The sights and smells from her grandfather’s garden on Fourth Street stuck with Kathleen Knoll throughout her life, enough that it informed her choice to move back to Collingwood in the 1990s and she’s never looked back.
Now, she’s is running for one of seven council seats in the upcoming municipal election in Collingwood.
“I have witnessed many changes over the decades in Collingwood,” says Knoll. “There has been huge transition from a manufacturing and shipbuilding town where my grandfather worked as an electrician... to a redefined town booming with small business, tourism, seasonal residents and retirees creating a significant change and a cultural shift.”
“Embracing these changes has been a difficult process, in my opinion.”
While Knoll was born in Stayner, she spent her youth in Barrie and moved to Toronto to pursue post-secondary education in nursing at George Brown College and Ryerson University. In 1994, Knoll moved to Collingwood.
Professionally, Knoll’s career moved from hospitals to hospitality, working for various hotels and restaurants. More recently, she worked at Collingwood Sport Medicine Clinic for several years, at Georgian Hills Vineyards and at Side Launch Brewery in administrative and retail positions. She also volunteers with the Georgian Triangle Humane Society.
Knoll has always considered herself to be politically engaged, but took an extra interest after media reports came out about the current judicial inquiry into the past sale of COLLUS.
“I believe facts matter and we need responsible and accountable representation,” says Knoll. “I have some serious concerns regarding decisions of the past councils and decided to become actively involved in the political process by running in this election.”
While knocking on doors, Knoll has found that many Collingwood residents share concerns about the affordability of living in the area.
“The high cost of housing is a major issue for many local people working for minimum wage as well as seniors on fixed incomes that rent,” says Knoll. “With a vacancy rate of 1.4 per cent this is a critically important issue.”
While Knoll concedes that housing is a complex issue, she would like to see construction on purpose-built rental housing, as well as council establishing targets while working in partnerships with the federal government.
Looking forward, if elected Knoll would like to see the town capitalize more on the waterfront to generate revenue and bring in more tourism.
“With all the development and intensification, it is also our responsibility as stewards of the land to be conscious of protecting the fragility of our environment through canopy management [and] reforestation, and make conservation of our water sources and wetlands a priority in partnership with the Blue Mountain Watershed Trust and the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority,” she says.
Overall, Knoll feels she has all the qualities needed to represent the community on Collingwood town council.
“I know there are many diverse challenges we will face in the next council but by electing the right people at the right time we can work together to preserve and protect our proud rich heritage in Collingwood,” says Knoll. “We need a town council with integrity that we can trust with a shared vision to collaborate in finding solutions to the many complex issues we face now and in the future."
Knoll is one of 19 candidates for councillor in the upcoming October municipal election. Voters may choose up to seven candidates on their ballots for councillor.
The Collingwood Chamber of Commerce is hosting a meet-the-candidates event for the mayor and deputy mayor candidates on Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.) at the Royal Canadian Legion. There will be a separate event for councillor candidates also hosted by the chamber on Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Collingwood Legion.
The chamber will be posing questions received by members of the public to each of the candidates during the meeting. Click here if you have a question you’d like included.
