By now every household in Richmond Hill will have received another one of Councillor Carmine Perrelli's huge, glossy flyers paid for by your hard-earned tax dollars. This flyer was so large that the Fact Check is broken into 2 parts. (Click here for Part 1)
Part 2 includes the 2019 Survey Results and the New Survey.
THE 2019 SURVEY RESULTS
You may recall the 2019 Survey as it upset many residents. This was another huge glossy survey/flyer that was sent out in November 2019 so it has taken almost a year for us to see the results.
The results of the survey were as expected given the wording of the questions, the leading context provided, as well as the limited options for the respondents to select from.
It was interesting to see the "rate your council member" results as all the council members were graded a B except for Councillor Liu who got an A and Councillor Chan got a C. Councillor Perrelli took that to mean that Richmond Hill residents are generally happy with their elected officials.
FACT: During the recent Strategic Plan Survey many residents commented on Council behaviour and the importance of respectful treatment of each other, staff and residents, the need for an increased level of cooperation and the importance of demonstrating integrity. Did that impact the "rate your council member" ratings above?
THE NEW SURVEY QUESTIONS
Once again Councillor Perrelli wants you to answer a survey. A few of things you should know before answering this year's survey:
This is not a City of Richmond Hill endorsed survey like the recent Strategic Plan Survey which was conducted by an external, impartial consultant.
This is an unscientific survey initiated by Councillor Perrelli. Your responses are collected and analyzed and could potentially be manipulated to achieve certain results.
This time you do not have to give your personal information before submitting the survey
Some information to read to give you context before you answer the survey questions. Given the below one wonders why it's necessary to answer this survey?
Electric Cars and Charging Stations
FACT: Richmond Hill currently has forty-five charging stations within a 15k radius.
55% of the charging stations are free to use.
Banning Single Use Plastics
FACT: On October 7th, the Federal Government announced that single use plastic will be banned across the country by the end of 2021.
Pollinator Health and creating pollinator friendly environments
FACT: Richmond Hill Staff have already worked on this for years and have been successful at creating pollinator friendly environments.
Some of the City initiatives are shown below:
Creating pollinator habitat through community vegetable and pollinator gardens, and new gardens on City land
Restoring Monarch butterfly habitat by planting native milkweed and nectar plants on City land
Planting native wildflowers and flowering species at planting events
Encouraging residents to plant flowering species by distributing wildflower seed packets at City events
Raising awareness and educating residents about the benefits of pollinators
Litter around Super Mailboxes
FACT: Richmond Hill has a program in place where recycling bins were installed across the community near super mailboxes where littering has been an issue. Residents can contact Access Richmond Hill at 905-771-8800 or access@richmondhill.ca if there are littering issues.
Proliferation of Signs
FACT: This survey question only pertains to A frame signs not all of the other signs currently permitted in Richmond Hill.
Signs like this would still be allowed.