"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

Wednesday 19 December 2012

Read Me Right

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A News Flash And A Response.":

The problem is not with your explanation but rather the way it is frame -- you have your blog followers believing that all this money is given away to a select few who have some sort of private club -- in fact the contract and agreement have the Cultural Centre providing services to the citizens of urora on behalf of the municipality -- it's OK to not like the model that is based on but the services are for the citizens all -- not a select few. The same as arenas, the recreation facilities etc


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The poster above  reads me correctly.
My problem is not with programs provided.
The absent program  is the one that sticks in my craw. 
The raison d'etre. The purpose of the  building .The reason for its renovation.:The Aurora Museum. 
But that alone is not the problem. 
The Consultant advised a separate arm's length body to provide for self- sufficiency of operation, free from tax support and  political pandering .The theory had the appearance of merit..
It  was just  never  going  to work in the Town of Aurora. Or  in Church Street School. 
Being a charitable foundation, tax receipts could be issued  to  donors who wished,, like Ed Mirvish, to make culture available to the masses at a price they could afford.
First  people of such wealth  need to be encouraged.to give.  Usually by people of similar wealth.
And willing and able to make donations of  hundreds of thousands.
I didn't believe it  when the  consultant so advised. Not then and not now.  
Nothing has  happened to change my perception. 
Secondly, the amount of space in Church Street School does not lend itself to performances that might attract sufficient  audience to make it feasible. 
The agreements provide a building with maintenance and  rent free.
Hardly an element of self-sufficiency . 
Seed money was warranted in the beginning. 
A purchase of culture agreement  allowing  for funds to increase each year instead of decreasing, indicate it was never envisioned by  the framers the   building would  become self-sufficient,
A scam like that might work in a  city where people are not paying much attention. 
It was never going to fly in Aurora. 
Especially when the  governing body  excluded  the Museum completely from the program right from the get-go.
I suspect, in the corridors of power, the project was recommended   as an incubator to  stimulate Aurora's economic development and the expenditures justified.
Destined to become the Cultural Centre of York Region and beyond  and a  centre of economic activity into the baragin.
There's as much chance of that  happening as the framers of the agreements thought  the  project   would ever  become self-sufficient.
Last year we had a 4,5% tax increase in Aurora. 
3 points of that were  due to the expense of the Culture Centre.
Good  fiscal management. 
I think not.          

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

" But , Evelyn, " they will whine. " We ' deserve ' the Culture Centre ". Nary a mention of self-sufficiency or a decrease in funding.

Anonymous said...

1:40pm....

So, what's wrong with whining? Council is there to serve the tax payers... All of the tax payers.

We have the right to whine!

Anonymous said...

OFF TOPIC
Someone at the Council meeting mentioned the possible damage to Aurora' reputation. That brought me up short. We dealt with thst problem at the polls and continue to do so in the courts. Aurora is still a great place in which to live. That has not changed.

Anonymous said...

No, 1:40 PM, I'd happily say that all Aurorans deserve a cultural centre.

As for whining, I'd love to see a decrease in that.

Anonymous said...

OK, 12:25 AM, Then let's make the thing self-sufficient as was the original plan. If that cannot be done, then no one ' deserves ' it. No more costly ads that exclude mention of the town, no more demanding negotiations that require lawyers & facilitators. Bring the Centre into line with every other group in town that doesn't demand special attention constantly,

Anonymous said...

Oops, 9:39 AM, there's that whining again that we were talking about.

Anonymous said...

I can't understand why the Cultural Centre has to march to the beat of a different drummer. Unless I actually visit their website, I never know what's going on there that I might want to drop in on. I am so very aware of all the activities available at the library and both recreation centres, and even the senior centre. Maybe someone from the Cultural Centre could write a weekly article for the paper, or have easy to read announcements there too. I just feel out of the loop. What am I missing, and why?

Anonymous said...

"What am I missing, and why?"

A lot ... and that's the puzzler.

Read the What's Happening listings in The Auroran; the Cultural Centre usually has the most entries.