It was a long conversation we had yesterday As good a way as any to spend a snowy Saturday.
A hundred and forty people visited for 4.5 minutes and 342 viewed for 2,5 minutes .
There are two or three lose ends. Then I have to read three reports on the hysterical
theme park to try and understand the latest maneuver.
We were talking about how things get into the budget. LED lights for example.
Conserving energy is a good thing. I just think when a new product appears on the market ,it makes sense not to swallow the bait...hook,line and sinker.
We have two opportunities to test LED lights.....St John's and Leslie Street. We are not replacing lighting there.We are upgrading to urban from rural standard.
We were talking about how items get into a budget.
It used to be a simple matter of maintaining service levels .Necessary improvements were considered
second if resources permitted.
At the beginning of the term, at a Chamber Luncheon, The Mayor announced we would soon have a new hotel. He drew attention to a particular guest and told him he would be getting his sidewalk on Industrial Parkway.
And Lo ...it came to be.
Every new election, a condominium resident would approach a new Councillor asking
for a cut in the curb to ease the shopping buggy up and down.
It would be refused.
It was too dangerous to be crossing at that spot.
Councillor Humphrey was more successful. $85,000 was included in the next budget for a signalized crossing at the spot.
It's not my idea of fiscal control. But it seems typical of the times.
On the one hand, families have to resort to food banks because of a lack of resources.
On the other , with complete righteousness , we impose several hundred thousand in taxes annually and hand it over to a self-appointed group who meet behind closed doors in a building renovated at great public expense , with the purchase of "culture" in mind.
We collect $50,000 taxes to transfer to the Handful Historical Society to spend as they like
While Service Clubs like Rotary and Optimists occupy their time creating ways and means to contribute as opposed to siphoning funds from town coffers.
Sunday, 2 February 2014
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33 comments:
Last year during the Budget discussions, a woman stood in the audience,
" Please, " she said. " Could you try to keep the taxes down ? "
I expect she wondered then if anyone even heard her.
I don't think they did.
There was one good idea that hit the table. Mr Tree's design for a rink. Wouldn't this have been a great year to test his prototype ?
Now, did Cllr Gallo actually vote to provide money for that project or did he keep on saying the it wasn't Council's place to be entering the ' market place ' ?
I know the sidewalk on the east side of Industrial Parkway was built but I know nothing about a new hotel coming to town. What can you tell us about it?
Where was it supposed to go, how many rooms was it supposed to have, was it affiliated with a hotel chain?
Mayor Dawe apparently made reference to this at the beginning of term to the Chamber of Commerce.
Is this hotel still supposed to be coming to town more than three years after it was announced?
Are you going to watch the Super Bowl game later today?
@ 12:30
I consider that Heritage Project to be dabbling in the real estate market. One of the main reasons set forth in the staff report - which was not a feasibility study - was that the land would increase over the years.
A Dept.Head at TOA told me STAFF are preparing the groups business plan.That was about four months ago.I see whats going on now and there is more than a smell at Bayveiw and Wellington .
13:42 And what kinda of increase in value are you going to get on heritage property? Zippo, Nadda, Nil! If they'd buy the properties, tear down the building, take the heritage designation off and rezone the properties....you'd make a bundle.
They are likely going to show you a lot of pictures & descriptions of properties elsewhere claiming the situations are comparable.
That will not be true.
Many lovely restored buildings were GIFTS to the towns or cities. And most of them languished for years because the municipalities could not afford their costs.
The place in High Park was in dreadful shape by the time enough funds were generated. It also failed to capture the imaginations of Torontonains for years. Even Casa Loma has had really rough times.
So don't fall for this vision nonsense.
Taking the designation off is easy as the HAC is averaging one of the list almost every meeting in 2013 and earlier.
12:30
I quite agree. & think most in Aurora would too. You can see the provenance of the idea and it really is a gift to the town. He is supposed to have said he was not interested in profiting personally. I truly hope it proves to be feasible.& that if it does the town gives him more than just a dumb plaque for his wall.
What a great idea, 15:20! ... Well, apart from the fact that it defeats the whole purpose of heritage preservation.
Details, details,...whatever, you keep coming up with visionary ideas like that one, okay?
"...hysterical theme park..."
It looks like someone is rubbing off on you with their sophomoric wordplay.
There was another project that seemed worth while
It was a park.
[ don't jump on me. not the wanna-be thing ]
It was a small park that needed the equipment replaced and ungraded, maybe with some extra attention given to items for special needs kids.
[ it is not close to me so I don't have a vested interest either ]
I don't know how that has handled because there were objections from Councillor Gallo.
Did the ' good guys win ?
Well...I'm sure everyone on council has already decided how they'll vote
by now. This heritage project will be disappearing shortly. Just have a little faith.
17:08
We already pay for culture & historical preservation.
There is absolutely no danger of either being destroyed....... Now they have just become buzz-words for speculation IMO
Cllr Thompson has fallen for Colborne Lodge in Toronto and believes Aurora can do the same thing. He seems to have completely missed the fact that the residence was deeded to the city and the land around it purchased later. This is quite common for people to visit the place a few times without realizing how much time and money was spent to get it off the ground. Toronto simply refused to get involved. We are talking many, many years and many many Councils.
It is not the place of a departing Council to saddle those who follow with such a burden. Let it be decided by the residents & an incoming Council.
19:05
Nope. It's an election year. All bets are off.
17:08 - They were just commenting on the fact that those properties have no real investment value, because of the heritage designation, zoning and apparently there’s wetlands around there as well. If they did the owner of the Readman House would have done something with that property 20yrs ago.
17:08
The only vision I want the Town to have is to stop finding ways to spend money to “better my quality of life” Take care of the services and programs we have now, we can’t afford to maintain what we have without raising taxes. Close this door on this project and I’m sure another one will open without selling our children. How’s that for “visionary”?
The Service Clubs have voters too. This could prove to be a very costly error for Council.
Off= topic
The Chevy ad at the Super Bowl is excellent.
"This heritage project will be disappearing shortly. Just have a little faith."
19:05, I really hope to see you at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
20:50
Will you have your hand out for a tip as usual ?
"Puppy Love" wins best Super Bowl ad once again for
Budweiser.
It had been viewed 32,000,000 times by this morning.
Much better than the game itself
You seem to have struck a nerve with this topic.
Hope councillors are likewise struck.
I'm going to have to agree with 19:05. The plan is asking for 10+ million from the Town and another 10+ million from "partners and fundraising", and they want the Town to secure the land first....Ya right! If this "innovative idea" was on the show Dragon's Den...It would be a quick "I'm out" episode.
Question time on the multi-million dollar Heritage plan.
Where can I find a copy on-line to take a look at?
I can hardly be expected to endorse such an expensive plan unless I know what it is.
How many Aurora residents that are NOT members of the historical society have already endorsed the idea?
Is there a petition somewhere for me to sign?
I've heard of money being spent on a feasibility study.
Why would the Town spend taxpayer money to test the feasibility of someone else's idea?
Shouldn't a properly vetted proposal be presented to council along with proof of community interest?
10:04
I will take one part of you query.
The Council Oked a feasibility study not to exceed $20.000. For reasons no one seems wiling to address, they were presented with an expensive proposal that went far beyond their assignment.
@10:46
Exactly my point.
It was never up to the Town to pay for a feasibility study.
A feasibility study should have been PROVIDED to the Town along with the proposal for consideration.
The Heritage Theme Park Group - or whatever they call themselves has every right to send a delegation to council.
It is council's duty to hear these delegations.
But there was no need to spend ONE DIME of taxpayer money vetting this plan unless said group was able to prove they had broadbased community support.
That's the difference between giving the people what they want and giving a special interest group what they want.
Tim:
Look up January 14 GC for CAO's report.
Your computer will require ADOBE READER and this should permit you to download the full report.
Happy reading.
It's a pile of pig swill
Went to the GC minutes
Simply states the report was submitted and mentions buying up properties around town.
Where can one read the contents of the report?
Tim:
I was never able to download attachments to reports presented at Council/GC meetings until now.
I installed Adobe Reader on my computer and when I click onto a given meeting I get a whole column of PDF's on the left hand side, the Agenda page as normal. Clicking on the first PDF listed gives me access to the entire report.
Maybe you should check with someone a little more knowledgeable but I think what I said above is what I did.
Good luck.
The Report really is a lot of nothing. A waste of paper!!!
Timothy,
Or you could call the communication unit & ask them for the info. Hee. hee !
Found it!
Bit of a long slog - but interesting.
Skip to the summary.
Specifically recommends against use as a museum.
No idea where that 'orphan' finds a home.
"Rather than trust to chance that private and public interests align, the Town should be the key controlling influence defining the opportunities, working with the private sector who will take on the risk, creativity and much of the capital to make the development project happen."
I freely admit that I never signed up for Report Jargon 101 but my take on this is that the Town calls the shots - while interested private parties put up most of the cash.
In other words - the exact opposite of the Kulture Klub arrangement.
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