I awoke in the night.My mind turning over everyting I'd seen and heard throughout the day.
It was a particularly tedious day.
We took "the show" on the road.
8.30 a.m. at Dr; G.W.Williams High School. Left there at 10.30 a.m. 1.00 a.m, at St. Maximillian Kolbe High School.
Left there at 3.00 P.M. or thereabouts. Back at the Town Hall at 7.00 P.M. to get the real work done
We were showing students how a Council functions. Not.
Three times we listened to the same presentation for building a youth centre;how the need was determined;what such a facility would include;what it would cost to build.
But not what it would cost to operate.
Early in the day, Councillors had no role to play. We were mere props or part of the backdrop or extras in the crowd scenes.
We didn't even have bit parts.Except for Councillors Abel and Pirri and Mayor Dawe
Students lined up at the microphone with questions . They heard only the staff presentation.
In Council,I didn't get to complete my questions. The Mayor said it wasn't fair to ask the Director to project cost of operation.
No matter, the debate will happen next Tuesday, I will have no further questions. Only answers.
A preview.
The town added a "youth co-ordinator" to staff complement in 2000. In the twelve years since, many youth programs have been instituted in response to demands.
Intent of the centre is to being all the programs together in one place and add more.
There could be justification .
In my judgement, the case is not yet proven.
Age is not defined for a youth demographic. In twelve years only student population has been consulted.
No figures are available to determine youth population out of school. Yet we know, not all young people are bound for post-secondary education..
For others,the amenities of educational institutions, like gyms and sports, arts and culture, counselling and mentoring are no longer at hand.
At St. Max. in the afternoon, I waited for the bus fleet to disperse before leaving.
I saw it, yet I didn't.
In the middle of the night I awoke and realised the significance.
High Schools serve districts.
Transit is not supplied by school boards except, for a specific mileage away from the school.
It is not within walking distance.
A considerable percentage of the high school population therefore would not be residents of the town. Their parents would not be charged with the expense of a youth centre.
It was another factor. .
Time of operation of proposed facility is to be from 2.00 to 9.00.p.m.
At 2.00 p.m., buses carry half the school population away from schools. To a place not within walking distance of a youth centre.
The centre is proposed at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex. No interest has been shown either by schools or students in using either the ice surface, swimming pool, fitness centre or racquet ball courts.
A racquet court may be replaced with a climbing wall in the youth facility.
Captain Lusk of Queen's York Rangers is excited by that project, With two companies of cadets numbering hundreds. wall climbing is part of their training.
We will be in the happy circumstance of providing facilities for the Department of National Defense at home -owner's expense as well as providing an armouries for their convenience.
For the past six years we have operated a Seniors Centre. Membership dues are paid. Staff are on hand.
We know the size of the facility and numbers of members
Cost to taxpayers of providing the service is $270,000 per annum.
Still, it gives us no idea of cost to operate a youth centre.
Source of capital funding is also problematic.
Master Recreation Plans are required by the Province to justify calculations for Development Charges to developers.
C.D. Reserves are currently in deficit. We spent more than we received. .
But the situation is further excoriated. .
The Town's last Development Charge Bylaw was appealed to the Ontario Muncipal Board. A board decision in Orangeville means our overcharge is in excess of $700,000. The money must be returned one way or another.
The 2011 annual audit revealed $1.3 million for naming rights of the Stronach Centre, was mistakenly entered into the Development Charge Reserve Fund. And swallowed up. .
Money mistakenly credited and development charges paid in excess must be repaid. We are currently planning to spend $13 million for a joint works and parks centre.
There has never been a time I could cheerfully contemplate spending millions of dollars without having regard for people's ability to pay.
No more so now than ever before.
Councillor Pirri, on the other hand, having neither chick nor child,
is utterly sublime.
Wednesday, 21 November 2012
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11 comments:
Your post proves the point that I have made to others many times over. Our municipal government system is flawed.
Look at Aurora. We have a Town Council that manages the following services: water "distribution", Parks & Rec, town roads (snow removal, etc), garbage collection. Then there is the joint Aurora-Newmarket management of fire services. Schools are managed at a Regional level - both public and separate and as you point out, not entirely by "town" borders. Then we have the York region itself which manages water "supply", police, regional roads (snow removal, etc).
We have a situation where the town as it's own has limited scope. We try to manage the Town within a much larger area but we run into Regional practices that hamper the Town. The only way to resolve this is to get radical and eliminate Towns and amalgamate all services into a common level and that level is at a regional level.
That way, a similar presentation at a school would ring true to the audience because they would be in scope.
I know that this won't happen in our lifetimes, but I think that this is an certainty at some point in time. We cannot continue to try and manage small groups within the larger one.
The Quebec budget has been announced. And their prime source of funding is the Hydro Heritage Pool. Does that not sound very familiar to Aurorans? The opposition parties are meeting to decide what to do before December deadline.
Are you hitting Councillor P below the belt? Haha.
I do agree the case has not been made for a youth centre.
Look at what is already offered.
The interests and needs of youth are ever changing.
Do we know what they'll want next year?
What are the demographics of Aurora?
What piece of the pie does each get?
Now, now is the time for serious belt-tightening.
Now!
The financial storm is coming.
We know that, now.
Just an idle question:
Did someone think to hand out questionnaires at the schools for the kids to make comments & suggestions that could be returned to Council? Some sort of feed-back. Or is our communications group too high tech to use the obvious?
Millions of dollars have already been spent on recreation facilities located in all corners of this town.
I’m no expert on this issue, but the thought of spending significant sums of money on a youth centre could well end up being a municipal boondoggle.
Why don’t the kids use the Library or the empty facilities at the ACC, or the ARC or the Leisure Complex ?
I sure do hope that we make use of the facilities that we already have and we don’t spend money for the sake of it. Based on the little that I do know, this has “doddgy” written all over it.
12:29...
Because kids don't want to use the library, ACC, ARC or Leisure Complex!
They won't use any other "youth centre" either. They are not looking for recreation. They are looking for a place to go to get away from the parents, get away from school and to get away for "stuff" in general.
What they should do is look at what the "youth" want. All of them, not just the ones that happen to participate at something at a current facility. Those are not the kids that need something, it's the ones that do not go there now.
Sounds like an attempt to divert attention from on-going difficulties with money-management from Council & Staff. I'm sorry but I cannot trust them to deal with yet another big-ticket item. They must first demonstrate the ability to say ' No ' to each other and to staff.
Newmarkets Centre with its indoor skatepark, lots of lounge chairs, pool tables, computers and small gym ARE USED by youth not served through regular sports and culture channels. I know, my son used to love it there as a young teen. A place to hang, where they don't need to be reminded to pull up their pants or take off their hat. Where they can be themselves. It was a busy facility and served a big need in the community. I don't know how busy it is now, as my son has grown, but I sure appreciated him having a place to go.
You might build it, but they might very well not come. None of the many studies have proven a need for this idea that is being flown with such enthusiasm. Councillor Pirri ran on his hopes for a movie theatre. The entire town could and would benefit from such a place. Could we please be realistic?
IMHO, the youth are not looking for a recreation or fitness centre or a place for music, crafts or anything of the such.
Ask them what their favourite place to go is - they'll probably say the mall. Why, because it's where others their age are hanging out. It's where there is shopping - electronics, the Apple Store, cell phone kiosks, clothing & shoes. They are looking for a place to hang out away from parents, teachers etc.
It's not "if you build it, they will come" - unless you are building an indoor mall.
You want a youth centre in Aurora - build an indoor shopping mall and you'll see the youth flock to it. You think I'm kidding don't you.
Anonymous 4:26 PM says it all!
True.
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