Possibility of re-establishing a seniors committee deferred until 2024 budget talks

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Councillors Allaire, Courtney and Don McArthur were named to Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Community appointments include Wes Ewer, Leya Foster, Shirley CursonPrue, Brinton Sharman, John Maceroni and Tallie Wright. Mayor Michael Prue declared a conflict of interest on discussions regarding the parks and recreation advisory committee due to his wife being one of the candidates for it.

Pouget asked about re-establishing a seniors advisory committee, and wanted an advertisement placed for members. She said she has received numerous calls from seniors about the issue and they want to promote seniors.

“Since they are a large portion of our population, I’m trying to get them back on a committee,” she said.

CAO Valerie Critchley said the matter was addressed previously, and the explanation to strike it from this term of council was due to Inclusive Community grant work recommending other forms of seniors outreach be put in place. A seniors expo, which Critchley said will be run in conjunction with Amherstburg Community Services (ACS), is in the works.

Clerk Kevin Fox said the Inclusive Communities grant was comprehensive and identified needs of the community, including seniors and those with a disability. Through the process, Fox said stakeholders were worked with and driven by a committee with work from the seniors committee and accessibility committee. Input was also gathered from consultants and representatives from the Amherstburg Freedom Museum.

Fox added a “five-year action plan” was developed and that has a strategy to engage with older residents. He said council’s strategic direction includes the expo, a recreation program strategy, and transportation initiatives.

The town is in the initial stage of the process, he added, and it can “build on itself,” he added.

Administration is in the beginning stages of rolling out its plan, added director of parks, facilities, recreation and culture Heidi Baillargeon. There is a five-year capital plan to assist with recommendations, she noted, with “various forms of outreach” as part of the process.

Pouget believed a seniors committee would “be a good catalyst to pull everything together” with McArthur questioning what the harm would be to establish a seniors committee.

Funding for a seniors advisory committee were removed from the 2023 budget. Workload issues on administration was also raised. Fox said “a resourcing challenge” drives much of the issue, noting other committees were combined.

There are 23 boards and committees in Amherstburg and that carries “a considerable workload” with Fox adding he is the sole person co-ordinating committees.

If a seniors committee were established, Crain believed that could re-open the door to establishing a youth advisory committee.

Deputy Mayor Chris Gibb added the town has spent a year establishing a new structure, adding that having a seniors committee simply captures seniors but there are others that share the same challenges seniors face. The new structure better captures those with mobility issues, those who don’t drive or those living on a fixed income.

“When you just have a seniors committee, you just have the perspective of the seniors,” said Gibb. “You lose out on casting a wider net.”

Courtney believed if more assistance was available in the clerk’s office, a seniors committee could work. Prue said it would take two months to add additional people and setting up a committee “would take many hours.”

The mayor suggested the issue should be deferred to the fall and included in 2024 budget deliberations, adding it’s tough for one person to handle the committee workload.

Prue agreed with the idea of a seniors’ committee, but believed “timing is not the best right now.”

Town council is expected to address the issue of a seniors committee again in the fall during next year’s budget talks.