Greg Locke runs for Ward 4 council seat

April 23, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons

A community activist is setting his sights on the Ward 4 council seat. Schomberg artist Greg Locke is running for the second time. He jumped into the political arena for the first time in 2010. His reasons remain the same. For the most part they focus on the challenges of growth, pure and simple. King, Locke said, is such a gem in southern Ontario; a great place for his wife Tracy and daughter Brianna to work, play, create, exercise, learn, and enjoy life. “We’ve made many deep friendships here I know we’ll have for decades to come.” Locke said he learned early on in his residency that King’s rural, green and village-based lifestyles are under threat. Growth in the GTA is among the highest in Canada, and we struggle constantly to find the right balance between conservation and development, he observed. The tools we’ve had at our disposal to shape growth, enrich our village life and move toward complete communities have been “dull at best. There’s vast opportunity for improvement. “I want to be at the council table as a vote, not merely an advocate addressing council as I have as chair of Concerned Citizens of King Township (CCKT).” Locke said there’s no end to good work that needs to be done. A lot of good has come from our current council term that requires “another complementary leader on council to see through. There’s work that affects King as a whole, and that affects life here in Ward 4 (Schomberg, Pottageville and Lloydtown).” Locke said he’s proud of the Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP), something he had a role in as a member of the “Economic Pillar” sub-committee. This living document is now the overall guide to policy formulation in King that reflects our resident-driven values for the sustainability and growth of our local economic, socio-cultural, environmental and financial goals. “It needs leadership to ensure it evolves and continues to be used for its visionary guiding principles, and this won’t happen without good local leadership.” King is embarking on the first major review and reformulation of its Official Plan and its supporting documents since the 1970s. This work will require at least two council terms to complete, if not more, and Locke wants to be a vote at the table. This review project will seriously affect all our villages and hamlets, and indeed all rural areas of King. “I’m a big supporter of this much-needed review: it requires a strong local councillor to be actively engaged with it to ensure we protect all the good things about village and rural life; yet modernize, clarify and streamline our suite of planning tools for the future. This includes integrating our key village design guidelines into a revised Township bylaw (in itself a substantial project).” The Township is also formulating several key supporting documents to the Official Plan that will impact King in some profound ways. There’s an Economic Development Strategy that has yet to be implemented; a completed Parks and Recreation Master Plan update; a Transportation Master Plan study currently underway; and bylaws already revised or being studied including the tree, noise, gun and sign bylaws. “Once again, I want to be a strong voice reflecting and building on our community’s values and to ensure they’re enforced effectively.” Two of the most profound pieces of provincial legislation that directly affect our lifestyle and environmental values are up for review in 2015: the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation and Greenbelt Plans. “As chair of CCKT I lead our April 9 forum at the Kingbridge Centre to educate and empower our residents to learn and advocate for their protection and strengthening. It’s critical that King makes our residents’ values known to the province as 70% of our lands are on the Moraine, the rest is virtually all Greenbelt. We have a lot to lose if these key environmental protections are watered down by opposing interests.” King has also awarded a contract for a Community Improvement Plan (CIP), the first “serious tool” that can affect village vitality in decades, and it’ll be available to all the villages. “It needs to be reviewed and finalized carefully to ensure it achieves its desired intent: Public and private investment in our village core improvement.” King has also passed a three-year Tourism Plan, relying strongly on our relationship with Central Counties Tourism. The Schomberg area happens to be the closest in King to this tourism district, leveraging especially the Pan Am 2015 Games venue in Caledon. “I’ll work to maximize the benefits to this valuable plan. “There’s no shortage of work for a dedicated councillor like me to help steer these various projects to the benefit of us all. Yet there is just about as much work to be done right in Ward 4. I’m not only a Main Street Schomberg resident, I’m also a business owner (Gotham Glassworks fused glass studio). “Our Schomberg needs help. We have such opportunity as King’s only village off a major thoroughfare to become not only a major tourist destination and local commercial hub, we’re staring in the face of a profound opportunity to shape our village into a sustainable, ecological live-work community. How?” Locke is envisioning a high tech campus on Dillane Drive. The lands across Highway 27, surrounded by the Trisan Centre are ideal for a high technology business and research campus, designed purposefully with a public-private partnership. “Our children can come back after university and college to well paying jobs, live in affordable homes right here in the village, and bike and walk to work. Talk about a complete community! I will dedicate myself to this vision once elected.” In addition, Schomberg has the largest amount of developable industrial land in the Township and Locke said he wants to assist in attracting the right jobs to these lands as well. Regarding the old Schomberg arena grounds, Locke said it’s unfortunate that after two council terms, its fate is still undecided. “I respect the work being done to ensure we get the value out of these lands that was committed to the Trisan Centre, and to keep the lands in Township ownership. Yet as a resident I’m disappointed that the RFI and now RFP processes have only attracted a transitional care facility proposal. I want to open these processes up again and see if we can attract more bidders to exploit tourism and community access opportunities.” Schomberg’s Main Street needs help and Locke said he will exploit this revitalization tool (CIP) for Main Street’s core. People talk about declaring Schomberg’s village core a Heritage District and about guiding local businesses to form Business Improvement Associations (BIAs), to help both secure the village’s historic beauty and to channel investment from various sources. “I think the time will come eventually for these discussions, but for the near future, I’ll work to make the CIP program available to help give the village a good boost it so much deserves.” Locke has been quite involved in Arts Society King and has learned a lot of about developing and promoting events to attract tourists and locals, plus supporting the arts in King. “Schomberg is a natural focal point of a lot of these events, simply because we’re blessed with a true off-highway village. I’ll work to refine our current roster of events and support new ones. Most notably, the Schomberg Fair needs help to adapt its model for success with the redevelopment of the old arena lands, I know I can be of service here – this event will live on and thrive.” Locke also said local bylaw enforcement and basic services need to looked at. He’s a taxpayer, too and for the most part he believes residents receive good service for a municipality of our size. Some services, like garbage collection, have been contracted out again and again. “I want to ensure a consistent level of service. For some Ward 4 residents, garbage collection, road maintenance and clearing, library and fire are the core services you value for your tax dollar. I hear you! We need to ensure consistently high service and I’ll work with you to maintain that.” Locke vows to be full-time on the job and he’ll be accessible. “I have a lot to say, and I do have an approach to things, but I put active listening and empathy at the top of my list. “I’ve been a dedicated community participant and advocate for many years and I want to continue my good work at council level. My education and career in business have proved invaluable for this role.” Locke also cited his roles as co-founder and co-chair of the Schomberg Village Street Gallery for its first four years, plus he represented Arts Society King on York Region Arts Council. He joined the CCKT board not long after the last election to continue “my engagement and service to our communities, and to build my education, awareness and ability to advocate for our values.” Politics, especially at the municipal level, has really “taken a beating since 2010,” he said, pointing to the scandals and antics in recent years. Locke said that’s why local councillors are need all the more. “We need good, positive leaders committed to our future, and I want to be one of them. I’m excited about this. I look in the mirror and I see the real deal. I’m dedicated, honest, energetic, optimistic for King, qualified and educated for the job. I want to ensure respect and value for this institution that provides so much of our everyday needs. I’m known and valued in my community. I have a reputation for service, vision and respect.” If you’d like to learn more, visit his campaign blog is GregLocke.ca and you can comment on all his posts. You can also engage him via Facebook.com/GregLockeforWard4 and Twitter.com/Greg4Ward4.