"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

Friday 3 February 2017

GIVE US THE FACTS, MR.MAYOR

Opportunity to tour the facility is not the same as an official opening. The latter calls for a speech and the speech IS  the accounting of how well  the project proceeded. That's what's missing. 

If I re-call correctly ,this was $26 million project . The town undertook substantial debt to pay for it. The contract was advertised and awarded according to provincial regulations. 

It means , estimates were prepared, bids were closed at a precise hour with all parties entitled to be present for the reading thereoff. 

Bids  were listed and referred for expert analysi to ensure complete and accurate pricing.  It is my understanding that subsequent change orders , during construction,items were removed because 
the budget allocated was not sufficient to complete the contract at the price awarded.

As well as failure to complete the project with funds allocated, regulations have been circumvented.
 It doesn't take much more than that for a municipality to get a reputation for serious incompetence and questionable integrity. 

What use are provincial regulations if they can be so easily ignored?

Council appointed an oversight committee. The lCAO and a financial controller  had oversight responsibility,as well as the director, to manage this project. Did they not hire a project manager as
well? I think so.

The CAO left the town's employ a year ago. Time enough to realise the problem with the contract. 

The Director has now been terminated. 

 Council is now requested to fork out additional financing to include  items removed from the original contract .

An official opening is the occasion for the final accounting. 

Successful completion of a multi-million dollar construction project is no small accomplishment. 

In a municipality,more than one person is responsible for failure. 

The town went into debt for this project. 

And what have we got? 

With all those public servants watching Why is the public last to know?

How much has been discussed behind  closed doors ?

How many reports dealing with it , were not called for public discussion? 

Thereby keeping the problems under wraps?

Tours don't cut it Mr.Mayor.

Just give us the facts man. 


5 comments:

Anonymous said...


Assume the Director of Infrastructure and Environmental Services was Ilmar Simanovskis. Is this correct?

Did he just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Or is there more to this?

Sounds like a daw Dawe story.

Glad to see you setting aside your knitting for a while.

Anonymous said...

I remember there was some outside person that was hired to keep their eye on the ball with this project. I guess he got paid in full for his outstanding performance? Maybe even given a bonus? Im sure the director got one sweet severance. He's probably high-fiving it all the way to the bank, then after a nice long vacation, get hired in another Town somewhere...they all do. I don't think the Mayor is staying for another term Evelyn, so why would her care about giving us facts now. I'd like to hear from the other Councillors and what their take is on this whole shit show at the Ops center.

Anonymous said...



21:01

Maybe we get "alternate facts."

Imports from south of the border.

Anonymous said...

20:35
You assume correctly. He just never should have been in that position in the first place. What's amazing is how long he lasted.

Anonymous said...

This all started with a new temporary Councillor,who voted YES.