History Repeats ...Somewhat

Once upon a time...almost half a century ago....Aurora bought a new pumper truck. Those suckers are not purchased off a lot.

Specifications are prepared, tenders called and a contract is awarded for the vehicle to be constructed.

Months later, a couple of firefighters book tickets and fly to where it's at. I think in the neighborhood of Pennsylvania , U.S.A. There are few plants building fire-pumpers. None in Canada. It has to be driven home.

The price tag was around a million dollars. Our entire town budget broke a million in my first term. It put the price of a fire pumper into perspective.

No development charge levies were available then. It had to be debentured. The idea of debt being a nightmare wasn't in vogue then. Any more than a house mortgage is now.

A fire pumper, like a community centre, or a baseball diamond serves a community through
several generations of property owners.The baseball diamond in the town park is probably all of a hundred years old.

Debentures allow payments to be spread over the span of property owners who enjoy use of the facility.

On its arrival, there was joy in the land. A pumper is a beautiful thing to behold. Nothing is so impressive especially when you know how much it's worth.

The late Ron Simmons, a councillor then, and a volunteer fire-fighter before, was especially proud.

Except for Fire Chief Harry Jones, our twenty-four man Brigade was entirely volunteer.

At their own expense, Volunteers attended annual gatherings. Brigades competed against each other for speed and efficiency. In every category, Aurora's Company always came up aces.Response time to a fire matched or exceeded any fire department around.

We waited for the Fire Marshall's report. Eventually it arrived. It wasn't released. The Aurora Banner inquired as to it's whereabouts. To no avail. They persisted.

Finally the report was sheepishly revealed.

The Fire Marshal recommended a full-time brigade of twenty four.He said there should be fire-fighters at the firehall around the clock.

It was twelve years later in George Timpson's regime, before there were full time firefighters.

Twelve were hired. They worked office hours.They were not there at night. When they turned out to a fire call "after hours" they were paid the volunteers stipend over and above salary.

Now look at us, all these years later. We paid $53,220 for a consultant to prepare a Master Parks and Recreation Plan. We gave them their terms of reference. When it was eventually submitted, after a year and nine months, it was presented behind closed doors and disappeared for still another year.

With no direction from Council, an alternate plan has been prepared by Councillor MacEachern and a friend and political supporter of the Mayor, Ken Whitehurst. Using the data compiled by the consultants, two key components, a youth facility and land acquisition are dismissed

Despite that levies have been collected to fund both.

The study carried out according to the town's terms of reference is dismissed and the Mayor makes it clear the rogue plan, created without authority from council, is the one which has her support.