Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Oh
that God the gift would gie us, to see oorselv...":
"Use of the old
library site for social housing."
How would this be a Town initiative?
**********************
It was an idea, put forward in what was thought to be a friendly conversation.
The question of disposition of the buildings on Victoria Street was still in the forefront of the town's concerns.
I myself had put forward an idea for use of the Hydro funds. A building several floors high to accommodate separate studios
for whatever pursuits one might imagine, not sports oriented, including a cyber cafe for all ages.
A Shakespeare workshop,music,dance ,sound, to name but a few.
Open from ten in the morning until ten at night with a steady stream
of people coming and going.
The reaction to Grace's benign suggestion was all the more shocking for the circumstance.
The rage and violence of the language totally incomprehensible.
To Grace at least.
To myself, not so much.. I learned to be prepared. No civilities were extended at the town hall from any of the gang of six. .
Yet if I happened to be at the same reception or social occasion,
I would find myself receiving warm and effusive greetings.
Like a call for others to hear and attend to:
"Evelyn, I didn't know you were coming. I'm so glad to see you"
Only myself and the other knew how unlikely the sentiment or the conversation.
The Town of Newmarket has been successful in providing social housing. They provide the property. The Region fulfills it's role. with the housing.
In our town no such need was acknowledged.
Even now, the high average income in Aurora is cited with budget documentation.
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Oh that God the gift would gie us, to see oorselves as ithers see us
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "An
Echo from the past":
Oh yes that is true as physical contact against bloggers has begun.They do it to seek a reaction and then cry out.Kind of like the player in hockey who retaliates and gets the two minutes of shame in the box. Bullying at its finest.
******************************
It's interesting that the effort to prevent bullying is focused on school children.
In the Mormac regime, bullying was constant and concentrated. with every detail planned in the midnight hours in the Mayor's office.
But carried out in the public eye. On camera. For everyone to see.
Grace Marsh's resignation came after an episode of harridan screeching and the threat "I will destroy you if you dare pursue that idea". from the staircase in the town hall.
The idea was benign. Use of the old library site for social housing.
The harridan declared she had plans of her own.
Yes, it was an assault.
No, there was no dignified response.
No turning back.
No going forward from that point.
Grace resigned.
Being elected to public office was the high point in Grace's life. She spoke regularly of her father who spent his working career in public service as a firefighter.
No-one could have been more proud than Grace of being given the opportunity, hopefully, to make a difference.
In no other term of office in the last fifty years of Aurora politics could Grace have had a matching experience.
A few comments back, a leak from town staff sources was quoted "Let's get Evelyn. She's poor. She needs the money"
I published it but knew it could not be completely true.
My name was never referred save to be spat out in hatred as "Buck"
I was not like Grace.
They had to go the route of adopting a Code of Conduct. Appointing an Integrity Commissioner to the public payroll Using $70,000 of town funds for legal fees to concoct a Code of Conduct complaint and have it filed by former Councillor Al Wilson and signed by the other five. .
Wilson also was fond of screeching rants of intimidation with Grace as the favourite target. To excuse himself he would confide later, it was really Buck he was mad at.
Apparently he didn't think it wise to spew his venom in my direction.
Then there was John Gallo's request the day after the election, that I step aside and let him to have my seat.
And of course, the final act of revenge of slapping constituents with a law suit paid for with their own tax dollars.
Irony reigns supreme in any contemplation of a Code of Conduct.
A litany of numbered clauses of upright behaviour, standing like a glowing white Michelangelo statue in the midst of a cesspool of degrading human behaviour. .
Oh yes that is true as physical contact against bloggers has begun.They do it to seek a reaction and then cry out.Kind of like the player in hockey who retaliates and gets the two minutes of shame in the box. Bullying at its finest.
******************************
It's interesting that the effort to prevent bullying is focused on school children.
In the Mormac regime, bullying was constant and concentrated. with every detail planned in the midnight hours in the Mayor's office.
But carried out in the public eye. On camera. For everyone to see.
Grace Marsh's resignation came after an episode of harridan screeching and the threat "I will destroy you if you dare pursue that idea". from the staircase in the town hall.
The idea was benign. Use of the old library site for social housing.
The harridan declared she had plans of her own.
Yes, it was an assault.
No, there was no dignified response.
No turning back.
No going forward from that point.
Grace resigned.
Being elected to public office was the high point in Grace's life. She spoke regularly of her father who spent his working career in public service as a firefighter.
No-one could have been more proud than Grace of being given the opportunity, hopefully, to make a difference.
In no other term of office in the last fifty years of Aurora politics could Grace have had a matching experience.
A few comments back, a leak from town staff sources was quoted "Let's get Evelyn. She's poor. She needs the money"
I published it but knew it could not be completely true.
My name was never referred save to be spat out in hatred as "Buck"
I was not like Grace.
They had to go the route of adopting a Code of Conduct. Appointing an Integrity Commissioner to the public payroll Using $70,000 of town funds for legal fees to concoct a Code of Conduct complaint and have it filed by former Councillor Al Wilson and signed by the other five. .
Wilson also was fond of screeching rants of intimidation with Grace as the favourite target. To excuse himself he would confide later, it was really Buck he was mad at.
Apparently he didn't think it wise to spew his venom in my direction.
Then there was John Gallo's request the day after the election, that I step aside and let him to have my seat.
And of course, the final act of revenge of slapping constituents with a law suit paid for with their own tax dollars.
Irony reigns supreme in any contemplation of a Code of Conduct.
A litany of numbered clauses of upright behaviour, standing like a glowing white Michelangelo statue in the midst of a cesspool of degrading human behaviour. .
Wednesday, 27 February 2013
What will be
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Logic
Prevails..or not":
Reason is subjective.
*************
Right. In debate, reason put forward is subject to public opinion.
When people sit back at home, watch and listen, without distraction, they are perfectly capable of forming their own judgement. Then sharing and continuing the shaping with others.
Separating wheat from the chaff, so-to-speak.
My confidence is in the process.
Reason is subjective.
*************
Right. In debate, reason put forward is subject to public opinion.
When people sit back at home, watch and listen, without distraction, they are perfectly capable of forming their own judgement. Then sharing and continuing the shaping with others.
Separating wheat from the chaff, so-to-speak.
My confidence is in the process.
Logic Prevails..or not
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "An
Echo from Tthe past":
Who voted with you in support of the resolutions?
*******
I believe the Mayor voted with me on the resolutions to refer the two properties to the legal department for review.
It was really quite extraordinary. The resolutions were simply seeking a legal perspective.
Councillor Thompson said he would have preferred the wording to be more generic. I'm not sure how much more generic the term "properties" and "tax status " could be.
That's why I think the fear was about losing support from the men's soccer club.
It wasn't a waste of time though.
It's satisfying when one has a resolution approved .by Council.
But it's useful to have the debate
Any time there's a debate, there's an opportunity to measure capacity for reason
Who voted with you in support of the resolutions?
*******
I believe the Mayor voted with me on the resolutions to refer the two properties to the legal department for review.
It was really quite extraordinary. The resolutions were simply seeking a legal perspective.
Councillor Thompson said he would have preferred the wording to be more generic. I'm not sure how much more generic the term "properties" and "tax status " could be.
That's why I think the fear was about losing support from the men's soccer club.
It wasn't a waste of time though.
It's satisfying when one has a resolution approved .by Council.
But it's useful to have the debate
Any time there's a debate, there's an opportunity to measure capacity for reason
An Echo from the past
At the Old Town Hall last night I had resolutions on the table to direct legal services to review tax status of two publicly owned properties. One tax exempt. The other not.
The town is paying regional and educational taxes on the Soccer Dome.
No taxes are payable on the soccer field at the south end of town though there is a club house on the property with a liquor license that caters to receptions and business lunches and welcomes the public.
Both resolutions failed.
It seemed Councillors were apprehensive of offending the men's soccer club by drawing attention to their affairs. Councillor Gallo revealed himself to be a member of the club. I assume paid up, and said he did not know of any of the activities mentioned in the resolution.
I daresay I could find the ad in the Auroran ago advertised business men's lunches at the club.
I'm sure could track down the lighted sign on the road allowance at the time of the South African World Soccer Tournament . The public were invited to come in and enjoy the brew and amazing television..
I could probably dig up a witness to the election victory party of the former Mayor.
I could remind people of the fleet of school buses parked on the property for years, in contravention of the lease.
None of these things were done in secret.
But none of it is the issue.
Two publicly- owned properties similarly used, one tax exempt .the other not is.the contradiction.
The former Mayor was in the Council chamber last night.With a tape recorder. It's thought, to listen to debate on the Code of Conduct.
That's another story.
The confluence of events served to remind me of another night in the past.
I had brought attention to the sign on the road allowance inviting the public into the men's soccer club house to enjoy the amenities.
Six or eight soccer club members came to the Council Chambers.
and ranged themselves in the top row of spectator seats directly opposite myself.
With folded arms and grim countenances they glared at me in unison as if daring me to speak.
In my mind's eye I see great.hulking bruisers, in black and dark green striped jerseys, bare knees streaked with dirt, jammed together at the shoulders determined to look fearsome.
The former Mayor always managed to find people willing to do the dirty work of her bidding
Naturally I crawled into my shell.
Meek and mild , I told them. I said:
"It's not right for you to take business away from people who are paying taxes and mortgages or rent and creating jobs and struggling to stay afloat and sponsoring your junior teams while you pay no rent or mortgage or taxes or meet a payroll and compete with them for town business.
It's not fair. I should not have to tell you that "
Nothing terrible happened.
They went away, some telling others. "She's right, you know"
Of course I was right.
Somebody had to speak up for people in the food business.
They can't do it themselves.
Business depends on good will.
.
The town is paying regional and educational taxes on the Soccer Dome.
No taxes are payable on the soccer field at the south end of town though there is a club house on the property with a liquor license that caters to receptions and business lunches and welcomes the public.
Both resolutions failed.
It seemed Councillors were apprehensive of offending the men's soccer club by drawing attention to their affairs. Councillor Gallo revealed himself to be a member of the club. I assume paid up, and said he did not know of any of the activities mentioned in the resolution.
I daresay I could find the ad in the Auroran ago advertised business men's lunches at the club.
I'm sure could track down the lighted sign on the road allowance at the time of the South African World Soccer Tournament . The public were invited to come in and enjoy the brew and amazing television..
I could probably dig up a witness to the election victory party of the former Mayor.
I could remind people of the fleet of school buses parked on the property for years, in contravention of the lease.
None of these things were done in secret.
But none of it is the issue.
Two publicly- owned properties similarly used, one tax exempt .the other not is.the contradiction.
The former Mayor was in the Council chamber last night.With a tape recorder. It's thought, to listen to debate on the Code of Conduct.
That's another story.
The confluence of events served to remind me of another night in the past.
I had brought attention to the sign on the road allowance inviting the public into the men's soccer club house to enjoy the amenities.
Six or eight soccer club members came to the Council Chambers.
and ranged themselves in the top row of spectator seats directly opposite myself.
With folded arms and grim countenances they glared at me in unison as if daring me to speak.
In my mind's eye I see great.hulking bruisers, in black and dark green striped jerseys, bare knees streaked with dirt, jammed together at the shoulders determined to look fearsome.
The former Mayor always managed to find people willing to do the dirty work of her bidding
Naturally I crawled into my shell.
Meek and mild , I told them. I said:
"It's not right for you to take business away from people who are paying taxes and mortgages or rent and creating jobs and struggling to stay afloat and sponsoring your junior teams while you pay no rent or mortgage or taxes or meet a payroll and compete with them for town business.
It's not fair. I should not have to tell you that "
Nothing terrible happened.
They went away, some telling others. "She's right, you know"
Of course I was right.
Somebody had to speak up for people in the food business.
They can't do it themselves.
Business depends on good will.
.
Monday, 25 February 2013
The Patience Of Job Merits Biblical Reference
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Duh!!!":
You're obviously not a disciple of Dale Carnegie.
************
Jesus Christ himself lost his temper and upended the tables of the money-changers in the temple.
I do not profess to saintly qualities . I'm a politician, for Christ's Sake .
The best of us run out of patience . I'm better than I used to be.
Andrew Carnegie I am familiar with. I believe Dale Carnegie was a proponent of the theory of how to win friends and influence enemies.
There were ten years in Aurora's politics when that did not present itself as a solution to the problem.
Still doesn't . Although the crisis is surely past.
You're obviously not a disciple of Dale Carnegie.
************
Jesus Christ himself lost his temper and upended the tables of the money-changers in the temple.
I do not profess to saintly qualities . I'm a politician, for Christ's Sake .
The best of us run out of patience . I'm better than I used to be.
Andrew Carnegie I am familiar with. I believe Dale Carnegie was a proponent of the theory of how to win friends and influence enemies.
There were ten years in Aurora's politics when that did not present itself as a solution to the problem.
Still doesn't . Although the crisis is surely past.
Duh!!!
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Three
Questions In A Fountain":
"A conflict of interest happens when an elected representative
exploits authority..."
So, you agree that for you to lobby for your street to be re-done it is a conflict of interest? Regardless of how many other homes are on the street, YOU will benefit from the work.
***********
I agree it is not your intention to post anything I might agree to.
I have not lobbied to have my street re-constructed.
When the project comes forward to Council for approval , if I am a member of Council, I will consider then if I have an interest different from the general interest of the community.
Because of people like yourself and out of an abundance of caution, I will likely declare a Conflict.
For now, I would appreciate it if you would take yourself off to the nearest toilet, stick your head in the bowl and flush ten times in sequence.
I do not anticipate for a moment , it will do anything to refresh what's between your ears, but it might remind you your time of influence on Aurora Council is done.
Any potential you might have had is in the toilet.
And if I had or will have any part in making that happen, I shall be forever grateful.
"A conflict of interest happens when an elected representative
exploits authority..."
So, you agree that for you to lobby for your street to be re-done it is a conflict of interest? Regardless of how many other homes are on the street, YOU will benefit from the work.
***********
I agree it is not your intention to post anything I might agree to.
I have not lobbied to have my street re-constructed.
When the project comes forward to Council for approval , if I am a member of Council, I will consider then if I have an interest different from the general interest of the community.
Because of people like yourself and out of an abundance of caution, I will likely declare a Conflict.
For now, I would appreciate it if you would take yourself off to the nearest toilet, stick your head in the bowl and flush ten times in sequence.
I do not anticipate for a moment , it will do anything to refresh what's between your ears, but it might remind you your time of influence on Aurora Council is done.
Any potential you might have had is in the toilet.
And if I had or will have any part in making that happen, I shall be forever grateful.
Three Questions In A Fountain
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Degrees
of Difference, Easily Identifiable":
Hi Evelyn,
Query for you, wasn't Holman and Glass repaved in the 1990s? I used to live on Knowles and remember getting a new pair of inline skates and found the new paving on Holman was perfect for skating?
I believe these two roads were repaved before the town decided to start using "urban" design standards and upgrading the sewers underneath. That would explain the existence of the ditches and the patching job along Glass as the sewer pipes failed due to age
********************.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Points of Debate":
I would think Ms Buck's flogging of her street is a conflict of interest isn't it?
************ Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Degrees of Difference, Easily Identifiable":
I guess we use different definitions of urban/rural...
ur·ban/ˈɜrbÉ™n/
adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town.
2. living in a city.
ru·ral/ˈrÊŠÉ™rÉ™l/ adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic: rural tranquillity.
2. living in the country: the rural population.
3. of or pertaining to agriculture: rural economy.
noun
4. a person who lives in a rural area.
Based on those, from Dictionary.com, Hunter's Glen would be urban. Glass Drive would be urban.
**************
I've lived on Holman since 1961. I remember it being paved once
Long before the 90's They re-shaped the slopes of the ditches. . Made them too steep for me to cut and introduced weeds such as we had never seen in our lives before.We were never able to get rid of them
The sewers in Regency strated to collapse soon after the subdivision was completed. A new material had been used known as Johns Manvile Asbestos pipe.
The lots had been sold by the developer. Not all the homes were serviced with the new material. They collapsed like drinking straws
and had to be replaced, mostly at the expense of the home-owner.
***************
A conflict of interest happens when an elected representtaive
exploits authority, in breach of the oath of office, to access public funds and sometimes private, to enrich themselves with money, goods and services that doesn't belong to them. .
It's a bit like stealing. Having your hand in the cookie jar.
Mike Duffy says he didn't understand the rules about claiming for housing. He claimed expenses for his home in Ottawa and said the cottage he bought in Prince Edward Island was his principal residence.
He is offering to return the money he obtained by claiming he had to pay for a second home in Ottawa because his real home was in P.E.I.
If my property was the only one on Holman Crescent receiving improvement and I spoke for/and voted in favour of improving it, that would be a conflict of interest .
On the other hand ,if I was being severely criticized by anonymous constituents and retained legal counsel at taxpayers expense, to advise it would be appropriate for an elected representatives to use public funds to file suit for^$6 million dollars in damages, payable to me, myself alone,or a close family member, that would be a conflict of interest.
If I refused to sign a document committing to refund cost of the litigation to the town , if it was successful, it would be quite difficult for a person in their right mind, to argue such a circumstances did not constitute a clear and unmitigated conflict of interest.
A conflict of interest is exploitation of a position of trust and authority to improperly access town resources to benefit oneself financially.
If I were required to vote on the question of improvements to Holman Crescent, I would not consider that a Conflict of Interest.
because the street serves fifty properties. The road is not unique to my property.
I would probably refrain from voting anyway. Just to be cautious. Look what happened to Rob Ford at the first hearing. The funds in question were just over $3 thousand and he never had them.
Toronto's Integrity commissioner never did have authority to order him to return funds to donors. But she regularly creates her own ideas of appropriate penalties for contraventions of the Code of Conduct..
Don't feel bad about not understanding the principle. The Conflict of Interest Act obviously creates more problems than it solves.
Numbers of people in the most unlikely places, have failed to comprehend the essential nature of trust.
Hazel McCallion's hearing under Conflict of Interest charges was heard months before Rob Ford's. No decision has been delivered as yet. What should we take from that ?
It's my experience, that neither a Code of Ethics, a Code of Conduct or a Conflict of Interest Act takes the place of personal integrity or a conscience.
People who promote the concept are least likely to have a glimmer of sense of the principle of personal integrity.
***********
A dictionary is not the place to look for definitions of land use planning.
Urban, rural , institutional , commercial , industrial., open space, are terms used in the context of planning,
Check the Town's Official Plan . Defnitions are part of the introduction.
Hi Evelyn,
Query for you, wasn't Holman and Glass repaved in the 1990s? I used to live on Knowles and remember getting a new pair of inline skates and found the new paving on Holman was perfect for skating?
I believe these two roads were repaved before the town decided to start using "urban" design standards and upgrading the sewers underneath. That would explain the existence of the ditches and the patching job along Glass as the sewer pipes failed due to age
********************.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Points of Debate":
I would think Ms Buck's flogging of her street is a conflict of interest isn't it?
************ Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Degrees of Difference, Easily Identifiable":
I guess we use different definitions of urban/rural...
ur·ban/ˈɜrbÉ™n/
adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or designating a city or town.
2. living in a city.
ru·ral/ˈrÊŠÉ™rÉ™l/ adjective
1. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the country, country life, or country people; rustic: rural tranquillity.
2. living in the country: the rural population.
3. of or pertaining to agriculture: rural economy.
noun
4. a person who lives in a rural area.
Based on those, from Dictionary.com, Hunter's Glen would be urban. Glass Drive would be urban.
**************
I've lived on Holman since 1961. I remember it being paved once
Long before the 90's They re-shaped the slopes of the ditches. . Made them too steep for me to cut and introduced weeds such as we had never seen in our lives before.We were never able to get rid of them
The sewers in Regency strated to collapse soon after the subdivision was completed. A new material had been used known as Johns Manvile Asbestos pipe.
The lots had been sold by the developer. Not all the homes were serviced with the new material. They collapsed like drinking straws
and had to be replaced, mostly at the expense of the home-owner.
***************
A conflict of interest happens when an elected representtaive
exploits authority, in breach of the oath of office, to access public funds and sometimes private, to enrich themselves with money, goods and services that doesn't belong to them. .
It's a bit like stealing. Having your hand in the cookie jar.
Mike Duffy says he didn't understand the rules about claiming for housing. He claimed expenses for his home in Ottawa and said the cottage he bought in Prince Edward Island was his principal residence.
He is offering to return the money he obtained by claiming he had to pay for a second home in Ottawa because his real home was in P.E.I.
If my property was the only one on Holman Crescent receiving improvement and I spoke for/and voted in favour of improving it, that would be a conflict of interest .
On the other hand ,if I was being severely criticized by anonymous constituents and retained legal counsel at taxpayers expense, to advise it would be appropriate for an elected representatives to use public funds to file suit for^$6 million dollars in damages, payable to me, myself alone,or a close family member, that would be a conflict of interest.
If I refused to sign a document committing to refund cost of the litigation to the town , if it was successful, it would be quite difficult for a person in their right mind, to argue such a circumstances did not constitute a clear and unmitigated conflict of interest.
A conflict of interest is exploitation of a position of trust and authority to improperly access town resources to benefit oneself financially.
If I were required to vote on the question of improvements to Holman Crescent, I would not consider that a Conflict of Interest.
because the street serves fifty properties. The road is not unique to my property.
I would probably refrain from voting anyway. Just to be cautious. Look what happened to Rob Ford at the first hearing. The funds in question were just over $3 thousand and he never had them.
Toronto's Integrity commissioner never did have authority to order him to return funds to donors. But she regularly creates her own ideas of appropriate penalties for contraventions of the Code of Conduct..
Don't feel bad about not understanding the principle. The Conflict of Interest Act obviously creates more problems than it solves.
Numbers of people in the most unlikely places, have failed to comprehend the essential nature of trust.
Hazel McCallion's hearing under Conflict of Interest charges was heard months before Rob Ford's. No decision has been delivered as yet. What should we take from that ?
It's my experience, that neither a Code of Ethics, a Code of Conduct or a Conflict of Interest Act takes the place of personal integrity or a conscience.
People who promote the concept are least likely to have a glimmer of sense of the principle of personal integrity.
***********
A dictionary is not the place to look for definitions of land use planning.
Urban, rural , institutional , commercial , industrial., open space, are terms used in the context of planning,
Check the Town's Official Plan . Defnitions are part of the introduction.
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Change has A Ripple Effect
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Points of
Debate":
Having listened to the Council ' discussion ' on Hunters' Glen, I think you may find some allies to at least reduce the grandiose spending. Bike lanes simply do not need to be on both sides of the road. Even in Europe, where bikes are king, there is a track on only one side, generally the most ' scenic '.
That lighting plan could be halved if it would reduce Mayor Dawe's angst. Although the upgrade is not essential, not even needed and was not even requested.
All projects that are needed in Aurora could move up a notch in time if this stupidity were curtailed. Councillor Gartner's & Councillor Buck's streets could be done sooner.
***************
Bike lanes that start in the middle of nowhere and end nowhere and traverse a road that serves thirty homes have no rightful place.
The original plan to renew existing lighting had a price tag of $33,000. The new one that sprang out of hundreds of thousands over-budgeted for road re-construction, is more than $300,000.
Until the fight to move Glass Drive forward for the safety of
students from two schools. I had never thought of querying the schedule or design of road re-construction.
Until the re-construction of Spruce Steet that called for the contractor to have an arborist on the job to protect the trees.and there was none.
Until the Hunter's Glen dismally inaccurate estimates and budget
miscalculations and insane proposal for a lighting design, I never gave much attention to scheduling and costs of roads projects.
I trusted
It's a substantial change that makes the part-time job of a Councillor that much more demanding than the days when .
Having listened to the Council ' discussion ' on Hunters' Glen, I think you may find some allies to at least reduce the grandiose spending. Bike lanes simply do not need to be on both sides of the road. Even in Europe, where bikes are king, there is a track on only one side, generally the most ' scenic '.
That lighting plan could be halved if it would reduce Mayor Dawe's angst. Although the upgrade is not essential, not even needed and was not even requested.
All projects that are needed in Aurora could move up a notch in time if this stupidity were curtailed. Councillor Gartner's & Councillor Buck's streets could be done sooner.
***************
Bike lanes that start in the middle of nowhere and end nowhere and traverse a road that serves thirty homes have no rightful place.
The original plan to renew existing lighting had a price tag of $33,000. The new one that sprang out of hundreds of thousands over-budgeted for road re-construction, is more than $300,000.
Until the fight to move Glass Drive forward for the safety of
students from two schools. I had never thought of querying the schedule or design of road re-construction.
Until the re-construction of Spruce Steet that called for the contractor to have an arborist on the job to protect the trees.and there was none.
Until the Hunter's Glen dismally inaccurate estimates and budget
miscalculations and insane proposal for a lighting design, I never gave much attention to scheduling and costs of roads projects.
I trusted
It's a substantial change that makes the part-time job of a Councillor that much more demanding than the days when .
Pride Of Place
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Collegiality?":
"It's also natural that those without experience might prefer everyone to function at the same level so lack thereof is not so blatantly obvious."
What you see is a virtue can easily be dismissed as irrelevant by many. Particularly when that "experience" is rooted in the 1960s and '70s, when Aurora was a much different place, and your council colleagues didn't live here (or were even born).
************
Once again, right you are.
Experience and knowledge of the community's history could and is easily dismissed as irrelevant by many. Especially if one lives in a ten year-old townhouse on the east side of town, has no interest,doesn't identify with the town, or wasn't even born within the last three decades.
If however, one has aspirations to represent the community as a Councillor or even as Mayor, it would be unwise to dismiss as irrelevant, the history of a significant percentage of the community, who are proud to be several generations Aurora or at least long-term residents. who don't feel in the least bit irrelevant.
"It's also natural that those without experience might prefer everyone to function at the same level so lack thereof is not so blatantly obvious."
What you see is a virtue can easily be dismissed as irrelevant by many. Particularly when that "experience" is rooted in the 1960s and '70s, when Aurora was a much different place, and your council colleagues didn't live here (or were even born).
************
Once again, right you are.
Experience and knowledge of the community's history could and is easily dismissed as irrelevant by many. Especially if one lives in a ten year-old townhouse on the east side of town, has no interest,doesn't identify with the town, or wasn't even born within the last three decades.
If however, one has aspirations to represent the community as a Councillor or even as Mayor, it would be unwise to dismiss as irrelevant, the history of a significant percentage of the community, who are proud to be several generations Aurora or at least long-term residents. who don't feel in the least bit irrelevant.
Collegiality?
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Points of
Debate":
"...but it's slow going. Often tedious."
The feeling must be mutual, thus the interruptions.
********************
No doubt the feeling is mutual.
The difference is, I do not interrupt the Councillor on a spurious point of order that he is taking forever to make his point.
That's not a point of order.
Nine people have been elected to represent the community.
If we respect the decision of the electorate, we respect the authority of each member to represent their particular viewpoint however they wish to do so. So long as they are not impugning motives of a Council, casting aspersions on integrity, being uncivil to a colleague, repeating the same point over and over, not speaking to the motion on the table and generally being f-ng obnoxious.
It's natural that members with greater experience might have more to contribute to a debate. Yes... maybe too much at times.
It's also natural that those without experience might prefer everyone to function at the same level so lack thereoff is not so blatantly obvious.
It's the essential discipline of a nine member Council.
Nuisance interruptions contribute nothing to a debate but childish lack of discipline.
Brings down the tone of the whole affair.
We owe it to the people who elected us to put our best foot forward.
"...but it's slow going. Often tedious."
The feeling must be mutual, thus the interruptions.
********************
No doubt the feeling is mutual.
The difference is, I do not interrupt the Councillor on a spurious point of order that he is taking forever to make his point.
That's not a point of order.
Nine people have been elected to represent the community.
If we respect the decision of the electorate, we respect the authority of each member to represent their particular viewpoint however they wish to do so. So long as they are not impugning motives of a Council, casting aspersions on integrity, being uncivil to a colleague, repeating the same point over and over, not speaking to the motion on the table and generally being f-ng obnoxious.
It's natural that members with greater experience might have more to contribute to a debate. Yes... maybe too much at times.
It's also natural that those without experience might prefer everyone to function at the same level so lack thereoff is not so blatantly obvious.
It's the essential discipline of a nine member Council.
Nuisance interruptions contribute nothing to a debate but childish lack of discipline.
Brings down the tone of the whole affair.
We owe it to the people who elected us to put our best foot forward.
Degrees of Difference, Easily Identifiable
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Jehosophat
and Geat Balls OF Fire":
It certainly is not rural!
**************
Well, that can be argued.
An estate lot must be large enough to accommodate a septic tank and a well, of sufficient distance from the septic tank.
Rural homes do not receive urban services.
There are no water lines or sanitary sewers in rural roads.
It's the difference between rural and urban. There are other differences but that's the main distinction.
My neighbourhood was built with water services and sanitary sewers. Roads however, were classified semi-rural. They had no storm sewers. curbs. or sidewalks.
Storm drainage was by ditch and culvert. The same as rural roads.
My street, fifty-two years old is the last to be re-constructed to urban standards in my neighbourhood.
When it happens, sidewalk and boulevard will be provided on one side of the road. It's passing strange that Hunter's Glen, built twenty years later, is scheduled for reconstruction before mine.
Two years ago, I had to join in battle with residents of Glass Drive, with two schools and a park, to be re-constructed with sidewalks for the safety of the schoolchildren.
On my street, ditches and culverts will be replaced with storm sewers, gutters, catch basins and curbs.
Then like the rest of my neighbourhood it will no longer be semi-rural.
It will be urban.
I didn't see ditches and culverts on Hunter's Glen when I drove down there the other day. So I'm not sure about storm sewers. But I am certain about septic tanks and wells on each lot. No urban services are provided.
Hence, it's not urban.
It is a neighbourhood.
It's not a farmhouse sitting in relative isolation
But it's more rural than it is urban.
Maybe we can stop this fruitless argument now
It certainly is not rural!
**************
Well, that can be argued.
An estate lot must be large enough to accommodate a septic tank and a well, of sufficient distance from the septic tank.
Rural homes do not receive urban services.
There are no water lines or sanitary sewers in rural roads.
It's the difference between rural and urban. There are other differences but that's the main distinction.
My neighbourhood was built with water services and sanitary sewers. Roads however, were classified semi-rural. They had no storm sewers. curbs. or sidewalks.
Storm drainage was by ditch and culvert. The same as rural roads.
My street, fifty-two years old is the last to be re-constructed to urban standards in my neighbourhood.
When it happens, sidewalk and boulevard will be provided on one side of the road. It's passing strange that Hunter's Glen, built twenty years later, is scheduled for reconstruction before mine.
Two years ago, I had to join in battle with residents of Glass Drive, with two schools and a park, to be re-constructed with sidewalks for the safety of the schoolchildren.
On my street, ditches and culverts will be replaced with storm sewers, gutters, catch basins and curbs.
Then like the rest of my neighbourhood it will no longer be semi-rural.
It will be urban.
I didn't see ditches and culverts on Hunter's Glen when I drove down there the other day. So I'm not sure about storm sewers. But I am certain about septic tanks and wells on each lot. No urban services are provided.
Hence, it's not urban.
It is a neighbourhood.
It's not a farmhouse sitting in relative isolation
But it's more rural than it is urban.
Maybe we can stop this fruitless argument now
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