"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 17 November 2012

A FOOL'S ERRAND

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Strategy Revealed In Short Order":

Pray tell. Where is the report on disposition of the land Aurora owns around the Old Library site? Where is the promised space for youth? Where is the Museum?etc etc etc
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Well you may ask. No report has been forthcoming on the surplus  property owned by the town on Victoria Street

Despite a resolution unanimously passed by Council well nigh a year ago.

Instead we have two items in the capital construction budget for roof covering and an HVAC system in the old library; nos. 72151.72152  in the 1st draft at an estimated cost of $75.000 and $125,000 respectively.
  
 The draft budget has already been scrutinized  and culled twice  by the Executive Leadership Team and signed off  by the CAO and CFO.

 I received an e-mail from a citizen  about the time of the resolution, informing  me of  construction activity in the old library . Nothing  about that was ever reported to Council.

Can't help feeling your Council doesn't count for much in a Mayor Geoffrey Dawe  administration.

The same Council  that  recently directed  the CAO and  staff person responsible for retention and expansion of industrial and commercial development, to  work at  bringing  a post-secondary educational institution  to the Town of Aurora

Two members of the Economic Development Committee will be added to the team which  will  no doubt include the Mayor. The plan has a  few shortcomings.
There are no parameters on staff time or expenditure.Both could be completely occupied in the exercise.
The Mayor's time costs a fraction of theirs. When he's doing that he's not doing anything else. Committee members are volunteers.  Their time is at no cost to taxpayers.
But the CAO and the economic development afficionado are being paid  for a specific  purpose and it's not  chasing around the country after will o'-the- wisps. 
Think about it: The Province is responsible for post-secondary institutions. The Province is in debt to the tune of trillions  Cutting  back on expenditures is de rigeur. 
Municipalities are already feeling the impact .
Seneca College sits  on a beautiful, estate on Dufferin Street  with ample room for expansion .
Georgian College in Barrie, provides some university programs.  Seneca could do that too. 
York University and the Finch campus of Seneca  are within commuting distance.
Toronto University, Ryerson, graduated to a University, George Brown are all popular choices for  young people in our communities.
The Mayor and his little team will certainly be granted audiences  with Cabinet Ministers and College dignitaries. Like U;S  Army generals, it's how these people occupy their time. 
Travel expenses, lunches and puffed up feelings of purpose for the team will all be experienced  at public expense.
Chances of success  however are zero to nil.
I can hear the complaints now. There she goes shooting down every initiative. Always negative. Never positive. 
In the mean time, work awaits at the town hall .  Like the report pending ,on disposition of two surplus buildings  one for twelve years, the other for seven. And a move to accomplish something with  a ready resource and within our authority passes us by for a lack of something or other.Could  that  be iniative  
Mayor Dawe likes to speak to me in Council like a wayward child and  his the senior authority of a wise Chief Magistrate.
I can be wayward .
But hardly a child.
Pushing  and harrying  forward on a fool's errand,  using public resources,  is unlikely to succeed anywhere,save   the rarified controlled atmosphere  of  the  Council  Chamber.
It is no longer the only forum available.    

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

We simply cannot allow this lot access to the RESERVE Hydro Funds, to revert to the original name. They cannot be trusted with even small amounts of money.

Anonymous said...


If the mayor and members of the Executive Leadership Team are serious about discussing a possible post-secondary educational institution for Aurora, at the very least a study must be undertaken to analyze the present capabilities of all of the existing institutions that already operate within the GTA.

Which of them is qualified to do this? I would suggest that none are. It would therefore require the retention of a consultant to carry out such a study.

What would this cost and what might the financial benefit be to Aurora to have such a facility in our town ?

It seems to me that the business of the mayor and his "ELT" should focus on business, namely attracting new businesses to Aurora, ones that pay property taxes and who employ people who might want to live in our community. They would require housing and would purchase goods and services from existing businesses, thereby enriching the community as a whole.

I have heard of stupid ideas emanating from Aurora Council over the years, but this one must be close to the very top.

We have serious and immediate issues facing the community and to take expensive executive time away from these is in my opinion gross mismanagement.

This ranks right up there with controlling illegal tobacco.

Anonymous said...

The Globe Dakshana Bascaramurty has a good article about how to run a city.
Mississauga Rising " This Is How We Do It "
It should be required reading for all Aurora Council members since we are so small and should be so much better.

Anonymous said...

This one would be easy to sort out , how about a wager, they put their jos on the line and the Town puts a cash bonus up for grabs ,say $100,000 each , all they need to do is land the university and walk off with the fat bonus , if they loose , they resign on the spot , this should get them all back to earth in no time.

Anonymous said...

"Seneca College sits on a beautiful, estate on Dufferin Street with ample room for expansion .
Georgian College in Barrie, provides some university programs. Seneca could do that too.
York University and the Finch campus of Seneca are within commuting distance."

As info.... Seneca does this. In fact, Seneca has a co-operative arrangement with York... called "Seneca @ York".