Warmer relations between The Blue Mountains and Grey County were evident when the county's top officials made their annual visit to a town council meeting Wednesday.

There are still some issues, but even Councillor Bob Gamble, who usually takes county officials to task, had kind words for Grey Warden Kevin Eccles and CAO Gary Wood.

Local councillors are quick to remind the county that almost a quarter of Grey's tax revenue comes from The Blue Mountains, although the town has the second smallest population of the nine member municipalities.

That ratio -- between the town's population and its total assessed value -- is at the heart of the main point of contention between the two bodies.

The county's recently-completed Growth Management Strategy Study severely underestimates development in The Blue Mountains because it doesn't take into account recreational, part-time and seasonal, residential development.

Eccles said county officials recognize the problem and hope they can deal with the issues as work on the county's official plan review continues over the next several months.

Councillor Cam Kennedy said he still has concerns about the growth management study. With Blue Mountain Resorts pushing close to one million visitors annually, he said, the town needs significant road and infrastructure improvements.

"I'm not sure we're getting our fair share," Kennedy said. "I'm not sure the county understands the need here."

Councillor Michael Martin touched on that issue, too, saying the growth management strategy could cause big problems for the town if future planning doesn't recognize the growth in recreational residential development here.

"This is a crucial issue for us," Martin said.

Eccles responded that he understands the town's concerns.

"Our county staff and the town's staff are on the same mindset on those numbers," Eccles said, but getting the province to understand is the challenge, now.

"It's going to take a serious mind-shift to change that idea. Things have changed from the days when a family spent just a couple of weeks at the cottage every year then it was closed down and everyone went back to the city. Now, they show up Thursday and stay through to Sunday or Monday almost every week."

McKinlay responded that the joint transportation study is part of the effort to deal with growth here, but agreed that the town comes up short because so many provincial funding programs are based on population. The town's full-time population is generally listed at about 6,000 to 7,000 although infrastructure has to be designed to meet peak demands closer to those of a town of 16,000 or more.

Eccles pointed to several joint efforts to show that the county is reinvesting money here. Those include the Mountain Rd. roundabout, the ambulance station at Craigleith, the Grier Creek Bridge reconstruction (in partnership with Grey Highlands), and a joint comprehensive transportation strategy planning effort involving the town, the county and the provincial government. The latter is looking at ways to improve traffic flow on Highway 26 and county and town roads.

What's important, McKinlay added, is that that study will look at actual traffic rather than base its conclusions on population numbers that don't reflect the true number of people.

The roundabout, an answer to growing traffic around Blue Mountain Resorts' south base and Scenic Caves, is being partly funded by the county, the resort, and the town.

Eccles also pointed out that, as of May 1, the county will be taking over responsibility for the 11.5-km stretch of road from the base of Scenic Caves Rd. to Ravenna, which will become Grey County Rd. 119.

The county is finalizing its budget and expects an increase of about 1.98 per cent

"We think that's very good considering these times of rampant inflation," Eccles said.

Eccles also said the county and its municipalities are launching a new effort to take advantage of reduced costs by combining their purchasing power. He said the town's purchasing manager, Sherry Adams, has been an important part of that effort.

An economic development program is also underway, Eccles said, but the project's scale keeps growing.

"It seems the more questions we ask and for every group we identify three more pop up," Eccles said. "I think, going forward, it's going to be a very large part of our planning."

County officials will be attending a retreat in The Blue Mountains in early May to work on strategic planning.

Deputy Mayor Duncan McKinlay said the joint projects are a sign of the change in the relationship between the town and Grey. It's a recognition, he said, "of the economic importance and the social importance of the Town of The Blue Mountains in the county."

Noting that the town contributed about $10.5 million to Grey County's coffers, last year, Gamble said, "it's nice to see that reinvestment back into our community."

But, Gamble added, county council and staff have to continue to understand that high property values in The Blue Mountains mean taxpayers here contribute more to the county than those who have a similar property, with a lower assessed value, in the rest of Grey.

"It would be worthwhile to get more of our money coming back to us," Gamble added.

McKinlay, who, along with Mayor Ellen Anderson, represents the town at county council, said he believes the other municipalities have begun to understand the town's needs.

"There's a realization of the importance of this part of Grey to the county as a whole," he said. "There's a realization that there needs to be a reinvestment in roads, here, and in other infrastructure."

Gamble asked about Grey Roots, the county's heritage and tourism centre near Rockford. McKinlay, who chairs the county committee that oversees Grey Roots, answered that a new business plan was developed last year. He said visitorship has increased significantly. More educational programs are being developed and the opening of the heritage village, this year, should increase revenues further.

"The value to the community has certainly increased a lot as far as programs and visitors," McKinlay said.

Eccles added that Grey Roots has a growing customer base "that has done nothing but continue to rise ... above our expectations". He added that the facility recently received a 9,000-piece tool collection from an individual collector. Many of the pieces were made in Grey County. Another collector is donating several antique windmills that were made by Grey County firms.

Councillor Michael Martin urged the county officials to work towards expanding their development charges bylaw. Many Grey municipalities are reluctant to collect development charges -- levies against new development -- because they fear they'll scare away growth. But town officials point out that The Blue Mountains has the highest development levies in Grey and also has the highest development totals.

"Infrastructure is the biggest problem for the future," Martin said. "Development levies fund a lot of infrastructure. You've got the tools to do this, you've got to use the tools. You've got to be proactive."

McKinlay responded that the joint transportation study is part of the effort to deal with growth here, but agreed that the town comes up short because so many provincial funding programs are based on population. The town's full-time population is generally listed at about 6,000 to 7,000, although infrastructure has to be designed to meet peak demands closer to those of a town of 16,000 or more.

Eccles and Wood promised to keep the town's concerns in mind and pass the comments along to council and staff.