Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "It's Not Your Place, Christopher":
Sometimes I think Christopher feels left out of the fray but he has designed his own website so that it is not conducive to the rapid to and fro of Evelyn's.
Back to an old subject, please.
Are we finished with dealing with the Jazz Gang? Do they have another kick at the can? In all the confusion and rhetoric, I lost sight of anything except the refusal to cede park rental fees. Is the event now for 4 days with a fully fenced park? Are there extra funds that can be granted by staff members without resorting to Council approval?
Basically, how badly are we getting ripped off?
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We are providing promotion for the jazz festival; on our web site, advertising boards around town. material can be placed in the town hall.Probably the library as well.
We are not waiving fees for the use of the park.
W are permitting our town park to be fenced off to prevent resident access.It allows the promoters to collect an admission charge to enter a public park.
Rental revenue will be derived from retail sales kiosk operators in our park; a beer garden ; and food vendors of the world. Artists will have sales and exhibition opportunities, not likely to be free.
Council was informed last Tuesday, free use of the venue was being requested again for four days despite being refused.
The St Kitts web site advertises the festival for three days.
The Leisure Services Director stated on Tuesday if the application was for four days, he would grant it.
I objected. I think it's outrageous to fence a park off for one day, let alone four . It's unconscionable.
No-one else appeared to have a problem with the idea. Councillor Abel is a jazz fan.
In summer time, municipalities dress up and introduce a little gaiety to the street scape. It lifts the spirits.
Lamp standards on Yonge Street and Wellington Street are equipped to fly banners. At a previous meeting, I suggested we might have banners celebrating the jazz festival.
We have done it before. The equipment is there. The cost is not great. It's not so much about promoting the jazz festival as adding to the gaiety of the street scape.
The jazz festival informed us they would agree to that if we paid for the privilege.
I am not in to that.
Summer Concerts In The Park would just as easily be a cheerful theme for a banner.
At the moment, I know we are being ripped off for the use of the town park for three or perhaps four days,
The Farmer's Market vendors have to pay the town a season's permit to market their wares on town property.
Vendors in our park during the jazz festival do not pay the town.
They pay the commercial concert promoters .
Insofar as we are providing a venue for a commercial operation for the same user fee we would charge a community organisation, that and the fact the park is being fenced off from its rightful users, is as far as we are allowing ourselves to be ripped off.
It's a damned sight too far, in my estimation.
Council should be wary of extending the # of days. That group plans to ' grow ' their event and needs Aurora's Park in order to do so. Four days this year could easily morph into 5 next year until we lose control of our patch for up to a week. Every additional days brings in money to the organizers. Councillor Abel should deny himself too much jazz. Three days is plenty. Surely the business heads on Council can do the math?
ReplyDeleteEvery group gets treated the same. End of story. Three days is adequate. Staff should not have the authority to over-ride Council to set a new policy. The Jazz people will never be satisfied and most of them are from outside Aurora.
ReplyDeleteAw. shucks, thank you for the past day or so. We rubes are just so very appreciative of your effort. Of course I have not yet found a rube in town besides myself but I'm sure they are equally grateful.
ReplyDeleteI have no issues with the comment policy I have adopted, it is widely adopted by several sites.
ReplyDeleteTherefore I'm unsure why or how some anonymous commenter believes I feel "left out of the fray" given that I often comment here, as well as on my blog regarding topics and comments left here.
As for being left out, I don't believe the AuroraCitizen, a community based website has alienated anyone with their comment policies.
I have, and will continue to suggest a similar approach be considered here given the recent changes with the Blogger platform as it becomes part of the Google+ sphere.
S'cuse mw all to heck. Don't the members of Council have the right to know if 3 or 4 days are being demanded and to tell their leisure services guy for which he may issue the permit. We seem to be putting the cart before the horse once more. Doesn't that man work for us? It should not be up to him to set a precedent, which it would be if they received 4 days. Next year it will be 5 etc. Just asking.
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