Ryan Kreutzwiser

South Marysburgh Ward Nine

Twenty years ago, Ryan Kreutzwiser moved to the County with his wife, who was starting to manage her family’s business, Lake on the Mountain Resort. Holding an environmental science degree from the University of Guelph, he joined the business full-time six years later. Kreutzwiser said he is running for council because he feels small businesses and residents are not well-represented. “Biased and ill-informed outcomes have resulted from very reactionary decisionmaking at Shire Hall,” he said. “I feel the County is at a critical juncture and that the decisions made over the next four years will shape our collective future.”

Council must do more about affordable housing, he said. “It can use its considerable power relating to land-use planning and zoning to encourage higher density but affordable housing development and redevelopment,” he said, warning that Council will likely face increasing pressure from developers to approve high-end housing. “But Council must see the broader good.”

Kreutzwiser said Council should not be in the business of tourism marketing in the first place. He said taxpayer funds were used to promote tourism to the point where it became a strain on residents, infrastructure and the environment. “Council’s reactionary decisions and about-face on tourism resulted in them taking the opposite approach and discouraging tourists from coming,” he said. “This has caused harm to our tourism economy. … Clearly there is need for balance.”

On the question of high bills for those on the waterworks system, he said, “Municipalities aren’t permitted to subsidize municipal water with property tax revenue … users must bear the cost. … In the County, which has a mix of ratepayers on municipal water and self-supplied, it’s especially important to achieve userpay full-cost recovery. To do otherwise compromises achieving efficient and sustainable systems.” He said increasing water rates is unavoidable, but added that Council could manage the increase through the promotion of conservation and finding alternatives to the small water systems in the County.

As for heritage and the environment, Kreutzwiser said Council’s attention to environmental sustainability could be stronger. “It has the authority to do much more with regard to water conservation, for instance, as well as promotion of small-scale electric generation,” he said.

When asked about the size of council, he said it should be smaller. “There appears to be no reasonable justification for a council of more than 10 members,” he said. “Council should be large enough to provide representation of both urban and rural interests, but small enough to promote efficient and effective decision-making.”