Fabrications Abound

The answer to the question in the comment posted at 10.23.p.m. is it's a fabrication of which there are plenty
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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Who's Talking About Fair...I'm Talking Common Sens...":

To Anon 6:48pm

Some of the mentioned are trying to be safe so re-election is possible.
It isn't right but it is politics

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I don't agree with the comment. I think Councillors  are  being careful and trying to do the right thing. On that basis, they would have a reasonable chance of re-election. But at this point. it's still too early to forecast even a bid for re-election. In the last council, one member resigned. Two did not seek re-election. It was hard for them  to stay that truly dreadful  course.

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Speaking of fabrications, tales  about the museum and the museum collection continue to proliferate.

At one point, it was suggested  the town  pay the historical society rent for storing the collection.

Then  the  claim of ownership was made  by the Historical Society and everybody had better not get any ideas.

Early on it was said there is no community interest in  a museum.

Then  "nobody  knows where the collection is"

Then again the collection is owned by the Historical Society.  Plans for a curator  to be appointed by the town, better keep that in mind.

The latest  is,  there is no collection of any value.  Just a bunch of stuff people picked up at garage sales and  passed on  to the historical society  because  it might be part of Aurora's history.

Here is what I know for a fact:

Since the time I was first elected and before, the Town and the Historical Society have worked together to preserve the community's history in a comfortable relationship of mutual trust.
 
A small storage room  upstairs in the building  used as a Town hall,  the Society held their meetings and stored the collection..

When the old water works became  vacant in the early seventies, we gave it to the Society to use as a museum. Artifacts were lovingly identified and carefully displayed..

When the Church Street School was vacated in 1976, we gave the  Society the entire second floor for the collection. A volunteer  provided curatorial services. Whether professional or a labour of love ,I am not sure. I wasn't a member of Council at the time.

In the early eighties, a  town grant of $50,000 was  provided to the  Society to retain  the first  curator. That bespeaks a collection to me.

From time to time, attention was drawn to available items of historical interest. The Historical Society had no financial resources. The town  bought the  items and assigned them to the care of the Society. There was no talk about ownership.

The museum  collection was on display in the Church Street School  from 1976 until 2002 when It was packed up and stored elsewhere while the building was to be renovated. We understood the Hillary House.

In 2003 , the curator retired. Her services to the community were manifold  Research for  town planning.. Classroom visits for schoolchildren, Summer history camps. Christmas displays and re-living Christmas past. Research for residents with a question about town history or their own.Ms Stewart was highly regarded and  honoured for her service to the community by Council on the occasion of her retirement.

The grant to the  society  was money well spent for  services returned  and appreciated. .

The town and the society continued to work together . The grant continued. . 

Eventually a new curator was retained.

The Society came to Council and withdrew their commitment  to organise and manage the museum. Membership was said to be fifty-nine. .

The curator being the Historical Society's employee was first referenced shortly thereafter,

A legal agreement had been sought and signed by the Society and the town to protect their financial investment  and interest  in the Church Street School when  it was the society's plan to raise the funds, renovate the building and manage it completely.

The agreement shut out Leisure Services Director who had been in charge of managing the  town's facility. 

There had been a fund-raising announcement. Stated purpose was  restoration of the building . The Society appointed a  project manager  and architects were retained to design a state of the art museum  at their  expense. 

Volunteers gutted the building back to original walls and ceilings.

It stayed that way for three  years.

The town sold the Aurora Hydro Utility. We vowed to create and protect a fund which  would only be used for a  meaningful project that could not  happen if taxes had to be raised to pay for it.

Without input from the Society, the town  decided to spend a portion of the proceeds to finish Church Street School restoration and get  the museum back, up and running, in its rightful place.

The vote was unanimous. I expected  negative reaction in the community. There was none. The old building and museum  became the first  project to benefit from what I think of ,as the Heritage Fund. 

The Society's state of the art museum plans were presented by the architects at a council meeting and adopted by the town. The project went forward.

Specifications prepared, tenders called a contract awarded in an amount of $2.3 million dollars. 

A new curator was retained by the  Society, Served as  resource to the Ad Hoc committee set up by council to steer the plan of operation of the new facility.

The curator prepared an application and was successful in obtaining a $770. thousand grant for the  building.  It was  intended , among other things, to provide the climate controlled environment necessary to protect artifacts.

The curator subsequently resigned. As resource person to the committee , a member of the committee,
and friend and campaign manager of the former Mayor,  was appointed   to advise the committee on an interim basis. With pay.

Eventually a board was appointed, an agreement was signed ,a budget  approved and the building  officially opened.

Guess what! No museum

$2.3 million dollars on restoration. $770, heritage grant all exoended for museum purposes.

$349.thousand  annual budget, $147.thousand for maintenance.

No museum. No sign of  same.

Question asked in council. Twice.   No answer .Presiding member's eyes slid about for a bit before indicating Chief Financial  Officer would be reporting.

First tale in circulation. "Museums don't make money"

The pace quickens. 

Hardly a week goes by without a new  tale to mitigate against the museum.

Historical Society's efforts to exert  rights under the agreement ineffective.

Lectures and displays provided as a sop to town heritage.

Society apparently agreed to dissolve the  agreement with the town to protect their investment when they withdrew the commitment to manage the facility.

Sometimes, it's hard to help people. They won't let you.