| It's Just Like Bay Beach! A Public Lake Front Property! Great View! Is Waverly Beach Park next to be developed into condos? |
| 236 Days Until Next Municipal Election (October 25, 2010) |
| The Crystal Beach STRAND Making Waves Since 2002 |
| Vol. VIII No.3B |
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| Lakefront Neighbourhood Association Inc. Locals in The Beaches win precedent-settin g OMB case. Read More HERE. |
| Desperate People Are Easily Manipulated See Page Four. |
| Lighthouse Keeper's Cottage for Sale. What's Next? Discuss in The Strand Blog. HERE |
| Latest Update March 13, 2010 |
Mistakes by the Lake....
by Ethan Kent
"In cities around the world, waterfronts are showing new signs of life. Parcels once
dominated by industry or highways are now opening up to redevelopment, offering
enormous opportunities to create new public spaces and rejuvenate old ones. Too often,
however, decision makers hungry for solutions latch on to uninspired design and
development plans that constrict public use."
Read whole article HERE.
by Ethan Kent
"In cities around the world, waterfronts are showing new signs of life. Parcels once
dominated by industry or highways are now opening up to redevelopment, offering
enormous opportunities to create new public spaces and rejuvenate old ones. Too often,
however, decision makers hungry for solutions latch on to uninspired design and
development plans that constrict public use."
Read whole article HERE.
| PROMISES MADE. PROMISES KEPT? DOUG MARTIN'S 2006 CAMPAIGN LITERATURE REDUX Read More HERE |
Former Mayor Wayne Redekop's
Speech to Council regarding the
Bay Beach Properties.
Read it HERE
Speech to Council regarding the
Bay Beach Properties.
Read it HERE
| BUDGET FOLLIES IN FORT ERIE WHILE NIAGARA FALLS CUTS STAFF TO SAVE MONEY |
| Town darling, Jane Davies asks for $100,000 to fix up its train at the Fort Erie Historical Museum while just down the road, Niagara Falls city council approved a restructuring plan to streamline services that included the elimination of three city hall directors, thus shaving $300,000 of the city's budget. The museum administrator pointed out that the aging train needed $429,000. in repairs, but settled for $50,000. this year with a promise of another $50K next year. In the meantime, no attempts have been made towards budgetary restraint on the part of the Fort Erie Town Council. With a staff of close to 200, there surely is reason for staff cuts in these difficult times. The staff at the Community Gaming and Development Corporation uses almost as much money paying its staff than it receives in a year, yet there is no talk of downsizing or even eliminating it. In an article published in the Niagara Falls Review on Wednesday, March 10, regarding the staff cuts, Niagara Falls CAO Ken Todd stated, "We're in difficult financial times. You're always looking for a way to improve an organization." It is further reported that Todd was looking for ways to streamline city hall's management since council hired him last May. "I just felt the operation could function more efficiently with some faily significant changes. like getting rid of an entire level of management," Todd continued. Meanwhile, Fort Erie gives half a million to the race track and pledges money to its favourite museum director while totally ignoring the elephant in the room that is high taxes - in fact taxes that have been raised close to 30% since Martin and his staff took office. |
| WELLAND GETS 1000 GREEN TECH JOBS FORT ERIE PAYS HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS TO SAVE 150 JOBS AT THE RACE TRACK. |
| On Friday, March 12, I woke up and heard on 610 CKTB that nearby Welland will be the manufacturing hub for Oneworld Energy, a Toronto-based company that specialises in solar energy. It is projected to bring in one thousand, mostly technical jobs. The reasons given for the choice of Welland is that it is near the international border; located near major highways and "business friendly." Welland beat out Windsor, Ontario to be chosen by Oneworld. Once again, Fort Erie is left behind, while Jim Thibert, head of the EDTC, continues to champion the Fort Erie Racetrack which is rapidly downsizing and headed for the proverbial glue factory. The tab for his crusade to save the track is already well past the three million dollar mark with no return expected. The town has pledged over $750,000 so far with another $500,000 coming in each year for the next couple of years. The funds, taken from gaming revenue, represent a large portion of the money received from that source. Money that could be used to fund viable initiatives. The race track employs around 150 people in mostly low-paying seasonal jobs. It is currently listed as Fort Erie's largest employer. The promises made by proponents of the motor speedway and the Molinaro Project are convinced that these two projects will bring jobs to the area. Yet Welland has gone for real jobs for its residents. This is an example of an economic development corporation that is on the ball. Congratulations to Welland. To add insult to injury, it was announced that the unemployment rate in Niagara for January is 11.1% second only to Windsor at 12.4%. Fort Erie's unofficial unemployment rate is close to 14%. The national average is currently 8.2% So, in a town with an unemployment rate almost double the national average, we have to learn that another place was successful in bringing jobs to its town. Why was Fort Erie not even under consideration? Welland Mayor Damian Goulbourne explained that they went after the solar power industry because "nobody else was" as it represents just 20% of the overall new energy sources. He saw that Welland had a better chance to get solar energy while other cities and towns went after the wind energy providers which represent 80% of the market. And Jim Thibert, as a highly-paid employee of the people of Fort Erie chose to save a race track instead of going after an industry that would bring real, full-time jobs to the town. This is an another example of the level of incompetence displayed by town staff. When will the people of this town wake up and rid themselves of these idiots? |
| The Crystal Beach STRAND Making Waves Since 2002 Dedicated to Keeping ALL the Bay Beach Properties in Public Hands © Sharon E. Bowers 2010 e-mail: crystalbeachstrand@gmail.com Phone: 905-992-0105 LEGAL DISCLAIMER The Crystal Beach Strand has made every reasonable effort to ensure that the information displayed on this website is accurate and responsible. The Crystal Beach Strand does not accept responsibility, or legal liability, for information that may have become incorrect, or misleading due to the passage of time or other conditions. Every reasonable effort is made to keep all information displayed current and up to date. To the best of our knowledge information is accurate at the time of writing and publication. Any opinions expressed on this web site are the opinion of the editor and contributors to this site. The Crystal Beach Strand is entirely self-funded. We do not solicit advertising. Donations are now gratefully declined. Please contribute to the charity or the candidate of your choice. Let's all do our part to make Fort Erie better. |
