Closed Door Session Number ????????

We were behind closed doors again last night. To receive advice on "litigation" with the nefarious rascals who are the York Catholic District School Board.

The Board assembled land in a run-down area of Wellington Street and built a beautiful new high school.

Not without a fight with the Mormac regime.

When it came to site plan approval stage, Mormac decided it wasn't going to happen.

"Schools don't pay taxes. It would be too great a burden on the taxpayers. Where will the students come from? How do we know there are enough students to justify the need? There wouldn't be any jobs to speak of and they would be using employment lands".

It took parent deputations from every separate elementary school in Aurora and Father Don Maclean to argue there was indeed a need.

Councillor Wilson indicated he saw the need and the number of teachers would represent "employment" The vote shifted.

If it hadn't, a public agency with the mandate to provide services to families in the community would have had to file an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board against another public agency with a mandate to provide services to the same families .

Work on the site would have ground to a halt. Finances and plans would have been tied up for years. The decision would have been taken out of the hands of the municipality. Lawyers would have had to be hired by both parties, hundreds of thousands of dollars would have been spent on legal fees All of it coming out of the same taxpayers' pockets.

None of it spent to build a stone upon a stone.

It would have been a bloody disgrace.

It was avoided.

The site plan was approved.The permit application was filed.

But all was not well. The Town informed the Board of the Cash In Lieu of Park fee of $413,553.95

Again the trustee approached Council and asked to be exempted from the fee.

The Board has a record of co-operation in sharing their facilities with the town. Land was offered instead of fees. The land was contiguous with town owned lands.

It was no go. The town wanted cash .

Mark you.... in 2008 the Cash in Lieu of Parks Reserve was flush with eleven million dollars. In 2009, it grew to twelve million smackeroos.

Throughout the term, this council has rejected staff advice on the need to purchase land for parks.

A consultant study that cost $53,222 , recommended land be acquired for recreation purposes
was tossed out and re-written in favour of a " land acquisition strategy"

Still we hold out for the pound of flesh from the York Catholic District School Board for cash to buy land which we are on record as having no intention of buying.

What is that?

No Cash In Lieu was paid by the Province when they took up employment lands to build free parking for commuters.

Additional employment lands have been declared surplus by the Town and sold to the Province for still more parking for commuters. No cash in Lieu of Parks will be collected.

No jobs whatsoever provided.

School boards are exempted from paying development charges.

Cash in Lieu for parks is an alternative to Development Charges.

Other York municipalities exempt school boards from Cash in Lieu of Parks fees .