It’s coming up on three months since city council unanimously agreed to declare certain parcels of land that partially comprise Jonas Park to be declared surplus to the city and those parcels will be sold to Doug Tarry Limited for future residential development west of the Elgin Country Railway Museum (ECRM).
And it’s been almost three years since Tarry declared proposed residential development on land currently owned by the museum is an opportunity to revitalize that portion of downtown St. Thomas.
In the summer of 2021, Tarry sought to purchase eight acres of railway land immediately west of the museum at $300,000 per acre for a low-rise residential development that would front onto a new street to be created off Ross Street and north of Jonas Street.
Tag Archives: Ron Cutway
Is sensitivity training sufficient deterrent to deal with workplace harassment at city hall?
Exactly four years ago, we wrote at length about workplace harassment at city hall, referring to it as a “toxic environment.”
At that time, we postulated the City of St. Thomas, as a corporation, should be held to a high standard of excellence with regard to a workplace environment.
The issue in 2015 involved a city employee we identified as ‘Dave’ and his allegations of verbal and physical abuse involving fellow employees and managers.
In a conversation in June of that year with human resources manager Graham Dart, he conceded “As an employer, we don’t have to guarantee a harassment-free workplace, because we can’t do that.
“There is no expectation or requirement of that. But there is an obligation on our part — especially under the Occupational Health & Safety Act — that we address harassment in the workplace.”
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Is new-look council an improved model?
Not only will it be a new-look council on Dec. 1, the method in which our municipal representatives conduct city business is about to be overhauled.
We talked with Mayor Heather Jackson on Friday to get a sense of her expectations as head of a council comprised of a sole returnee.
“I see this all as opportunities. I don’t see any challenges. There is a lot of learning that is going to happen in a short period of time.”
To assist with the formidable learning curve, Jackson and CAO Wendell Graves are establishing an online resource centre for the six new aldermen.
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