Comments on The Burd Report: Back to the Council watch

To Anonymous, that's all good and well except ...

2009-08-24T11:03:46.352-04:00

To Anonymous, that's all good and well except that the town eventually ends up on the hook for providing services and that costs the town's taxpayers as well. When costs go up but the benefits don't accrue with them, the town must have some say in what goes on. That much is reasonable under those circumstances.

I live in the south end of Hamilton Township and c...

2009-08-24T09:35:13.899-04:00

I live in the south end of Hamilton Township and consider myself, for all intents and purposes, a Cobourger. The 401 is a highway I cross over every day to do my business, not a phoney municipal boundary separating the urban from the idealized rural. Where does the idea come from that Cobourg covets township lands? And the notion that Hamilton Township is all rural is quaint. So entrenched are these feelings that alternatives never see the light of day.

Maybe a few more competent and industrious politi...

2009-08-23T18:14:45.202-04:00

Maybe a few more competent and industrious politicians could also solve the problem.

If it's Hamilton's land why should Cobourg expect to have veto?

Why should Cobourg expect to amalgamate or even to take over this bit of Hamilton. Governing a town is quite different from a rural area. Cobourg should forget coveting what is not theirs and perhaps concentrate on planning and running its own town somewhat better.

One can easily get the impression that the Town of...

2009-08-23T15:35:19.230-04:00

One can easily get the impression that the Town of Cobourg is 'not in favour of supporting development on its fringes' as long as the benefits are not all for Cobourg. Our leaders seem to support a strategy that opposes such development long enough to make governing those areas a liability for the township and sooner or later the land owners force the township to turn over the land to Cobourg so that they can get on with their own plans. If Cobourg were to support township development on these fringe lands, the township would be ver averse to giving up those sources of revenue to Cobourg. If that is the case, it's a clever but dishonest strategy and only amalgamation will overcome it in the long run.

A talented pol would be able to "sell" a...

2009-08-23T15:07:01.738-04:00

A talented pol would be able to "sell" amalgamation as opposed to the normal run of the mill, back on their heels wardheeling pol whose every instinct is to say "NO" because that's what untalented pols do - say "NO". Talented pols work to solutions not be obstructions!

"incidious" amalgamation. Do you mean i...

2009-08-23T14:35:49.967-04:00

"incidious" amalgamation. Do you mean insidious or invidious?
"Stalement": do you mean settlement, statement or is a malapropism?
Surely a talented politician,with or without guts, would not want any thing to do with further amalgamation. Or are you trying to tell us something?

Some years ago the noble citizenry of Hamilton Tow...

2009-08-23T10:22:04.865-04:00

Some years ago the noble citizenry of Hamilton Township rose up against the incidious amalgamation of Cobourg and the township. The avaricious urbanites weren't going to pave over valuable farmland, no siree Bob.
The Township had valuable and developable lands around the new hospital site which Cobourg annexed, with the provision that the business park designation be preserved within Cobourg's planning for that area. Fast forward to 2009 and what we see is one humungous Walmart and a Home Depot adjacent to a new hospital. There are some in this community who believe we missed an opportunity for superior development. All of which brings us to the Tredree conundrum.
A major determining factor for development in this area was, and still is, proximity to and visibility at the 401. Probably one of the few trumps we have.
The historical stalement has considerable traction it seems. The Township surrounds Cobourg on the 3 land sides with the 401 as the northern boundary. Why continue wasting money on lawyers fighting Township commercial development on the 401 when we should be planning for the best, of whatever, for an area, south of the Dale Road at least , which remains one rather small community which ever way you cut it. It would take a local politician with guts, and hopefully some talent, to re-open the Pandora's box on , ( dare I say it ), Amalgamation.