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2026.10.15 The big issue in other townships is the 11% increase in OPP charges or how to address the looming infrastructure costs on the horizon. In Wollaston Township a small but dedicated group has kept the hate on for Nellie Lunn Park for the full term of this Council. Many years ago, before I got on Council, I put together a document that addressed the myths being circulated to support the sale of the park. Today, the very people who talk about bringing the community t

2026.10.23 One of the first things they tell new Councillors is not to get involved in ‘flame wars’ on social media – endless, time-wasting back and forth posting with people dedicated to a particular issue who aren’t necessarily trying to resolve an issue so much as playing to the crowd and looking to score points. The suggestion is to articulate your position clearly and then engage with people directly, where meaningful discussion and useful dialogue is possible. From a

2026.10.22 A search on ‘community engagement’ suggests that “Community engagement in Ontario municipalities is the practice of involving residents, businesses, and stakeholders in local government decision-making processes for policies, services, and projects that affect them.” This Council has provided increased opportunity for residents to inform themselves about their Township and to provide their feedback. The monthly Council meeting package is made public prior to the m

2026.10.20 Nellie Lunn Park is not the most important issue in Wollaston Township. That honour goes to the financial challenge presented by our aging infrastructure and the many millions of dollars that will be required to meet our legally mandated obligations. We’re going to need the kind of sound financial management we’ve seen for the past 4 years, meeting critical needs while keeping tax increases reasonable, not raiding reserves and keeping borrowing to a minimum. We’r

2026.10.19 Who doesn’t love a great story! In 1981 a World War II veteran donated 100 acres to Wollaston Township in memory of his beloved Nellie Lunn. He wanted the people of the township to have a place where they could enjoy the wilderness that they themselves loved. On this land you find wetlands, forests, streams, and all manner of wildlife. You find the rare Blandings Turtle, listed as ‘threatened’ under the Ontario Endangered Species Act. You find a nesting pair of

2026.10.18 Spoiler alert – no, I didn’t. But before I get into the details, a few things … Some pictures are circulating that claim to show trespassing adjacent to Nellie Lunn Park. Seven pictures dating back to August 12, 2021 have been posted. Of those pictures: 2 are from before the park reopened and the trespass mitigation measures were put in place, 2 are of people walking either towards or away from the locked gate with the ‘no trespassing’ sign on it – like walking

2026.10.17 Summary/TLDR as they say on the internet (Too Long Didn’t Read) The Park Access Trail was there before the adjacent landowners bought their properties, As a gesture of goodwill, the Township surveyed the road allowance, The few encroachments that were identified amounted to at most a few feet over distances of tens of feet on land that amounted to over 100 acres, Where these few encroachments were found, the Township took steps to address them. The Long(er) Version

2026.10.16 During the sale of Nellie Lunn Park by the previous Council, trespassing by park visitors on the adjacent lands was brought up as an issue. When the current Council was exploring how to reopen Nellie Lunn Park, this concern was taken very seriously. Evidence of this is in the Project Charter approved by Council for the Nellie Lunn Park Urbach Lake Trail Reopening in early 2025: “In addition to restoring the existing trail, the project will also implement enhanced

2026.10.15 A friend and neighbour mentioned that there was a rumour going around that I had lied about the cost of reopening Nellie Lunn Park. I put some clarifying details together in an email for them, which I'll share with you here. Hi ,       Happy Thanksgiving! It has been brought to my attention that I’m being accused of lying about the cost of reopening Nellie Lunn Park. I intend to upload comments on this to my website but I thought I would share this with yo