"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Sunday 22 April 2012

The Comfortable Majority ...Not

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It Takes a Village":

My son loved the Nemarket
centre when he was in his early teens. The skateboard park, the gym, the lounge and computers were favorites of his. The centre was always busy and well run. The area was perfect as there was little residential around and ample parking. I would like to know just what age group the Aurora centre is based on. And what gender. It can't be everything to everybody. Pre-teens to young teens need somewhere for dances, activities and yes, some kind of gym for exercise. When we were kids, the high schools use to open up for Thursday and Friday night open gym and the school cafeterias would have bands playing or a d.j. It was a cheap and easy solution and we loved it. Hundreds of kids would attend. Why couldn't the town try something like this first before committing to a facility that will cost a ton to build? Much cheaper to hire staff to work those evenings at a school, like the Newmarket dances.

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There has been months of study.   Teens have had a say.

Current programs  have been examined and problems noted.

Location options are proposed. Councillors must  make a choice.

I am not thrilled with any of the choices. 

The onus is upon me to state my reasons.

We do use high school facilities. Sometimes a program gets cancelled because the  school needs come first.How ofen soes that happen. Often enough to cancel the program?

The library offers movie nights with pizza on a regular basis.

Leisure services organises special events. Participation is excellent

The number of activities organised are impressive and too long to list here.

I  worry less about students.  Schools offer programs. Homework has to be done. They have part-time jobs They may even have a cottage  and  whole families  devoted  to  ensuring  they are safe, secure and occupied.

I worry about the age group between thirteen and eighteen who are not so fortunate and  may need timely help. I think a space that   allows them to occupy time with  pursuits that provide for catch-up as well as fun is needed. I think the place has to be more than walls and a roof. It has to be a place where people care.

Not necessarily sports but not necessarily not.

It's a kernel of an idea. I'm sure  my colleagues  and residents could help it to grow. .

A decision on the surplus buildings on Victoria Street  must  be made.

The best use of the vacant space must be determined. 

Churches in the vicinity are  heavily  involved in social programs.

My interest lies in determining where the gaps  are  and filling them.

I think  there's a need  for something we are not providing. 

I  think the town should use development charges to  build  a  skate board park. If only to protect  properties currently being used for that purpose

Of course, it is  always possible nobody else shares my concerns.

We need to hear from  the police, churches, service clubs and parents at their wit's end. All the people whose mission it is to identify needs  not so obvious among the comfortable majority.

Before we make a 2 million dollar investment elsewhere, we need to be absolutely sure it is the right need. .





9 comments:

Anonymous said...

The Sports groups seem to have formed a cohesion unit with a view to include everyone and help where needed.
Maybe Councillors
Abel and Pirri could talk to them and see if there is something for the kids you are concerned with that they could use in a new building? It might not have to be large, just to give the youngsters some elbow room to consider their own.
I think that might convince Councillor Abel that size does not have to be a deciding factor. It's the utilization of the space available.

Anonymous said...

The Victoria Street idea is plain foolish.
There is already a parking problem.
Council should stop pandering to development and listen to citizens who have ideas and a pulse to what the public is saying.
They want the center out east so they can help sell houses.

Anonymous said...

I can see the nay-sayers have zeroed in on parking as the monster here. It is yet another mythical beast which can be routed with good planning for the site. The argument about developers being villains was played to death by the former council and the taxpayers voted them out partially for that canard.
This is not about parking or building out east to create houses. The comment by 12:17 PM is simply negative and makes no sense. Read it through. It is not even coherent.

Anonymous said...

The east side is where most young families in Aurora are concentrated now. Unfortunately, our west side of Yonge St. is maturing, and new families arrive only with the resale of homes. Enrollment is decreasing for elemetary schools on the west side. If this thing is ever built, it must reflect where the kids are going to be, or a central town location. I think your cut off age for target group is 16. And that's reaching. The texting cult of our teenagers is completely different from those of the past. If studies are 5 years or older, the data will be obsolete. I have 3 teenagers that would probably NEVER use a youth centre. My one son used to attend Ms. Gaertners dances when he was a pre teen, but my daughters wanted nothing to do with them. Whose youth do we speak to, do we actually ask the kids what they want? I do a casual poll of the kids I know and very few give favorable responses to a centre. It is a fickle bunch to cater to. I think building an addition of a multipurpose facilily at SARC would best serve the town youth. Foddland is just a poor choice as it's surrounded by seniors residences. We need a grocery store to service that end of town more than a youth centre.
The leisure complex is good, but less accessable.
I won't dismiss your idea, and wait to see how council debates this issue this week.

Anonymous said...

Good ideas flowing in & out. Plenty to argue over and it doesn't have a damn thing to do with the past or the former Council. Clean slate; write on it.

Anonymous said...

" Central Town Location " Yes.

Anonymous said...

A question to 2:52 PM
Where did the Wendy Gaertner who ran those dances go? All I have ever seen, and it has been quite a while, is an angry point-of-something character. If she had dance in her soul, what happened to it and can it be put back in pace. Just asking. Feel free to ignore.

Anonymous said...

Good for you Councilor , once again you lead by example ,How bout we dust off some of those millions you talk about and start buying up some of those old shacks on Victoria street, Grab the old Arena site, spruce it up for parking and a parkette. while you’re at it ditch that phony and quite useless Promenade Study , and start doing and less talking. Fix the parking and they will come.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 22 April, 2012 6:46 PM
said...
" Central Town Location " Yes.

Be careful how you determine "central". Geographically, that would put it around Bayview and Wellington.