The Greening Of Council

Council better be careful.

Windsorites and those pesky "tree-huggers" may decide to go after them especially if Ojibway is a target again with Schwartz II.

Council may become the "enemy" if more of these stories come out and taxpayers get mad. I was surprised to be honest about the support the Bridge Co. received on the AM800 poll.

I thought with the tunnel from Highway 401 to the border and the Environmental Master Plan, they wanted to be known as well as a "green" Council.

Have you ever heard of Earthtimes.org? I hadn't either. According to their website:

• "Earthtimes.org is staffed 24/7, that is every hour of every day, seven days a week and every day of the year by a small, hard working and dedicated team, committed to providing you with information and news, fluid and as it happens.
  
  As such www.Earthtimes.org is a leading website that publishes news reports and the latest information relating to the human environment and such interrelated concerns of the international community, such as economic growth, humanitarian issues, the environment, global business, automobiles and cars, education and learning, the latest in electronics, entertainment, personal and business finance plus economics worldwide at national and international levels to new games for all popular gaming platforms. Global news and information from around the world is all offered free and without subscription on health, homes, property and real estate, insurance, internet issues, kitchen, legal topics, shopping, space, sports, technology, travel, and almost anything that affects the World and our planet, Mother Earth."

I saw they published a Press Release from the Bridge Co. If this keeps up, and the AM800 poll results are valid, it may be that the Bridge Co. has a lot more support than even they imagined.

• Ambassador Bridge to Continue Green Corridor Plans Despite Windsor City Council Ruling
  
  WINDSOR, Ontario, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite the decision by City Council Monday evening to delay the demolition of six houses that the Ambassador Bridge owns on the east side of Indian Road, the company has pledged to continue with its plans to work with the Green Corridor to improve the landscape and lifestyle of the Windsor community.
  
  "The City Council made a bad decision last evening," said Dan Stamper, president of the Ambassador Bridge. "While they stated their concern for the potential archeological significance of the area, they failed to recognize the benefits that the green buffer area would provide for the neighbourhood and surrounding area."
  
  Throughout the construction, the Bridge has employed a licensed archaeologist under the direction of Dr. Robert J. Pearce of The Ontario Museum of Archaeology as a consultant on the archaeological significance of the area. Dr. Norm Becker, local engineer and heritage specialist, also testified last evening that the six houses had no heritage or architectural importance to the community.
  
  Despite approving demolition of four similar houses on the east side of Indian Road just two years ago, Council denied the Bridge's request for demolition. However, two councilors did have the wisdom and courage to support improving the local community and the green buffer area by voting in favour.
  
  The Bridge had hoped to use the space for landscaping adjacent to the new customs booths under construction just west of the current Bridge. The company is working with the University of Windsor and the Green Corridor on a master plan to landscape the Huron Church Road area to improve Windsor's environment.
  
  "Our goal is to improve the international crossing that is viewed by the 9.4 million cars and trucks each year that use the Ambassador Bridge. Regrettably council's decision will delay the development of the green buffer area adjacent to the newly expanded customs plaza," added Stamper. "We will continue to work with the Green Corridor, the University of Windsor and other community partners that are interested in improving the area."
  
  About Ambassador Bridge
  
  Built in 1929, the Ambassador Bridge stands between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario as a link between the two countries. It is privately owned by the Detroit International Bridge Company and the Canadian Transit Company. The owners believe in the development and wellness of the local community where their business is operated and have supported local organizations including Hospice, the Windsor Symphony, and the University of Windsor. http://www.ambassadorbridge.com/

It may be that it is our Mayor and Council are out of touch on the border issue. It may be that Windsorites are looking for thousands of high-paying infrastructure and spin-off jobs jobs before the $300M BIF program runs out in a few months.

It seems that our Councillors may have no such concerns. They are very "green" conscious after all. You should check out this BLOG on http://windsormunicipal.blogspot.com/2007/06/you-bring-butter.html

Note the "green" payments made to Councillors by Enwin. I thought the Enwin problems had been solved according to the Mayor's State of the City Address on May 14, 2007:

• "For the past four years, we have been working extremely hard, undertaking a similar review at our Enwin Group of Companies, and the Windsor Utilities Commission.
  
  Enwin had strayed into areas it should never have been involved with in the first place. It simply didn’t have the resources necessary to manage all of those non-core activities.
  
  The staff at Enwin was distracted away from their core business – delivering hydro and water services to our customers...
  
  And with our available resources, deliver the best quality service at the best value.
  With employees and management working with the Board, Enwin underwent a massive transformation. "

In the 2006 speech we heard from the Mayor:

• "ENWIN is getting back to basics.
  
  Focusing on being a great local electricity provider, and no longer taking unnecessary risks in other business areas.
  
  Over the past two and a half years, ENWIN’s debt has been reduced by $43 million dollars.
  
  We’ve focused on helping ENWIN to get back on track, and we will do so with our other municipal agencies.
  
  As a result, ENWIN’s bond rating was upgraded from BBB+ to A-. That’s very important, and very exciting."

In the 2005 speech, it was said

• "In the next few months we will be sharing with you the tremendous amount of work that we have been doing at EnWin tackling issues with the same resolve and determination."

In 2006, the Star reported that

• "Thanks to payments from Enwin and the Windsor Utilities Commission, city councillors received a 22.9 per cent pay hike last year...
  
  Board payments are pooled and divided equally among the councillors and paid quarterly. The 10 city councillors divvied $151,500 in payments from the utility boards last year, an increase of 89 per cent over the previous year. In 2004, the board payments amounted to $73,522.
  
  The mayor and four city councillors receive $500 each for every meeting they attend as board members of Enwin Powerlines and Windsor Canada Utilities Ltd. They also get $250 each for every subcommittee meeting they attend. And WUC pays $8,200 annually to individual board members...
  
  Now that the work is done, some of the councillors will step down and the number of meetings will "go back to normal," according to Victoria Zuber, the utilities' chief financial officer."

Now I am NOT "green" with envy. After reading about how much extra Councillors received above their salary due to Board payments, I am starting to feel "green."

Here is what one reader wrote to me:

• "Considering that at least two counsellors are on each board + Eddie and each meeting has a fee of $500 and each morning they can have three board/committee meetings in three hours, the total really adds up."