"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

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Susan Morton Leonard's Letter To The Town

It went on Council's agenda as a memorandum  from Councillor Humphryes. It's a strategy  from the past. When a debate is over and  a decision made,  not to their liking,organise an invasion of the body snatchers to pull the irons from the fire.

Failing that, get  a letter written and finagled on to an agenda, that will re-open the discussion for the purpose  of  repeating  the debate  and getting a  different  decision  more to their liking.

The stunt effectively sabotages all orderly business process.

Having said that, I am  more then happy to have the letter  in the hand of Susan Morton Leonard to illuminate  what our town  has been dealing with and accommodating for the past several years.

Nothing does it better than seeing it in writing. 

Their determined  intent this year is to fence  the town park off from regular resident users for four days instead of three at no expense to themselves.

Last year, proceeds realised from three days  of various activities were $140,000. No doubt. this year,  closer to $200,000  is expected with an extra day of  our  park fenced off , all  revenue from admission charges, beer  garden,  food  purveyors , kiosks selling products and artists selling wares, pouring  into their pockets.

It  really is quite extraordinary .

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think they give a couple of thousand dollars to 2 charities and thousands of dollars in honorarium to groups and individuals they deem worthy. Just another case of using Aurora's taxpayer dollars to become notable Patrons of the Arts. Bullies, both groups, who live quite comfortably at our expense.
How stupid are we going to be this year? Last year it was really a lot that they received in cash and town services.

Anonymous said...

I am confused. I consider this process that you have a problem with "politics" but yet you say that you enjoy the game of politics. How can deny that their version of playing the political game is worse than yours?

Anonymous said...

the level of arrogance and sarcastic tone in this little ditty leaves one shaking their head in disbelief , That this council would tolerate this type of response is nothing less than shameful and an insult to the people who pay the freight in this Town, for this outfit to suggest that the town is not providing a genuine sponsorship is nothing short of laughable , Surely this Council will not stand for this nonsense , demand a retraction of this letter now or bar them from our Park forever

Anonymous said...

I can see any business or organization requesting approval/consent to the use of their logo and the design of the flags or banners as they would want to ensure that it is appropriate to their overall campaign, that the logo, dates etc were correct.

But really, the Town offers to fly banners on Town stanchions along Wellington and the Jazz festival states for the Town to do so they have to provide “appropriate sponsorship” to do so? The AJF won’t take this offer in kind. (I would think any other business would jump at the opportunity for prime advertising space).

Instead they’ll want let’s say $5,000 in sponsorship, the AJF will produce the banners for a $1,000 and ask the Town to install them at the Town cost on Town poles and use the other $4,000 for their other marketing events. So rescind the other and let then rent the poles if they wish.

This all makes it sound like the festival is bigger than the Town – so the Town better fall in line if they want to benefit from the Festival.