Tuesday ..Decision NIght

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "You Were Asking":

There seem to be quite a # of pendings. The streaming [late], a plan to deal with audit problems, a report on the Cultural agreement [late] etc.
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On Tuesday, Council will debate  a consultant  contract to  design 
 joint parks and works facility, in an amount of $690,980.
It had been recommended at budget .  $50,000 was approved. The larger figure is back.
The treasurer assures Council, not to worry the money is available. 
Now that's a worry. If Council didn't approveit in the budget,, how can it be there? 
Current facilities for parks and works abut at the end of Scanlon Court. 
A study has  been done. The current  buildings are prefab.. Worn out and inadequate.
 We created a  works building and yard  to make room for a joint administration building with the Board of Education when I was Mayor. 
It's a fine office building  on Wellington Street West.
Ross King was the architect.
The works department was the biggest blight in town and  at the  west entrance. 
The Board of Education drove the project. George Ford was their
very efficient  business administrator.
I argued we could do no less that we asked of private business and 
create a fine design.
The  argument was not the same  for a public works building
which  essentially consists of several  bays for servicing trucks and equipments and a storage yard.
Public works are not contained in a building. 
Parks  construct parks furniture in the winter  and operates a greenhouse.A storage yard is also included. Outside storage is not a pretty site. It is functional.
In my judgement, the facilities needed do not  call for an architect design.
There may be  no prefabricated buildings available to serve  the various needs; like offices, separate showers  and change facilities for men and women.
 I can't help wondering how much showering and changing by employees goes on in the town's time in the buildings
When we allocated $50,000 for an  analysis, I  hoped the possibility of  pre-fabricated building  would at least be investigated. 
It wasn't. 
Now mustr vote to spend $690.980. give or take a dollar, for an architect to  design   the   basic structure of public utility buildings. 
I can't do that. 
Space for storage is also a question . 
The town contracts  a substantial amount of  the works function. It 
saves on payroll. Benefits mainly
We had  contract employees. Same  principle Last budget, the treasurer recommended two contract positions  be made permanent. So that theory went out the door. 
Parks still have  contract employees when they are needed, 
Contracts apparently don't save us money in  space.
Space for contractors' equipment and supplies are  described in the needs analysis. 
I don't understand.
If I contract someone to cut my grass, equipment is part of the contract. It is brought and taken away and is part of what I pay for.
Are contractors employee facilities available as well ?
Who pays for their shower and change time?
Is it specified in the contract? 
Storage is also a question.  Do we need to store a winter supply of salt and sand? Could it be delivered as needed?
How much  does it  cost to store heritage materials,like a dismantled barn?  When ,if ever, is it likely to be used? 
Tuesday, the big figure contract is on the agenda to be approved. 
There's no point in bringing up the questionable wisdom  of leasing  the Hydro building to the Secretive  Department of National Defense. 
We leased it  even as  we knew it would be needed to accommodate the  parks department and relieve the pressure on the Scanlon site.