"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

Monday 2 February 2015

Camouflage..Sabotage..Smash and Grab

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Prada":
You're really chugging along this morning. Must make you feel good, possibly great.

The thought that runs through my mind is how much of this stuff originated with councillors only or with a combination of staff and councillors?

Can you shed any light here?

Thank you.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 2 February 2015 at 13:14


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Much of the stuff originated with the Mormac administration.

Staff did not advise Council there was no benefit to becoming involved in development of a Heritage Park. Considerable staff time and resources and council,maneuvering was expended reporting and promoting the idea.

Then community opposition made itself felt. A consultant was retained to provide the advice that allowed them to back off  the crazy scheme while still looking  like responsible.adults.



Mayor Dawe contended  the idea was sound even after the consultant's  report.

He had to. His name was first on the list supporting the daft notion. It encouraged all other people of status  to add their names.

First rule of a scam. Claim support of the establishment and lesser lights  will follow...or not...it doesn't matter.

This time it didn't work . Figuratively speaking, it took yelling and shouting, strong and  forthright language, jumping  up and down , smoke signals from the hills and bonfires on the beach but the message got through. The insanity was stopped.

Quiet  satisfaction was my reward.
Knowing something is wrong ,being unable to stop it  and being proven right in the end is not a comfort.

That last term was full of that level of numb-nut stupidity. I  have never seen anything like it.

The town had ample payroll sufficient to provide the professional advice needed to keep business on an even keel.

In eight years ,I was never able to assure taxpayers of  full value for taxes paid.

I  believe the message was not lost .  Most frequent comment heard during the election ;

"Evelyn ,I can't vote for either candidate for Mayor"

I believe many did not.  They stayed home .

At the transfer of ownership of the corner of our town park and  half-million dollar charitable contribution to federal coffers , Council were informed of the presence of asbestos in the building.

 $514,000 and $120,000 to clean up the asbestos was  understood as full cost of that smelly old dump.

I believe it is illegal to offer a contaminated site for sale without full disclosure.

Whether the town was informed by the Department of National Defense .Whether that was  the reason  Queen's York Rangers abandoned the building to be given the gift-wrapped tied with a ribbon building needed for our own purposes, I do not know.

We are certainly entitled to an explanation.

 Prada is a fashion house. It is also  the name of a movie about brittle, artificial relationships  within an industry that caters entirely to the rich and famous and bears little resemblance to real life.

It popped unbidden into my head as I finished the post.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Take a break for yourself - the information is now available for those who wish to hear or read. It did work a few times in the last term. Perhaps again.

Anonymous said...

And those properties are still just sitting on the market untouched by knowledgeable investors. How very odd when we were repeatedly warned that they would be snapped up if the town did not " act ".

Anonymous said...

The armory would still be sitting on the market if the Feds listed it for free.