Missing from the previous list is the Fab Lab project contemplated for the old library building.
There is one already in Markham with support from the Region , with our taxes and all and in partnership with York Region.
We don't know how well the concept is working out down there.
But no matter, every municipality should apparently have one of their own.
With such fabulously successful entrepreneurs for advisors ,no doubt the Midas touch will grace our efforts
When Kathy Van Nostrand called last week to invite me for coffee and five minutes , the time on the phone stretched beyond that while I was subjected to the hard sell.
Each member of Council was similarly approached.
Except of course the Mayor,whose office was committed even before the project had legs.
Kathy kept referring to "we " in her references.
I kept asking who are "we".? You and who?
She kept dodging the question.
"their " use of the town funds, $25,000 . to determine feasibility was referenced .
The Probus Presentation ,circulated by the Manager of Special Projects , to consider before dealing next Tuesday with the 100 page report written by himself plus the consultant study.
The Probus Presentation sets out the financial feasibility formula
Town to fund 50% of the cost,
Donations and fund-raising to fund 50% of the cost.
Even as I write it, I can scarce believe they put that in writing.
The sense of unreality grows as Councillors are individually lobbied and pressured from inside and out.
"There is one already in Markham with support from the Region , with our taxes and all and in partnership with York Region"
ReplyDeleteOh is that the same Region that is 2 Billion in the Red, I wonder?
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ReplyDeleteI'm pretty certain that more than $25,000 in Town money has been spent on what was clearly not a feasibility study. It was, in fact, a long hard-sell which boiled down to their contention that the land would be worth more whenever it might have to be sold. That's what the guy who bought that decaying house thought about 2 decades ago. He couldn't find a single taker on the Real Market of the Real
ReplyDeleteWorld. Hence the town. Suckers !
ReplyDelete"The sense of unreality grows as Councillors are individually lobbied and pressured from inside and out."
Like so many bowls of jelly. They start to tremble when they see someone begin to approach.
An aquarium should be installed in the town hall lobby and these jellyfish displayed in it.
When Mr. Albino spoke to me about the Heritage project a few years back, he stated that it would take all 3 levels of government, Federal, Provincial and Municipal, plus private funding to get this idea off the ground. No private monies have come forward, have any Federal or Provincial interests been outlined? There seems to be a suggestion from some of Auroras business and financial elite that this council is easy to manipulate . Please, if any other councillors are reading this blog, take heed. That is the impression you are giving off.
ReplyDeleteI may be wrong but I don`t believe there is a FabLab type operation in Markham. If so why would York Region be in support of another in Aurora? Someone may be confusing it with VentureLab in Markham (see www.venturelab.ca )
ReplyDeleteVentureLab is an excellent organization that helps entrepreneurs and businesses in general get off the ground and become successful. I work in Markham but live in Aurora and have attended many learning sessions and events from VentureLab. The FabLab concept is about specifically helping manufacturers with innovation and is tied into the initiatives with York Region and Seneca College as far as I understand.
Aurora could also use a VentureLab type of organization but it is too small to support these types of efforts and Aurora businesses are just as welcome at VentureLab as are any other York Region companies.
What's better is to pool resources together across the Region as opposed to going it alone. Or at least to know that if you are trying to get something like FabLab off the ground you have to see York Region as your target market of manufacturers and not just Aurora.
8:57 Yup…The same Region that the S&P gave a credit rating outlook from stable to negative. The same Region that was told to have municipalities consider deferring projects to help with their (our) debt. Mayor Dawe is our representative at the Region. I’m sure he knows all about Markham’s Lab project
ReplyDelete9:22 The Mayor believes he is above it all. I figure he still believes he was elected on merit. Quite sad really.
ReplyDeleteAnd councillor Buck believes that she was elected to keep costs under control while she sues former and present councillors being defended on the public purse.
ReplyDeleteI want to add to my post about the Mayor owes somebody. It was, in no way, meant to suggest anything illegal on his part. If anyone interpreted this to suggest the Mayor was up to any illegal activity I apologize for this. Councillor Buck has correctly put it in the political context it was intended.
ReplyDelete13:20
ReplyDeleteThat really won't fly, you know. If you study the record - gotta pay in Newmarket for a copy - you will see the actuality.
Hey 13:20 why bring up the legal fees being paid from the public purse? Councillor Buck has paid her own way through this entire process. As I see it, you don't know what you are talking about and quite frankly there is no argument with someone who comments on something they know nothing about. Unless of course you do and in that case you just cant fix stupid!
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