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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Posted by Greg Locke on Feb 1, 2011 in Get Engaged! | 0 comments
A “plan” isn’t worth the paper its printed on if it merely sits on a shelf. Yet that’s what King’s 1995 “Future 2000 Strategic Plan” has been: It had not been updated since its publication, and for obvious reason: it was a document with no life.
An effective plan is one that reflects and builds on an approach: a living, breathing ongoing focus of resources that adapts to changing dynamics.
Council will soon be updating our Strategic Plan (as well as several other inter-related planning tools and processes). I have a keen interest in these initiatives because, besides being trained in business strategy, I’m acutely aware that King lacks the wealth-generating economy necessary to pay for our unique lifestyle.
If we don’t figure out how to sustainably increase our tax base while at the same time preserve and protect our natural, heritage and artistic assets, I fear we’ll ultimately be split up and absorbed into our surrounding municipalities.
I’ve reproduced the Globe and Mail article below because it builds on the focused planning that made cities like Stratford transform their economies.
If King continues with our default historic laissez faire approach we’ll continue to be an economy where sluggish growth comes from low-wage retail stores serving our new subdivisions and increasing through-traffic.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Feb 1, 2011 in Get Engaged! | 2 comments
In July 15, 2009 Ward 4 Councillor Bill Cober stated quite clearly that, “the new arena would pay for itself”.
This is the same Councillor who stated at January 17th’s Council meeting that, “… the Township was lucky to get $300,000…this money is a gift”.
This is striking because the new arena was sold to us taxpayers based on a formula that saw no tax burden in its construction. And I note, this was at a time when the Township was at, or very near, its statutory debt ceiling.
$300,000 is likely the “right” number for a facility such as this (though the contract duration is still excessive at 25 years. 8-10 is more typical).
The real issue is why in the analysis phase the sober warnings of Councillors Mortelliti, Laidlaw and Underhill were ignored: In their pursuit for this facility and stimulus funds, the previous Council majority committed King to a highly naive budgeting formula: the naming rights alone specified a $750,000 contribution to the $4.72 million Township cost portion.
What this means is, the $300,000 received by Trisan is not a “gift” as Councillor Cober states, but part of a funding requirement.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Jan 15, 2011 in Get Engaged! | 6 comments
Where will the $450,000 come from the “deal” shortfall?
Answer: Our Taxes.
I made an address to Council in September of 2010, for I could not help but criticize what I knew would be a predictable vote on one critical piece of the new arena’s funding formula, passed by Council last April in a similar, predictable vote. I chose a lighter-hearted approach to get my point across (the full text of my address is below) for I guessed there would be no shortage of negative criticism of this taxpayer giveway.
And I was right.
Trick is, it’s easy to get sidetracked by the name proposed itself; or the fact that Trisan, an established local contractor, was the only respondent to the Township’s Expression Of Interest (EOI); or the fact that the original “deal” was for the effective life of the facility (50 years or more – Mayor Pellegrini reduced this to 25); or, the fact that the “deal” is for only $300,000.
These facts all degrade what I refer to as the “ART” of the matter here: the presence (or lack) of A ccountability, R esponsibility, and T ransparency of these critical Council decisions that so affect our taxes moving forward.
Why, you ask?
Because Council made its narrowly-passed decision to approve the new Arena facility based on a formula, spelled out on Page 34 of in Parks Recreation & Culture Department Report PR-2010–6 based on several funding sources, several of which bear little resemblance to reality.
BOTTOM LINE:
Any shortfall in funding AND/OR cost overruns of the new facility, will have to be borne 100% by our property tax base, and at the time they’re incurred unless Council can find scarce debenture room.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Oct 28, 2010 in Get Engaged!, Press | 0 comments
REPRINTED FROM THE KING SENTINEL, October 27, 2010
King Township residents and members of council were among the roughly 100 people at Queen’s Park Thursday at a rally to fight to help save Ontario’s waters.
Earthroots, Council of Canadians and Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition organized the rally to urge the government to better manage, conserve and protect Ontario’s water resources.
The rally was centered around water conservation in general, but focused on the Oak Ridges Moraine to highlight some of the problems being faced in Ontario.
Earthroots Campaigner Josh Garfinkel said a strong message needs to be sent out to the government that they must better manage public water resources.
A carrot mascot, Josh Garfinkel, Senior Campaigner for Earthroots, Audrey Bankley, outreach coordinator of Earthroots, Josh Kohler, Southern Ontario campaigner of Earthroots, Brenda Bakers, Markham Municipal Councillor Erin Shapero and Debbie Crandall of STORM (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine) were also at the rally.
“The effects of the global water crisis in Ontario are being felt,” he said.
Debbie Schaefer, member of Concerned Citizens of King Township and Ward 5 council candidate, said King Township was represented at this meeting because of the plans by the Ontario Power Authority to build a 393 MW gas fired peaker generator in Ansnorveldt.
“The generator site is in the Lake Simcoe watershed and the site is in the marsh,” Schaefer stated in an e-mail. “The 17-kilometre pipeline to service the generator will be cut through the Oak Ridges Moraine across and under water paths.”
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Posted by Greg Locke on Oct 6, 2010 in Get Engaged!, Press | 0 comments
On October 6th, like all other Mayoralty and Councillor candidates in King Township, I was afforded an opportunity to address the Chamber membership on my views and approach to Business in King.
Below is the text of my address.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Sep 29, 2010 in Get Engaged! | 2 comments
Below is the full text from my speech to attendees of my Fundraiser at the Pottageville Pavilion on September 16th. I invite you to read, as a “one stop shop”:
- Who I am
- Why I want to represent you on Council
- What I possess that I think qualifies me, and
- How I will work with the incoming Council to go about it.
The King Weekly published an article on my address and I welcome you to see it here.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Sep 28, 2010 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 4 comments
Ward 4 Councillor Bill Cober voted in 2010 to support unrestricted retail development at King and Dufferin that could potentially kill the retail core of King City.
If Mayor Black hadn’t voted in favour of this particular bylaw, he would have had his way: Cleve Mortelitti said after the vote that Council, “… almost threw out the baby with the bath water”.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Sep 25, 2010 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 3 comments
Enbridge Gas has formally commenced construction in Pottageville and Kettleby on a 17 km gas pipeline, beginning at the York Energy Centre at 18731 Dufferin Street in the Holland Marsh. Construction will end at the westerly end of Pottageville near the 8th Concession.
Passing in front of homes and the Kettleby Public School, it will follow the Lloydtown Aurora Rd. through Pottageville, passing in front of the Kettleby School and under Hwy. 400 before it turns north at Jane.
The pipeline is 16 inches wide; the pressure is 650 psi (pounds per square inch.) In contrast, a pipeline taking gas to your house for heating & cooking is less than 5 psi.
The pipeline will be constructed within existing road allowances. However, the OEB recognizes that temporary easements over some properties along the route will be necessary due to the intrusive nature of the construction. Over and above undetermined risks of such a facility, Lloydtown Road will be a mess during this construction period.
Do you know why?
This gas line is to fuel Pristine Power’s “Peaker” gas-fired electric generating station in the Holland Marsh, and the closest connection point to Enbridge’s gas distribution system is in Pottageville.
WHAT ARE THE SAFETY RISKS?
They are concerning. Please read the following report prepared for and submitted to King Council in January 2010. It was prepared by East Gwillimbury Councillor Candidate Katharine Parsons, B.A. (Chem.), Executive Director, Global Environmental Action Group and Charles Rhodes, P. Eng., Ph.D. You will find it compelling reading.
Natural Gas Pipeline Setbacks and Risks paper
How did this happen?
Without King Township intervening, The Ontario Energy Board approved construction of this project in April 2010, on the express condition that work commence before year-end. The OEB denied a request by participants to included the pipeline in the environmental assessment of the plant itself.
You can see the full copy of the OEB Decision EB-2009-0187 here, including its graphic in Appendix B of the pipeline’s planned route I have reproduced in this article.
WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED
Unlike Bill, I would have voted on April 28, 2008 to declare King Township an unwilling host to the generator.
At this Council meeting Councillor Cober, Mayor Black, and 2 others voted against making this declaration: Read the Council discussion and witness the recorded vote here (starting bottom Page 7 with the recorded vote on Page 14). In May and June all other municipalities passed resolutions denying being willing hosts. At an emergency meeting on July 2, 2008 King Council finally declared itself an unwilling host. Too little – too late.
I would have voted in September 2008 to pass an interim control bylaw in King Township which would have prohibited construction of the generator starting for two years as zoning was reassessed in the Township. This in turn would have likely delayed the gas pipeline. At this Council meeting Mayor Black and Councillor Cober and two others voted against this bylaw. Council finally passed this bylaw in January 2010. Too little – too late.
King Township didn’t participate in the Ontario Energy Board hearings for Enbridge’s application for approval to build the pipeline. Nothing on the public record suggests Bill Cober asked the Township to participate.
In stark contrast, several groups registered as participants and challenged the OEB as to the safety of the proposed route.
I would have asked for the support of the Mayor and other Councillors for the Township to participate in the hearing and to challenge the risk of a high pressure gas pipeline 34 meters in front of the Kettleby Public School bus loading area and even closer to homes in Pottageville.
Please comment below. After all – it’s YOUR community.
Planned pipeline route through Pottageville and Kettleby. From Ontario Energy Board Decision EB-2009-0187 Appendix B.
Posted by Greg Locke on Sep 20, 2010 in Get Engaged!, Issues That Matter | 14 comments
This article was published as paid editorial in the King Sentinel on May 12, 2010.
For the print version please click here.
Several people have asked me why I’m not smiling in my election materials. Quite simply, it’s because I have nothing to hide: No smile, no arms crossed. Just my face – approachable, certainly honest, and some would say (my Mom at least), intelligent and critical.
I’m currently the only non-incumbent running for election in King, so I feel an even greater moral duty to strip the sugar coating off a few issues that many Ward 4 and King residents take for granted, as explained (or not) by their Council representatives.
I have a list of issues I intend to bring to your attention to think about and discuss with your incumbent Councillors and candidates between now and October 25th. No doubt over the coming months, other candidates like me who will offer positive change and leadership to their communities will join and add to this discussion.
Agree or disagree, we need to talk about King’s next 10 years because I believe we’ll lose much of what we so value here, unless we raise the bar and deliver better leadership to our Council this Fall.
Here’s my first issue: The “old” Schomberg Arena is to be sold off.
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Posted by Greg Locke on Sep 20, 2010 in Get Engaged! | 1 comment
“We have decided that technology really is the way for the economy to go forward … We don’t want to become like every other community that has a long strip of stores followed by a downtown that is somewhat vacant because it’s just not our brand.”
That’s Dan Mathieson, Mayor of Stratford, commenting in the Toronto Star about the town’s ambitious strategy to diversify it’s well-known and thriving arts community with a high tech hub based on public-private partnerships and key infrastructure investments. (See full article reprint below.)
I must admit I was a bit envious reading about this in Saturday’s Star. That emotion quickly turned to excitement as I realized that this kind of reinvention IS possible in a community that takes it upon itself to do it. This is Positive Leadership personified.
You see, in my Platform component STIMULATE: Economic Development, I used this industrial strategy as one example of what King and specifically our Schomberg area can do to diversify our economies.
Schomberg has the single largest concentration of undeveloped ZONED industrial land in King. Yet from my research, only sporadic market forces are determining its current fate.
Is a high-tech hub the right strategy? Maybe. What about the focused approach of Stratford to its economic dilemma? Absolutely.
King has no discernible industrial strategy or plan that I can find.
And it’s about time we developed one.
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