Politics..Politics..Poitics

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Gift That Keeps On
Giving":

" Dropped on them out of the blue " Really? Did it not occur to them that
they might be inconvenienced by the renovation of the buildimg.

Posted by Anonymous to Our Town and Its Business at 6 October 2013 18:35

*******************

We will hear on Tuesday from  aflc users and why they are upset. We are already hearing by e-mail. . I hope the  anonymous comment is not a  hint  of their reception  from Council. 

I must say it sounds like it
I read it  and an old thought  re-occurred. 

The original decision was to  choose the location and retain an architect. Funds estimated for the project were  $4.2 million. The main advantage of that option was availability of a site. Buying a new location would have cost more it was thought. 

Teen space was to be new and occupy land in front of the building

I did not vote for it for reasons expressed at the time. I thought it was penny wise and pound foolish. 

Council  approved funding and authorized  the competition to choose an architect.

In July a new recommendation  was  advanced to approve $ 2.6 million additional funds.
,
It occurs to me now,  a potential increase to that extent, would dictate a run past the Mayor first before the plan was even formulated.

It would certainly have been vetted by the Executive Management Team and signed off on by the Chief Administrative Officer.

It was  two thirds on the way to approval before it  even  hit an agenda.

And a  jam-packed agenda it was.  As was the previous  and the one before that.None  of which were completed although  we burned the midnight oil repeatedly.

Many decisions were weighty. None received the attention they deserved.

When I cast my mind back  over the summer it seems Council's role  in the process  has been  substantially diminished.

It has never been more obvious.

My argument for a stay... and time to review... was dismissed.

Councillor  Abel suggested it was nothing but a delaying tactic. I was opposed to  the project from the beginning.  He  hinted I was aligning myself with the  opposition who have their own agenda.

The comments were offensive but I did not take offense. Councillor  Abel changes his argument so  

often it's like a spinning roulette wheel....round and round it  goes... where  it stops nobody knows.

The point is , I believe  the impetus for the decision made  in July was in play long before the recommendation hit the table.

No one person  was responsible for the changes in the plan.

Not the architect. Not the Director.

If Councillors outside the circle didn't know the extent of the change how could   users
have  anticipated  how  greatly the facility would be altered.

I don't think the decision  was made for the benefit of teens or other groups who use the centre.

I think the  decision was a political imperative.