Monday March 19th regular town council meeting

Well, tonight’s meeting was a long one. Finished up around 8:50 when council went to go in-camera to discuss 4 items. When I arrived, it was a full house! Chambers was packed and there were even a few people standing in the lobby. There were several real estate deals I think that people were waiting to see how they would pan out and of course there were A LOT of special events that needed approval. After those two things happened, the room gradually cleared out.

**Councillor Courtney and Councillor Lavigne were absent tonight**

At the beginning of each meeting, the Mayor always asks for any declarations of pecuniary interest. Deputy Mayor DiPasquale declared a conflict regarding the minutes of previous meetings that had to do with the Windsor Police Proposal. Councillor Pouget then declared pecuniary interest regarding the minutes of previous meetings and this evenings delegation about the Windsor Police Contract. She also declared pecuniary interest regarding the new construction for the Jehovah Witness’ Church. There were a lot of pecuniary interest conflicts, I hope I caught them all.

The meeting was long, I’m going to do my darndest to sum it all up as quickly as possible. I don’t have much patience left. And even with the seat cushion, my butt was sore after almost 3 hours of sitting and my arm, well……it’s tired too. Let’s just say there was a heavy, heavy smell of politics in the air tonight……the election is looming…..

DELEGATIONS

Amherstburg Gone Car Crazy Event – Eleanor Renaud

Ms Renaud addressed council very briefly (I sure love that!!!) and showed us a fantastic promotional video for the Gone Car Crazy Event this coming summer. She also showed us a drone video that was made a few years ago. Both were AWESOME!!! Loved them!!!! I had hoped that her short, sweet, positive presentation would set the tone for the night but…..

Request for Billboard Sign Permit for 7972 County Road 9 – Merlin Warkentin

It appears that Mr. Warkentin is an owner of a property and wants to put up a bill board sign. County Road 9 is Walker Road and it seems that the “Essex side” of the road can have billboard signs to advertise their businesses. The “Amherstburg side” is not allowed billboard signs. Mr Warkentin’s son addressed council and requested permission for a billboard sign to promote their business. There was much back and forth about the sign by-law. This current council tightened up that bylaw real tight a year or more ago. Councillor Pouget reminded council that the Heritage Committee was opposed to signs as well as Communities in Bloom. Councillor Meloche said he wasn’t in favour of the bylaw restrictions added to the sign bylaw last year but he didn’t want to open a can of worms by approving this. He said he lives on Walker Road and does not find the signs intrusive. The Deputy Mayor said that he didn’t see a problem with the signs because they back up communities and business. Councillor Fryer said that he wasn’t okay to approve this issue without all of council present. (Really???? I think I did the stats on last year and how often they had the entire council present…..less than 50% of the meetings if I recall…….) Anyway, needless to say, no sign for Mr. Warkentin. The signs of how this whole thing would go down were clear long before tonight. (ha ha, get it? Punny…..I saw the sign…..)

Signage Request for 433 Sandwich St. S – Luigi DiPierdomenico, Lumed Management Inc.

Mr DiPierdomenico had some signage requests for his building (the old Burger King building). This scenario got very complicated, very quickly. He wanted a sign on the roof of his building as well as signs in the windows (covering them in their entirety). The building will eventually house 8 separate but interrelated businesses. (It sounds very impressive…..blood clinic, family doctors, radiography etc…..very impressive.) He provided the names of several local businesses that use signs on their windows. It seems that the current bylaw restricts window coverage of signs to 50%, covering the entire window is not allowed. There was A LOT of back and forth between Councillor Pouget, administration and Mr DiPierdomenico. Councillor Fryer made the motion to exempt them from several bylaws to allow the roof top sign and the window signs. There was more back and forth. Then, there was concern about grandfathering ALL of the other businesses in town (I kid you not, I could barely keep up). The CAO spoke and said how the town is looking at an urban design plan and guidelines about an abundance of advertising on walls and buildings. Councillor Pouget then withdrew her support and wanted to support the urban design guidelines. Councillor Meloche had a problem with covering more than 50% of the window. Basically, I think, (I THINK) when it all came out in the end, they approved the roof top sign but not the window signs…….if I’m wrong, I’ll correct myself. It was not an easy flowing discussion.

Local Business Concerns Regarding Switch to Windsor Police Service – Derek Didone, County Towing

Councillor Pouget and Deputy Mayor DiPasquale left during this portion due to their pecuniary interest conflict.

Mr. Didone addressed council on behalf of a few local business owners. They had concerns of how the changeover to Windsor Police Services may affect their businesses. (Towing Company and car dealerships – sales and service). They were seeking answers to the following two questions :

“What provisions will be included in the 20 year Windsor Police Contract proposal to assure local small business owners will not lose revenue to business`s outside of the Municipality?
Can we be assured that a proportionate amount of Windsor Police budgetary dollars will be spent on goods and services in this community?”

Mr Didone expressed concerns that the savings being delivered would be at their businesses expense.

The CAO addressed the questions. He said that the Windsor Police Service is privy to have their own procurement policy and that he can’t dictate to them how to go about it. He said he could talk to them and make a recommendation and see what could be done. CAO Miceli expressed that WPS has been very good to deal with so far about all of the various contract issues. He asked Mr Didone and said he wasn’t sure but how did he bid to get business with the APD. He said that the WPS tenders out their contracts and that he felt that Mr Didone or anybody could make a bid for the contract.

As for the second question, the CAO said that a local preference clause is illegal. He said that a municipality can not legally give a local preference clause.

So that was that. The meeting moved on. I still had one question……Why, oh why, were these questions not asked 3 months ago during the public consultation meetings???????

Heritage Committee Plaque Presentation for 443 Dalhousie Street- Daniel and Samantha Fox

The Fox family was presented with a heritage plaque for their home on Dalhousie Street. There was a short photo opportunity and hand shaking. Very nice!

2017 Annual Report & 2018 Budget – Richard Wyma, General Manager/Secretary- Treasurer, Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA)

Mr. Wyma gave his annual presentation to council. He spoke of land erosion and the challenges of climate adaptations. As most are probably aware, he also addressed our increased flooding and water shed and ERCA’s plan to deal with that. For any of you council followers, you can guess who spoke and who said what at the end of the presentation. I’ll save myself the key strokes, because you’re right!

It was now only 7:15…..

Development – Fort Street and Sandwich Street- Dante Capaldi and Ron Deneau

This was fantastic news! It appears that Mr Capaldi and Mr Deneau will be developing a 24 apartment/condominium building on the corner of Fort Street and Sandwich Street. They had a conceptual drawing and it looks very nice! They own the three houses that are currently there. Those houses will be demolished and we’ll have a beautiful brand new building! Woo hoo!

Heritage Registry Update for Properties of Interest

Heritage Properties of Interest – Best Practices

I’m lumping these 2 portions of the agenda together, because they were related and all got discussed at once. Mr Chamley, the chair of the Heritage Committee presented to council. He said that we have 56 designated properties at the moment and 166 properties of interest. The properties of interest are not designated however hold value or interest to the Town and could be used by planners for information. This also prohibits demolition of the property. If the owner of a property of interest were to want to demolish it, they would have to provide 60 days notice in writing and that allows the town time to investigate. Mr Chamley felt that the town needs a Heritage Planner even if only a part time one. Then the debate began.

Administration pointed out that it’s very costly to investigate these properties if there’s a dispute or a request. I got the feeling that the Heritage Committee and administration were not really on the same page. Mr Chamley spoke of wanting to protect all of the properties. The CAO expressed concern over lack of consultation with property owners before their property was deemed “of interest”. CAO Miceli felt it was necessary to develop standards and agreed with the position of a Heritage Planner. It got a little heated about the Boblo properties and there was mention of legal counsel, OMB hearings and other disputes. At one point the CAO said that council may become the proud owners of the all of them (meaning the properties of interest on Boblo)…..(hmmmm…..).

There was more back and forth between Mr Chamley, Councillor Fryer, Councillor Pouget and administration. Mr Chamley identified some properties of interest that were already gone (Duffy’s and the old St-John the Baptist school)…….(sorry, can’t keep my mouth shut now……Duffy’s was heritage “of interest”????? That’s a stretch to me…..and the old school??? It was built in 1950!!!! Hardly heritage I think, but what do I know?)

Anyway, finally, again I THINK council decided to leave things as is, no designations. I think. So hard to follow the constant back and forth.

I’m going to go out on a limb here…..walking on egg shells…..but this is a super touchy issue. It all comes down to who will pay to maintain these buildings????!!!!!! If I happen to have an old junky shed on my property and the Heritage Committee decides it’s a “property of interest”, now I’m stuck paying to maintain it? Or will they ?? LOL!!! But seriously! Is it fair to expect the Boblo Island developer (who quite frankly did the Town a favour by buying that island) to pay big bucks to maintain and repair old bathrooms and dodge ’em car buildings? Would the Heritage Committee be picking up the tab? I am a person who greatly appreciates history and old buildings! There’s nothing I enjoy more than touring old homes! I think it’s wonderful when someone with the means steps in and saves a house or a building, but at what point can that be imposed on people? I don’t know…..it’s complicated at best.

2018 Special Events Approval

There are several events seeking approval for 2018. This current council made it necessary for every single event to come before council for approval. So, those of you who want to have an event this year, better make your appointment to see council, before they go lame duck. Would that mean that no events can be approved once council has gone lame duck before the election? I don’t know, but if I were an event planner, I wouldn’t take any chances.

Here are the events:

• Good Friday Procession of the Cross – March 30, 2018
• Music Off the Back Porch – 2nd Friday of every month
  from May 11, 2018 through to October 12, 2018
• AMBA Opening Day Parade – May 5, 2018
• Holistic Wellness Fair – May 6, 2018
• Amherstburg Rhododendron Garden Tea Party – May 27,
  2018
• Ribs and Ragtime – June 2, 2018
• Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – July 21, 2018 &  July 22, 2018
• Amherstburg’s Gone Car Crazy Show – July 29, 2018
• Amherstburg Uncommon – August, 3, 4 &  5, 2018
• Holiday Extravaganza Shopping Event – December 2,
  2018

Several need noise exemptions, road closures and even use of the Navy Yard Park. They were all approved. Even the fees for Music Off the Back Porch got waived (I had missed that when I skimmed through the agenda)…..I thought council had said they didn’t want to waive fees anymore? Maybe they forgot.

Amherstburg Uncommon Festival

Ms Rota presented the festival coming to downtown Amherstburg for the August long weekend this year. They’re anticipating 40,000 visitors. It sounds like it will be an awesome and different festival! I can’t wait! I’ll be there.

Development Agreement for 121 Lowes Sideroad

Councillor Pouget left the room due to her pecuniary interest conflict.

From the report : “The applicant is proposing the redevelopment of the site by demolishing the existing building and the construction of a new Kingdom Hall with carport, a new monument sign and paving stone walkway at 121 Lowes Sideroad.” That sounds very nice….It looks like all is in place, including the design and even the landscaping. Lucky for them their 20 (or so) year old building wasn’t deemed a “property of interest”. This was approved quickly.

I started to drift in and out of consciousness. I was not very interested and was being a bad blogger/note taker and playing on my phone. However, when the rumble strips and the Second Concession got brought up AGAIN, I was just done. I lost any and all ability to listen and concentrate for the last 30 minutes or so of the meeting…..sorry to disappoint you, if I did. We all have our breaking point. Mine was around 8:00 when I had to hear about a certain Councillor’s personal life yet again! I just don’t get the relevance, unless he’s seeking re-election of course. Well, even then, still irrelevant in my book.

I can’t even name a councillor of the week, since only 5 of the 7 members were there tonight. The meeting finished at about 8:50 and council was going in-camera to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING

ITEM A – Drainage Superintendent Proposal – Township of Pelee –   Section
239(2)(d) – Labour relations or employee negotiations.
ITEM B – Belwood Poultry Limited – By-law Enforcement File # 16-0016 –
Section 239(2)(e) – Litigation or potential litigation, including matters before
administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board; and, Section
239(2)(f) – Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including
communications necessary for that purpose.
ITEM C – Update Hobbs Litigation –  Section 239(2)(e) – Litigation or potential
litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the
municipality or local board.
ITEM D – Deputy Fire Chief Update – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about
an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees; and,
Section 239(2)(d) – Labour relations or employee negotiations.

Since I have heritage on my mind….would town hall be considered a property of interest? It’s old. I think. Maybe the chairs? They’re old for sure. And even with my wonderful seat cushion, after nearly 3 hours, they could at least win a designation for world’s most uncomfortable chairs.

 

 

 

 

In preparation for Monday March 19th regular town council meeting

Well, it’s back to business in Amherstburg. There’s a 422 page agenda plus a supplementary agenda of another 13 pages. I’m going to briefly and as quickly as I can, go through the agenda to see what’s interesting, at least to me.

DELEGATIONS

Amherstburg Gone Car Crazy Event – Eleanor Renaud

Well, according to the delegation request form, it says this will be a short two minute “thank you” and a promo video. I’m looking forward to this already. 🙂  Have I ever mentioned that I love short and sweet and to the point?

Request for Billboard Sign Permit for 7972 County Road 9 – Merlin Warkentin

It appears that Mr. Warkentin is an owner of a property and wants to put up a bill board sign. I’m not sure which road is County Road 9, but in his request Mr Warkentin said he already has a permit from the county. This ought to be interesting. There have been many delegations requesting signs since council created the new strict sign bylaw last year. None of the requests have gone smoothly so far……

Signage Request for 433 Sandwich St. S – Luigi DiPierdomenico, Lumed Management Inc.

This delegation appears to be more about signage on a building. We shall see how this goes….

Local Business Concerns Regarding Switch to Windsor Police Service – Derek Didone, County Towing

It appears that a few local business owners will be delegating to council asking how the changeover to Windsor Police Services may affect their businesses. (Towing Company and car dealerships – sales and service). They are seeking answers to the following two questions :

“What provisions will be included in the 20 year Windsor Police Contract proposal to assure local small business owners will not lose revenue to business`s outside of the Municipality?
Can we be assured that a proportionate amount of Windsor Police budgetary dollars will be spent on goods and services in this community?”

In my humble opinion, these are valid and interesting questions. I believe the 4 public consultation meetings would have been the ideal situation to ask these questions, before the final decision was made. Instead, we spent 4 public meetings hearing mostly emotional pleas, with few questions……how new cars would be purchased would have been a great question. If the same towing company would be used for towing by the police service would have been a great question. As far as service work, I think that question may have been answered indirectly at one of the public consultation meetings, only as an answer to how Windsor Police Service could offer cost savings….Chief Frederick had said that Windsor has 3 full time mechanics on staff with a full service shop and they take care of all of the needs of the fleet. But who knows? We’ll have to wait and see what the answers to the questions will be……

PRESENTATIONS

2017 Annual Report & 2018 Budget – Richard Wyma, General Manager/Secretary- Treasurer, Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA)

ERCA comes before council every year to give an annual report, so it appears that the time has come again. Hopefully, it will be a simple presentation involving listening, not a cheque presentation from the town LOL.

 

Heritage Registry Update for Properties of Interest

This appears to be about the properties that were named a little while ago that are “properties of interest” located on Boblo Island. I couldn’t help but notice a recurring error in the report…..they state several times that the park was open until 1991. The large Detroit boats ran until 1991, however, the park remained open for the 1992 and 1993 seasons with ferries running only from Gibraltor and Amherstburg. I hope somebody can report that to the Heritage Committee and the mistake can be rectified.

Here is the list of buildings and the year they were installed :

Building / Feature       Date of Construction
Lighthouse (National Heritage Designation), 1836
Block House (National Heritage Designation), 1837
Prayer Circle, Pre-Columbian
Merry Go Round/ Roller Skating Rink, 1906/1940
Souvenir Building/Power House, 1908
Sailors Monument, 1909
Dance Hall/Pavilion, 1912-13
Commodious Toilet Building, 1916
Bumper Car Pavilion, 1928
Bath House (new), 1941
Observation Tower, 1986

Personally, I would agree several of these buildings are historical and of interest. However, who will pay to maintain them? Would this process hinder progress and development on Boblo Island? Would anybody really be interested in maintaining and/or visiting a toilet building from 1916? And can the Tower that was installed just over 30 years ago really be considered historic? If so, I guess I’m historic too? Yikes.

Ministry of Transportation Community Transportation Grant Program –
Municipal Stream Application

Do you remember last year when council wanted to look into a bus system from Amherstburg to Windsor? Well, here we are …. from the report :

“The Community Transportation (CT) Grant Program includes funding streams, which
would be distributed over a 5 year agreement term, totalling up to $500,000 for local
community transit and up to $1.5 million for inter-community transit. An application for
funding could include one or both of the funding streams.”

Seems no money has been set aside in the budget for this…..so some would have to be if council decides to go forward with this…..we’ll have to wait and see what council says…..

Placement of Underground Infrastructure, Curbs, Base Asphalt and Stormwater    Management Pond on Maintenance – Meadowview Subdivision Phase 1

This is good news…..development is in the works!

Amending Agreement with Ontario Clean Water Agency – Change Agreement Term and Contract Year

This is a simple amendment with the dates of the contract for the Ontario Clean Water Agency. This should fly through. Especially because anything to do with water, well, council members can be sued personally if there are any lapses with clean water.

2018 Special Events Approval

There are several events seeking approval for 2018. This current council made it necessary for every single event to come before council for approval. So, those of you who want to have an event this year, better make your appointment to see council, before they go lame duck. Would that mean that no events can be approved once council has gone lame duck before the election? I don’t know, but if I were an event planner, I wouldn’t take any chances.

Here are the events:

• Good Friday Procession of the Cross – March 30, 2018
• Music Off the Back Porch – 2nd Friday of every month
  from May 11, 2018 through to October 12, 2018
• AMBA Opening Day Parade – May 5, 2018
• Holistic Wellness Fair – May 6, 2018
• Amherstburg Rhododendron Garden Tea Party – May 27,
  2018
• Ribs and Ragtime – June 2, 2018
• Woofa-Roo Pet Fest – July 21, 2018 &  July 22, 2018
• Amherstburg’s Gone Car Crazy Show – July 29, 2018
• Amherstburg Uncommon – August, 3, 4 &  5, 2018
• Holiday Extravaganza Shopping Event – December 2,
  2018

Several need noise exemptions, road closures and even use of the Navy Yard Park. Will each event get approved without question? Or will they have to answer question after question? We shall see…..

Development Agreement for 121 Lowes Sideroad

This looks interesting. From the report : “The applicant is proposing the redevelopment of the site by demolishing the existing building and the construction of a new Kingdom Hall with carport, a new monument sign and paving stone walkway at 121 Lowes Sideroad.” That sounds very nice….nice new building to replace the older one. I can’t see a reason that this would be denied. It looks like all is in place, including the design and even the landscaping.

Hunt Club Creek Subdivision Extension of Draft Plan Approval

More eventual development! yay!

Request to Further Extend Removal of Part Lot Control – Kingsbridge
Subdivision

More eventual development on it’s way!

Heritage Properties of Interest – Best Practices

This seems to have to do with the way that Boblo properties (mentioned above) were identified a few months ago. It seems that there are tight deadlines and costs involved to designate heritage buildings, especially if the owner protests the designation. Basically, the more properties that get added to the list, the more deadlines and costs involved to get them inspected and dealt with. (Old bumper car buildings and bathrooms, may just not be worth the cost…..or a 30 year old tower either for that matter…..? just a thought)

New Medical Tiered Response Agreement

The Fire Chief had brought forward a report a few months ago about under which circumstances the fire fighters would respond to health emergencies. This has to do with the tiered response of the current EMS system. I’ll have to listen and see what’s what Monday night. The report is long and my eyes are tired.

February 7, 2018 – March 13, 2018 Accounts Payable 
Accounts Payable Information Report Changes

I always check for legal fees and anything else of interest. Well, in legal fees, we paid out around $13,500. I didn’t notice anything of interest.

However, it looks like there will be some more change on the horizon. Council used to have to approve every single item that was paid out. Finally, when this got too ridiculously complicated and procedurally complicated, they changed it to simply getting a report of what was paid out. Basically, it appears because administration is hurrying to get this “report” to council, some checks and balances are being left aside. Therefore, council will continue to get the report of accounts payable, but they will get it a few weeks later than they do at the moment. Shouldn’t be a big deal, right? Council will receive it as simply a monthly report, like all of the other reports that are received. Sounds logical to me.

Supplementary agenda items:

External Audit Services – 2 Year Contract Extension

This looks pretty straight-forward. It looks like they want to extend the contract with KPMG for the external audit services. KPMG has been providing the services since 2014, so it will create a seamless transition to continue.

Rescue Vehicles Sale and Replacement

It looks like the fire department wants to sell 2 vehicles and then use the proceeds to purchase 2 new vehicles. It appears the two vehicles were not to be replaced for a few more years, but there’s an opportunity to sell them now. It appears all is in order financially to be able to sell and then purchase 2 new fire service vehicles.

At the end of the meeting, council will, as per the usual, go in-camera to discuss :

SPECIAL IN-CAMERA COUNCIL MEETING

ITEM A – Drainage Superintendent Proposal – Township of Pelee –   Section
239(2)(d) – Labour relations or employee negotiations.
ITEM B – Belwood Poultry Limited – By-law Enforcement File # 16-0016 –
Section 239(2)(e) – Litigation or potential litigation, including matters before
administrative tribunals, affecting the municipality or local board; and, Section
239(2)(f) – Advice that is subject to solicitor-client privilege, including
communications necessary for that purpose.
ITEM C – Update Hobbs Litigation –  Section 239(2)(e) – Litigation or potential
litigation, including matters before administrative tribunals, affecting the
municipality or local board.
ITEM D – Deputy Fire Chief Update – Section 239(2)(b) – Personal matters about
an identifiable individual, including municipal or local board employees; and,
Section 239(2)(d) – Labour relations or employee negotiations.

Overall, this a pretty jam-packed agenda. I doubt I’ll be getting out of town hall any too early Monday night. Is this pay back for all of the previous relatively short meetings?

 

Yes? No? Or maybe so?

I apologize in advance if this blog is a little “all over the place”. I’m thinking out loud on this one.

Well, the municipal election is approaching faster than I ever thought it would. The nomination period runs from May 1, 2018 until July 27, 2018. I have been giving some serious thought to whether I should run for council or not…..Many people have approached me (my avid blog fans/followers) and have asked if I would run. I’ve always said “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know”. Well, I’m still not sure and I still don’t know. I’ve made a pro and con list (I’ll keep that personal information, just that, personal) but let’s just say that it’s about equal on both sides.

Obviously, should I choose to run (and get elected), the blog would be no more. Of course, another resident is always welcome to take on this odd hobby if they wish. 😉 I sort of hope somebody would. I don’t think I would delete this blog (way too many hours and hours of hard work in here), but I wouldn’t be able to continue to blog as a member of council (should I get elected).

However, if I choose not to run, I’m not sure if I’ll continue to blog either. I may, I may not. It would entirely depend on who gets elected to our next council. I’ve always held a sincere hope that we will elect a council that won’t have any agendas or “favouritism” toward certain residents. If that were to happen, and we elected objective people to council, I’m not sure a blog would be necessary. This blog is very time consuming. I read the agenda (or at least skim it over) ahead of time to be prepared for the meeting. (Some feel that I already do more than some of the people being paid to do so LOL). I then attend the meeting and give a summary (from my point of view) after the meeting. Therefore, the time consuming aspect of being a member of council, well…..I’m already putting in quite a bit of time. Sure, I may not be handling the calls and emails that council does, but I do handle quite a few…..you all know who you are. 😉  LOL

Some feel I would be more effective to continue to blog and shine the spotlight so to speak, on the many facets of our municipal council. I’ll admit that I have learned a lot by attending meetings, asking questions and more so, researching various procedures. I’ll also admit sometimes the blogging gets boring and I’m not that into it, but I do it out of a sense of obligation, I suppose, or my sense of tenacity. Some feel that the blog has allowed the people of Amherstburg to be kept up to date of what really goes on in the public meetings. I’d like to think that it has made a difference. However, I also have conflicting feelings about blogging indefinitely.

Some feel that I would be more effective as a member of council, in order to vote and have a true effect on how our town will move forward into the future. I am a person who dots her i’s and crosses her t’s, does her homework, does her research and always tries to come to a logical, well-rounded decision. I have one person who told me that I need to run because I have a “moral compass” something he feels is lacking currently. I also know that I am strong enough to stand on my own two feet and will be able to back up any decisions that I come to. I also have an ability to look at an issue from all sides. Geez, this is starting to sound like a campaign speech. I’ll stop now.

Anyway, I do have my family’s support should I choose to run. That’s the most important thing. Honestly, I have my family’s support either way. I guess at this point, I’m looking for a sounding board from my followers.

What do you think ?

A) Run for council already

B) Don’t run, keep blogging

C) Don’t run and stop blogging

D) I don’t care what you do, because I only read your blog because I’m nosy

E) I hope you run and lose

I think I’ve covered all of the possible answers. 🙂  Anyway, please reach out to me, in whatever way you prefer and share your thoughts and opinions with me.  I have to come to a decision one way or the other relatively soon. Some days I lean one way, then another day I lean the other way. Today is a day that I feel truly on the fence. Maybe I just need another coffee.

 

 

In preparation for Monday March 5th special town council meeting

Well, Monday is a special town council meeting scheduled for 4:00 at the Libro Centre. The agenda is a mere 11 pages and it says :

SPECIAL COUNCIL WORKSHOP

Community Improvement Plan & Urban Design Guidelines

It appears that administration had a community open house back in October 2017. At the moment, Amherstburg is at step 2 of the process :

• Background Research and Consultation
• Review Background Studies and Policies
• Confirm Study Area
• Field Survey and Inventory of Study Area
• Community Consultation & Stakeholder Workshops
• Prepare Background Research Paper

The proposed study area seems to be the area around the commercial district, such as downtown and Sandwich Street. (There’s a map with the highlighted specific areas)

Click to access 2018%2003%2005%20-%20Special%20Council%20Meeting%20Packet%20-%20Community%20Improvement%20Plan%20%20Urban%20Design%20Guidelines.pdf

It appears that the training session will be focusing on certain questions to the public :

• What is Most Important to You in Downtown Amherstburg?
• What is Missing in Downtown Amherstburg? (Businesses, Products, Services)
• What are the Biggest Opportunities for Attracting Visitors to Amherstburg?
• What are the Biggest Challenges for Growing and Opening Businesses in Amherstburg?
• How Can we Improve our Downtown Street Facades? (Consider Appearance, Safety, Walkability, and Sense of Place)
• How Should we Integrate Amherstburg’s Heritage into Future Urban Design?
• What Should Infill Development Look Like in Downtown Amherstburg? (Consider Height, Size, Setback, Appearance)

While I do think the topic area looks very interesting, I am tired. It has been a very long two months of the police issue debate, many meetings, many arguments, many differences of opinion and unfortunately much conflict. I am giving myself the night off tomorrow (with pay too!). I’m tired and I have a headache.