A Memory Refreshed

Selling the town's hydro utility  was a very serious decision.There was pressure from the province to get rid of small utilities.They had the powa. They could make it very expensive to buy.

Aurora was in negotiations to join with Newmarket . They were  almost complete. Newmarket thought  they had Aurora over a barrel and were beating us down. I always hate that.

Then  along came Powerstream  and made us an offer we could not refuse. Power stream was an amalgamation of Markham, Vaughan.  and Richmond Hill. Richmond Hill's sale netted them many more millions than ours. They were bigger.

When we  sold , we resolved to tie up the funds so  they could  be used only to replace an asset with another of equal value. The money would never be allowed to trickle away in dribs and drabs with nothing to show for it.

I saw it as an  exciting opportunity.  I visualised a centre,  maybe on Victoria Street.

I saw a five storey-building ,with people of all ages coming and going until ten or eleven at night.

Rows of windows lighted like beacons .

Studios  inside accommodating  all the lively  arts.


I pictured the dancing class from Fame, the TV serial,   leaping  like gazelles, down stairs and outside to music to make anyone want to dance.

I pictured theatre workshops  boxing classes and opportuntyfor activities no-one had yet thought about.

Above all, I pictured something we could never justify taxing people to provide and  would  would never be able to afford otherwise.

I didn't see the value of keeping the money in a bank. I thought we should use it. At the same time, I thought the community should be involved in making the decision. The excitement of  thinking about it and planning  for it should be shared .

Until such time as the right idea came forward , the money should be  invested and tied up to prevent it from being used for mundane matters.

So, there it is. Waiting.

This year, being the first for a number of Councillors and lots to learn is  perhaps not the right one.

But it's always a good year to look forward to something exciting.

Sometimes an event  happens that propels something else forward.

At the moment  Wells Street School is being assessed for structural damage. The town has an opportunity to express  interest in it.

The old library and the former firehall are decisions pending. Parking in the Library Square is hopelessly inadequate. A decison on parking  needs to be made sooner rather than later. There is not enough land  to accommodate parking on the ground. Maybe it has to be a building with several underground levels.

Maybe there are so many things to think about, we can't wait another year to get started.

Maybe it's not another Neighbourhood Heritage Consultant  Study at a cost of $60K  we should have in this year's budget

Or thousands of dollars for a Youth Needs Study.  Or $5 million to re-organise the Town Hall  with a proposal to use $3.5 million of our hydro  asset reserve. Or consultant studies to plan an $8 million
works and parks facility when we  look down the road and see the end of  the town's  growth.

Maybe it's time we took  our  affairs out of the hands of consultants and did some of the visualising  ourselves.

Maybe instead of a bunch of advisory committees, we should have an Ad Hoc Committee to create the biggest and most exciting facility in Aurora's history.

Eh!