The Unanswerable

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Battle Lost":

"Finally he noted the Armories at the corner of Mosely Park would soon be vacated and expressed confidence Larmont Street residents would no doubt be glad when that happened".

So what was the plan for this building , does the Town have the right to use it or is this too a breach of national security , Maybe its was included in the deal , and the farmers market will be able to use it throughout the winter

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If there was  an understanding about future  use of this building, it was not shared with this member of Council.

Of particular interest  in  the commanding officer's smooching on Tuesday was his reference to our  building as "The Armouries"

The property is leased for a ten years  Does the comment reveal a clause that entitles them to an automatic continuation of the lease, which  in turn allows them to refer to a building they do not own as "The Armouries"

Or does the  limit of the lease mean that in ten years, there will  no longer  be a drill shed  in Aurora ?

Or does someone up there envisage a time when conventional forces are no longer the answer to  modern warfare, which is terrorism?

I doubt that scenario, considering the multi -million dollar contract just awarded to build four submarines which  experts say  will be obsolete by the time they are built.

The  structure at the corner of Mosely Park is a barn, better known as  a drill shed.  No doubt, there are  practical reasons why the militia are moving.  Especially when they were able to get a  fine building. secure  yard, paved parking lot and good curb appeal  for rent less than the cost pf maintenance which we are told, as landlords is our responsibility.

 Fort York Armouries on Front Street in Toronto is the Rangers real bailiwick. Historical artifacts of the regiment are displayed there. the ceremonial activities are focused in that space.  It will be a snowy day in hell before they abandon that location.nbsp; The shed in Aurora is little more than a hang-out for  the locals.off-site  storage for vehicles and a place to provide a cadet program.

Former Mayor Tim Jones indicated some time ago that while he was in office, the effort was to persuade the Department of National Defence to purchase land from the town for a new facility.

Plans   to move have obviously been in the wind for a very long  time considering the speed at which government moves.

All I know is, if the building was too expensive and no longer  practical for the Federal government to maintain, it will be no bargain for the municipality either.

The location would be great for a number of purposes. If it's not affordable for the government, it's not likely affordable for the Farmers' Market or any other purpose that can easily be contemplated.

So,don't get your hopes up. Even though I unerstand it will take five yeasr before the feds decide what to do with it.

Most obvious from all of this is, the community was badly served by the Faustian deal. We will be eating it with our tax bill for the next ten years.

We was robbed.

A question has been asked "How do we fix it?"

We don't. It's not fixable

What you read in this space is a combination of conclusions drawn by myself from facts as I know them.

Council has asked for a report giving dates to establish exactly when this deal was concluded , whether it was amended . if so, when and an explanation of how that was authorised.

I've no doubt the report will be provided and all will be revealed.

Whether or not we can get out of it at this stage of the game is unlikely, even if we had the stomach for it.

I am not in awe of the militia but they're decent people with good intentions and part of the community and I certainly would not suggest we backtrack on a commitment they entered into in good faith.

So. why talk about it?

Well, because I think you need to know.

Good things happen in government and bad things too. Hopefully the good outweighs the bad.

Ultimately, because we have the freedom to exercise individual judgment in choosing our elected representative, we are also obliged to suffer the consequences of our collective decision.

If we don't learn from our mistakes we are doomed to repeat them.