Free- market capitalism means small-city chic. And by the way, try to get along.
From time to time Stratford city council is in the difficult position of trying to serve two masters.
That was never more the casethan this week when the city threw open some food vending spots in Stratford that have historically been the sovereign ground of the current users.
For generations, Ken's French Fries has been selling its wares from a spot directly behind city hall.
For less time than that, Mr. Dog has set up shop downtown, overlooking Memorial Gardens, at the junction of Ontario, Erie and Downie streets.
This is not a food or resturant review but, to be honest, those two street food vendors have served ou downtown well, even through changes of ownership.
They sell good food (as in taste good, not necessarily good for you), evidenced by the lineups during peak periods.
And unlike downtown Toronto, where there is street meat every few feet, the limited number of vendors in Stratford is not intrusive and, if anything, these two vendors add to the catchet of our downtown.
Big cities would have no clue what we're talking about, but the leasing of the street-vending spots has been controversial.
On one hand, Mr. Dog and Ken's French Fries have managed to do what good businesses do and it is somewhat unfair that the market and clientele they have created are no being offered up to others.
On the other hand, however, the city has to embrace the principles of a free market capitalist system. Tenders for work should, for the most part, go to the lowest bidder and, by extension, spots for food vendors should go to the highest bidder.
So earlier this year the city threw open the bidding on the two prime locations and now there are three suitors for hotdog cart on Ontario St. They have been given a week to pitch why they should get the nod.
The city is committed to providing business stability and will sign a five-year deals sith the successful vendor.
As fate would have it Ken's French Fries is safe for another five years as there were no other applications.
So the city has opted for free market principles by opening up the spots but stopped just short of throwing the doors wide open.
In a decision that will protect the aforementioned catchet of the downtown, the city has said there will be just two food-vending street spots downtown.
There's no sense going overboard with this whole capitalism thing.
BY JOHN KASTNER
STRATFORD BEACON HERALD
Thursday, February 23, 2012
HYDRO ONE TURNS FAMILY FARM INTO HELLHOLE
GRAND VALLEY - A massive construction project by Hydro One has turned this small corner of paradise into a hellish nightmare.
Nestled close to the Grand River near Orangeville, Al and Kim Mournahan's 55-hectare family beef farm near Orangeville sits on prime agricultural land.
That peace was shattered when Hydro One moved in, expropriated four hectares of land and a working woodlot and put up six massive transmission towers for the new 180-kilometre, 500,000-volt transmission line that will bring power from the Bruce nuclear plant in Kincardine to a switching station in Milton.
Al's family has been farming here for four generations. When Hydro One said in 2007 they wanted to put up two towers, the family said no.
It wasn't until 2009 that the provincial government-owned utility came up with a price for the property - $4,200 an acre - plus $16,000 for the two-hectare woodlot, which was comprised of hundreds of mature maple and cedar trees.
The Mournahan's appraiser set the price at almost twice that.
"It was a managed woodlot that we were counting on for our retirement," says Al. The family rejected the offer, saying the land is worth more. "We turned down the first offer, but they just came in and built the towers," he said.
They didn't build just the two towers they'd originally asked for. They've built six monstrosities.
The family has so far received no money for the expropriation. The only cash they've received from Hydro One is $2,500 paid to them to allow surveyors onto their property for two years.
Hydro One originally offered them only $2 for the rights to have their trucks and workers stake out their land. Kim remembers a truck sitting locked and idling on their property all day.
The Mournahans already have a 550,000-volt line and two 30,000-volt lines on their property.
Al worries about stray voltage and health issues now they're getting another line.
"I've already had a heart attack and I have cancer already," he said.
Then there are the explosions used to fuse the wires together and helicopters that fly low over their property all day, every day.
As a QMI Agency videographer rolled on an interview with the family, the house shook with another explosion. They were told during January they'd hear sounds like a gunshot going off three or four times a day. This week, window-rattling explosions were still going on, scaring the livestock.
"One of my (cows) was literally trembling," Kim recalls. Several of their cows are pregnant and the family fears they may miscarry. The Mournahans have 19 purebred Highland cattle and some mixed breeds and showed them at the Royal Winter Fair last fall. Their Chesapeake dogs are scared, their horses skittish.
Before the woodlot was axed by Hydro One, they had plans to build a business taking wedding parties on carriage rides through the bush.
They'd even purchased a carriage from the U.S. When they asked for compensation, Hydro One turned them down, saying they'd made up the story - even though the carriage is shown in a photograph prior to the expropriation.
The family has been told they have to go to mediation and arbitration with the giant utility.
A spokesman for Hydro One refused to comment, saying their lawyers are in legal discussions with the Mournahans. Last week, Hydro One posted net income last year at $641 million on revenues of $5.47 billion - so they're not short of cash.
They're quick to hike our rates. Perhaps it's time to show a little heart.
christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca
Nestled close to the Grand River near Orangeville, Al and Kim Mournahan's 55-hectare family beef farm near Orangeville sits on prime agricultural land.
That peace was shattered when Hydro One moved in, expropriated four hectares of land and a working woodlot and put up six massive transmission towers for the new 180-kilometre, 500,000-volt transmission line that will bring power from the Bruce nuclear plant in Kincardine to a switching station in Milton.
Al's family has been farming here for four generations. When Hydro One said in 2007 they wanted to put up two towers, the family said no.
It wasn't until 2009 that the provincial government-owned utility came up with a price for the property - $4,200 an acre - plus $16,000 for the two-hectare woodlot, which was comprised of hundreds of mature maple and cedar trees.
The Mournahan's appraiser set the price at almost twice that.
"It was a managed woodlot that we were counting on for our retirement," says Al. The family rejected the offer, saying the land is worth more. "We turned down the first offer, but they just came in and built the towers," he said.
They didn't build just the two towers they'd originally asked for. They've built six monstrosities.
The family has so far received no money for the expropriation. The only cash they've received from Hydro One is $2,500 paid to them to allow surveyors onto their property for two years.
Hydro One originally offered them only $2 for the rights to have their trucks and workers stake out their land. Kim remembers a truck sitting locked and idling on their property all day.
The Mournahans already have a 550,000-volt line and two 30,000-volt lines on their property.
Al worries about stray voltage and health issues now they're getting another line.
"I've already had a heart attack and I have cancer already," he said.
Then there are the explosions used to fuse the wires together and helicopters that fly low over their property all day, every day.
As a QMI Agency videographer rolled on an interview with the family, the house shook with another explosion. They were told during January they'd hear sounds like a gunshot going off three or four times a day. This week, window-rattling explosions were still going on, scaring the livestock.
"One of my (cows) was literally trembling," Kim recalls. Several of their cows are pregnant and the family fears they may miscarry. The Mournahans have 19 purebred Highland cattle and some mixed breeds and showed them at the Royal Winter Fair last fall. Their Chesapeake dogs are scared, their horses skittish.
Before the woodlot was axed by Hydro One, they had plans to build a business taking wedding parties on carriage rides through the bush.
They'd even purchased a carriage from the U.S. When they asked for compensation, Hydro One turned them down, saying they'd made up the story - even though the carriage is shown in a photograph prior to the expropriation.
The family has been told they have to go to mediation and arbitration with the giant utility.
A spokesman for Hydro One refused to comment, saying their lawyers are in legal discussions with the Mournahans. Last week, Hydro One posted net income last year at $641 million on revenues of $5.47 billion - so they're not short of cash.
They're quick to hike our rates. Perhaps it's time to show a little heart.
christina.blizzard@sunmedia.ca
THOUGHT FOR TODAY
THE WOMAN WHO FOLLOWS THE CROWD WILL USUALLY GO NO FURTHER THAN THE CROWD. THE WOMAN WHO WALKS ALONE IS LIKELY TO FIND HERSELF IN PLACES NO ONE HAS EVER BEEN
ALBERT EINSTEIN
ALBERT EINSTEIN
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
UPDATE TO THE ONGOING ISSUES WITH NORTH PERTH
The issues that I have with my Municipality are ongoing and supposibly we are in discussions about how to resolve these issues and it still makes me wonder. But alot of things make me wonder. Is it too much to ask for fair and even. A couple search warrants, a courtesy call to ask if I have a gun from the local police, the loss of my home, my business and my investment and I still wonder what is fair and even. And when it comes down to the end of all of it, all I want is fair and even. Is it it too much to ask ...................... please comment, all comments are welcome
HAIL TO THE FLU
To all the people who catch the cold, flu or whatever it is that is going around..... good luck. It is a miserable sickness that we can all get through with a good shot of Buckleys and a lot of sleep. And a hot todie does not hurt either, but from what I have found nothing helps, just wait to get through it. What does not kill us makes us stronger. And for whom ever made this horrible sickness.... may you get it and SUFFER like the rest of us
Thursday, February 2, 2012
SOMETHING FOR NORTH PERTH TAXPAYERS TO CONSIDER
I enjoy reading the Stratford Beacon Herald daily and read with unbelievable interest an Editorial written by John Kastner. I will try to give you a view of what it included. Sorry Mr. Kastner but I am just on the learning curve with this computer and I am using your words but can not define them as quotes, have not figured out how to yet so assume all are quotes from your great article.
A task force in St Marys charged by the Mayor to take a hard look at the Stonetowns recreation costs has come back with some stunning suggestions. It says the town is in bad shape financially and that desperate times call for desperate measures. To that end the task force is saying the best solution is to close the brand new aquatic centre at the Pyramid Recreation Centre for at least 2 years. The task force concluded that the towns recreation budget is bleeding red ink and had a deficit of almost $2 million in 2010. The vast majority of the $2 million deficit - $1.3 million - went to the pool. According to the task force, closing the pool for 2 years would save $663,000 - and if you are questioning the math you are not alone. It is pretty much universally agreed that the primary job of government at every level is that it spends its taxpayers money wisely. Now, one can debate the initial decision to include a pool in the Pyramid Centre in St Marys. It was a contentious issue there and Stratford city council was faced with the same question when the Rotary Complex was approved. Stratford opted against a pool and given the dilemma in St Marys, many taxpayers here are probably saying thank heavens. That aside, the reality is that swimming pools are very expensive to build and even more expensive to operate and St Marys is not the first community to have buyers remorse. That is fine, but if the task of a municipality is to spend tax dollars wisely then how does mothballing a multimillion dollar facility figure into the equation. And what happens structually to a pool that is closed for 2 years. The fact is if you are in for a dime you are in for a dollar and once you go for the pool route and build it you are pretty much committed to running it. If it is true that St Marys can simply no longer afford to operate its pool, that is tragic and shame on the council that bit off more than the town can chew. But similarly, if the current council is just throwing in the towel and saying it is easier to close the pool than to find a way to make it work, it should hang its collective head as well. The job of council is to spend tax dollars wisely, and a public pool sitting empty is not only symbolic of a failure for a previous town council, but the current one as well.
Well written Mr Kastner
And North Perth taxpayers take notice of what he has written. The Municipality is in the process of deciding what it is pretending it can afford for a new recreation complex. The Municipality should be doing more research, not only into the costs of running such a huge expensive complex but whether the taxpayers can actually afford the long term affects. If they do not they will be in the same boat as St Marys and will have to hang its collective heads
A task force in St Marys charged by the Mayor to take a hard look at the Stonetowns recreation costs has come back with some stunning suggestions. It says the town is in bad shape financially and that desperate times call for desperate measures. To that end the task force is saying the best solution is to close the brand new aquatic centre at the Pyramid Recreation Centre for at least 2 years. The task force concluded that the towns recreation budget is bleeding red ink and had a deficit of almost $2 million in 2010. The vast majority of the $2 million deficit - $1.3 million - went to the pool. According to the task force, closing the pool for 2 years would save $663,000 - and if you are questioning the math you are not alone. It is pretty much universally agreed that the primary job of government at every level is that it spends its taxpayers money wisely. Now, one can debate the initial decision to include a pool in the Pyramid Centre in St Marys. It was a contentious issue there and Stratford city council was faced with the same question when the Rotary Complex was approved. Stratford opted against a pool and given the dilemma in St Marys, many taxpayers here are probably saying thank heavens. That aside, the reality is that swimming pools are very expensive to build and even more expensive to operate and St Marys is not the first community to have buyers remorse. That is fine, but if the task of a municipality is to spend tax dollars wisely then how does mothballing a multimillion dollar facility figure into the equation. And what happens structually to a pool that is closed for 2 years. The fact is if you are in for a dime you are in for a dollar and once you go for the pool route and build it you are pretty much committed to running it. If it is true that St Marys can simply no longer afford to operate its pool, that is tragic and shame on the council that bit off more than the town can chew. But similarly, if the current council is just throwing in the towel and saying it is easier to close the pool than to find a way to make it work, it should hang its collective head as well. The job of council is to spend tax dollars wisely, and a public pool sitting empty is not only symbolic of a failure for a previous town council, but the current one as well.
Well written Mr Kastner
And North Perth taxpayers take notice of what he has written. The Municipality is in the process of deciding what it is pretending it can afford for a new recreation complex. The Municipality should be doing more research, not only into the costs of running such a huge expensive complex but whether the taxpayers can actually afford the long term affects. If they do not they will be in the same boat as St Marys and will have to hang its collective heads
Monday, January 30, 2012
Council looks at 7.5% budget increase
Tonight the Municipality of North Perth continues it long exhausting budget talks. Last week in the Listowel Banner in an article written by Andrew Smith, Councilor Warren Howard is quoted as saying "he suggested being a little tighter with this year's budget in light of the municipality's financial position." But Councilor Paul Horn responded by highlighting the importance of economic development and following through with the studies that are already paid for. Mayor Julie Behrns agreed with the need to improve the community as a whole".
For those of us that pay attention to municipal politics, like me, Councilor Howard is right on with his remark. The Municipality has extended itself to the end of the rope and financially is not really in a position where a tax increase would be even a dream, it is reality. Taxes will be increasing and by how much? Councilor Horn is correct to want all the expensive and useless studies put to use. Including the expensive and usless study to get the new arena that most people do not want ...:..........and why you say........ because no one can afford it. Get a grip North Perth.......my money tree is empty......that would be your tree too........ and it is empty!!!!!!!!
Just my opinion
Friday, January 27, 2012
A BLOG OF INTEREST
A very interesting blog, great reading by an interesting man. Check it out
http://waterlooregionadvocate.blogspot.com/
http://waterlooregionadvocate.blogspot.com/
THE STORY OF HYDRO BILLS ENDS................
It all started with a renovation to my building in December of 2010. We decided to update the hydro and put in new outdoor services for both stores. We had an outstanding bill for hydro and they were getting ready to disconnect the hydro. So I let them, saving me the $195.00 disconnection fee. Renovations took place and due to circumstance beyond my control the renovation came to a screaming halt. The new services were outside instead of inside, the smart meter was disconnected from the building and there was no wire from the hydro pole to the building. No hydro at all, anywhere. Then the bills for hydro started coming in, estimated for hydro usage.
Which brings me to here. It has taken over a year and many phone calls to my hydro provider, oh heck, Hydro One, after what I have been through I will use your name, to finally get them to bring my bill down to zero after hounding me for the $1000.00 approximately that they said I owed for hydro usage at a property, that had no hydro.When I refused on several occasions to pay the outstanding bill bill they would send out a hydro crew with two men to disconnect the already disconnected hydro. Yes I was laughing in my head. I was also laughing when more hydro staff was sent out to make sure I was telling the truth when I repeated the story about no meter, no hydro, for the I do not know how many times. After months go by and I am still trying to get the bill corrected I am told that the bill will not be corrected until I hand over the smart/dumb meter. I was accused of holding it hostage and for some reasons I do not understand it is very important for them to get it back. After what seems like forever and many calls with Hydro One and frustration taking over I filed a complaint with the Ontario Enegry Board and within a month the issue was resolved. I felt that Hydro One had a contract with me to deliver hydro and for that service I would pay the bill. There was no hydro delivered so why should there be a bill. But it took me over a year and some really rude and nasty hydro employees and the Ontario Energy Board to get the issues resolved. Oh and the other laugh in my head was when Hydro One made an offer to cut the bill in half. SERIOUSLY..............
So yesterdays phone call from the very friendly Hydro One employee was the reason I stand my ground for what is right. My bill has been corrected which is all I wanted in the first place.
So the moral of the story is to stand your ground for what you know is the truth. As much as people do not want it to be the truth it still is
..
Which brings me to here. It has taken over a year and many phone calls to my hydro provider, oh heck, Hydro One, after what I have been through I will use your name, to finally get them to bring my bill down to zero after hounding me for the $1000.00 approximately that they said I owed for hydro usage at a property, that had no hydro.When I refused on several occasions to pay the outstanding bill bill they would send out a hydro crew with two men to disconnect the already disconnected hydro. Yes I was laughing in my head. I was also laughing when more hydro staff was sent out to make sure I was telling the truth when I repeated the story about no meter, no hydro, for the I do not know how many times. After months go by and I am still trying to get the bill corrected I am told that the bill will not be corrected until I hand over the smart/dumb meter. I was accused of holding it hostage and for some reasons I do not understand it is very important for them to get it back. After what seems like forever and many calls with Hydro One and frustration taking over I filed a complaint with the Ontario Enegry Board and within a month the issue was resolved. I felt that Hydro One had a contract with me to deliver hydro and for that service I would pay the bill. There was no hydro delivered so why should there be a bill. But it took me over a year and some really rude and nasty hydro employees and the Ontario Energy Board to get the issues resolved. Oh and the other laugh in my head was when Hydro One made an offer to cut the bill in half. SERIOUSLY..............
So yesterdays phone call from the very friendly Hydro One employee was the reason I stand my ground for what is right. My bill has been corrected which is all I wanted in the first place.
So the moral of the story is to stand your ground for what you know is the truth. As much as people do not want it to be the truth it still is
..
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
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