"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

Wednesday 22 February 2012

The Amazing Gift

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "A Dream Came True":

To Anonymous 22 February, 2012 10:57 AM

"The time for dealing properly with this mess came and went without notice as the ordinary Aurorans were considered beneath notice."

Where were you and the others that are endorsing the voiding of a contract when this deal was made in the first place? It was not made in a vacuum or inside a closet. If you have a problem with how it is run, I think the proper place is at the Board level of the Centre

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No..the proper place is at the Council table. 

I was  there  when  approval of the contract was voted.

Questions were raised .

 An amendment was made to the  motion to refer the contract to the  town solicitor, to report back if any modifications to the contract were  necessary.

That  never happened.

There was no follow through. 

The new board interpreted the contract to mean they had authority to exclude the museum from the building.

The decision was not immediately apparent.

I have told the story several times  of  when it did become apparent.

I asked the Mayor  in a Council meeting, when the museum was going to be up and running in the place provided for it by the town.

I well recall  the  response. The Mayor's eyes shifted rapidly from side to side like a trapped animal  before  she referred the question to the Director of Finance to provide a report.

That never happened.

It was the  curator hired by the historical society who informed me when I inquired, of the board's refusal to accommodate the museum in the building.

Reason given .... a museum doesn't make money.

Mayor Morris had  friends and campaign workers posted in all kinds of  positions of influence. 

Ken Whitehurst was appointed, at $60.00 an hour, to replace  the curator who resigned, as  resource person advising the Ad Hoc Heritage  and Culture  Committee of which he was a member.  Chris Ballard was involved prior to being a Councillor
.
Councillors Gaertner and Granger  represented Council on the committee.

The curator who resigned was  the person who processed a successful application to  Federal Heritage which brought $750,000,
grant  revenue to be spent on a  heritage project..

Deputy Mayor Bob Mc Roberts  a life- long  resident and  town history buff asked to be involved in the committee. 

That didn't happen.

The only requirement of the board to obtain release of the funds  provided  by the town was a quarterly financial statement submitted to the Treasurer. Who had no obligation to report anything at all  to Council.

In other words, no accountability to Council.   Only  to the  Director of Finance. Funds flowed unimpeded and that's how it was arranged.

No wonder they think they own the building

It was wrapped up, tied in a bow and handed to them.

If the deal wasn't made in a vacuum, it certainly was in a closet  with only a few people who knew.what was intended.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is just another case of council trying to strike another reversal of the previous council's decision.

John West Way was the first. On the radar, the Cultural Centre and Hydro building. After that - who knows maybe the left turn into Longos. or maybe backing out of the YRT or CYF ?

Why can't we move forward instead of reversing the past?

Anonymous said...

12:22 PM
Too late and far too little. Exaggerate the issue all you like. It's simply economic. Aurora cannot afford to support those who make no effort to support themselves. The free ride won't run in today's economy.

Anonymous said...

Evelyn, I fear we are wasting time and effort dealing with the Vultures. Everything has been said and written and the paperwork is quite clear. They will have to vacate the premises as they cannot/will not support themselves in return for a rental figure of one dollar. No sign of any change in direction or second thoughts .Always urging us to move on.
Maybe we should do so, move on to a topic that allows them to cool off.
What Aurora could use is a decent hotel. Maybe they could spare some thought to that idea and give the rest of us a break from the tired old rhetoric. It is a lovely day, too nice to blow on this garbage. Pull the plug, please.

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 12:22 PM

In order to move forward we need to first fix the maistakes made in the past.

Things that don't need fixing don't need fixing, so Longos should be safe.

Anonymous said...

to 1:28....
"Things that don't need fixing don't need fixing, so Longos should be safe."

There are some that feel that what is going on now doesn't need fixing either. It's a judgement call and from what I see, it seems as though if MorMac touched it, it has to be reversed. WHen does it stop?

Anonymous said...

"it seems as though if MorMac touched it, it has to be reversed. WHen does it stop"
My what a brilliant deduction, the answer is obvious, when the gusher of tax payers dollars stop flowing like water from our Treasury, The best is yet to come

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 3:11 PM

I understand where you are coming from but I think that the current council has merely righted wrongs and repaired the damage done as best they can.

I don’t think that the previous council deserves a free pass just because of the extent of damage they did. We fix what we can and then we move on and pray that the future councils learn from the past and reflect the more professional and civil tone that we have witnessed this term as compared to the last term.

Anonymous said...

to anonymous @ 22 February, 2012 10:03 PM

We???

Are you a councillor? Or are you one of the sheep?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 8:15 AM

I'm one of the 78% of Aurorans that did not vote for Morris.

You must be one of the 22% that did vote for Morris which makes your reference to sheep all the more ironic in light of what 78% of us appear to know through past experience.