Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Who Said Stupid ?":
So far as I know a golf course is a commercial enterprise, whether public or private.
A golf course is a multi-million dollar capital project. Apart from the course itself, most have significant club houses. These are often used to host public or private functions, dinners, weddings, etc.
Can you find out and tell your readers what the several golf courses located in Aurora pay to the town in property taxes. It would be appreciated if you could provide this information by individual golf course and at the same time indicate which are public and which private.
The major cost component in the operation of a golf course is the maintenance of the grass, especially the grass at the individual holes, the greens. This must have the texture of a fine carpet. It is generally here, putting, that a golf course offers potentially its greatest challenges to golfers.
Grass grows in sun. It does not do well in shade. Most golf courses have an abundance of trees. These add to the course challenge and are a complement to the scenic nature and attraction.
A new golf course will involve the planting of thousands of trees to supplement those already on site. As these trees grow in height and breadth they start to cast shadows over the grassy areas. There comes a time when some trees must be removed so as not to impede the growth and health of the grasses. Usually when this is done replacement trees are planted, primarily in areas where despite their ultimate mature size they are unlikely to impact the grassy areas, especially the putting greens.
When a new golf course is planned I do not know if detailed plans must be submitted to municipal or regional authorities, indicating existing and proposed tree locations. Can these authorities reject or request amendment of such tree planting?
Apart from paying substantial property tax to municipalities, golf course provide recreation for thousands of people, local residents and their guests. What would a municipality have to invest in capital and operating cost to replicate this recreation?
Men, women and children are avid golfers.
What is noteworthy is that at the Augusta National golf club for this year's Masters tournament recently concluded, women continue to be banned. It happens that one of the three major major sponsors of the tournament, IBM, a company known and recognized around the world, has recently named a woman as its CEO, Virginia Rometty. In their ignorant wisdom, the management of Augusta National decided to continue the ban on women. Ms. Rometty slunk through for a couple of hours on the last day of play.
To their credit, both President Obama and Republican presidential challenger Romney have called for an end to this archaic practice.
What is the ability of women to play golf throughout Scotland's many, and famous courses? Has enlightenment made its way to the home of the game?
As for Ms. Walmer, she continues to keep becoming an even greater pain in the ass than she was when she managed the former mayor's election campaign to inglorious defeat. Possibly the town could set aside ten acres of rolling land and have her plant trees there for the next ten years. Walmer's Wood.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Evelyn, This sentence stands out to me: "We learned golf courses are not covered by the town's bylaw. The Region has jurisdiction." At that point, the issue should be closed. If I read this correctly, no matter what you do to the bylaw is does not matter. Why are we going through this process if the bylaw is not enforceable in this case
**********
It is the essence of politics.
The last council was the ultimate in extremes. They felt they understood. They believed satisfying the demands of the most vociferous groups and slaying the naysayer was the formula for success. .
It is part of politics It's not all. The secret of success lies in the balance.
Given time they slay themselves.
Yet sleaze is the popular misconception. The reason politics have a bad reputation among part of the community..
I have spent almost fifty years of my life proving .you can say no with a valid explanation and at times with gusto.
People may still disagree but honesty always trumps.
It's my rock.
I will be true.
**********
It is the essence of politics.
The last council was the ultimate in extremes. They felt they understood. They believed satisfying the demands of the most vociferous groups and slaying the naysayer was the formula for success. .
It is part of politics It's not all. The secret of success lies in the balance.
Given time they slay themselves.
Yet sleaze is the popular misconception. The reason politics have a bad reputation among part of the community..
I have spent almost fifty years of my life proving .you can say no with a valid explanation and at times with gusto.
People may still disagree but honesty always trumps.
It's my rock.
I will be true.
Google+ page stories: CoffeeCakeKC
Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in a series of posts about small businesses on Google+ and their tips and tricks for managing a great page. Visit our YouTube channel to see all the videos in this series and join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page.
Meet CoffeeCakeKC, one part decadent food truck (serving cupcakes, muffins, biscotti, and coffee cake) and one part delicious coffee. Their Big Orange Truck makes daily stops through downtown Kansas City. Brian Jurgens, or “Stubbie,” is an extreme hobbyist who started CoffeeCakeKC out of his love for the true flavor of coffee. Watch as he and his wife Melanie use Google+ to bring their followers along for the ride:
Looking to grow your followers on Google? Here are a few steps to get you started:
How are you growing your page’s community? Join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page and tag your posts #mybusinessstory.
Posted by Evelyn Lee, Google+ Pages Associate Product Marketing Manager
Meet CoffeeCakeKC, one part decadent food truck (serving cupcakes, muffins, biscotti, and coffee cake) and one part delicious coffee. Their Big Orange Truck makes daily stops through downtown Kansas City. Brian Jurgens, or “Stubbie,” is an extreme hobbyist who started CoffeeCakeKC out of his love for the true flavor of coffee. Watch as he and his wife Melanie use Google+ to bring their followers along for the ride:
Looking to grow your followers on Google? Here are a few steps to get you started:
- Like CoffeeCakeKC, add the Google+ badge to your site and connect it to your Google+ page. This badge lets people +1, see personal annotations, and follow your page directly from your site. Or, just install the Google+ icon. Whenever someone who visits your site clicks the icon, they will be taken to your Google+ page where they can follow your page and see your posts from then on.
 |
| Use Google+ badges on your website to direct customers to your Google+ page for the latest news. |
- Use Google+ badges on your website to direct customers to your Google+ page for the latest news.
- People often turn to friends and family for help making decisions. The +1 button combines the power of these personal recommendations with the reach of Google, making it easy to start conversations and offer timely recommendations to your social circles across the web.
- Connect your +1’s. Help people see their friends’ recommendations, wherever they find you on the web by connecting +1's for your website with +1's on your Google+ page and ads. Once you’ve created your page, you need to put a snippet of code on your site, and advertisers just need to enable Social Extensions in AdWords.
 |
| Connect the +1s for your website to your Google+ page and ads. This will help spread recommendations by your followers to their friends. |
- Connect the +1s for your website to your Google+ page and ads. This will help spread recommendations by your followers to their friends.
- Learn more. Find additional tips and tricks for promoting your page at the Google+ Your Business site.
How are you growing your page’s community? Join the discussion on the Google+ Your Business page and tag your posts #mybusinessstory.
Posted by Evelyn Lee, Google+ Pages Associate Product Marketing Manager
Who Said Stupid ?
An Anonymous Comment
Councillor Buck, When a developer wanted to build directly behind our rural property in King, we went to the town for help. The developer make adjustments to his plans to include buffering and plantings to help offset the change to our view and landscape. Although it wasn't the best scenario for us,we were satisfied that this was as much that could be done both legally and with goodwill. Sometimes a little goodwill and good sense goes a long way in remedying situations, rather than waving placards and having people take sides. Calling people stupid doesn't help either.
*********************************
A homeowner abutting the golf course came home one day and found some trees on her property were marked Numbers of trees were being cut down on the golf course.
As a matter of interest, a substantial forest had to be cut down to provide sites for the homes.
An e-mail came through and the homeowner was advised to come to Council. After a sympathetic hearing staff were directed to report on the tree cutting by-law
.
We learned golf courses are not covered by the town's bylaw. The Region has jurisdiction.
The difference is in the size of property.
Staff were directed to revise the tree-cutting bylaw. A review had been directed previously.
Staff did and the bylaw was made more restrictive than before.
The homeowner was pleased with the attention Council gave to the problemand the improvement from her perspective.
Then Susan Walmer appeared and scooped up the issue. At a public forum , council was informed a town hall meeting had been scheduled and a request was received to direct the Parks Manager to attend the meeting to answer questions.
Councillor Ballard had booked the Council Chamber for the meeting.
The Parks manager was not directed to attend the meeting.
Council scheduled the proposed tree by-law to be heard at a public planning meeting.
Susan Walmer rallied all known tree experts and tree lovers to the meeting. Those who couldn't attend sent e-mails.
The bylaw was not adequate, they said. The town must be steward of the environment. they said. Ms.Walmer declared the by-law should be submitted to the environmental advisory committee for them to advise. Because they are volunteers, they must be given their due and their opinions respected.
Members of a Green-keepers Association were present. They informed us of the nature of golf courses and what it takes to operate the industry. The golf course is recognised by the Audubon
Society as a wild life sanctuary.
Members of the Cemetery Board were also present and asked to be exempted from the bylaw because of time-consuming and restrictive aspects which would make it impossible to practise due diligence in their function.
The original homeowner had been pleased with the town's response to concerns.
Then it seemed Walmer's Warriors had gained another recruit and the bylaw was deemed not to go far enough.
I doubt very much the political machinations were understood. But there it was. The revised bylaw was not stringent enough to satisfy
those assembled to take that position.
A resolution,. moved by Councillor Gallo, passed by Council was to refer the Bylaw to the Environmental Advisory Committee.
the revised bylaw was prepared by a staff committee . Normal process is for comments to be noted, considered at a meeting of the committee and a new report submitted to Council.
Councillor Gallo is chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee and had already declared his support for the comments made at the meeting..
I acknowledge I generally have a negative reaction after listening to and hour and a half of suggestions that everyone connected with the town is less than qualified to make decisions. While those in the audience are supremely qualified.
Really, it doesn't much matter what this Council might do to satisfy a concern, when Susan Walmer is about,it will never be enough..
That is not the objective.
There was question I did not ask at the meeting; is the tree-cutting bylaw subject to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
It is..
It's a time-consuming and extravagant process.
Councillor Buck, When a developer wanted to build directly behind our rural property in King, we went to the town for help. The developer make adjustments to his plans to include buffering and plantings to help offset the change to our view and landscape. Although it wasn't the best scenario for us,we were satisfied that this was as much that could be done both legally and with goodwill. Sometimes a little goodwill and good sense goes a long way in remedying situations, rather than waving placards and having people take sides. Calling people stupid doesn't help either.
*********************************
A homeowner abutting the golf course came home one day and found some trees on her property were marked Numbers of trees were being cut down on the golf course.
As a matter of interest, a substantial forest had to be cut down to provide sites for the homes.
An e-mail came through and the homeowner was advised to come to Council. After a sympathetic hearing staff were directed to report on the tree cutting by-law
.
We learned golf courses are not covered by the town's bylaw. The Region has jurisdiction.
The difference is in the size of property.
Staff were directed to revise the tree-cutting bylaw. A review had been directed previously.
Staff did and the bylaw was made more restrictive than before.
The homeowner was pleased with the attention Council gave to the problemand the improvement from her perspective.
Then Susan Walmer appeared and scooped up the issue. At a public forum , council was informed a town hall meeting had been scheduled and a request was received to direct the Parks Manager to attend the meeting to answer questions.
Councillor Ballard had booked the Council Chamber for the meeting.
The Parks manager was not directed to attend the meeting.
Council scheduled the proposed tree by-law to be heard at a public planning meeting.
Susan Walmer rallied all known tree experts and tree lovers to the meeting. Those who couldn't attend sent e-mails.
The bylaw was not adequate, they said. The town must be steward of the environment. they said. Ms.Walmer declared the by-law should be submitted to the environmental advisory committee for them to advise. Because they are volunteers, they must be given their due and their opinions respected.
Members of a Green-keepers Association were present. They informed us of the nature of golf courses and what it takes to operate the industry. The golf course is recognised by the Audubon
Society as a wild life sanctuary.
Members of the Cemetery Board were also present and asked to be exempted from the bylaw because of time-consuming and restrictive aspects which would make it impossible to practise due diligence in their function.
The original homeowner had been pleased with the town's response to concerns.
Then it seemed Walmer's Warriors had gained another recruit and the bylaw was deemed not to go far enough.
I doubt very much the political machinations were understood. But there it was. The revised bylaw was not stringent enough to satisfy
those assembled to take that position.
A resolution,. moved by Councillor Gallo, passed by Council was to refer the Bylaw to the Environmental Advisory Committee.
the revised bylaw was prepared by a staff committee . Normal process is for comments to be noted, considered at a meeting of the committee and a new report submitted to Council.
Councillor Gallo is chairman of the Environmental Advisory Committee and had already declared his support for the comments made at the meeting..
I acknowledge I generally have a negative reaction after listening to and hour and a half of suggestions that everyone connected with the town is less than qualified to make decisions. While those in the audience are supremely qualified.
Really, it doesn't much matter what this Council might do to satisfy a concern, when Susan Walmer is about,it will never be enough..
That is not the objective.
There was question I did not ask at the meeting; is the tree-cutting bylaw subject to appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board.
It is..
It's a time-consuming and extravagant process.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
The Late Garfield Wright
The problem when people buy a property overlooking a golf course is that they do not acquire the land with their view. It is owned by the golf course and subject to economic conditions as well as requiring regular servicing all summer and sometimes tree culling in the winter. It is quite clear in the residential plans. They can not suddenly claim possession. This reminds me of people who move into a rural area and then demand that the roads be paved and provided with sidewalks. Ain't going to happen
.''****
This comment reminds me of a story the late Garfield Wright told .
He was a farmer and Reeve of East Gwillimbury, a rural township immediately north of Newmarket.
He received an irate call from a resident newly removed from the city. The complaint was about loss of water service.
"No water in the taps" What the hell is going on?"
Garfield politely asked him a couple of questions and directed him to a silent black object in a corner of the basement and identified it as the pump ,connected to the well that supplied the house with water. It had blown a fuse.
The city slicker had bought a house in the country without any idea that urban services were unlikely miles into the country on a dirt road.
I heard Garfield tell that story a number of times. It never failed to get a hearty chuckle.
A favourite saying "like my old Dad used to say; if you're so smart ....why ain't you rich? "
Another way of saying it could be ...You're so rich, why aren't you smart ?
Garfield Wright was appointed the first Chairman of York Region by the Province of Ontario.
.''****
This comment reminds me of a story the late Garfield Wright told .
He was a farmer and Reeve of East Gwillimbury, a rural township immediately north of Newmarket.
He received an irate call from a resident newly removed from the city. The complaint was about loss of water service.
"No water in the taps" What the hell is going on?"
Garfield politely asked him a couple of questions and directed him to a silent black object in a corner of the basement and identified it as the pump ,connected to the well that supplied the house with water. It had blown a fuse.
The city slicker had bought a house in the country without any idea that urban services were unlikely miles into the country on a dirt road.
I heard Garfield tell that story a number of times. It never failed to get a hearty chuckle.
A favourite saying "like my old Dad used to say; if you're so smart ....why ain't you rich? "
Another way of saying it could be ...You're so rich, why aren't you smart ?
Garfield Wright was appointed the first Chairman of York Region by the Province of Ontario.
Life's frustrations...Large And Small
Every day I spend a little time trying to move this window down...
ever so slightly. It is sufficiently high to almost obscure the tool bar.
I don't use the tool bar very often. Less since I repeatedly failed to enlarge the type that appears in my blog. Everyone tells me it's normal.
It's half the size I'm looking at now and that doesn't seem normal to me.
I need my glasses to read it.
It's just another one of life's little frustrations.
Council passed two resolutions in September 2011. One to review the sign bylaw and another to review application fees for adaptive re-use of property from residential. Fees are $20,thousand for as little sometimes as 3 or 4 hundred square feet.
The only thing that happened with the sign bylaw was the Chamber of Commerce was asked for input.
At first I heard Chamber members were eager to comment. But then they didn't..
This week, we received a memo saying fifteen members had been polled and no concerns about the sign bylaw were expressed. Also they needed a copy of the bylaw to understand it.
It is seven months since Council passed the resolutions.
A resolution was passed to review traffic calming in the north west quadrant. It was first recommended we pay a consultant $5.thousand to carry out the review. The same consultant as planned the project. His familiarity was deemed to be helpful.
Council changed that.
A number of powerful concerns have been expressed to Council and no doubt individual Councillors have received e-mails also as I have.
As yet no progress report.
A resolution was passed at budget in 2011 to direct terms of reference be prepared for a curator responsible for "organizing the museum collection and providing leadership and guidance to volunteers " $100.000 was included in the budget for the position. .
It never happened. In 2012, the funds was taken out of the budget
The Mayor and CAO had meetings with the Historical Society and recommended something that will take twelve months to realize.
A report on mattes pending is presented to Council on a regular basis.
The report used to be long' replete with verbal notices of motion by Councillors that never came to anything. .
A new rule was put in place with review of the procedure bylaw. .
Councillors are now required to file a notice of motion in writing at a Council meeting and present the motion at the next council meeting, a month distant.
It's like what I think it would be like swimming in molasses.
Months go by and nothing. happens.....nil...nada...zilch and zero.
Just another one of life's frustrations....not so little.
ever so slightly. It is sufficiently high to almost obscure the tool bar.
I don't use the tool bar very often. Less since I repeatedly failed to enlarge the type that appears in my blog. Everyone tells me it's normal.
It's half the size I'm looking at now and that doesn't seem normal to me.
I need my glasses to read it.
It's just another one of life's little frustrations.
Council passed two resolutions in September 2011. One to review the sign bylaw and another to review application fees for adaptive re-use of property from residential. Fees are $20,thousand for as little sometimes as 3 or 4 hundred square feet.
The only thing that happened with the sign bylaw was the Chamber of Commerce was asked for input.
At first I heard Chamber members were eager to comment. But then they didn't..
This week, we received a memo saying fifteen members had been polled and no concerns about the sign bylaw were expressed. Also they needed a copy of the bylaw to understand it.
It is seven months since Council passed the resolutions.
A resolution was passed to review traffic calming in the north west quadrant. It was first recommended we pay a consultant $5.thousand to carry out the review. The same consultant as planned the project. His familiarity was deemed to be helpful.
Council changed that.
A number of powerful concerns have been expressed to Council and no doubt individual Councillors have received e-mails also as I have.
As yet no progress report.
A resolution was passed at budget in 2011 to direct terms of reference be prepared for a curator responsible for "organizing the museum collection and providing leadership and guidance to volunteers " $100.000 was included in the budget for the position. .
It never happened. In 2012, the funds was taken out of the budget
The Mayor and CAO had meetings with the Historical Society and recommended something that will take twelve months to realize.
A report on mattes pending is presented to Council on a regular basis.
The report used to be long' replete with verbal notices of motion by Councillors that never came to anything. .
A new rule was put in place with review of the procedure bylaw. .
Councillors are now required to file a notice of motion in writing at a Council meeting and present the motion at the next council meeting, a month distant.
It's like what I think it would be like swimming in molasses.
Months go by and nothing. happens.....nil...nada...zilch and zero.
Just another one of life's frustrations....not so little.
Bringing Business Photos to more users and business owners
Since April 2010, we’ve been testing and developing the Business Photos program, which gives users a virtual peek inside businesses through interactive 360-degree imagery. After hearing your positive feedback about how showing off panoramic views of your business interiors helps you attract potential customers, we’re excited to announce further expansion of this program. Starting today, in addition to the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and France, this service is now available in Canada, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Through the Business Photos program, if you’re a business owner in any of these locations around the world, getting started is easy. Just hire a Trusted Photographer in your area to take pictures of your establishment at a time convenient for you. Panoramas are created using the photos, and customers can easily find the resulting panoramic images on Google.com, on Google Maps, and on your Google Places listing. This self-service model, introduced several months ago, not only supports talented photographers in your local community, but also gives people who are thinking about visiting your location a sense of what they can expect when they walk through your doors. And if a local photographer isn’t yet available in your neighborhood, let us know so we can figure out where else to expand the program.
And whether you’re a professional photographer or an enthusiastic amateur, we’d love to have you on board! We are actively recruiting more Trusted Photographers to bring imagery of more local businesses online for millions across the globe to see. Visit our website for photographers to learn more and sign up.
And if you’re simply curious and want to explore businesses — from top-rated restaurants to exotic pet stores — check out this gallery of interior business photos on the Street View website.
Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager, Google Maps
Through the Business Photos program, if you’re a business owner in any of these locations around the world, getting started is easy. Just hire a Trusted Photographer in your area to take pictures of your establishment at a time convenient for you. Panoramas are created using the photos, and customers can easily find the resulting panoramic images on Google.com, on Google Maps, and on your Google Places listing. This self-service model, introduced several months ago, not only supports talented photographers in your local community, but also gives people who are thinking about visiting your location a sense of what they can expect when they walk through your doors. And if a local photographer isn’t yet available in your neighborhood, let us know so we can figure out where else to expand the program.
And whether you’re a professional photographer or an enthusiastic amateur, we’d love to have you on board! We are actively recruiting more Trusted Photographers to bring imagery of more local businesses online for millions across the globe to see. Visit our website for photographers to learn more and sign up.
Click and drag to view the inside of Casa Artelexia in San Diego, California
And if you’re simply curious and want to explore businesses — from top-rated restaurants to exotic pet stores — check out this gallery of interior business photos on the Street View website.
Posted by Gadi Royz, Product Manager, Google Maps
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