"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 2 April 2014

A Bid Too Good To Refuse



We went behind closed doors  last  night to discuss negotiations to buy land  for a post secondary institution.

It's  for a satellite campus for York University.

Post secondary institutions are a provincial responsibility.

They have the tax base; Income tax, sales tax, liquor and excise tax,gaming and lottery revenues. If a way  could be found to tax the air we breathe they'd do that too.

They might  already, under a different  guise.

 Some genius at Queen's park has come up with a way of  reducing the cot of a campus.

Municipalities  in York Region have  been invited to compete in a bid to locate a  satellite .

Like offer land for a site.

The Mayors of Aurora and Newmarket,  the  CAO's and the Regional Councilor  have put their
heads together and come up with a plan.

Behind closed doors, Council discussed the  plan

Ostensibly each town will share the cost of 21 acres of  developable land in Aurora  . We will offer it as a gift to the province .

Aurora /Newmarket might be chosen for the satellite campus.

If the bid was successful, the land purchase could  swallow up a chunk of Hydro asset money.

 Or we could take on debt.

Or  levy against property tax.

Or we might get help from the Region or the Province .

Or it could be  an amalgam of all possibilities.

Dedication to The Province for a satellite campus  means  forfeiture of  anticipated tax assessment and development charge revenues.

In the meantime,  the  Province owns  two parcels of land  in Aurora ,ideally suitable for a  satellite campus .

Thirty acres  sits vacant and idle behind Pine Ridge ,currently used by the  Provincial Ministry of Transportation,

It's in the hands of Ontario Realty ,a real estate division of the Provincial government.

We negotiated for years to lease some of it for soccer fields. But they want an arm and a leg .

We can't afford to pay  the province the  price they want but we can afford to make them a gift costing  our taxpayers millions.

Thirty Acres of High Tor farm is table land. Water, sewers  and all other utilities .including access are available .  It's located on Bathurst Street a major traffic artery .

It also sits vacant and idle, contributing nothing to the tax base  or any other benefit to the community including zero,zip.nil. and nada, not a thin red dime to the tax base.

It's owned by Ontario  Heritage Foundation

The Foundation also has a real estate division for handling disposition of lands they control.

As of last night , it had not apparently occurred to our particular brains trust  that two excellent sites
are already available, crying out for a good purpose , right here in Aurora , already in the ownership of the Province.

If we needed a trump card . we always had  two.

Possibly they were not aware. but others  in the administration could have informed them had they been asked.

Even when made aware, the info was dismissed.

We   have  no authority over Heritage lands was the puzzling response.

Right.  Unlike  the control you have with an expenditure millions are  proposed to acquire land  to gift away.

There's a deadline for bids

The pressure is on.

It's presumed  the community will be as excited  by the prospect as the Economic Development Committee.

If not, it  apparently  matters not.

No time or need to make a business case to justify the case.

Oh Dear Me No !!!!!



7 comments:

Anonymous said...

The operative word is " might ".
Aurora "might" be chosen.
that seems a foolish bet on which to risk taxpayers' money - we lack affordable housing. Haven't even got a decent hotel.
And, yes , we have the other 2 pieces of land sitting idle. That's the problem with councillors and staff ignorant of the Town's history.
And for High Tor, never heard of expropriation ? It was left to the entire town. Not for the use of a select few.

Anonymous said...

The only positive thing I can come up with is that this should mark the end of that 3-house Heritage Heist. This lot can't handle the real estate they already own. Good grief, they couldn't even manage to pull off the pet burial grounds !

Michael Suddard said...

Sattelite University campuses though can be one of the first things to be cut if budgets tighten.

The University of Guelph is pulling out of two satellite locations in Kemptville and Alfred, Ontario (near Ottawa). The University of Guelph made no mention until someone told the Mayor of North Grenville there was no tours being done for new first year students. Then the Mayor started to make some phone calls and it went from there.

The question comes down to if York was short of money, where would they cut? Consolidate the Aurora?Newmarket campus into the existing Keele Street (@ Steeles Avenue)campus would be the first. Then it would be all for not.

Anonymous said...

It is a pissing contest between towns....and incumbent mayors. Ours believes the answer to any problem is to throw money at it. Unfortunately for the residents, it is our money and he could not do an equally assertive deal with our taxes.

Anonymous said...

14:56

Again, who are the select few that get access to HighTor?

Is it because there is no fancy parking lot and entrance? Park on the street and walk in.

Anonymous said...

We will simply have to wait until York makes a decision. There are plenty of ideas and offers flowing in [ and Newmarket sounds like it might have other oars in the water as well as with Aurora ] and the university will select what is best for them.

Are you allowed to tell us the deadline and why there is such a rush ?

Anonymous said...

Michael you are so right. But I doubt Aurora, Newmarket or East Gwillimbury has a chance. Richmond Hill, Markham and Vaughan are heavy weights in the Region.