Category: Collingwood

Comments, thoughts and musings about my hometown: Collingwood, Ontario. And some local politics, too, with my comments as a municipal councillor.

That WTF Moment

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & PoliciesOne Comment

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WTF. Those three letters crudely but superbly sum up the two-page response made to the two members of council who recently sent out an inappropriate media release, pretending it came from the town. The letter was written by Remo Niceforo, President of Clearview Aviation Business Park. It starts by saying, Having sought diligently over the past 18 months to obtain an access agreement, this is the first time I have learned (through a media release) of the criteria to be met which might lead to an access agreement. That’s the first WTF moment. Here’s another: Your statement that, “the Town ……… click below for more ↓

The Blackened Nose

Buddhism / Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviourLeave a comment

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There’s a famous Zen tale that I was reminded of as I was reading the media release about the Collingwood Airport this week. It somehow seemed remarkably fitting. It’s about the folly of selfishness, of thinking yours is the only way forward, of possessiveness, of narrow views. I first came across this tale in the late 1960s, in a copy of Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, by Paul Reps. I still have that book; a battered paperback I have carried with me ever since. This story is only one of more than 100 in the book. It’s number 48: Black-Nosed Buddha, ……… click below for more ↓

Lessons from the paper

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Media / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications4 Comments

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There’s a story on page B2 of the January 1 Enterprise Bulletin (not online yet*) that offers us three lessons. Two lessons on how the local media fails us, one on cringe-worthy political ineptitude. Those lessons are: How far the credibility of the paper has fallen; How little respect there is for real reporting and investigative journalism in the local media; How pusillanimous and dysfunctional council has become. Let’s start with number one. The article on page B2 is headlined “Business centre strategic board takes flight.” Now you might think you were reading a light piece about the development of the Clearview Aviation Business ……… click below for more ↓

Council’s First Year Reviewed

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviourOne Comment

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As we come close to the end of 2015, it’s time to take stock of what your Collingwood Council has accomplished in its first year in office. Let me start by saying it’s up to you to decide whether we have the best people at the table to represent our needs. Or  are they gormless, brainless, pursing a political agenda set for them by unelected outsiders, and/or blindly following the lead of administration staff? It is up to you to decide whether they have lived up to their election promises or led this town astray. First, here’s the complete list of everything council has ……… click below for more ↓

Consultants Run Amok

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & Policies / Taxes2 Comments

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As the old saw says, a consultant is someone who comes in to solve a problem and stays around long enough to become part of it. So how many consultants’ reports does it take for council to figure out we’re spending too much money on consultants’ reports? More than three, apparently. Three is the number of consultants’ reports included in the preliminary budget alone (the one that recommends raising your taxes almost 4% and gives council another pay increase as a reward for doing so…!). Three consultants’ reports… one would be an unprecedented number in a small town town budget. Three is, well, ……… click below for more ↓

Our ruined reputation

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviourOne Comment

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Collingwood’s reputation is in tatters. But you wouldn’t know that from the local media coverage. A story in the Stayner Sun this week illustrates just how bad it has become. It should have been front page in this week’s Connection: Clearview Township mayor chastises neighbouring Collingwood for airport decision In the story, Clearview’s mayor and deputy mayor rebuke Collingwood – our council and administrative staff – as being anti-business, anti-growth and simply being bad neighbours. Well-deserved criticisms if you’ve been following the airport debacle. Or the Block 9 debacle and its fallout. Or the anti-business-tax-hike-to-cover-council’s-pay-raise debacle. Or the anti-business assault on ……… click below for more ↓

Moved by myself…

Collingwood / Council / Language & Grammar / Style & usageLeave a comment

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After watching Collingwood council meetings on Rogers again, I felt I should re-post a link to a piece I first wrote several years ago, then again in 2014, then re-wrote in April of this year: Me, myself and I Every time I watched the meetings, I also watched councillors say the same thing: “move by myself.” The incorrect use of the reflexive is like nails on a blackboard. We don’t expect all of our elected officials to be English majors, or great orators, but we do expect them to know – and speak – the basics. We expect them to speak better than some ……… click below for more ↓

Screw the Taxpayer

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & Policies / Taxes / User fees and costs3 Comments

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Sitting down? Good. You might want a drink, too. A strong one. Ready? Get a grip on your chair. Here goes: Collingwood is looking at a 3.9% tax hike for 2016. And that’s just its own portion. Let me help you up. No, that isn’t wrong. It’s the proposed budget hike this council is contemplating. It was presented to council at an all-day meeting last week. The Connection reported on it, Dec. 2, in case you missed it (nothing in the EB, though).* That municipal tax raise will be coupled with an increase from the county, sending your taxes skyrocketing up ……… click below for more ↓

The End of Integrity

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Collingwood Council has apparently decided it is better to be viewed as hypocritical than as unethical. Following a year of investigations of council behaviour by the Integrity Commissioner, Robert Swayze, council decided that, rather than reform their collective behaviour, it was easier to dump the IC. So no more pesky peering into how they conduct themselves or whether they are acting in the best public interest. And yet most of those elected to council this term were among the group loudly demanding the last council hire an integrity commissioner to protect the public trust. Is that hypocrisy? Some would think so. The ……… click below for more ↓

The Airport Mystery

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & Policies12 Comments

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What’s happening at Collingwood Airport? Or better yet: what’s NOT happening? And why isn’t it? Once touted as the role model for regional cooperation, and having the best potential for local economic development, it is now a topic for murmurings about a secret sale, and ugly rumours that this has become the worst regional relationship this town has ever had. Every time the airport comes up on the agenda, our oh-so-open and transparent Collingwood Council scurries behind closed doors to discuss it. But while that may seal a few local lips, it hasn’t stopped people in our surrounding region from talking about ……… click below for more ↓

CRAP Design

Books & Reviews / Publicity & Communications / What I'm Reading NowLeave a comment

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CRAP: Contrast, Repetition, Alignment, Proximity. An unfortunate acronym from the four basic principles of graphic design first expounded in Robin Williams’ delightful little book, The Non-Designer’s Design Book. It’s now in its fourth edition, adding 24 pages since the last edition, almost 50 since the 2nd and more than 100 since the first). Of all my books on graphic design, this has been my favourite for several years, ever since I bought the first edition in the late 1990s. It condenses so much information, so many ideas, so many nuances into clear, understandable principles. Plus, it’s well-illustrated, with many visual examples ……… click below for more ↓

Our Know-It-Alls

Collingwood / Council / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications3 Comments

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Collingwood Council obviously knows more than anyone else in municipal governance. More, in fact, than anyone else in the entire country. In fact, they may all be geniuses in local governance issues. Otherwise, why would council cancel their individual subscriptions to Municipal World magazine at the start of their term? Previous councils subscribed to an issue for each member of council, plus others for administration. While I can’t say everyone read them, the brightest and most dedicated politicians on council read them cover to cover. Now the whole town gets one issue. ONE for the entire workforce;  for the dozen or so staff AND politicians. That suggests council ……… click below for more ↓

The Gauche in the Machine

Advertising / Collingwood / Council / Marketing / Media / Public relations / Publicity & Communications5 Comments

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Rudibus ex machina: criticizing Collingwood’s latest newsletter feels a bit like punching a puppy. Or commenting on the sloppy grammar of local bloggers. Both are far too easy, like catching fish in a barrel, and I feel guilty when I even think of doing it. But since your tax dollars are at work, it needs to be done. Someone needs to stand up and say this is not the standard  we expect from a $55 million-a-year corporation. This might be a good runner-up in a high school contest, but it is not a professional product appropriate for municipal communications.* This ……… click below for more ↓

Climate Change and Collingwood

Collingwood / Council / Environment / Planning & Policies / Science & TechnologyOne Comment

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Climate change is arguably the single most pressing, most important, most challenging issue to affect governments at this time. Our world is suffering and weather is getting extreme in many parts. It’s affecting crops, wildlife, safety, water… everything. But what are Canadian municipalities doing to combat it, to reign in their use of fossil fuels, reduce their carbon footprint, reduce emissions, pollution, and embrace alternate energy systems? Not much, according to a study done by the Ontario Coalition for Sustainable Infrastructure. OCSI’s 2014 report, “When the Bough Breaks” has some discouraging statistics. According to their survey, only 38% of Ontario ……… click below for more ↓

Misunderstanding Local Government

Collingwood / Council / Critical Thinking / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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A recent editorial in the Collingwood Connection underscores the need to have writers who understand the actual process of government, and not simply comment on politics from an ideological perspective. It also underscores that some of our council still don’t understand why they are at the table. The anonymous writer of that editorial has penned this bit of cunning misinformation: Council was not being asked to decide if residents should be able to raise chickens in their backyard or pass judgment on the merits of the idea. They were being asked to start a process of public input. Well, we ……… click below for more ↓

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