Development & Growth – Page 6

Rethinking Parking

Parking in Collingwood – especially downtown – has been a contentious issue since at least the mid-1980s. Numerous studies have been done advocating a variety of answers, none of them entirely satisfactory to everyone. The factions of free versus paid parking have been warring as long as I can recall. No council has managed to fully come to grips with the issue. To compound the issue, town staff have tended to weigh in on the side of paid parking in no small part because of the revenue it brings in, which helps offset the expenses of the bylaw department (and justifies ……… click below for more ↓

Turning Positives into Negatives

2015-05-01 2015-05-07 Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

Once upon a time, when George Czerny was the publisher, the Enterprise-Bulletin newspaper was an avid and active local promoter: the indefatigable cheerleader for the town; for its events, activities, clubs and organizations. It was the proud voice of Collingwood. Not so, today. The paper seems to have lost that community passion. Today it comes across as bitter, ideologically-driven, full of negativity and hidden agendas. Take a look at the EB’s story about the Curling Club renovations. Here should be a positive story about the collaboration between the town and the Curling Club to share costs, renovate and restore one of the town’s most ……… click below for more ↓

Gated Communities

2015-04-07 2016-06-06 Collingwood / Council / Development & GrowthLeave a comment

I’m not a big fan of gated communities, but even if I don’t personally want to live in one myself, I understand the reason for them, and sympathize with homeowners in those zones. Apartments are basically gated towers that restrict access to residents or keyholders and no one complains that they isolate the residents. Few people who live in one would welcome strangers walking up and down their halls. If a home owner in other parts of town has the right to fence in his or her property and keep people out or otherwise restrict access, then why shouldn’t a part ……… click below for more ↓

Why Elvis Matters to Collingwood

2015-03-08 2015-03-09 Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Planning & Policies / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

There are some things that are pointless to argue, it seems. Creationism with a fundamentalist. Anti-vaccination with a New Age wingnut. Reason and logic with local bloggers. The value of the Elvis Festival to Collingwood with a closed-minded resident. I recently heard complaints about the cost of the 2014 festival: $74,000. More than double what the Integrity Commissioner cost taxpayers to investigate bogus, politically-motivated claims last year. And what did we get for that $74,000? International recognition and widespread media coverage, more than 30,000 visitors, increased revenue for our hospitality sector, a full downtown, busy restaurants and hotels, people shopping ……… click below for more ↓

What’s Wrong with Municipal Bonusing?

2015-02-26 2015-02-26 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics / Politics / Provincial PoliticsLeave a comment

Until the early 1970s, municipalities in Ontario were involved in a free-for-all competition to attract business and industry. They offered tax breaks, free land, free infrastructure, utilities or services, housing — whatever it took to get a plant or office to open within their boundaries. A lot of small Ontario communities were able to attract businesses that way, and many got major industries. Of course, the local taxpayers paid for these benefits, but the towns subscribed to the theory that eventually the extra jobs and tax revenues coming into the municipality would pay for the up-front largesse through increased revenue ……… click below for more ↓

Collingwood in the Top Ten

2014-10-20 2014-10-20 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics / Planning & Policies / PoliticsLeave a comment

There’s a story in today’s Financial Post that is headlined, “Collingwood’s debut in top 10 on ranking of business friendly cities is no accident.” No accident at all, as anyone on council, in staff or who follows local politics knows. We’ve worked hard to get to this. We deserve it. We told you during the election we were finally open for business and here’s the proof: the rest of the country recognizes us. Collingwood was ranked tenth out of 81 small-sized communities in the FP’s poll, conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses: In its first year to qualify, ……… click below for more ↓

A Swimmer Comments on the New Pool

2014-10-10 2021-05-15 Collingwood / Development & GrowthOne Comment

Here are some comments from a pool user emailed to me this week, slightly edited. I asked for and received permission to post these. Apparently some local people who don’t swim or use any of these pools – including our own – have been posting on social media that our facility can’t live up to the standards of other facilities. That bricks-and-mortar is superior. Seems the swim community – the people who actually use our facility, the people who actually know the standards and features – disagrees. I have not visited any of the places mentioned, so I cannot confirm the details. ……… click below for more ↓

Misconceptions About the Town Debt

2014-10-02 2014-10-02 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics5 Comments

Yesterday members of council received a letter from our auditors that should clear up any misconceptions floating around about debt and debentures. It is clear and succinct. I was also forwarded an email from a candidate (sent to his supporters) with misleading statements about how much debt there is. I don’t know if it was deliberately meant to be misleading – I suspect rather that the candidate simply doesn’t understand municipal finance. But it isn’t really a complicated process. And no candidate should make claims based on misunderstanding or misinformation. It is their responsibility to get and present the facts, not fantasies, nor ……… click below for more ↓

Looking forward to 2015-18

2014-08-25 2014-08-25 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

Looking forward to 2015 and beyond, here are some of the things I would like to see Collingwood Council and the town staff accomplish in the upcoming term. I have laid these out in my campaign website and literature already, but thought I should include something in my blog to complement those sources. Maintain our current fiscal stability and sustainability. This council has been very proactive in keeping taxes and spending low, without compromising on any essential services or infrastructure. We have paid down $11 of the $45 million debt we inherited, and only borrowed minimally for necessary infrastructure projects. The average ……… click below for more ↓

Twenty years of strategic planning

2014-06-05 2014-06-05 Collingwood / Development & Growth / Municipal Politics / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

Twenty years ago – May, 1994 – the Town of Collingwood started a community-based strategic plan. That report was released in October, 1995. Then in October, 2000, Vision 2020 released its Blueprint Collingwood. These two documents are generally forgotten by the general public today, but they have been the basis of planning, of policy and strategic targets by councils and staff ever since. No particular council or mayor can take credit for the accomplishments; they’ve been achieved over more than two decades of effort and resolve. This post is simply to point out that these visionary documents were neither ignored nor ……… click below for more ↓