favour it.
The Feb. 11 Joly council meeting included many documents on amalgamation including 14 letters from constituents adding their thoughts on the issue.
Twelve of the letters indicated support to at least continue to gather more information on amalgamation while residents behind two of the letters opposed spending any more money on the process.
Below are examples of the letters.
"Good morning. As a taxpayer in Joly Township, I have been glad to see that there has been lots of interest in the pros/cons of Amalgamation with Strong and Sundridge. Understandably, there are varying opinions on whether this is wise or not. That’s why I would support paying for an independent study to determine the feasibility of it. This is a huge process, and knowing all the details is crucial."
Thank you, Kathy Whitfield
"I just wanted to send a note as to the special meeting tonight, I am out of the country but heard there was a meeting for the restructure of SSJ. I just wanted to reach out to let you know as a property owner in Joly, I am for the restructuring of SSJ Amalgamation. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing the results of the special meeting."
Sincerely, Amy Marshall
"Good evening, I am writing to request that the council kindly consider proceeding with the analysis/study for amalgamation to determine whether there is any benefit for the township to amalgamate with the Village of Sundridge and Township of Strong. I believe it's important to understand not only the potential benefits but also the risks involved. Further, it would be important to understand the impact on services for residents and any property tax/user fee impact an amalgamation would have for all municipalities involved. Thank you."
Odelia Callery
"Writing to say we do not agree with amalgamation or spending any more funds on studies. Robert and Rhonda Spierenburg."
Rhonda Spierenburg
Rocco Frangione is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter with Almaguin News. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.