Make Downtown Great Again!

This connects with posts:

John Dooley, CORE-Lite and - Terry Fox?
11 Sep, 2018
and
Cal Renwick: No S(CORE)
29 Aug, 2018


Nelson's downtown has come into (blurred) focus of late: not because there are particularly new issues with it - but because it's election-time, and this connects with the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce (NDCC) - for years - directly and indirectly - fear-mongering with: all other-looking-people are drugged/mental/criminal homeless we must get rid of!
Their downtown(only!)presence is bad for business - they're also not buying our stuff.

A disingenuous attempt to pump more life (i.e. profit) into downtown: if we get rid of them the money will come!

NDCC: Gimme Your Money!

To that end - a few years ago - NDCC directors - not the general membership! - devise a resolution to kick-start an "aggressive panhandling bylaw". Without any fact-based documentation on aggressive panhandling as an ongoing reality in Nelson.

This resolution is fast-tracked to Kevin Cormack, the City's CAO, who promptly puts it on Council's agenda as a bylaw, vaguely listing the NPD and its meter-maids as originators. With neither anyone's name nor numbers of basic/aggressive panhandlers or any other City-generated fact-based evidence to back a need for such bylaw.

Council - asking few questions - seems ready to approve it: until this blogger draws their attention to the numerous inconsistencies in the proposal. Nudged by Councillor Morrison - they then start to question/discuss in-depth.
This energy to quickly form the construct of our "street culture" concerns/initiatives.

The number of panhandlers - never large - has not grown since. But - while the proven reality should have a settling affect - the NDCC, City Staff and NPD still have not produced any numbers.
Which makes one wonder whether producing them - easily doable - would actually be in the NDCC's and CAO's interest. After all - their tandem aim all along has been to rid Nelson of all untouchables, with the attempted bylaw possibly a legal way to do that.

Election: Where's My Money?

In the meantime - the bylaw dies a well-deserved death - but here they come again! They: now a more select group - candidates for Council and one re-run for the Mayor's Office. 
BUT!
Very visible among them is CORE's Cal Renwick and former mayor John Dooley: both top-tier NDCCers, seemingly aiming to get the NDCC into City Hall through the back-door!
I mean - why wouldn't they - or the media - mention this affiliation?

Both now making the current City Hall team responsible for all downtown-business woes:
Hordes of violent/mental/homeless druggies have tourists running (if true and incidentally - to wherever they would find more of what they find here);
locals are afraid to come downtown - spending no money;
the lack of Xmas lights there (only there!) - in recent years - has seriously messed with everybody's habit of buying much stuff they don't need;
the current team's neglect of Baker has turned it into a filthy, dangerous hell-hole.

Cal Renwick
He never before spoke up publicly about all of downtown's ills (above) listed in his drama-queen election-mantra. As a solution he plans to devise a new - while similar - panhandling bylaw "to curb some of the negativity and some illegal activities." Some of each - he does not explain - and ignores that the last time around such bylaw was found pointless and - possibly - illegal.
So - as Councillor he would champion a similar pointless, possibly illegal panhandling-bylaw for a problem we don't have.
Welcome to my nightmare, Cal!

John Dooley
"I also want to address civic pride...starting with Christmas lights, clean streets and a safe environment for all."
Xmas lights are the basis of civic pride. Right-on, John! Then clean streets, and a safe environment running third.

This blogger recalls him complaining years ago - while he was mayor for 9 - that downtown buildings needed cleaning/painting.
He did nothing about that then - neither did the NDCC in a possible concerted effort with its general membership - but particularly the Downtown Business Assn.  
Civic Pride, indeed.

I haven't felt unsafe downtown now and ever - and I don't find its streets dirtier. 
Yes, buildings should be cleaned/painted - but that is not the City's job.
It also is not the City's job to make downtown's small businesses laugh all the way to the bank.

Market Research 101: If you have a good-quality, reasonably priced product for which there is a consistent need/market - you're in business.
Regardless!
Ideally with the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce, the Heritage Working Group and Nelson & Kootenay Lake Tourism having your, each other's therefore Nelson's back - with a shared vision.


Ho-Ho-Hum!



Image Credit:
memolition


Tom Thomson, NDCC - Exec. Director
tom@discovernelson.com

Deb Kozak, Mayor 
dkozak@nelson.ca

City Council
nelsoncouncil@nelson.ca

Kevin Cormack, CAO
kcormack@nelson.ca