Lindsay resident angry with ATV decision

I’m at a loss to understand how and why council voted last week to approve the route through Lindsay.

Even more perplexing is why Councillor (Emmett) Yeo would change his vote; after all he was the one who tabled a motion in September not allow ATVs through Lindsay and to have the Task Force investigate an alternate route around Lindsay.

To review:

1) At the June council meeting the route through Lindsay was proposed to council. Rather than approving the recommendation, council passed a motion to conduct a survey to determine how the residents felt about ATVs going through Lindsay.

2) The residents were clear — 66.4 per cent of respondents said they didn’t want ATVs on Lindsay streets. No matter how Councillor Pat Dunn spins the numbers, the majority of respondents said no to ATVs on Lindsay streets. 

3) As a result of this survey, Yeo tabled a motion at the September committee of the whole meeting to not allow ATVs on Lindsay Streets, and for the ATV Task Force to investigate a route around Lindsay. This motion was approved.

4) At the September council meeting, Dunn recommended that Yeo’s motion be modified to only instruct the ATV Task Force to investigate a route around Lindsay. This motion was also approved.

5) At the ATV Task Force meeting, the group didn’t take any action on the instructions of council, but decided to present a 2009 report to council rather that doing what they were instructed to do. This is just another example of the contempt Dunn has for his fellow councillors and the residents of Lindsay.

My point here is that the instructions given to the ATV Task Force and Dunn, Councillors Kathleen Seymour Fagan and Tracy Richardson was to investigate an alternate route around Lindsay. Suggesting a 2009 report fulfills their responsibilities under this motion again reflects the contempt these three councillors have for their fellow councillors and the residents of Lindsay. Until a proper investigation is made into an alternate routes around Lindsay, the vote on the June proposal should be ruled null and void as the investigation of the alternate route must be completed and presented to council before any other motion can be reviewed. After all, the route through Lindsay was not approved in June, but was replaced by the requirement for a survey and subsequently the requirement to investigate an alternate route.

A lot of stock has been put into the fact that council received 145 emails last weekend in favour of a route through Lindsay. Has anyone taken the time to verify that the emails are from residents of Lindsay? How do these 145 suspect emails take precedence over 847 residents of Lindsay who signed a petition and the 66.4 per cent of survey respondents to your survey that said no to ATVs on Lindsay streets?

Councillors , you have heard what the people of Lindsay want, we expect more from you than just bowing to a special interest group like KATVA.

You all need to correct the error made on Oct. 19 and rescind that vote until a current investigation of alternate routes around Lindsay is conducted and it is tied into the Trail Master Plan.

Councillor Dunn, you accused Mayor (Andy) Letham of sowing discontent and misinformation during this process. You are absolutely wrong on that score. The mayor was one of the voices of reason throughout. In fact you are the one sowing misinformation and falsehoods through out the process. If things didn’t work out in your favour, you tried to manipulate the numbers in your favour to make it appear that the residents of Lindsay supported the issue. You ridiculed people who presented facts that weren’t in favour of ATV use, the worst one being the comments to Dr. Natalie Bocking, medical officer of health, after her presentation.

Don’t let Councillor Dunn spin his half truths. Be leaders, not followers, and make the right decisions for the people of Lindsay not KATVA.

As I understand it, the revised bylaw will have to be approved by council before they come into effect. If you don’t rescind the Oct. 19 vote, then do not approve the bylaw. Councillors Yeo, Ashmore, Richardson and Seymour Fagan, you can fix this mistake and vote NO along with Mayor Letham, Councillors Pat O’Reilly, Doug Elmslie and Andrew Veale.

I am still at a loss, Councillor Dunn, to figure out what is driving you to support the use of ATV on Lindsay roads over the clearly expressed desires of the residents of Lindsay. The residents of Lindsay deserve more from all of you.

–Derek Anderson, Lindsay. (This letter was also sent by Anderson to council.)