Posted by Greg Locke on Apr 24, 2011 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 3 comments
You could substitute “King Township” in this article and it would be just as relevant.
I’ve updated and republished this post (in case you are have deja vu) as I am delighted to see there is growing interest and concern of late for our heritage “future” in King, yet the challenges we face are ever more apparent. Councillors are talking publicly about these issues AND seeking input.
Most noteworthy: Our newly-minted Council has approved a contract Heritage Planner in the approved 2011 budget as a means of providing due diligence to the cataloging of our heritage properties AND to stop the “reactive” mode discussed in the article. I’m delighted.
An excellent step forward, as championed by Councillor Cleve Mortelliti (King City).
Debbie Schaefer has generated some good community discussion on this topic on her blog in her post, “Re-vitalizing King City: ideas from others“.
Is it time, now, FINALLY, for our historic village cores to receive heritage designation?
We’re not new to this: We tried with Kettleby, and it failed (though for identifiyble reasons I won’t go into here);
King is desperately short of money to invest in heritage (the contract Heritage Planner role, for example, is a re-shuffling of funds);
Passionate volunteers are in short supply to do the work for designation: it’s substantial.
This timely article (below) makes it a requisite for preservation – but it’s not the only one. We have cultures in conflict that have given heritage preservation little voice.
THIS MUST CHANGE.
Please read on …. and COMMENT! You’ll see other King concerned citizens already have.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Apr 22, 2011 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 0 comments
On April 21st I took multiple shots of the progress of the project from the high grounds east of the site from several angles.
I posted 43 images on Google Picasa including 2 of the site prior to construction starting (it was a beautiful sight).
Click here to see the photo album.
Feel free to download and share these images – I’ve uploaded them in full resolution. You can also leave comments on the images if you wish to point out anything.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Apr 19, 2011 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 2 comments
Mayor Pellegrini requested Enbridge to present an update of the pipeline construction process (currently underway in Pottageville) at the 9th Council session yesterday evening. I was there, and here is an accounting of my key observations.
And if you are new to this issue, you may find my previous post: Game Over for the Pipeline Debacle worth reading.
PLEASE COMMENT below this post folks!
I must say Enbridge’s presentation to Council read like their letters to Council and other interested parties emphasizing their safety record, adherence to standards etc. I don’t think anyone doubts these “facts”. The trouble is, there have been some alarming accidents where proximity to populated areas is a huge concern. Especially when in our case, human safety could have been addressed by merely selecting an identified alternate route, missing Pottageville altogether.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Mar 22, 2011 in Get Engaged! | 0 comments
[If this issue is new to you, I suggest you read my 2010 post on this issue first. And the photo to the left is of the active pipeline construction published by the King Sentinel on April 13, 2011.]
Monday March 21st was a sad day for Pottageville & Kettleby:
The Ontario Energy Board rejected our new Council’s request for a reconsideration of the planned route of the 18km long dedicated high pressure natural gas pipeline through the populated areas of Pottageville and Kettleby, its sole purpose to fuel the peaker plant.
And why?
The Board had four considerations to determine whether it would allow a hearing to proceed (for those of you who are interested, I’ve reproduced them below with each key rationale).
Of most interest is the fact that with regard to the two first considerations, the OEB placed the full weight of their failure on our previous Council majority:
“The Board finds that there is no convincing explanation for the failure of the Township to make a request for review on a timely basis. In fact, there is ample evidence that the Township was not only aware of the original proceeding, but that it was an active participant in the planning of the project …”. [page 10 and my underline]
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Posted by Greg Locke on Mar 7, 2011 in Get Engaged! | 2 comments
I’ve written extensively over the last year about this new facility.
Other than select current and previous Councillors who have consistently supported my calls to tell the emperor he has no clothes, I’ve been standing quite alone, hollering in my disgust at how our current and future tax dollars will be appropriated to pay for this excess.
The other shoe is about to drop on us taxpayers. It’s not the fault of our new Council; it’s indeed a legacy of our previous Council majority’s vain indulgences.
The debt burden that we taxpayers will have to bear is the legacy of this facility. Think about that when you get your final tax notices this Spring.
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