KA-NON has left a new comment on your post "Ontario
Heritage Has Title Free and Clear":
I will infer by your comments
that the documents with which you have been provided indicate that Ms. Bartley
Smith's wishes were indeed for the lands to remain undeveloped.
You argue
that her wishes are academic given that free title, without covenant to the
benefactor's wishes, is in the hands of a 3rd party.
****************
You may not assume a covenant was attached to the transfer of title to Heritage Trust.
The late Ms. Bartley Smith was indeed a generous woman. Transfer of the lands for commensurate value allowed for proceeds to be divided between various charities of her choice.
Had the intention been for community use of the property, title could have been transferred for the sum of two dollars to the municipality not the Heritage Trust Foundation.
That is not what happened.
Oversized services are in the ground in abutting property. A road was designed to accommodate ongoing development.
The bulk of the estate was not left to the family. The will was disputed and upheld.
Ms Bartley Smith died in 1987.
Since then the land sits. A no man's land.
The town could certainly make use of areas for recreation without disturbing the geological sensitivity.
Other areas could be developed with the same sensitivity.
The Province is in serious financial crisis.
How many more parcels of land do they own for no better reason than to provide people of such wealth the opportunity to transfer ownership for tax relief.
How many precious works of art, stashed away in warehouses,
could be auctioned off to reduce the nation's debt.
What do I care if documents show the stuff changed hands for the sum of two dollars making it seem like a generous donation. We all know it was no such thing.
I just thought of something.
That's how the town got possession of the little factory theatre property. A few hundred dollars were owing for property taxes and title was transferred for that amount. Except that it was given for the purpose of a theatre and a hundred and fifty chairs accompanied the gift.
We got a twenty-one thousand dollar L.I.P. grant. Drama club members themselves went in there and shoveled out the incredible
garbage left from the last concrete forming factory operation.
They drew up the plans to get the grant between Friday night and Monday morning
My God it was exciting..
No chance of anything like that happening now.
Oh Dear me no!
We can't even plan a wing-ding holiday week-end party for twelve months from now, without hiring a manager for $70,000.and another $30,000. thrown in to make it an even hundred.
Friday, 8 June 2012
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2 comments:
Hey. Dad? You know that money you have in the bank? It's not really doing anything. So me and Ted and Moragh got to thinking of ways to spend it. We figured we could have a really good party. Like hire a band and get all dressed up. All our friends could come. Maybe even some of yours. What do you think?
Dad? Dad ? Where are you going?
Hope Dad isn't heading to the gun locker.
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