THE BEST LAID PLANS OF MICE AND MEN

The Mavrinac 6 acres that the town just bought for $2.4 million dollars  is a story that took a few twists and turns and the final writhing  is yet to come.  

The town has already acquired full entitlement for park and recreation needs for the neighbourhood.

They are built and in place.  

Legal fees are not the only ancillary expense of the acquisition.  A park is not built without cost nor maintained without manpower. There can have been no capital forecast for the expense. It was never anticipated.

 A park on that site is completely redundant and a classic example of how Topsy grows and decisions are made and by the way without advice from the Chief Financial Advisor. 

The Public  and Separate board both earmarked sites as required by the Planning Act. The Public School Board site, substantially larger, was intended for a high school. The Public Board paid for and acquired their site.

Opposition to the transfer of Dr .G.W.Williams HS. to the new neighbourhood was organized by friend and campaign manager of the former Mayor. The plan changed. The Board is now in a position to re-sell the site to a developer at market value. Who knows who.....maybe Minto will buy it back. 

When the Separate School Board decided not to take up the site, town staff had no knowledge of the clause in the subdivision agreement requiring it to be sold to the municipality. 

No such clause had  been seen before. 

Former Councillor Gallo brought it to the attention of Council and staff but first to the neighbourhood. He hand delivered a letter informing residents  and advising them he favored the site be acquired and used as a park. 

He booked the Council Chamber and chaired a meeting to promote the project.Councillors couldn't

wait to jump on the bandwagon. Councillor Abel in the forefront, first. On his feet, he  repeated his commitment to buy everything in sight and create parks,parks and more parks. 

You'd have to be on that council and the one before...and the one before ...to understand how such a clause could get into a legal agreement.

Once the town sold a small parcel to a developer. Against the advice of an interim town solicitor, a Councillor insisted on a clause that eventually brought the agreement back to be amended. The bank had refused to finance the project .

The clause effectively placed a condition on the sale,requiring it to be reversed, at the original price, if not used  for the purpose the buyer stated. 

It was to be used as stated but bank refusal to finance the project would not permit that to happen. 

Municipal politics may not be the only place for imbecility. It's the only one I know intimately. 

John Gallo,one of the gang of six on the previous Council, was the only Councillor who knew of the clause in the Minto agreement. Lines of communication between himself and probably Councillor MacEachern was a badly kept secret. With the help of the former CAO ,he once got a stop work order on a couple of tennis courts that were all but completed and within budget.They did not get finished for another nine months and of course at greater cost. 

Minto, the developer likely had his own reasons to cave in to the town.Toadying to politicians is part of the price of being in business. Discreet complaints are made at private dinners where hundreds of thousands can be paid to break bread with provincial movers and shakers. 

Then half-baked legislation like Conflict of Interest  is passed to no effect other than to place another burden on municipal property taxpayers. 

But I digress. ....Only slightly. 

Now they've got it, town has to decide what to do with the Minto property. 

Neighbours  are naturally pleased and magnaminiously recommend a purpose that will benefit the entire community... Huff Puff ....Rightly so.  

Thus far the entire community has footed the bill.  

It cannot be a park. According to town standards,already higher than need be, the neighbourhood is fully serviced with recreation amenities. 

The Mayor has  righteously proclaimed the purchase. 

 No longer is there a need to justify upholding an irregular,never-seen -before, clause in a subdivision agreement.

Now all that is needed is  an explanation of why the town needs the land. To what purpose?

Certainly not a park. 

In partnership with the Region,the Town of Newmarket has been successful in providing affordable 

housing in that community. 

Aurora could do that. Why not?

$2.4 million is only 20% of the planned giveaway to entice York University to locate a campus on our border. 

Great excitement and seat -gripping tension was not the reaction Town staff actually left their officers and went out and about asking people if they wanted to sell their property and if-so ...name the  price . 

Did I read somewhere only eight people viewed the last council meeting? 

That should suit them just fine.