A garden path
My hands have touched the earth; the cycle of seasons has not let me down. Mary Darlington arranged words on a page the way an artist moves paint around a canvas; as a composer assembles musical notes. Words carefully selected to conjure an emotion, a memory, a dream. She wielded this talent quietly, perceptively, and […]
Breaking the cycle
Five and half years ago, Hillier Hall was given a new life. The interior was gutted, a new exterior roof was built, and the interior structure reinforced. New lighting, drywall and paint. Critical to this story is that new rigging points and electrics were also installed to enable theatrical productions in the reinvigorated community facility. […]
Feelings
How do you feel about gravity? At Shire Hall, they want you to Have Your Say. Next year, we will renew our commitment to the law of gravitation, and public consultation is an important part of the process. There is, of course, no meaningful way that your collective opinion will alter, or amend, any of […]
Seasonal tidings
Ahappy story, sort of, for this first week of Advent. All but the deepest ritualized furrows of a Catholic upbringing have receded from this weary corpus, yet the urgings to prepare for something big, bound up in these next four weeks, still prod. With such prompting, we shall turn a corner of sorts. Explore a […]
Detail and evidence
A 20-unit apartment building—designed for seniors—at the foot of Prince Edward Drive in Wellington. Ninety-six (96) apartments at the top of Maple Street. Seventy-five (75) townhomes and mixed-use commercial/residential in the broad swath of land between Main and Niles, West of Belleville Road. Two hundred and five (205) townhomes behind the Legion. Shire Hall has […]
Pot and kettle
In one of its final acts, Council last week directed Mayor Ferguson to submit a list of objections to the More Homes Built Faster legislation proposed by the provincial government. The resolution passed unanimously— by a recorded vote. A signal of virtue. Bill 23 is a collection of mostly regulatory changes meant to cut through […]
Infill freeze
At least three builders want to build infill home projects in Wellington. Apartments, townhomes and commercial/retail. Dozens of them south of the Millennium Trail. But none are moving ahead. None will be permitted to proceed for years. Each has been blocked by Shire Hall. Meanwhile, a large developer with deep pockets is set to build […]
Us
Big changes are coming to new homebuilding in Ontario. Some good. Some grotesque. Some will be costly. Some unfair. It will be messy. And it all may be too late to make a difference. Yet changes are coming anyway. We will blame politics. A brutish and crude provincial government. We will call it corruption. Shortsighted […]
Orientation
Start early and come prepared. It’s good advice for many endeavours— but particularly apt for a new council member. Four years come and go quickly. The opportunity to do big, meaningful things is fleeting. The window for change will close sooner than you think. This is because Shire Hall is a hard place to get […]
The Great Expansion
County government is big. It has expanded nearly five times since it was formed in 1998, as measured by the amount of taxes extracted from residents (and a few businesses). It grew bigger during Covid. It will get bigger this year and the next, and the years after that—its ambitions growing with each doubling of […]