Letter to the Editor,
I took the opportunity to visit a Springwater Council Meeting October 1 in Midhurst.
A few things on the agenda were of note. Congratulations and thank you to Swoop Fiber who through their Community outreach program are installing, free internet service at the Elmvale Community Arena. They are assuming all costs. This will be well received i am sure.
Also congratulations to Councilor Garwood for introducing a Elect Respect Pledge that originated with the Township of Southgate. The basic premise is for elected officials to treat colleagues as well as taxpayers with respectful debate and should expect the same in return. The motion asked members to sign the online pledge. The motion was adopted by Council but I don’t believe fully supported. For some reason DM Cabral and Councilor Fisher didn’t appear to vote in favour. Now I was sitting at the back of the Chamber and if I am incorrect I would ask both gentlemen to contact me. You would have to wonder why they don’t support this endeavour.
DM Cabral read a list of Municipalities that are in opposition to Strong Mayor Powers in the Province. I think the list represents about 25-30% of Municipalities of the Province. He indicated he thought this is significant. I say lucky them, they did not require Strong Mayor Powers as badly as Springwater Township.
Robert McClung, Phelpston
Dear Editor
Springwater Library soft-launched their plans to close the Minesing branch this week at an event ironically sold as an opportunity to discuss the “shared commitment to making a positive impact in our community”. Despite the library’s best efforts to keep the event a secret, a community effort brought out 80+ people to support the library.
This potential closure comes after the Library was given additional money in the 2025 Township budget specifically to expand the hours of operation. Using that money, the Midhurst and Elmvale branches are each open an additional 3 hours per week this year over past years. These 6 hours would cover half of the total hours the Minesing branch is open each week. Library board monthly meeting minutes have not been posted online since April, making it impossible to see what discussions have been had on this topic but the library board’s efforts in Minesing can best be summed up with a quote from The Simpsons: “We’ve tried nothing and we’re all out of ideas”.
Also of note, this potential closure comes while the basement of the Minesing Hall has been shut down for repairs for well over a year with absolutely no progress made towards re-opening. Minesing residents are getting fed up with being ignored by the current Council and staff of the Township.
Mike Priest, Minesing
Dear Editor
The Springwater Public Library hosted an open house at its Minesing location on September 23 to gather community feedback on the usage of that branch.
We know how important public engagement and consultation is and promoted this broadly through the library’s website and through information shared at each library branch. Additionally, the library Board reached out directly to the Minesing CRA for their assistance with promoting the event and they not only did that, but generously provided refreshments.
The library was thrilled with the community turnout with an estimated 80 people in attendance, including all Board members to answer questions. Community members were shown a number of display boards which included the history of the branch and the significant drop in usage over the past number of years. In fact, the data, which was based on usage shows a 70 per cent drop. Through conversations we learned that the majority of people do not actually check books out from this branch, instead, they order materials from other branches and pick them up in Minesing. Some community members remarked how small the space is and asked about room for expansion. As this is a Township owned facility, that is not a feasible option.
Understanding how important the library is, discussions on the collection, hours of operation and the programs provided at the location were plentiful and we certainly appreciate all that feedback.
This was not a new topic of discussion as a feasibility study done in 2014 already showed a declining number of patrons, which has continued, despite Minesing continuing to grow.
We want to stress that no foregone conclusion has been made regarding the branch. It was imperative we hear from members of the community as to how they use the branch, how often, and for what.
All attendees were offered the chance to share their thoughts upon exit and for those who could not attend, a contact email address was provided to ensure a fulsome gathering of feedback.
Library Board meeting agendas and minutes can be found on our website under the About US – Library Board and Administration tab or here: https://springwaterlibrary.ca/about-us/library-board-and-administration/. They are updated following every Board meeting and have been kept up-to-date.
The library CEO is currently compiling all the data, which will be posted on line and shared with the Board for review.
We want to ensure residents of Minesing voices were heard and then we can consider the best, and next, steps forward.
Finally, we want to thank everyone who attended the open house, as well as the Minesing CRA for their support. Access to library materials and programs remains one of our top priorities and we look forward to sharing our findings.
The Springwater Township Public Library Board
