Category: Planning & Policies

Policies, plans, economic development, strategic planning, sustainability and future-looking ideas for local municipal politics.

My answers to ACO

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Election 2018 / Local history / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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The following questions came from the local chapter of the Architectural Conservancy of Ontario (ACO). They were sent to all mayoral and deputy-mayoral candidates, but I am unsure whether council candidates also got them. My responses are below. The questions were preceded by this: Questions regarding Collingwood’s Heritage Members of the Collingwood Branch of the ACO have prepared the following questionnaire to ascertain candidates’ positions on a number of important issues regarding the future of one of our town’s most valuable resources – our historic architecture and cultural heritage.  Once compiled, your responses will be posted to our Facebook site.  ……… click below for more ↓

My answers to SOS

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Election 2018 / Ethics and behaviour / Hospital / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications / TaxesLeave a comment

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The following questions were sent to all candidates by the local citizen’s group, Save Our Shoreline (SOS). These are my answers, below. I have formatted my response for better online reading. The questions are in italics. 1.) In order of priority how would you rank the top five (5) priorities for the Town of Collingwood over the next 4 years? Financial sustainability. We cannot build, we cannot create, we cannot start new projects if we cannot afford them – and we have to keep the impact on the taxpayers at a minimum and reduce town spending (but not to lower ……… click below for more ↓

More traffic woes

Collingwood / Council / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Another place we need a traffic signal in Collingwood is at Third and High. On busy days – and there are many more of them now than ever – it’s almost impossible to turn left from Third onto High Street. Today, for example, while I was driving around town, I found myself one of eight cars lined up waiting for the first one to turn left. Even turning right into oncoming traffic at that intersection is difficult because of the volume and speed of the traffic. There is currently a light at the Home Depot entrance, but that only operates ……… click below for more ↓

Heritage icon or white elephant?

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Election 2018 / Local history / Planning & PoliciesOne Comment

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Everyone recognizes the Collingwood terminals, one of the iconic (albeit unused) grain elevators on the Great Lakes, but it is actually the fourth on our waterfront. The first three were wooden; the first one was built in 1855 and burned in 1862, the second was built in 1871 and also burned down (date unknown); the replacement third was demolished in 1937. (I’ve got pictures of the first and third, but not the second – although I have seen an early photo showing two elevators on the waterfront together). Built in 1929, the existing elevators heralded a new era for Collingwood ……… click below for more ↓

Sunset Point parking

Collingwood / Council / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Sunset Point Park is easily Collingwood’s most popular park and for good reason: it’s a wonderful resource and a great place to spend an afternoon. Summer weekends it’s always full of families, couples, pets and picnics. You’ll see swimmers, kite flyers, cyclists, sunbathers, strollers, anglers and hibachis everywhere. People come from miles around – even many from the GTA – to spend the day in Collingwood’s Sunset Point Park. And with that comes the problem: parking. People drive here and their cars have to go somewhere. The small lots fill quickly and then overflow onto the nearby side streets. The ……… click below for more ↓

What about climate change?

Collingwood / Council / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Forest fires. Flooding. Drought. Algal blooms in our lakes. Extreme temperatures. People dying in heat waves. Climate change and its effects have been headline news this year more than ever. The New York Times dubbed 2018 the “summer of fire and swelter.” 2018 is predicted to be the fourth-hottest year on record – and the three hottest before that were the three previous years! So what are we doing about it?  Nothing, it seems, at least in many places. The NYT commented that the unrelenting news is, “… revealing in real time how unprepared much of the world remains for life ……… click below for more ↓

Collingwood’s pot problem

Collingwood / Council / Development & Growth / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Two months from now, Canada’s federal government will make marijuana legal. Laws will allow it to be sold in private stores, smoked, eaten and even grown in your home. There will be retail stores and online sales. And the next council will have to deal with it. But before then, our council should have discussed it and given the public some inkling as to what is planned here. Should have held public debate about where it could be sold – offered some suggestions for changes to our planning bylaws and Official Plan. Should have brought in someone from the police ……… click below for more ↓

Electoral reform for Collingwood

Collingwood / Council / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Collingwood elects all of its council at large. There are no ward systems for local or neighbourhood voting. But is it the best system for Collingwood? I don’t think so, and want it to be discussed by the next council. And maybe a referendum question on the next ballot. At-large are good for mayor, and deputy mayor (if the latter is elected directly and not otherwise selected from the representatives). Everyone gets to vote for the top positions. But the next seven we choose are also elected at large. And why should everyone have to vote for all of council? ……… click below for more ↓

My responses to residents: 3

Collingwood / Council / Election 2018 / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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NB: As a candidate for Deputy Mayor in the upcoming municipal election, I receive questions from residents about my stand on various issues and policies. I will post my responses here for everyone to read. My responses are in italics, below. Looking forward to your review & response to enclosed questions to understand your level of support to improve cycling infrastructure in Collingwood that you will provide if elected in the upcoming election. Thank you for the opportunity to comment and respond to your questions. As a bit of background, when I was on council (2003-2014) I advocated for and ……… click below for more ↓

Update: closed door meetings in Collingwood

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications / Utilities: electricity and water6 Comments

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Last November, I documented the unacceptably high number of closed-door (aka secretive) meetings held by this council since it took office. More than all of the past three councils combined. Back then I documented that by Oct. 2,  2017, council had held: 14 closed-door meetings about our airport 4 closed-door meetings about our hospital redevelopment 37 closed-door meetings about Collus-PowerStream (plus three potential that were vaguely identified in the agendas). And in all that time, the number of comments or editorials in the local media about this abuse of power and egregious secrecy by our council: zero. I thought I’d ……… click below for more ↓

Airports and opportunities vs. The Block

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications / Staff and administrationLeave a comment

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Strategic Vision: To become a premier regional commercial airport that stimulates the socioeconomic development of Simcoe County and the City of Barrie by improving connectivity, enhancing the competitiveness of the region and improving the quality of life for its residents. Mission Statement: To drive the region’s economic prosperity, enhance business opportunities, increase the region’s competitive position and support the travel needs of the community through increased connectivity. So opens a report on the opportunities and challenges facing the Simcoe Regional Airport, presented to the county’s Committee of the Whole session, May 22. You can see it here, starting at page ……… click below for more ↓

Doherty’s Magic Money Fairy

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

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At 3:55:20 in the video of Monday’s Collingwood Council meeting, Councillor Deb Doherty utters the self-congratulatory claim that she is “glad” the costs of the upcoming judicial inquiry to pursue the Block’s maniacal conspiracy theories are not coming out of “taxpayer funds on an annual basis.” I can hear your head shaking. Where does she think money comes from? And since taxes are calculated yearly, is there any other sort of taxation aside from an “annual basis”? Well, read on… This bit of financial wisdom comes from the same councillor who last year expressed bafflement over what dividends are and ……… click below for more ↓

The hypocrisy, it burns, it burns…

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Development & Growth / Planning & Policies / Publicity & Communications / Utilities: electricity and waterLeave a comment

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The Block on Collingwood Council can’t seem to go a week without diving into their deep, private lake of hypocrisy. Remember how they whined and snarled about the partnership last council formed with PowerStream to own and operate our electrical utility? How the Jeremiahs at the table lamented that a partnership deal was bad for the town. Now they want one for our airport. Ah, the hypocrisy. Yep. A story in the Connection last week noted, “…the two best options for the municipality would be a full sale of the property or a sale that includes a private and public ……… click below for more ↓

Council kills Collingwood construction

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Ethics and behaviour / Planning & Policies / Publicity & CommunicationsLeave a comment

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Collingwood council – dominated by The Block – has voted to cripple the booming construction industry in town. A bylaw passed this week prohibits, “…operation of construction equipment to Monday to Friday from 7 a.m., to 7 p.m.” according to a story in the Connection.* This means The Block have really put a damper on construction, making it even more difficult for developers to get homes finished on time, hurting the workers who depend on those jobs, delaying new home buyers from moving in and creating yet another liability situation for the town. The article notes: This deals with major ……… click below for more ↓

Wasaga pulls airport support

Collingwood / Council / deception & secrecy / Disrespect and bad behaviour / Planning & PoliciesLeave a comment

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Another post where I get to say “I told you so.” Wasaga Beach pulled its support for the Collingwood Airport just like Clearview did a little earlier. Told you they would. Why? Simple: because of The Block. Seven of our councillors resolutely stand in the way of growth, business, development, jobs, a better community, our healthcare – everything except their own wellbeing and personal advantage. I warned you that the combination of the roadblocks and the wall of secrecy erected by The Block would drive our regional partners away. And it did. Even before this, I warned you the shoddy, ……… click below for more ↓

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