"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

Sunday 4 May 2014

Jack,, Cow,,,Beanstalk..Giant...Goose that lays Golden Eggs.

Somebody asked about  the bus ...the neighbors apparently came to an  agreement. The people with the bus are going to find a vehicle to  meet  zoning restriction

There will be no Ontario Municipal Board hearing.

So we all expended hugely on an issue that  now it seems never needed to come to  Council in the first place.

We did an awful lot of that  during the term. Cell towers, a trio of trees , tree bylaw, etcetera etcetera.

Stuff that didn't need to be talked about.

Stuff that did ,was talked about, reported on, talked about more ,got deferred ,talked about again and never  did get decided.

We   spent $80.000. and approved a Strategic Plan. And by so doing gave staff authority for implementation.

Renovations to  the Town Hall were planned and proceeded. Estimates  and bids were above funds approved  so that got cancelled. But not before $300,000 were spent.

Plans for a joint facility for works and parks ballooned to  $26.9 million . The project is on track.  Contract have been called for this without that and that without this and  other variations on the theme.

Such a process will undoubtedly up the ante but we now have  the Mayor Dawe and  a Councillor monitoring  finances .

That  should gives some comfort.

In the meantime, Hallmark Cards property of twenty nine acres  of level land in a prime location with a hundred thousand square feet of building ,listed at $17.5 million, sold for $14.5 million.

It could have been our joint facility but Oh Dear Me No. We couldn't do anything as simple as that.

We  reviewed history, held public meetings,recommended  action  on Library Square , deferred decision and chased after a Fab Lab that came to  nothing. I

Many, many expensive man hours were expended  and all for naught.

Scouts were sent out to identify property we could buy and gift to the University of Windsor in return for locating a satellite campus here.

Worth the effort, you say.

Well  hardly. The deal fizzled.

We spent $25,000. and  hundreds of hours of sunshine  staff time  as well as contemplated spending several million on real estate, on a Fantasy Heritage Park before we climbed off that ledge.

Nothing ventured ,nothing gained . We joined the competition for a York University satellite campus  preparing to gift 11 million. and that was just Aurora's share.

We were not the chosen ones but the two Mayors are determined to keep the dream alive anyway.

The goal of establishing a post-secondary institute is still in the Strategic plan  It's like the Ten Commandments Moses brought down from the mountain, chiseled into two tablets of stone.

We have  staff  with authority to spend time on such projects no matter what else doesn't get done.

There was a  rebuke to my comment that we don't know how  culture centre board members  are selected or how staff have been hired.  The commenter said we don't ask those questions of other contractors who provide service to the town.

That's true. But we do ask them to compete.  We specify our requirement.  We analyze the bids and check backgrounds for competence  before awarding a contract.

It's not a novel idea.

It's not even our idea.

It's a requirement of provincial regulation.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

And to think that this list is just the tip of the ice berg, Is it any wonder why government is held in such low esteem these days?

Anonymous said...

14.5 million?... ah... we could have bought 2 hallmark properties!!! Oh well..it's just tax payers money. Just pay for another study to justify it all.

Anonymous said...

Good morning.I ventured to the Farmers Market and was shocked to hear that targeting of David Heard may have begun again.Every year they seem to boss him around.WTF.This man helps the community and this is how they thank him.David and his booth was sadly missed by our family.The ugly rumour is some took advantage of a disability to get him out.

Anonymous said...

The Heritage Park fiasco ? Are we really off the ledge ? I had the impression that it was another of Deferral Thompson's move and due to reappear in a slightly different guise any time soon. Please be right, Evelyn. That was a scary one.

Anonymous said...

The agreement over the bus is really good news. It might be a side effect of taping those blasted side-shows. When people actually see themselves having a meltdown over a trivial issue, it could help them get a grip.

Anonymous said...

I noticed that there was no closed session this week. I hope that means we are no longer contemplating land purchases. One wants to assume that Council's permission to negotiate to buy that land for the joint bid to York died when the bid was rejected. Is that correct ?

Anonymous said...


I am with you on this university stuff. Why would we be giving very expensive (and I suspect serviced land) as a gift. Taxpayers need a gift of lower taxes and this will not provide it.

I notice that while we concern ourselves with garbage bags and other such matters our water system is losing money and water again. It is difficult to get the facts on this one. Water is being lost in the system - no, the system is tight says the mayor. Bulk water is not properly metered - no, we are not paying for water we are not receiving. Homeowner/business metering is inaccurate - water meters are now the culprit. Three years ago a program to replace them was undertaken we were told - no, too many problems here. More study and, I am sure, consultants needed.

Water rates increase each year by 10% but still over a $1M is missing. It takes a lot of taxpayers' money to make a million.

I am tired of hearing "nothing we can do about it". It is time the mayor found out what is going on. Perhaps he should form another committee, like the one for the works garage, where he can get involved first hand and not have to suffer receiving another bag of excuses from his Infrastructure dept.



Anonymous said...


Where there is a will, a united will, there is a way.

But our council has demonstrated unity on very few occasions.

Possibly the issues have not been properly explained and there are misunderstandings. A presentation must be clear, concise, with benefits stated and costs provided in sufficient detail. Is there a need, a proven need or is this merely a fishing trip?

Too much time has been wasted, much of this the result of inadequate leadership. Speeches wander all about and often the motion that is supposed to be voted on gets lost in all the verbiage.

Stick to the point, stick to the motion, remain focused and use half as many words in expressing an opinion or an observation.

The efficient use of time must be under 25%. This has to triple.

Anonymous said...

10:25
Even the garbage bag issue was a no-go. It has been put off for " more study " about how Markham does it.

Anonymous said...

"But our council has demonstrated unity on very few occasions."

...and who is almost always an outlier?

Anonymous said...

There it is again from Abel " There is nothing we can do when the region passes on 10% through their sources ... In the long run it is up to us to identify efficiencies." Oh well, just a million down the pipe annually with no remedy in sight.

I believe the mayor is in over his head on this one. He has made some comments that demonstrate he is struggling. And on this one he cannot turn to his infrastructure dept. for answers or he will get the same old song and dance.

Anonymous said...

Once Kennel Inn closed, there was no competition for the OSPCA. Green for Life bought and swallowed the competition, thus assuming Turtle Island's contracts. That only leaves Trisan in a any sort of competition (to provide snow ploughing services).

Anonymous said...

The water rates is a Regional issue. Our Regional representative is the one and only Mayor Dawe.

Anonymous said...

16:13
How did the town manage to lose a pet cemetery? I can half understand losing the Post Office although Gormley manages to have one. But a burial plot in the middle of town when all councillors voiced support ?

Anonymous said...

The annual, well above the cost of living, water and sewer rate increase does indeed come from the region. And the region gets the increase from the city of Toronto as it takes free water from lake Ontario and treats it. In this situation, we have to line two pockets before the town takes a cut for administration and billing and adds the region's wastewater charge. That makes three.

Then there is this mysterious and substantial loss of water that has been going on for years. Treated water is not free so reach for your pocket a forth time. In addition, I believe some of the lake Ontario water is mixed with our own well water but not sure there is any credit for this.

It would seem that it should not be an engineering marvel for a town the size of Aurora to unravel this mystery and provide a quick solution that might save over a million dollars a year. We should certainly expect this.

Anonymous said...

@ 19:18 Also, we live on an aquifer & provided our own water for years until it was diverted to Queensville. A lot of homes were FORCED to sign up for town services even though they had their own wells & septic. Most of my street had to be hooked up. We got screwed then & are still getting taken.