Caring for King Township
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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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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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.
Planned pipeline route through Pottageville and Kettleby. From Ontario Energy Board Decision EB-2009-0187 Appendix B.
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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“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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Preserving Shift and ensuring is public access has proven to be a complicated project – even more with the late positive interest in it by the AGO (See Globe article text below). Council held a special meeting in the fate of Shift this last Tuesday October 21st.
read moreI fundamentally support protecting this internationally acclaimed artistic asset that happens to reside within King’s borders.
Should negotiations (unfortunately) extend beyond the current Council term, as your Councillor I will work with the “incoming” Council to see this project realized.
King actually has a relatively high vote turnout: nearly half of registered voters show up at the poles.
Only about 1/3 of Vaughan registered voters show up. Is our virtual 50/50 “good”? Of course it isn’t, especially when you consider how much municipal government affects our daily lives.
Whom do you think sets your property tax rate, and spends your tax dollars?
I like what Carol Wilding said in the May 23rd Toronto Star in response to, “What one thing would you suggest to improve life in Greater Toronto” (she’s President & CEO, Toronto Board of Trade):
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This is another example of what can be accomplished when a community works together in unison to achieve a positive constructive goal.
Could a Vision for the “old” Schomberg Arena be achieved that would serve our community? YOU BET.
Required: Positive Leadership.
ART SHOW PRECURSOR TO RESURRECTION OF SHAW STREET SCHOOL AS CREATIVE COMMUNITY HUB
This is an excellent example of what can be accomplished when philanthropy and private/public partnerships and community drive all come together.
Could a Vision for the “old” Schomberg Arena be achieved the same way? YOU BET.
Required: Positive Leadership.
AMES ADAMS
From Thursday’s Globe and Mail
Published on Wednesday, May. 12, 2010
Long-time Toronto philanthropists Murray and Marvelle Koffler are donating $20-million toward the $40-million construction costs of a new Jewish contemporary arts centre in northwest Toronto.
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It’s three things that will form my approach to working with Council:
This is the kind of leadership required right NOW – positive and active.
I will make a positive leadership difference to Ward 4 and King Township
BOTTOM LINE – I’ll work with Council to advance a progressive Seniors Vision and a Plan to realize it.
Born in 1964, I am statistically amongst the youngest of the Baby Boomers. And as a post-war sensation, we are staring to retire. Our numbers are immense. And we will increasingly demand services from all levels of government to maintain and extend our healthy lifestyles.
I discuss my Strategy for Seniors below. To get you thinking of the possibilities, read this short story below about a first-time project in London. We need to think “outside the box” about our growing needs, and this one got me thinking! How about you?
Please comment below!
Do we need “seniors playgrounds” dotting King? How about one in each of the 3 villages? Possibly. Perhaps a Seniors-inclusive Township recreation complex? Maybe.
However OUR needs will be addressed – maybe we need more, perhaps a LOT more, of this way of thinking (especially with strained budgets to assist Seniors at all government levels).
By the way: King has nearly a dozen new parks and parkettes planned for King within the next few years (as the new subdivisions are completed). Perhaps as Seniors we’d like to have a say in them.
I’ll work with Council to advance
a progressive Seniors Vision and a Plan to realize it.
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I HAVE BEEN CAMPAIGNING FOR 6 MONTHS.
I launched my campaign in April, 2010 – and I was the first non-incumbent to do so (mayoralty candidates included).
I re-read the Weekly’s coverage of this event (see reprint below) and I’m impressed at how steadfast my platform has been. I could re-release it today and not change a word.
My platform and the issues of relevance to Ward 4 AND King voters are just as relevant now as they were last Spring.
So why don’t we suspend recent history, and pretend I’m launching my campaign today? LET’S. Change the date on this article to October from April.
You will find me a refreshing alternative to the status quo.
read moreHere is a sample table below that shows product images in the left hand column, and some sample data in the columns to the right.
You can click on the images and get a larger version. In this case, you can click a second time and get the image at its full size.
You upload the images to the Media Library and you can easily select images to insert.
Note that you can sort the table rows by clicking on the column heads – for example, you can sort by Price of Colour Choices.
Users can also use the Search option and rows will only show that contain the keyword(s).
Rows are alternately highlighted and 10 rows display by default (users can change thi
Lastly, if you want to have a table that takes up more width than shown here (minus the right hand column – the “widget area” as it’s called) we can display the table without this so there’s room.
Jordan I think you’ll find this plugin ideal for the application you want this for.
| Image Column | sample data Column 1 | Price Column | Extra Info | Colour Choices |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Description | $450 | Dimensions | Red |
 | $250 | Dimensions | Blue | |
 | $350 | Dimensions | Green | |
 | $450 | Dimensions | Yellow |
I'm a Schomberg resident, local business owner, active community volunteer and artist. I care about the future of King Township and I maintain this blog as a means of stimulating good discussion and debate on the issues facing King.
