Planting a parkette

Just about everyone travelling through downtown Courtice has seen the new parkette under construction at the northwest corner of Highway 2 and Trulls Road.

This is really a victory for those of us who conceived and maintained a planting at the southeast corner of the property for about eight years. Personally, I'm overjoyed that this parkette, owned by the muncipality, has been enhanced through the long-term efforts of local residents.

The seeds for a downtown park at Trulls Road/Hwy. 2 were planted in 2004 by members of the Courtice Horticultural Club - and as president I'm glad to have helped.

As the club embarks towards the end of the 2012 season, the revitalization of one of the most important corners of Courtice's downtown has taken shape and we look forward to preparations for 2013.

There will be many opportunities for local service clubs to help out including various upgrades and a permanent water supply.

To be sure, in the middle of very hard economic times in Clarington it's remarkable that the town found approximately $100,000 to spend on the creation of a parkette.

But ultimately this is about the town giving back to Courtice. For as long as I've lived in Courtice - over a dozen years now - our tax dollars have been flowing eastward in the form of community grants that precious few Courtice-based organizations availed themselves of. Simply put Courtisans were supposed to be granted $1 per resident -  about $20,000 a year in grants - and to say we received a third of this would be generous.

With this parkette I personally feel Courtice has something to show for what it put into Clarington in the form of unused community grants. But make no mistake. This parkette was bought and paid for by the taxes local residents paid and not some great gift from the municipality. 
Going forward this parkette and other downtown improvement projects should be done by local businesses in partnership with service clubs and interested citizens - not the town.

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In an interesting development Covanta Energy, who will operate an incinerator in south-west Clarington, co-sponsored a family movie night. This is a sign one of Courtice's newest businesses wants to reach out to the community in a gesture of involvement with residents. I'm sure we will increasingly see the Covanta logo around town as they follow in OPG's footsteps.

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Please also note that I'm also posting this blog post on my Tumblr account - and henceforth new Protons & Electrons posts will appear there. So please update your links and visit http://markstanisz.tumblr.com and check it out if you are reading this on Blogger. The Blogger account will remain as an archive of my earlier material.

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Next blog I'll take a look at recent local development properties and issues in and around Courtice.

New Year's resolutions

We're only a few months into 2012 and the majority of New Year's resolutions that might have been made by our town council - and many residents - are likely a fleeting distant memory.

We can guess on resolutions that were made but not kept or maybe even never made.

Zero tax increase - obviously with a 3.75 per cent tax increase for 2012 nobody will say this resolution was made or kept. It's pretty typical. There seems to be no vision here by council to come up with something really groundbreaking - mostly just more of the same. In this term of council we've already seen taxes go up by over six per cent - in two quick years.

Infrastructure - we have no new information or updates on GO expansion to Clarington, not enough progress getting the 407 built in one swoop to the 35/115 nor any excitement generated by council on Darlington new build - albeit we have some good news on refurbishment. Fighting the incinerator has been left to a local environmental group.

Council cooperation - far too many contentious votes are still split 5-2 down partisan lines with no sign of any change soon. Public bickering does not serve the public nor council. Councillors need to remember little is served by senseless opposition and steamrolling every vote doesn't make for an inclusive council.

Note: the photo you see above is of the new Shoppers Drug Mart that opened up last weekend in Courtice - the sides have been adorned with remarkable pictures depicting early settlers to the area. If you haven't seen them yet it's worth walking up there and taking a look.

Next blog I'll take a look at the direct election of our regional chair. There is an upcoming public meeting April 4 at 10am about electing our regional chair.

Big spenders on Clarington council and incinerator battle heats up

As promised way back in April here is my quick look at the election spending results.

As you can see at Clarington's 2010 election financial statements in the end the  big spenders were Ward 1 councillor Joe Neal, Ward 2 councillor Ron Hooper, Ward 4 councillor Wendy Partner and Wards 1 & 2 Regional councillor Mary Novak.

They all spent more than their opponents - in some cases more than double - to win their respective seats. Probably the biggest surprise is that Mayor Adrian Foster and Wards 3 & 4 Regional councillor Willie Woo - both of whom market themselves as prudent watchers of the purse strings and not tightwads - spent significantly less than their major opponent yet won the election.

It's been a busy few months - council has continued bickering and one councillor was even thrown out of the chambers. With the second fall of the global economy, the ongoing wrangling over new build at Darlington and the GO expansion there's going to be no shortage of topics to deal with once council comes back from its - sort of deserved - summer break. 

One of the final incinerator showdowns is Aug. 17 at the official groundbreaking ceremony and local groups are already mobilizing. There is also a lawsuit pending and the Region has asked for more time. Why? My guess is to prepare a counter lawsuit. In the past the Region has not hesitated one moment to play hardball and it looks like they are preparing their batting order.

Next blog I'll take a look at the fallout from the event.

Host Community Agreement no longer matters in incineration battle

Clarington council heard from environmental consultant Steven Rowe on Monday, March 7 - who was hired on to look at the impact of the Host Community Agreement on provincial approval of the proposed Clarington facility - and you can be forgiven if you haven't really heard anything since.

That's because it seems to be the final nail in the anti-incinerator coffin.

Even though the majority of residents and the majority of councillors are opposed to the incineration option - the number of at-bats is dwindling.

The whole point of looking at the Host Community Agreement was never to put pressure on the province. As Rowe made perfectly clear it probably matters not one fig to the Ministry of Environment whether there is a HCA or not. The minister typically decides environmental assessments based on the merits of the area being considered.

And with a nuclear plant to the east and St. Mary's Cement east of that nobody can seriously argue that the area is a pristine natural oasis.

The problem is that council's earlier move - which included a perceived threat to sue over the HCA - was met with overwhelming fire from Durham Region that wilted Clarington council's will. The Region called out Clarington and it turns out we had a poor hand.

If that was the best our councillors could come up with - it wasn't much.

The Region - and more importantly the current Regional Councillors on whom so many hopes were pinned - may now feel that the HCA is a done deal and Regional Councillors may now have lost their appetite to reopen the business case.

So the ill-fated legal manoever may have cost Clarington the fight.

Now some will say 'we had to do something!' But as the saying goes - when you're in a hole you have to stop digging and look for a ladder.

Unfortunately we kept digging rather than proposing a plan with some legs. And if anyone thinks for a moment the Region's lawyers were bluffing they should maybe put down the dice and remember they are playing with taxpayer dollars here - tens of millions of them.

So is the incinerator now a done deal?

It's a step closer to shovels in the ground - but can still be fought primarily on economic grounds as costs rise. The majority of Clarington's local and regional councillors remain opposed to the incinerator but the battle now rests with the Regional Councillors, outside of Clarington, who can re-open the business case.
Failing that it now looks like all that remains for Clarington Councillors is form a watchdog committee and observe matters from the sidelines.

But what we really need to see is people becoming the face of the movement - like at the March 5 protest in Courtice. Failing that then opposition will likely crumble.

Federal note: Clarington is now in the middle of a federal election - mark May 2 on your calendar and do your duty as a Canadian and vote.

In my next blog post I'm going to look at the Darlington New Nuclear Power Plant Project Joint Review Panel held in Courtice March 21 to April 8.

Blog #3 - Revisiting the host community agreement

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Let's step back ourselves for a moment and consider Clarington council's decision to step back from a motion aimed at re-opening the host community agreement on the regional incinerator to be built in Clarington.

Make no mistake about it - a solid majority of this council still opposes incineration.

So why the lack of council support for this attempt to stop the incinerator?

Well for starters it smacked too much of sabre-rattling and nobody takes kindly to threats or perceived threats - nor should they.

Lawyers do what lawyers do - work within the legal system - but the region quite clearly laid out the potential massive costs - to Clarington - if developments continued down that path.

From the beginning the best way to fight the incinerator was to do three things:

First, immediately after the election this council should have made their voices heard loud and clear from the steps of the town hall. But we didn't hear a peep and in the interim events moved along, the deal got signed, life went on.

That was a missed opportunity.

The second step was to re-examine the host community agreement. The problem is the 2006-2010 Clarington council did a fine job handcuffing this council to the deal. Even if residents wanted out of it the region is well within its rights to simply say that at the time the deal was made Clarington was on board with it so they are bound to it.

A deal's a deal and I think most people understand that. But not all negotiations have to be held in the context of a lawsuit hanging over everyone's head. It got the region's defences up and wasted an opportunity for sensible discussion.

But all is not lost.

The third way still remains and it is the strongest - re-examining the business case.

Clarington needs to direct its three regional representatives - Mayor Adrian Foster, Ward 1 & 2 Regional Councillor Mary Novak and Ward 3 & 4 Regional Councillor Willie Woo - to ask regional council to re-open the business case one final time.

Many of the other Regional Councillors claimed they were opposed to the incinerator and many residents voted for them based on that platform.

Given the escalating costs of the agreement, given the seriousness of the opposition to the project and given the recomposition of regional council this just makes good sense.

Clarington still has an at-bat to go but this council really needs to come to grips with a strategy, make it clear to all and present a unified force.

Threats of a lawsuit won't make the incinerator go away and could complicate real efforts that could produce real results. At worst Clarington could be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars - think for a moment about the possibility of 10 per cent tax increases each year for the next ten years over this.

I bet the Mayor did.

That's the path this motion demanding the region look at the host community agreement - or else - seemed to be leading Clarington down.

One thing, however, is clear - members of this council need to start really listening to each other and quit the political grandstanding.

Let's see some real teamwork, some real consensus-building and some action that produces real results. Not sound bites over who is doing the most for the taxpayer.

In my next blog post I'll look at the Valentine's Day Clarington Council meeting on Feb. 14 and see what happened with Winter Wonderlearn in Courtice.

Protons & Electrons #002

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I hope you will enjoy this second post to Protons & Electrons!

In the sidebar you'll find a way to follow the blog and you can bookmark this page to make it fast and easy to navigate back. I want to hear from you so feel free to click the comment button below and participate.

You'll also notice that I've added a button at the top of each blog post that links to a podcast of each episode. You can now download and listen to each post if you wish. It give you more options for accessing Protons & Electrons.

"Incineration and more time"

There were a couple of major events at the Clarington council meeting held Jan. 17 in the council chambers.

For those of us that stuck it out until about 11:30pm it was quite a show.

Our elected representatives earlier went in camera for a long discussion about a motion concerning the incinerator - which of course means the public doesn't have access to exactly what the bone of contention was.

Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster and Ward 1 & 2 Regional Respresentative Mary Novak eventually voted against the motion proposed by Ward 1 Councillor Joe Neal. Both seem to feel the motion could result in some significant risk to Clarington concerning the incinerator and the host community agreement.

The motion passed - residents will have to wait a few more weeks to see what the result will be but among other things the motion gives Durham Region until Feb. 14 to weigh in on the matter.

Plus residents once again have 10 minutes to make their case in a delegation.

Clarington resident Jim Richards made a strong case during a delegation speech where he pointed out that the five minute rule only served to have more people sign up to speak because they felt not enough information was making it through to their elected representatives.

Council voted in favour of doubling the amount of time delegations have to speak - which brings time limits back to pre-former Clarington mayor Jim Abernethy levels. Ward 1 councillor Joe Neal brought forward the motion and I think he even used the same argument I did during the 2010 election - namely, if people make the effort to come down to the town hall they should be given a fair amount of time to talk.

We'll see in the coming months how much later council meetings go with the revival of the old time limit.

In my next blog post I will discuss issues arising out of the Jan. 31 Clarington council meeting.

Welcome to Protons & Electrons

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I'm pleased to present to you the first installment of my Clarington blog!

Clarington is a beautiful community about 70km east of Toronto, comprised of many small towns, along with several bigger centres such as Courtice, Bowmanville, Newcastle and Orono, and home to the Darlington nuclear plant - hence the title of the blog. Clarington has a popular zoo, many parks and rivers, a raceway, museums and educational farms. My focus with this blog will be a bi-monthly commentary on the local council and new local developments that are of interest to residents.

I hope you enjoy this start to the Protons & Electrons blog! In the sidebar you'll find a way to follow the blog and you can bookmark this page to make it fast and easy to navigate back. I want to hear from you so feel free to click the comment button below and participate in the dialogue.



  "Keeping your promise"

During Clarington election 2010 many candidates for the various offices made many different promises. I should know - I ran for election as a local candidate in Ward 1 and some of the promises that were being tossed around really concerned me. But demanding to know exactly where a politician stands on a particular issue really shouldn't surprise anyone - least of all those of us who put forward our names for one office or another because we were called upon at every door to make some kind of oath or another proving our loyalty to various ideas, concepts and positions.

Most often this revolved around the incinerator which is proposed for south Courtice but also taxes, speeders, lighting, parking - you name it.

When given a chance residents really opened up and wanted to talk at some length about what they saw were problems in their neighbourhood and what Clarington council planned to do to stop, prevent, slow or support whatever was concerning them.

Residents have a good understanding of the issues, the players and the hurdles that need to be cleared. After all, if a problem could easily be fixed then it probably would have already been done by now and I think most residents understand this.

So where am I going with all this? Those who were elected to an official representative capacity will now have to keep their promises - in most cases at least we hope they do. Residents will be rightly disappointed if those promises, be they big or small, go unfulfilled. Not just untried but unfulfilled.

 I can think of at least five ways that this might happen:

1. Candidates might have been outright lying - This is really, really rare among the candidates that I met and I don't expect it to really happen. Most people running do believe what they are saying.
2. New information - Reports, articles, changing data can all impact a decision whether to move forward with a project or goal.
3. Support shifts - People once supportive of the goal may no longer be so enthusiastic or maybe their priorities have shifted so they may not be the staunch allies they once were. Or perhaps the opposition to the original position is actually much stronger than originally thought. Either way it could mean a rethinking of whether the promised position was tenable.
4. Unable to implement - Pie in the sky. Dreaming. We've all had ideas that were great on paper but not in reality. The classic promise is to cut taxes and raise municipal services. Easy to say - hard to do.
5. Obstructed - Saying you'll do something, even something altruistic, doesn't mean there aren't competitors who will attempt to stop you - for motives of their own.

At the end of the day, though, a promise is a promise to many people.

Clarington councillors who move forward to prevent construction of an incinerator in Clarington should be commended at the very least for making the attempt. Whether they are successful or not still largely rests on Durham regional council shoulders. Plus local councillors may be judged as much for what they actually accomplish as for what they simply try to do. Anyone can say they can stop the puck as a goalie in a hockey game - but we heartily cheer the ones who actually do manage to stop it.

In my next blog post I will discuss a significant issue Clarington council is currently dealing with - a report coming back to council in January concerning the incinerator.