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   REPORT OF AGM – May 19^th, 2011 – Gravenhurst High School

    ( NOT meant to be Official Minutes of meeting)

Joanne Twist, our Board Secretary kindly agreed to Chair the meeting.  About 45-50 in attendance?

The President's Report: Evelyn Matson basically reiterated some of our accomplishments over the past year, and also stated that although we are hopeful that we can work with Mayor Paisley Donaldson and the new council, the concerns of our members still have to be voiced.  We will continue to do that, and try to keep our members updated on the regular business of Council.

Vice President's Report: Scott Young gave a quick update on Hwy 11 (he's on the committee for that), and although the highway will NOT bypass Gravenhurst, we still need to be vigilant, and businesses that are affected should get involved to protect their interests.  The Town budget was also mentioned, and although several deputations were made by Scott AND Ross Ashforth, and Councillor Bratty asked for a deferral, the budget was passed with a 10 % increase. Scott also mentioned that the Efficiency & Effectiveness Review, which we've asked for at least 3 times, will finally be accomplished this year, possibly by August. (FYI: GGRA board members are on different committees to give input and provide our members with information.  We have members on the Hwy 11, the Transportation, the Heritage, the Downtown Revitalization, and the Winter Carnival Committees. Plus, the BIA Board.)

The GGRA budget and financial report was approved, as were all the committee reports, and we have 244 members with 149 households.  We SHOULD have at least 500 members in this town, and it was suggested at the meeting by one of the members, that we should have a membership drive.  We will discuss that at our board meeting, as to how to go about that.

Our new Board was presented and approved and Hank Smith did a great job presenting his Heritage Walking Tour.  It was interesting and informative, and brochures were there for people to take home.

Old Business:  “What Direction is Gravenhurst Going?”  Joanne Twist is on a special committee that has applied for a Government grant, & if successful, Gravenhurst will hire a person whose sole job is to revitalize the downtown of Gravenhurst.  The revitalization of the downtown is a number one priority.  If the grant is not approved, there is a back-up plan.  Joanne also mentioned that the Strategic Plan is being worked on, and a list of priorities in order of importance are: Economic Development, Community Vision over 20 Years, Communication Strategy, and Financial Pressures.  Judy Coward, an Economic Development Consultant from the Ministry of Ontario, is helping to facilitate the Strategic Plan, and is thought to be very focused and impressive with her skills and knowledge.

New Business: Scott Young, our Vice President asked members if they liked receiving our “council notes” and the answer was “yes”.  Scott said we need help with that, and we may have to change our strategy due to lack of help. (at the end of the meeting two ladies have expressed an interest...). Scott also asked if people would like quarterly brainstorming/workshop type sessions.  Again, answer was “yes”.  We will look into this. Then Scott opened the meeting up to questions and discussions of concerns of members. 1. Why do we have 7 governments. 2. We should have a walk-in clinic at the new Med. Building, since we ALL paid for a medical building, but we can't all use it!! 3. A facade or “theme” for the Town. 4.  Monitoring the District Government.  5.  Tapping into Bethune House as a tourist attraction.  6.  Empty boat slips at Wharf...need to revisit and rectify. Lots of discussions! We will take all these issues into consideration at our next board meeting and make a plan.

 Meeting adjourned about 9:30 pm.