The No-No List Just Keeps on Growing

The list of things which must not be allowed keeps growing.

We could not allow power transmitted overheard in corridors created for the purpose. The battle aginst the Provincial Authority cost us $25,000. A local generation station is now proposed. Looks like we are still reluctant suitors.

The North-East Quadrant Ratepayers Association determined homes in their neck of the woods should not be altered without everyone having a say-so. It cost us $45,000 for a study to support the concept.

The same neighbourhood successfully argued a brand new curb installed at the Yonge corners of Maple Street should be broken out and replaced with a "roll-over". (no curb at all). It cost $35,000 .When the ground became a mucky mess, interlocking brick pavement appeared. We never knew that cost.

People in the newer north-east decided they could not abide train horns in the wee small hours of the morning. A study to determine what might be needed to encourage the cessation of the horn cost us $15,thousand. Only to discover the Region was not a willing partner.

The . Ratepayers' Association then decided drastic measures were needed to discourage traffic on their streets. They wanted the convenience of living in the centre of a growing metropolis without the downside. They live on streets with schools but they object to school buses. We took care of their problems.. The contract cost $181,719.20. $160,624.77 has been spent so far. Three traffic cushions are pending. and the community at large continues to be aghast at what was accomplished.

We spent hours haranguing staff about three wind turbines on Aurora Cable property on Ridge Road before giving up the ghost .But.not before hours of staff time had been expended. It ended with direction to the Chief Building Official being directed to provide a definition of the word "storage".An official report ensued containing three separate dictionary definitions. Then we retreated behind closed doors to continue the "debate".An EMERGENCY was declared to consider how to handle a councillor who declared the closed meeting was a contrivance to continue harassment of Aurora Cable.

A similar rigmarole took place in response to demands of a few residents of the Mosaic Town House Complex who declared the Town must order neighbour Canadian Tire to keep parking lot lights on after ten-thirty p.m. Legal costs were expended to discover a tri-party agreement with Canadian Tire existed which provided twenty-seven pages of dispute-resolution mechanisms. The complaining residents hadn't bothered to mention it when Mayor Morris et al took up the cudgels in their behalf..

Council ordered the town works department to hook up three Canadian Tire parking lot lights to the street lighting system. It never happened. Still another senseless futile and expensive exercise to no avail save political kudos mustered.

The former hydro building has produced no revenue for three years. It represents a loss of over $200,000 in assessment revenue.Almost thirty jobs were lost to the town when Power Stream vacated. Before the last election it was suggested the building should be used for a teen drop-in centre.We had just spent more than twenty million dollars on a recreation facility which serves youth in the main.

The last council gave direction to prepare a plan of subdivision on a parcel of land for sale by town directed auction.The work was done ready for the new council to hit the ground running.

Months of closed door discussion later a new decision was made. It should be sold by a real estate broker.They had the expertise.Staff didn't. We followed the process to the end and didn't sell. More resources were squandered. The Broker was substantially financially discountenanced in the partnership. Should we choose to go that route again, we might find it hard to locate a Broker willing to do business ..

We talk a lot about the environment and the need to conserve energy.We had $750.thousand grant money available which would have paid to install a geothermal heating system in our new cultural heritage centre which is an old school with eighteen feet high ceilings. We decided to install a conventional heating system instead. Capital costs were competitive. Annual maintenance was not No matter, we disregarded the obvious advantages of taking heat from the earth and opted for fossil fuel.and carbon emissions.

We spent almost a million dollars on re-construucting a lay-by street with fifty-one homes. And added $61 thousand to dress -up half a dozen driveways to their owners' satisfaction..

We are not even half way through our term of office.We have performed to the thorough satisfaction of pockets of residents here and there .What the community in general thinks may not be so favourable

We were approached to sell part of the parcel of land we had for sale to to the Regional Police department . It would have meant an injection of eight hundred high-paying jobs into our over-all economy . We turned it down.
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There's a hew practice of retaining lawyers to ride herd on a councillor with a natural inclination to inform people about affairs that should concern them in language calculated to grab their attention.

We are currently in the process of adopting a Code of Conduct .The prospect is exciting some councillors particularly Councillor Granger. It involves retaining and paying professional fees to an Integrity Commissioner .Councillors can file complaints of wrongdoing against colleagues.

According to the Code,what I just did above will undoubtedly be considered wrongdoing by some..