"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

Tuesday 30 April 2013

The More things Change...The More They remain The Same

I drove down Leslie to Wellington Street yesterday. I  looked for a particular house.  Didn't see it. I will return. I did see one in ruins.

It was the home of a couple  who, on an occasion during the last Council term, spent several months  in California with a family member .  On return,  they discovered to  their horror, part of a metal pole could be viewed framed in their dining room window.  It wasn't there when  they left .

New light poles  had  just been installed for the new Stewart Burnett Baseball Diamond  on Wellington Street abutting the Sronach Recreation Centre.

The couple were aware of construction of the diamond. They could hear the earth movers. They couldn't see anything because of the natural  woodland screen.

The season had changed,  Foliage was off the trees and  they could see a  portion of a
metal pole.

They were not concerned about the lights. Just that section of the pole framed in the dining room window.

They came to Council in high dudgeon. The wife  had been in contact with  Councillor MacEachern  who was  a source of solace. Now the only question was what  would be done  to resolve the  perceived problem.

The first  solution was to move the newly installed pole to  another location.

Sports field lights are installed according to a plan.  They cost hundreds of thusands of  dollars.
It was hard for me to see how one pole could be easily re-located.

The second solution was to plant  evergreen trees high enough to obscure the offending section  of  pole. The top part didn't matter. It was  not seen  from the dining room.The bottom part was obscured by scrub bush. It was just that itty-bitty part in the middle.

Estimated  cost  was $8,000 of trees  of the right height.

The owners had no intention  of staying in the home.

Property  use had changed from rural residential to urban commercial. It was opposite the
Walmart shopping centre . It was the property-owners intention to realize  vastly improved  asset.

One real estate listing has  already expired.  A new listing was intended.

Except for a tripod rather than a section of a pole and  $8,000. versus $150,000 , the situation was peculiarly similar to the current foo-fer-a on Bathurst Street.

And Oh yes.... a different Mayor and Council but pretty much the identical knee jerk  hysterical reaction.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Council were complaining that their hard work went unappreciated by residents. So they were in a panic at suddenly receiving all that negative attention. There is absolutely no use in trying to explain to them that Council should just take care of town business competently so that undue attention is not needed.
Ballard brought this down on the heads of council & staff. But Councillor Humfryes gets special mention for claiming that she didn't care how much an injunction would cost. What an air-head she has turned out to be !
I didn't vote for her so cannot call and protest. Those who did will have to handle that duty.

Anonymous said...

When we moved in, there was one light on the street that was never on. New people would complain, although it was not on the sidewalk side & made little difference. Town would come, replace the bulb. But the light wouldn't work. Took us a while to learn what the older neighbours knew. The light shone into one man's bedroom. He just shot the thing out on a regular basis.
Gosh, I miss those people.

Anonymous said...

Indeed Humpfryes has been a disappointment. We can only hope she now realizes she is unable to contribute and will not put her name forward for election ever again.

Anonymous said...

Streaming is not available on my computer. I'm not sure if it is my fault or another goof by Aurora's Communications gurus.

Anonymous said...

Christopher has a well-researched article on towers.

Anonymous said...

I understand Councillor Ballard is in mourning. He lost his saber at the Council meeting.

Anonymous said...

But he didn't lose his tin foil hat. Sadly he will ride again!

FootNote: Ballard denies wearing a tin foil hat, but his actions beg to differ.

Anonymous said...

I don't know about that, 10:09 AM. If anything could have happened, the council - including the mayor - could have claimed victory; thus sharing the credit and diluting Ballard's grandstanding support.

This way, Ballard will be heralded by those residents for 'fighting the good fight,' and will no doubt use that in next year's election campaign. This outcome against the impossible is probably a better one for Ballard, actually.

Anonymous said...

Sister Phyllis & Her Mule

Anonymous said...

May I disagree, 11:19 AM ? Precedent would argue against your suggestion. The past bunch catered to vocal segments of the community. I have not seen a break-down of voting patterns but believe that the rejection of their approach was pretty well across the board.

Anonymous said...

2:26 PM, you may want to look at the 2006 election results, and how MorMac benefited from their pandering to Aurora Grove residents.

Anonymous said...

Was any explanation offered for the lack of streaming? It was supposed to be an important meeting. Did someone forget? Is it more complicated than pushing a button? I confess total ignorance but was ticked off. If you want our attention, there has to be some consistency. Gardens are beckoning.

Anonymous said...

No. He used the residents. And that John Cunningham is still furious. They did not get their demands. Any of them. Ballard's problem is that he brings the same degree of fury to the table on every issue. He was just as livid about alcohol expenses and Lucid. Gets tiresome.