Category: Wacky WTF ideas

Council Screws Collingwood Residents. Again.

Collingwood / Council / Ineptitude and bungling / Planning & Policies / Wacky WTF ideas5 Comments

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Like many other residents in council chamber yesterday, I was deeply disappointed but not surprised by our council’s decision to continue with staff’s anti-resident/anti-environment plan to deforest Sixth Street to make it a better speedway for cars passing through town. The council chamber was full to capacity with people upset with the plan, hoping council would recognize their anger and distress, hoping council would listen, would prefer 21st-century pro-resident, green-street planning, and reconsider the previous pro-vehicle/anti-tree plan. But they didn’t. The majority of council sided … click below for more ↓

Pro-Car Planning is Destroying Collingwood’s Environment

Collingwood / Council / Environmental issues / Ineptitude and bungling / Wacky WTF ideas11 Comments

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I warned you: Council would support the anti-resident/anti-environment/pro-vehicle attitude that pervades town hall. I warned you they would deforest Sixth Street to make it a bigger, faster speedway for vehicles. I warned you they would add more pollution, more noise, and more traffic on Sixth Street. I warned you that they would lower property values there. I warned you they would make it more unhealthy for residents, for our water, and for trees and wildlife. And they did. CollingwoodToday has the sad story of how … click below for more ↓

The Anti-Environmentalists in Town Hall are at it Again

Collingwood / Council / Ineptitude and bungling / Planning & Policies / Wacky WTF ideas7 Comments

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WTF is wrong with town hall these days? Why do they dislike trees so much? Last week town staff presented another plan to make Sixth Street even more of a speedway than it already is, and in doing so they want to remove three dozen mature trees along the north side. The technical term for that is “deforestation.” You might remember how last term, staff had more than 50 mature trees chopped down along Hurontario Street so they could build a sidewalk on the east … click below for more ↓

The Subservience of Council

Collingwood / Council / Ineptitude and bungling / Planning & Policies / Staff and administration / Wacky WTF ideasLeave a comment

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Late last month, council was presented with a revised, six-page council-staff relations policy, which, according to the story in CollingwoodToday, “seeks to formalize how council and staff should interact with each other.” The story notes the first draft of the policy, a 14-page document, was presented to council in mid-September, but approval was deferred while councillors considered if it meant their impending emasculation.* Councillors Jeffrey and Doherty, and DM Fryer expressed concerns about the policy when it was first presented, mostly about the size it … click below for more ↓

Our Troubled Urban Forest

Collingwood / Council / Election 2022 / Ineptitude and bungling / Planning & Policies / Staff and administration / Wacky WTF ideas3 Comments

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On August 8, Collingwood council will “consider” a proposal to spend “up to $100,000 to retain a consultant to inform the next council on how Collingwood can better protect [our] tree canopy,” according to a story in CollingwoodToday. The article says, “With Collingwood’s population rapidly increasing, the town is behind when it comes to its policies around [our] tree canopy.” (This is an expanded version of a post I put on my Campaign for Council website) Given how poorly the town maintains those few trees … click below for more ↓

Berman Flails Over Jurisdictions

Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Council / Ineptitude and bungling / Legal issues / Wacky WTF ideasOne Comment

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Sure, most Canadians are appalled at the recent decisions by the Talibangelists on the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), and the loss of rights and freedoms their overturning Roe v. Wade represents to women. But aside from never voting for Conservatives to avoid the same thing happening here, what can Canadians do? After all, it’s an American legal decision and legal problem, not ours. Abortion rights in Canada were unaffected by the decision.* Well, according to CollingwoodToday, our own councillor, Steve “Mr. Mediocrity” Berman leapt into … click below for more ↓

What is Council Doing to Our BIA?

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Ineptitude and bungling / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications / Uncategorized / Wacky WTF ideasLeave a comment

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Last week, the chair of our BIA (Business Improvement Area: our association of downtown merchants and businesses) resigned from the organization he has served on for the past seven years. In his letter (quoted in CollingwoodToday) of resignation, David Conning wrote (emphasis added): Following last evening’s council discussion, I continue to have no faith that the town councillors will support any major initiative of the BIA, even when presented with expert documentation recommending the project… I have neither the time nor the inclination to invest … click below for more ↓

Council Misses the Bus. Again.

Collingwood / Council / Entitlement / Ineptitude and bungling / Staff and administration / Wacky WTF ideasLeave a comment

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Council’s latest plan will make life harder for low-income and senior residents by making our public transit less accessible, less affordable, and then replacing the schedule with random access buses just to confound riders. All because a well-paid consultant said it was a good idea and well-paid staff agreed. Another WTF-were-they-thinking moment from town hall. And I have no doubt, our pro-privatization, anti-public-ownership mayor would love to privatize our transit service — without any public consultation, of course — as he did our electricity utility … click below for more ↓

The Dark History Behind Saunderson’s Cancel-Culture Motion

Collingwood / Council / Deceit / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Entitlement / Ethics and behaviour / Wacky WTF ideasLeave a comment

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Without any fanfare or media coverage (no surprises there!), last September Collingwood Council approved a significant change to the policy regarding the Order of Collingwood that would pave the way for Mayor Brian Saunderson to launch his cancel-culture attack on someone he despises for hurting his feelings. But the real history goes back to the spring of 2021. It began with a CAO report presented to council in April, 2021. That report included two neo-Stalinist suggestions to erase and revise Collingwood’s history to suit the … click below for more ↓

Saunderson Continues His Cancel-Culture Program

Collingwood / Council / Deceit / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Ethics and behaviour / Wacky WTF ideasOne Comment

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On the agenda for the Strategic Initiatives Standing Committee (SIC) for Jan. 10, 2022 is a single line under other business that underscores just how petty, puerile, and vindictive our mayor is: Order of Collingwood Revocation and OMWA Membership, Mayor Saunderson As you might expect from a secretive, deceptive mayor, there was no documentation or commentary attached to the agenda package as you would expect in an open, transparent council meeting. It cunningly doesn’t even mention he will present notices of motion. Clearly, he didn’t … click below for more ↓

Greed: Council Votes Itself More Money. Again

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Entitlement / Wacky WTF ideas3 Comments

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NB. This is a repost from Dec. 16, 2021 At its Dec. 13 budget meeting our perpetually greedy, self-serving council voted 5-3 to increase their own individual expense accounts from $4,000 a year to a staggering $5,500. That’s $2,000 more than councillors were allowed for expenses in 2014. That’s a LOT of money for a council that has spent the last two years in virtual meetings, not attending events, conferences or activities in person. It’s not as if they need it for travel. And guess … click below for more ↓

Another Council Facepalm Moment

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Ineptitude and bungling / Legal issues / Planning & Policies / Wacky WTF ideasLeave a comment

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In a story on CollingwoodToday, this week council again discussed their job-growth-and revenue-killing interim control bylaw (ICBL) that has stopped the town from issuing new home building permits for the next four or more years, until a new water treatment plant is built. Of course, none of the developers or the construction industry, or anyone in the water treatment plant business, were consulted about the ICBL before it was passed. Why would council want to set a precedent and actually engage anyone that their dictates affected?

Yet Another WTF Were They Smoking Decision from Council

Collingwood / Council / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Ineptitude and bungling / Legal issues / Publicity & Communications / Wacky WTF ideas6 Comments

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Council has decided to close Maple Street to vehicular traffic at the end of this month, to make the street safe for bicycles as a one-month trial. Yes, I’m serious: they’re closing Maple Street, and it’s being done without even the pretense of consulting with the residents. But, in their typical manner of secrecy and deception, council will ask for residents’ feedback on the town’s website starting August 30, only AFTER the street is closed. Not before. The story in CollingwoodToday noted: The pilot project … click below for more ↓

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