"Cowardice asks the question...is it safe? Expediency asks the question...is it politic? Vanity asks the question...is it popular? But conscience asks the question...is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because it is right." ~Dr. Martin Luther King

Saturday 31 January 2015

Think About It

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Councillors Do Have A Function":

The Armory is sitting on top contaminated ground?? That we even spent 1/2 a million to buy this property that know one would ever buy, then find out that the soil and ground water is contaminated is just pathetic. So happy to hear once again how our money is so well spent, and how our professional, experienced Town staff is so on the ball.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 30 January 2015 at 16:01

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For the nominal fee of  $1.00 the  Armoury site was transferred to Queen Victoria for a specific purpose which is  no more.

Half a million dollars to have it returned  after over a hundred years of use free gratis was obscene
in my view.

Now it is understood A Federal List has  the property with contaminated soil and ground water.

Well  just wait a perishing minute.

We know about asbestos in the building. The musty smell indicates  the possibility of mould.

But soil contamination?  Ground water contamination ?

The building has minimal soil around it and no  obvious ground water .The town park is not a blithering swamp.

Could the federal government know about ground  and soil  and water contamination the town doesn't?

Could that be a secret the country's  defence depends upon.?

Was M.P.Lois Brown holding out on the Town when she handed over a key that was already ours
by right of  over-priced purchase

I think we should withhold  judgement  until we have information that makes more sense.


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think you are right, Evelyn. We have to know what kind of contamination. Someone commented up here that Newmarket had a bowling alley in their Armoury ? Presumable refreshments would have been sold there too. /but it does appear to be another case of a weird real estate transaction, Good that we didn't take on the Hallmark place as well.

Anonymous said...


I have no confidence in the federal government, the provincial government or our paltry bit of a municipal government to carry out a comprehensive study of the building, the land upon which it sits, the sub-soil beneath the land's surface and the possible ground water on which the entire mess floats.

If the land was on a federal list of properties held by the crown containing contaminated soil and ground water, I think the town of Aurora should submit a claim back against the federal government for the cost of the building together with interest and ALL related costs.

If there is asbestos in the building the federal government was probably in breach of some law or other that prevents the purchase or sale of properties containing asbestos.

In the meantime the building should be locked up and not used for anything pending a full and complete investigation.

Anonymous said...

I don't think Ms Brown knows zip about the Armoury. She would not even consider knowing about it to be part of her job.

Anonymous said...

I'm in total agreement with 16:01 comment. Why did we pay that kind of money for a piece of property that nobody would or could buy? I thought that the town was unloading some property so that they can pay for some of that $26 million garage. Realtors in this town must be laughing their heads off.

Anonymous said...

If some of you would stick your heads above the Aurora level for a while you would have read about the project that is underway with the DND.

The DND is going back to EVERY facility that they ever owned to review a possible contaminations. The big issue at most DND sites - especially militia used facilities - is LEAD.

LEAD, you say? Yep. What do you think is at the tip of most every rifle, sub-machine gun, and side-arm ammunition? That's right a lead bullet. During the WWII training facilities included small calibre rifle ranges (0.22 cal). The concept was simple, you shot from one end to the other where the targets were - the bullets went through the paper targets, hit the backwall and stayed there. In some cases they were scopped up, others - they were left.

This is the soil contamination.

Anonymous said...

If soil is contaminated how about the Town Park splash pad and all the kids running in the field near the building, sometimes families sit near the building for shade?