John Inglis

Oct 02, 2014

Councillor

John Inglis – unfinished business

John Inglis originally moved to a 700 acre property that was purchased as a co-op in the mid-1970s for the reasonable price of $28,000, or $40 per acre.

He intended to keep working for the Pickering nuclear plant designing training simulators from his homestead on River Road, but that did not work out. After building his own windows to save money as he was building his house, he started building them for neighbours and ended up running Lothlorien Woodworking, a business that is still running today.

In 2010 he ran for Council because he thought he had some insight to offer. Also, his business had been in a downturn from some time and he thought it would not recover.

As it turned out, business picked up and he has been busy keeping up with orders and living up to his council commitments, which include being the second township representative on Frontenac County Council along with the mayor.

He has been involved in community boards in the past, mostly in the sphere of business development. He was on the board of the Highway 7 Community Development Corporation in the 1990s, and more recently was one of the early board members of the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation.

Between those endeavors and his work on council, Inglis admits to being “puzzled about how to make things happen in North Frontenac as far as business development is concerned. I do think we should enhance our efforts in eco-tourism, using Frontenac Parklands as a base, maybe develop some hiking trails, and do some marketing. That is worth a try but it has been frustrating over the years.”

One of the reasons he is seeking a second term on Council is some unfinished businesses as regards the newly re-generated green energy task force.

“I think it might be viable now for the township to provide loans to residents for energy upgrades, to be paid back on the tax bill. We looked at this early in the term and it was way too complicated, but it seems the legislation is changing to make it something municipalities will be able to do without a lot of effort in the future,” he said.

In spite of the prospect of opposition when Council takes on or supports projects, he said he favours “more risk-taking” by Council.

“I support the Dark Skies project. There may be hurdles and maybe we made mistakes, but it is an effort to bring something new to the township, to bring people together, to build something. If Council shies away from risk, we will not get anywhere,” he said.

He feels the same way about being a member of Council, at the township and at the county.

“I have learned that when you ask a dumb question, it is not always dumb."