Happy Canada Day - hope it doesn't rain!

Happy 142 Canada.

I'm unleashing the right wing opinion dogs on this one, a comment in the TO Star by Sid Ryan about striking workers and the tendency for employers to bash them into the ground, for as the 649 man says, "I can"

Monday evening Council was faced with an interesting situation over heritage windows. Gary Sharpe, the owner of 4,6,8 King St applied for a heritage permit to replace the 2nd storey windows. LACAC took a look and decided that in order to confirm to Town guidelines (in place since the early 90s) the windows should be repaired not replaced. Mr Sharpe disagreed because he wants to refit with vinyl windows. LACAC stuck to its guns and the application went to Council on Monday. Mr Sharpe, a very popular local businessman was present to see the coordinator of planning present a motion rejecting the application that did not get a seconder - a very unusual situation. Obviously the rest of Council was determined to support Mr Sharp and showed it by not supporting the motion. The Mayor determined that this motion and recommendation from LACAC could not remain in limbo and asked for another motion to dispose of the application. Councillor Stan Frost made a motion that was, by design?, a clever motion that the other councillors failed to understand - they after all only wanted to give Mr Sharpe his windows. SF's motion read"That the replacement windows be of material reflecting latest technologies but must be compatible and fit with the heritage surroundings". Up went the hands in support but in order to comply surely the replacement vinyl must be specially designed to fit the surroundings as opposed to the normal replacement windows. A Machiavellian response.
The situation gets murkier as during the debate Mr Sharpe said that he wanted to fit the same kind of window shown on the right (see pic above). These were fitted two years ago with the approval of LACAC. When the BR investigated the situation the conclusion was that the LACAC folks of two years ago were not the same as today - they had lower standards! So how do we achieve consistency? We have to find a way.

We may have to stop following George across Canada as he might get too famous. Another email in this morning from Connie in Moosonee. She says she is looking forward to meeting him. All George wants to do is ride his bike not do interviews. Ah the power of the Internet!

A statement from the former MP of NorthumberlandQuinteWest, Paul Macklin has crossed the wire wherein he has ruled out another crack at the nomination. Throwing the race wide open expect aspirants to be blitzing the riding for support in an election that may or may not come in the Fall. Names being bandied around as horses in the race: local Cobourg businesswoman Kim Rudd, Andrew McFadden from the riding centre and perhaps Christine Herrington from Brighton.

It is Wednesday the 1st today Blogspot is fooling around with the date on the entries.

Went to Council last night to see what they did with the CC

The resolution to approve the Community Centre was on the fast track - as soon as the resolution was read the Mayor barked out, "All those in favour?" hands shot up and it was done - five seconds!

The bike and rider have been on the trail six days now and are approaching Cochrane.
email from George:
"Anyway, things here are going reasonably well. Took the train to Longlac, - along with 40 passengers from England, who had never been to Canada. Their only complaints were that the cabins were too small, and that people weren't dressing properly for dinner in the dining car!

They were aghast that I was getting off in the "wilderness"! I started biking east from Longlac on Hwy 11 last Thursday. Two days of great tailwinds took me to Hearst by Friday PM. I was worried about overdoing it (in terms of what my legs would stand), so I purposely cut back on Saturday and ended at Mattice at noon. Then heavy rain on Saturday AM, to the point where it was too dangerous to continue on the highway:virtually non-existent paved shoulder, and lots of trucks avoiding hilly Lake Superior route).

Had to relent, and hitched a ride with a couple in their truck, who took me to "Kap". Back on the bike again today, and arrived at Smooth Rock Falls (Abitibi mill town, but mill has been shut for a few years now). Should make it easily to Cochrane tomorrow, then on to Moosonsee by rail. I've had no physical problems yet (which is very encouraging), and equipment/clothing is working pretty much as expected. Heavy rain highlighted a leak in the tent, so I'll need to get some seam sealer before Quebec. I'm sending this from the public library in Smooth Rock, which is just about to close. I'll have more time to catch up in Cochrane/Moosonee. Bye for now,

What a difference a week makes in politics, last week the developers for a site on Elgin St were granted a fraction of what they wanted and this week they were back congratulating Council for being flexible and donating enough land for a new soccer pitch adjacent to the existing ones. So what went on this week for such a change of heart? More discussions with the staff and a new report presented to Council that's what. The early report restricted the build of 285 houses to 1/3 singles, 1/3 medium density, 1/3 high density. The new report reduced the number of medium and high density homes and increased the number of single family homes from 75 to 122. One soccer pitch and park equals 47 singles!

Another delegation was the appearance of a very frustrated homeowner. Adrian Worley, who lives at 157 King St W. has the misfortune to be the first to have his road swept, three time a week, by the very loud and slow mechanical Town sweeper. His beef is that the sweeper starts at 5.30am, well before his normal wakeup time. he has done everything right - complained through all the official channels and to the pols - for over a year, but was told by the Director of Works, "The Town is exempt from the noise bylaw!" Well he came to Council to say enough is enough and he is mad about the runaround. So what happened? His complaints were sent off to the Director of Works for a report.

OK found some time

Michael Jackson - tragic but inevitable, ironic that his estate will make piles of money and a cottage industry will spring up fighting over it
The PC's have elected Tim Hudack - another urban rube for the snotty liberals to try to patronise.
The talk shows in Toronto will have found their Messiah by tonight - reports that John Tory may run for Mayor has orgasmic quivers all over it for these guys.
A new Doctor in Town - it will be interesting to see just how fast her book fills up as she signs up the "orphans". With the Port Hope Health Centre 50% under subscribed it looks as though there might not be as many "orphans" as the experts predicted.
Dare to dream - another airy-fairy exercise of the "chattering classes" will take place, but only if we can get a grant for it! Council has decided to let the citizens play at being community builders by asking for those interested in playing in the sandbox to help design something on someone elses's land. A "design charrette" will held led by a hand-picked consultant who will be paid $10,000 to hold a session where people come in and tell someone else just what they (the chattering classes) think should be built on the old Tannery Lands. Interesting, plan away but this land is the most polluted environmental toxic waste dump in the town. The site which has had the contents of the chrome tanks, used in stripping hides and fish, routinely dumped on the ground for many years, before the practise was outlawed in Ontario. Just what mix of chemicals lies underneath is unknown but plan away - just another waste of public money.

The first missed deadline

Had a busy day yesterday admiring eleven fine gardens, plenty of work went into this years participants in the "Big Sisters, Big Brothers" garden tour. All the gardens were in the Brighton/Salem area and just goes to prove that Cobourg and Port Hope don't have the exclusive green thumbs. I couldn't resist this setup - Alex Colville times four!

More copy later in the day, have to help move seaweed this morning.

A couple of pics of Scottish guys

The Highland games came to Town today and here are a couple of early pics of the parade. The first one is "The Scots are coming!"







The second would be titled, "The big guys are always at the back!"

Another look at the figures

Prompted by a comment to a recent post, signed by a person, who says he will never reveal his name, - "born and raised here" the financials for the new Community Centre were revisited. Interesting stuff to a CPA but tough slogging for the rest of us. With Disraeli's quote, "Damned statistics etc..." in mind a couple of charts were analysed. using the consultants figures the estimated first year operating costs for the complex show as $667.443. That is a complete and additional cost to the existing costs for the operation of the existing arenas. Revenues for ice time are shown as $525K but no figures for the loss of revenue from the loss of the Memorial Arena ice or the reduced ice time in Pad 2. So you need that figure for an overall impact. Where the report gets murky is on the Non-Arena estimates.
The chart on the right side is taken from the report and shows Programme Space revenue, but where is the revenue from the Soccer Club paying for its change rooms, where is the rental from the Bowling Club to pay for its clubroom and kitchen? Where is the revenue from the storage space needed by all the different groups? All of these questions would bring in extra revenue, if applied, but right now look like gifts to the clubs from the Town.

But more disturbing is the question of the YMCA's involvement. Cobourg has no recreation department and has paid the Y to assume an informal role in this. Consequently there is a deficiency in recreational opportunities because citizens have expressed displeasure at the rates charged by the Y (This was even mentioned by a questioner at the last public meeting) - so before all the Y fans jump all over the writer for mentioning this it is a common perception being repeated here. So the Y has offered to joint venture the operation. They would operate the 'non-ice' side of the complex, and thereby reduce the Town's operating cost . In table 8.5 of the report found on page 30 there is a chart illustrating how they intend to reduce the Town's cost. Showing a list of Y expenses totalling $504,961 to run the complex if they joint ventured. In the same column the Town's expenses were shown as $215,947.98. A lot lower than the Town's cost of $667K.
But the unknown here is how would the Y spend half a million dollars of its money to run the joint and still allow the residents of Cobourg to access the facility without paying the normal Y fees? Because the way it looks to the BR that if the Y comes in they get a new building for half a million per annum and still get to charge the same fees. Please correct me if we are wrong.
So the conclusion to us folks here is that a much more thorough analysis needs to be done asking why rental income is lower than possible, why the overall impact of the transfer of ice rental revenue is not explained and the impact of ticket prices to the complex if the Y comes in. We are sure that these questions and more will be answered before the vote on July 21, but only if people ask.

The backstory

In this story a developer who wants 600 units only obtained 284 and then was restricted to the type of units to be built -1\3 single family dwellings 2\3 higher density homes. The reason given by Council for not approving the 600 units was that there are sewage capacity concerns. Acknowledging that there is excess capacity in the system due to the Kraft closing Council wants to reserve it for use on the site.
But more interesting is the way the servicing will be accomplished. This application is in the Area "C" development area and the developer has two options for now, one for the future. If he hooks up to the Elgin St. sewer, on a temporary basis, he will have to pay for a sewer extension and development charges for area "C" and then when the Brook Rd. sewer is installed have to hook up to it at a later date. The ratio of houses to build is due to the higher standards for density in Provincial policy statement. With all these restrictions, the days of building in a "greenfield" are over - Praise the Lord! Either way this developer has a choice now, either build the houses or give it up. Just shows how much the environment has changed in a few years. I'll bet that when this guy started his application he thought, "I'll get a quick approval for 600 units, obtain the necessary zoning and then flip it to a big builder like Mattamy" It will be surprising to see this development go any further - at least until the "Places to Grow" policies are adopted - and there's a slim chance of that. Just goes to show that the days of traditional development practises are gone. Especially in a Town that has an historical build rate of 200 units a year.

OK here's the deal, I am posting this for discussion purposes. Martin has laid out his opinion - that the operating costs are going to kill us and I know from talking to him he has a genuine fear of Cobourg's budget ballooning for any reason.

Now here is my opinion about this. We should be snatching this money from the upper tiers as soon as it is offered - last week. But we should only build the facility if no money comes from the existing budget base. Now you ask how can we do that - simple we take Steve Robinson up on his statement that this can be done with little or no tax dollars and this is how:
#1 We use the "playmoney" that Council has been using to fund its pet projects like the hospital and the CT scanner. This money - dividends from HOLDCO and Northam Industrial Park amounts to about $1.75 million dollars per year. We use this to fund a debenture for $6.5 million and the other $2.5 million has to be raised by the users and public.
#2 If we cannot raise 10% of the project we don't deserve to have a facility.
#3 The operating costs have to mitigated by realistic user contracts. For instance why should the Lawn Bowling, Soccer Club , Hockey Leagues and potentially the Y not have to pay user and affiliation fees.
#4 The "playmoney" should be endowed to provide an income to offset operating costs.

So folks if you want to hash this out with Council I suggest that a delegation be formed to appear in front of Council on the 20th of July. If you wish to ask councillors just what is the plan for the funding and will the plan be released to the public before the public meeting, it should be done immediately, or else it will be like every other decision in this saga - read the agenda and vote on the same night.

Today the long journey starts for a local biker

George spent this morning saying farewell and receiving loads of good wishes from his friends for his lonely trek. "I grew up in the North and am used to the conditions and I can live alone very easily." he explained when talking about the prospect of isolation. "Besides there will be settlements along the way that I will visiting to get more supplies - it's not entirely a solitary experience!"
Unfortunately we will not be able to share his experiences until his return as he is a 35mm Kodachrome sort of guy but he will be emailing from time to time.
This just in a CBC guy has seen the post and wants to meet George when he gets into Goose Bay - how about that for the power of the internet?

Does this bike look ready for a 3,000km ride?

George Parker, a resident of William St., Cobourg, thinks so, and he is preparing for a trip across the most Northerly roads in Canada to prove it. Tonight he boards a train from Nakina to start his ride to Cape Spear, and all in three months. After planning this trip for many months he is now in the position to do it."I've put my family affairs in order and am now able to go biking", he said in a recent interview.

As he cannot do all the Trans-Canada route, in the time he has allotted he will start at the midway point - Nakina, in Northern Ontario and cycle eastward. The train will deposit George there, on the way to the road to Cochrane. The Polar Bear Express, the second train ride, from Cochrane to Moosonee will put George on the first of a couple of Air trips. "Flying crosscountry is the only way to connect roads, especially when the road ends in a settlement." George explains.

Flying from Moosonee, across James bay to Wasganish is the next leg and then a bike ride (a long one) to Caniapaskau along the Tiger Trail. Another plane to Schefferville and the trek is half done. The second train ride is on the cards and it will take him South to the intersection of the railway and the Trans Labrador Highway.

Still riding East, with the wind at his back he will head for Happy Valley , Goose Bay. The first ferry ride is here, he needs to get to Cartwright, on the South side of the headland and the South road to Blanc Sabion on the coast of Labrador. The second ferry takes him the Island of Newfoundland and the final leg of his trip across the Island.

Dipping his toes in the water at Cape Spear is the only thing for him to do before he flies home. We look forward to having him back in Cobourg in September.

Two sleeps to go before the Pols get a break.

In the second last meeting before the summer break (a whole three weeks) the Cobourg Council is not courting any controversy. A few normal heritage requests two planning applications to approve, a project manager to hire and a fire engine to dispose of. I hope that the powers that are took notice of the hooh-hah that ocurred in Trent Hills when they decided to dispose of their old truck a few months ago. They refused the results of a tender and then had to go back to the tenderer when subsequent marketing efforts failed. Cobourg has turned down a guaranteed $10,000 and will attempt to sell it on its own.

In Port Hope the agenda is packed. More discussion about the dreaded "flail mower" - you know the one that murders little trees and leaves a scarred landscape behind in its wake. But there is also a meatier item. The murder of prime farming land. A company called Sunbay has optioned the land for a "plasma-gasification" plant to incinerate recycling residue. This should be a controversial topic but it won't be because one man - Carroll Nichols, has made it his life's ambition to locate such a plant in this area. A long-time Wesleyville resident he has evangelically lobbied all governments for years for an incineration plant. He has finally made it, it's coming. However this field in this picture, one that many of us see fully planted year after year, is coming out of agricultural production to accommodate it.
There is a presentation from a group of landowners pleading with the Council to be allowed to exceed the growth levels outlined in the County Growth Study and build more homes in the greenfield, their presentation will be forwarded to the County consultants. And finally of mention is a report from Heritage Port Hope Advisory Committee about the centre pier (probably the building demolition idea) and it's being punted off to the Harbour Commission. With that body being mired in an open/shut meetings policy I guess the ideas that Heritage Port Hope have about the demolition of the buildings on the centre pier may never even see the light of day.

The only way to get rid of the robbers' roost is to burn the f***er down. A good story from a middle-class survivor on how the middle class will survive - unionise!