Collingwood – Page 40

Centennial Pool Gets Finishing Touches

A sneak peak into Centennial Pool a few weeks before it re-opens. Councillor Lloyd and I took a look around today (July 9) at how it’s progressing. We were very impressed. It’s going to be fabulous! Collingwood residents will love this place. It is really a stunning facility and we will be proud to host events here. The first image, at the top, shows the therapeutic pool at the bottom, with the ramp for accessibility, then the pool and the new electronic scoreboard. Feels like … click below for more ↓

The CAO Conspiracies

2013-07-04 2015-06-07 Collingwood / Conspiracy Theories / Humour & Satire / Municipal PoliticsOne Comment

Collingwood has appointed an interim CAO, John Brown, former city manager of Brantford, St. John’s and Oshawa, to help the town’s administration and governance during the interim while we search for a full-time CAO. This will, of course, send the bloggers into a frothing tizzy of frenetic accusations and conspiracy theories. So to save them the effort of having to explain this, I have written some plausible conspiracy theories for them to consider for their own use: 1. It’s actually Paul Bonwick, cleverly disguised by cosmetic surgery … click below for more ↓

How should a municipality deal with cigarette litter?

2013-06-30 2013-06-30 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Science & Technology / Social Order & DisorderOne Comment

I was sitting on a decorative rock on the landscaping west of Loblaws, this weekend, waiting while Susan was inside and amusing myself at the bad driving habits of our city visitors in the parking lot. I happened to look down and saw what little, rough grass there was, was almost totally buried in cigarette butts. Toxic, non-decaying, environmentally hazardous and socially hostile cigarette butts. Ugh. It’s not just there, it’s everywhere. Look along the streets, sidewalks, in the park grass. Thousands of cigarette butts, … click below for more ↓

It’s All About the Money

2013-06-20 2013-06-20 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Provincial Politics2 Comments

Almost every council decision comes with the subtext question, “Can we afford it?” Everything not procedural or administrative is usually about the cost. Who pays, whose budget does it come from, is the money in reserves, can we get funding, can we use development charges, will it raise taxes, are there other options, are there partnerships – all these questions run through most discussions. Will it raise taxes? That’s crucial. No one wants to pay more. The economic path is simple: property owners pay taxes, … click below for more ↓

Notes for a Spring Evening

2013-06-02 2013-06-02 Books & Reviews / Collingwood / Personal Reminiscences / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

Late spring, Saturday night, sitting here surrounded by the trees and garden in full bloom, everything lush and full of life, my view from the front porch of verdant trees and garden, everything so very green. Peaceful. Relaxing. Would that this evening could go on forever. Glass of Sledgehammer Zinfandel to round off the evening, a couple of books to read on the table beside me, the dog and two cats outside with us. Doesn’t get much better than this. Well maybe if we had … click below for more ↓

Pets and Policies: Why Dog Parks Matter

2013-05-26 2013-05-26 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Pets & Animal Behaviour3 Comments

Back in April, 2011, I wrote a post about municipal policies towards pets, now in the blog archives. I noted then that… A recent survey done by Colin Siren of Ipsos Reid estimated there are 7.9 million cats and 5.9 million dogs in Canada. The survey also shows that 35% of Canadian households have a dog, while 38% have a cat, which is consistent with other surveys conducted in the developed nations. Based on a figure of 9,500 households* we should have around 3,040 households … click below for more ↓

Understanding the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act

2013-05-04 2013-05-04 Canadian Politics / Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

Another of the Acts that direct municipal governance is the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act. While considerably shorter than the previously-discussed Municipal Act – eight pages, 15 sections and less than 3,500 words – it is of perhaps equal importance. While it may seem vague to outsiders, it was written to clearly identify the nature of a conflict in black and white. The Act allows no grey areas: there are no “perceived” conflicts in law, only clearly defined legal ones. This is obviously intended by the … click below for more ↓

The open government report

2013-04-11 2013-05-01 Collingwood / Municipal Politics / Provincial Politics / Social Order & DisorderLeave a comment

On Monday’s agenda, council received a 21-page report from the clerk on the nature and mechanics of open government in Collingwood. This comprehensive report, titled the “Accountability and Transparency Policy,” because it also introduced a revised, formal policy, listed all of the bylaws, policies and legislation by which council and staff operate. This is such an important and useful report that I felt it worthwhile to extract it from the April 13 agenda and make it available separately here. If you have not read it, or … click below for more ↓

Clawing our way back up the ladder?

2013-03-21 2013-03-21 Collingwood / Media Issues / Municipal Politics / Places & GeographyLeave a comment

In 2006, Moneysense listed Collingwood as the 11th best place to live in Canada. The other ten above us on that list were all major cities. We were the number one town. Mayor Geddes beamed. Today we’re a lot further down the list. Numero 54 to be exact, out of 200. I wrote about that list back in 2011. We plummeted from the giddy heights of 11th place to 61st by 2008. The fall didn’t stop until we hit 94th place in 2012, in the … click below for more ↓

Understanding the Municipal Act

2013-03-21 2013-03-21 Collingwood / Media Issues / Municipal Politics2 Comments

Among the many pieces of legislation, bylaws and policies that guide and inform municipal councils in Ontario, the Municipal Act is the most important.* This 238-page, 140,000-word, 474-section document covers most of the things that govern municipal councils: powers, duties, highways, public utilities, waste management, fences and signs, animals, economic development, environment, licensing, municipal reorganization, municipal service boards, BIAs, boards and committees, integrity commissioners, transparency, open and in-camera meetings, financial administration, taxation, fees, bylaw enforcement, bonusing. …and many other topics. Clearly a document of this … click below for more ↓

To sleep, perchance to dream

2013-03-02 2013-03-02 Collingwood / Humour & Satire / My Writing / Personal Reminiscences / Pets & Animal BehaviourLeave a comment

Aye, there’s the rub. To sleep in, one weekend morning, when there are no pressures for meetings, work, deadlines. To roll away from the soft light that filters through the blinds and enjoy that delicious moment of closing your eyes and drifting back into a dream. Covers pulled up, the street quiet outside the widow, the furnace gently wheezing its warm air into the room; nothing is better in the world. But of course, there are others with different ideas. The real masters of the … click below for more ↓

The Hobgoblins under the Lobbyist Bridge

2013-02-28 2013-02-28 Collingwood / Critical Thinking / Municipal Politics / US PoliticsLeave a comment

Lobbyist. For some, the word conjures frightening images of nefarious trolls and ogres in Armani suits lurking under the bridges and in the woods in the dark night, snatching unwary politicians and dragging them down to whatever hell the gullible and naive descend to (a hell cleverly paved with gold and champagne flutes). The very word itself is printed in bold and in colour in some comments, just in case you might miss it and the boogeyman-thrill the hiss of the word gives. Lobbyisssst… my … click below for more ↓

Is it time for a Collingwood ukulele group?

2013-02-22 2013-02-22 Arts / Collingwood / Culture / Musical Instruments / Personal Reminiscences2 Comments

When a friend recently told me he had joined the new Guelph ukulele group, it made me somewhat envious. After all, having a local support-performance-practice-chat-socialize group for any hobby is always great. When your hobby is a passion that requires an audience to realize itself fully, a local group is de rigeur. You simply need others people to practice with to get better and share the joy. Uke groups have been springing up all over. The ukulele is currently the most popular musical instrument in … click below for more ↓