About the $1.4 million project not recommended for approval at next Tuesday's Council meeting.
Location is west of the Stronach Recreation Centre.It's completion of a sports campus. It could have been done when the baseball diamond was constructed in 2010. with a two-thirds stimulus grant from the Federal government. The administration had other priorities and an application was not made.
BTW, Frank Stronach paid two million for his name to be on a facility constantly referred to by an acronym. If I were a rich man solicited to pay for my name to be on a public facility, the practice of using acronyms would not entice me.
But I digress.
The site has a mountain of soil, It started when the centre was constructed, Hills had to be leveled for the baseball diamond and the mountain grew.
Hard estimates for a diamond on that site,were over a million. In large part due to contours of the site. A great hullabaloo was created when the estimate was presented. A previous estimate for a diamond without an identified site, was $600,000.Former Councillor MacEachern, chairman of the Recreation Advisory Comittee undertook to determine cost of a ball diamond elsewhere was much less.
After public opposition was established ,the master plan priorities came to the fore. The imperative became how to satisfy needs and at the same time convince self-generated opposition that the forces of all things righteous were triumphant in beating back the forces of extravagance.
Only in politics, you say.
The project was truncated and we are now dealing with the consequences.
The mountain of soil and leveling of hills are a large part of the cost to complete the sports campus.
A storm water management pond that can and should be relocated is on site.
Future development west will accommodate drainage of the site. The mountain of soil could be used to fill the pond. Saving the cost of exporting it..
Land would increase for recreation purpose.
Cost of moving the mountain and works to stabilize the pond is estimated to be $278,000.
Cost of another artificial turf field is the big ticket item.
Staff time has already been expended in detailing plans and estimates .
The sports campus would be completed, A worthy objective
Development charges and Cash in Lieu reserve funds would fund much of the work.
But the DC fund is in deficit.
Artificial turf is a huge investment. There are advantages But it would be the second funded this year.
In time, we don't know when, the storm water pond will be relocated and a quarter of a million dollars for the project will have been unnecessary.
We are currently negotiating with Ontario Real Estate, an agency of the government, for a lease for fields on provincial lands.
So, the issue becomes a matter of judgement; whether the need is pressing? What the competing needs are for available resources?
Votes to proceed last Tuesday were Councillors Abel,Thonpson,Humphryes and Pirri. Voting not to proceed at this time were myself, Gallo,Gaertner and Ballard.
A tie vote is a defeated vote.But the decision is still to be made.
The tie-breaker would have been the Mayor's vote.
The community influenced the vote on spending $100.000 on a year long celebration of the sesquicentennial.
The community can influence this decision too.
Pressure has already started for the project to proceed
Let the other side be heard.
Let the judgement be even-handed.
Saturday 23 June 2012
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Isn't it funny who you are often voting along with lately...
If the fund is in deficit, can they still spend it in anticipation? Not on my budget but Council appear to have different rules. The current crop came in to cut & reduce spending limits established by the past one. They should keep that in mind. Clock's ticking & taxpayers are watching & listening.
Post a Comment