Why Taylor's Way Shouldn't Be the Final Word on the Clock Tower Development

There are a number of people in Newmarket who feel that Main Street is perfectly fine as it is. Those people will be happy to hear that the Clock Tower development proposal won't be going ahead.

But in order to have a vibrant community, growth and change must happen. Otherwise Main Street is to become as lifeless as a museum. And unless we start charging admission (like most museums do), the economics of keeping Main Street locked in one point in time don't make sense.

What we are seeing on Main Street and elsewhere in Newmarket, are the results of years and years of neglecting planning. The Taylor legacy, from Tom Taylor through to John Taylor, over the past number of decades, has been a passive approach to development. The Taylor way is to sit and wait until developers propose something, then give into the various NIMBY groups who in turn promise to vote Taylor in the next election, And here are the results:

• Davis Drive - once the business heart of our community is now essentially a ghost town. Multiple proposals for high rise condos gather dust on the shelf because our economy is not in good shape for high rise condo development. There just aren't any new jobs in Newmarket that would support new high rise condo development.
• Yonge St - again, mostly a ghost town. Same plans as Davis Drive and guess what? Same sorry end result of empty plazas and derelict buildings. 
• Harry Walker Parkway - this area was supposed to become the economic driver of our community. Most lots are either empty or have a vacant structure occupying the lot. 

Main Street Newmarket is not in a good economic health. We know this because one bank has already left Main Street for greener pastures. Banks go where the money goes and Scotia Bank leaving indicates that the money has already left. 

Anyone with two eyes knows what Main Street needs to thrive. It needs a grocery store and a general goods/ hardware store (like a Home Hardware). Without these two anchor businesses, serving not only Main Street, but also the residents nearby - like Church, Botsford, Queen, Park and Millard residents - then there is really no reason for people to head over to Main St on a regular basis. 

But without an influx of new people moving into the Main Street area, something that the Clock Tower development would have provided, entrepreneurs don't see the upside of opening a grocery or hardware store. And that is the predicament that we are in. 

My advice for the Forrest Group, which owns a valuable asset in these Main Street buildings, is to take a page from the Taylor election campaign book. The next municipal election is just under two years away. There is time to recruit and promote the right candidates for mayor and other council seats. Good, hardworking, decent people who appreciate what prudent municipal planning really means.

The Clock Tower development doesn't have to be at odds with the best interests of the public. In fact, a good case can be made to say that this construction is exactly what our town needs. So if Bob Forrest believes in what he is doing, then put the case to the public through the ballot box in 2018.  

We all should care about the economic vibrancy of Newmarket's Main Street because a disproportionate amount of public resources are spent propping this part of town up. If Main Street was in better shape economically, then it would result in public money being freed up to be invested in other parts of the community or maybe even a reduction in property taxes (something that hasn't happened in Newmarket for as long as a Taylor has been in charge). 

Unbiased reporting at the Newmarket Era? Some assembly required

The credibility of the media in the wake of the US Presidential election has never been more in doubt. "Lyin' media" was the rallying cry of many Trump supporters. And who could forget this t-shirt that sent a stark message in the last few days of the campaign?

Yet, criticism of the American press can be quite appropriate. The false equivalency the media gave to the Clinton Wikileaks to some of the impolitic things Trump said is one example. The voting public knew that Hillary Clinton's emails were far more serious and didn't believe the press who actively tried to convince everyone that these email revelations weren't important.

The American press unfortunately crossed the line from covering the news to actively campaigning for Hillary Clinton. When they did that, the voting public didn't believe three-quarters of the news coverage they reported on Donald Trump.

And just as President Obama's talk of gun control achieved no other results other than to unintentionally increase the number of guns sold in the US, the pro-Hillary bias in the American press actually convinced the plurality of voters to cast a ballot for Trump.

Time will tell what the consequences for the United States will be as an outcome of the American press abandoning its neutrality. Will Americans ever believe the Fourth Estate ever again?

There are parallels to Newmarket.

In the last municipal election, the Newmarket Era was narrowly focused on getting rid of Maddie Di Muccio on Council and ensuring no conservative minded Councillors were elected, (the Era even went so far as publishing multiple false "news" about her and other candidates), and despite achieving success in the short term, the Newmarket Era is now in a tailspin as a result.

Instead of Council meetings where important measures received meaningful debate, we now have 15-minute long Council meetings that basically rubber stamp $600,000+ projects without any due consideration.

And outside of a Letter to the Editor from the Inn From the Cold organization demanding that the Newmarket Era report facts not innuendo, when was the last time any resident from Newmarket ever wrote about any issue related to Newmarket Council? Recently the new editor of the Era (the third one since 2014), wrote an editorial begging Newmarket residents to write to him.

But ever since Deputy Mayor John Taylor's wife became a top executive at the Newmarket Era "newspaper", credibility in the local media has dropped to an all time low. The Era, which had a tenuous idea of unbiased journalism previously, has devolved into a fan-page for the Gruesome Twosome of Mayor Van Bynen and Deputy Mayor Taylor and their council cronies.

The public has stopped trusting the Newmarket Era and more importantly, stopped reading and engaging too. The once profitable Newmarket Era has been steadily losing money as a result

I began this blog five years ago in response to what I felt was bias reporting. I made a promise to stop my blog once the Newmarket Era re-committed to the basic tenets of journalism. Instead of heeding the wake-up call, the Newmarket Era swung the pendulum even more to the extreme. 3 editors later, I am still blogging and the newspaper is still losing money. The public needs me in order to hear the truth about Newmarket Council.

After five years of bleeding red ink, you would think that the parent company of the Newmarket Era would get the message?

New tax for Newmarket homeowners to be voted on tomorrow

Tomorrow's Special Committee of the Whole meeting will very quietly and almost surreptitiously impose a new "user fee" (ahem, tax) on Newmarket homes and businesses starting in 2017 related to storm water management.

The Town staff are going out of their way to say how transparent they've been. They had 44 likes on Facebook and 12 people showed up at a public information centre earlier this year on this topic. But it is fair to say that most people who live in Newmarket don't know this additional charge is coming.

Currently, the Town includes the costs of managing storm water within our property taxes. Staff have complained that our infrastructure hasn't been kept current and its getting too old and nearing the end of its usefulness. With replacement of storm water drains and other infrastructure upgrades looming on the horizon, the Town staff needs new ways to get more of your hard earned income dollars into the municipal government's hands.

Town officials promising that the first year will be revenue neutral. But no such guarantees are being offered on future years as this fund opens up the possibility of a cash cow for the Van Bynen/ Taylor administration.

For those listening in to tomorrow's 9 am meeting, expect lots of tsk tsk'ing about climate change. But the real culprit of the spiraling costs of storm water management is a lack of maintenance spending and an excessive reliance on road salt during the winter months. Both of these factors are entirely in the hands of the Van Bynen/ Taylor administration.

  

Newmarket's peculiar tolerance of a racial slur

Former NMHA president Murray Taylor doesn't think that the Redmen nickname for the Newmarket hockey teams is offensive. He believes this because it wasn't meant to be connected to First Nations people when it was adopted. According to Taylor, the Redmen nickname refers to the colour of the jersey that the team wore back in the 1930's.

Taylor is obviously wrong in his support of the Redmen nickname.

Even though NMHA may have had other intentions back in the 1930's, in the context of 2016 the term "Redmen" is very much associated with a racial slur. And First Nations people should not have to tolerate pejorative nicknames any more.

In the same 1930's, Irish immigrants were derisively called a "Mick" or a "Paddy" after the popularity of naming male babies Michael or Patrick. (The Town of Newmarket still commemorates our local "Paddy Town" with a sign on Main Street north of Davis Drive). A socially conscious person wouldn't dare use these same terms to refer to a person of Irish descent today. That's because they are offensive.

Germans were once called "Krauts" after the pickled cabbage, sauerkraut, which was once a staple of the diet of many Europeans. In 2016, calling someone a Kraut is offensive.  

And Russians were pejoratively called "Comrade" during the Soviet era. We don't use that term any more because it is offensive.

Calling a sports team the "Indians", the "Redskins", or the "Redmen" in 2016 is wrong. These are all offensive, pejorative nicknames for First Nations people. Hopefully the parents who register for hockey will pressure the leaders of the NMHA to adopt a more appropriate name. I don't see how we can teach today's generation of young people to be tolerant of other cultures while we force them to wear racial epithets across their chests while playing hockey.  

And while we are at it, the Town of Newmarket should take down that damn Paddy Town sign too.

Say "No" to Mulock GO until we have all the answers from Mayor and Metrolinx

WARNING The Gruesome-Twosome are intending on developing environmentally sensitive lands along Mulock Drive. And they are seeking to make this move without any public consultation.

Buried on page 31 of Monday's Committee of the Whole agenda is this item (click here). It calls upon the Town of Newmarket to endorse the location of a new train station on Mulock Drive, abutting sensitive waterways that are abundant with urban wildlife.

Yet this proposed GO Train station comes with strings attached. Metrolinx is demanding that the Town of Newmarket provide a commitment to "transit supportive planning regimes around the station," a stipulation which may put the existing green space and nearby St. Andrews Golf Course within the gun sights of developers. After all, how could the Town argue against new developments at the OMB after they have already carte blanche approved development that supports the GO station?

It is most important to emphasize that Metrolinx is not committing to any improved services with this new train station. We also don't know if Metrolinx is planning to reduce service to the existing Davis Drive GO Station or shut the station down altogether.

Is this proposed GO Mulock Station a good deal for Newmarket?

So let's weigh the PROs and CONs for Council approval of this agenda item:

PRO

• Perhaps, maybe, possibly less vehicle traffic interruption along Davis Drive associated with the arrivals and departures of the GO Train in the event that Metrolinx decides to shutter the Davis Drive GO Station. (Noting that there is still a level crossing at this intersection that would require the vehicle traffic to stop as the train passes at low speed).  

CON

• Definitely more traffic interruptions along Mulock Drive associated with the comings and goings of the GO Train. 
• The new station would be devastating for the businesses located within the Tannery Mall and nearby the current GO Train Station, which rely on commuters for their customer base.
• There is relatively no businesses in the new proposed GO Station vicinity that would benefit from increased commuter traffic.
• Developing environmentally sensitive wetlands and displacing urban wild life.
• Council is giving carte blanch approval to future development in the vicinity of the new GO Train Station because Newmarket Council approves "transit supportive planning regimes around the station."
• The Town has not negotiated any commitment from Metrolinx to improve GO Train services to Newmarket.
• The location of the new GO Station doesn't connect with the Viva Rapid Bus Transit system that taxpayers just spent a half billion dollars constructing.
• The existing GO Train station is located within easy walking distance of the existing GO/ YRT Bus terminal located at Davis/ Yonge. The proposed Mulock GO station is located too far away for pedestrians seeking to connect to other public transit routes.

Maybe life-long Wynne-Liberals Tony Van Bynen and John Taylor are just trying to please their provincial Liberal allies by pushing this agenda item through? Who can forget Wynne Liberal Ministers Chris Ballard and Steven Del Duca along with Liberal MP Kyle Peterson flanking Van Bynen and Taylor at the official announcement back in June? The Town of Newmarket even issued a gushing press release thanking the Wynne-Liberal government (click here). In a York Region newspaper article  Mayor Van Bynen advised Newmarket residents to do a "happy dance."

Hopefully, the Mayor and his Council cronies will take more time than they allotted to the fifteen minute October 10th Newmarket Council meeting to inform us what we have to be happy about. What does this new GO Station give us that we don't already have on Davis Drive?

They can also tell us why the Town is required to have Public Information Centres on mundane matters,but this agenda item doesn't qualify for public input. What is being proposed would create a major shift in Newmarket's commuter traffic (just a scant few months after spending $500 million to enhance public transit along Davis Drive) and yet there is no public consultation?

And will we hear any concerns raised by the two mostly mute Council members who represent the specific wards affected? Or will Councillors Vegh and Broome just follow along with Van Bynen's "happy dance?"

Getting Along Doesn't Mean Getting Things Done

A fifteen minute council meeting? With several council members not in attendance?

Don't be so surprised, Newmarket.

Isn't that what you wanted when you decided that "getting along" on Council was more important than holding Mayor Van Bynen's administration accountable?

After all, aren't the voters always right?

Two years ago, several self appointed "elites" (ironically, most of them came from Aurora) pumped thousands of dollars into removing the lone member of Council who actually participated in Council meetings, by asking questions and demanding answers.

Awestruck by big blue signs and glossy materials, voters elected instead a mannequin who attends every meeting but doesn't speak. Dutifully, she votes any which way the Gruesome-Twosome demand of her.

We now have a Council that gets along famously. Too bad they don't accomplish anything at all.

Where are the big initiatives the Gruesome-Twosome promised?

- Broadband?
- Accelerated intensification of Yonge and Davis Corridor?
- New jobs for Newmarket?
- Positive working relationships with local businesses?
- Post secondary campus?
- Better performing hospital?

Our Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Council haven't made a single accomplishment towards any of these goals.

A four year mandate and more than half of that time has been wasted "getting along" with each other.

Van Bynen/ Taylor Continue to Ravage Newmarket's Historic Architecture

Historic buildings are important to maintain and invest in. More often than not, these buildings are physical reminders of the community's roots and the values that continue to bring us together.

During the Ward 5 by-election, many candidates are talking about the former Federal Building which used to serve us as the post office and customs house. The building is owned by a private developer with plans to preserve the facade of the historic structure while building a 7-storey residential tower behind it.

If residents are concerned about what the Gruesome-Twosome might do, they only need to consider what has been done with one of Newmarket's other historic buildings, the Old Town Hall.  Built in 1883, the Old Town Hall was designated an historic building in 1999.

The 1883 building is quite beautiful with its bell tower and high narrow windows. Unfortunately, the ravages of time combined the willful neglect and lack of building maintenance under the Van Bynen/ Taylor led Council were causing the foundation to crumble. A significant portion of the over $10 million that was invested in the Old Town Hall renovations were quite frankly sunk into the building's foundation.

The character of this historic building has been lost due to the erratic modern architecture that comprises the remainder of the renovations. Glass, concrete, and glaring lights are inconsistent with the regeneration of the original structure.

It looks very, very ugly.

Would the Gruesome-Twosome repeat the same mistake with the former Federal Building on Main Street? Based on the type of architecture they seem to approve of - the Old Town Hall, the Magna Centre, and Belinda's Place - the answer is almost assuredly a resounding, Yes.

The Gruesome-Twosome have terrible track record against aesthetically pleasing architecture. All major projects approved by the Van Bynen/ Taylor led Council have been unsightly and misshapen messes.


  CTV News, photo of the glass and concrete addition to the historic Old Town Hall building