"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

Sunday 6 October 2013

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

There's a storm brewing over the youth centre plans at the Aurora Family Leisure Complex.

Council approve new plans and $2.6 million additional funds for the project on July 16th.

Four voted against the recommendation . Five were in favour.

We had a jam -packed  agenda. One significant decision after another.

We hadn't completed an agenda since May and worked until 12 midnight evey time.

We were in summer recess.

I think the vote came down to Councillors taking sides .

My argument was that we should stop at that point to review everything from  the point of several sites being identified  as options.

Since the site chosen turned out to have soil problems and cost  $2.6 million dollars more to build , I thought that was good reason to review the choice of site.

I was not successful.

Councillor Abel argued I hadn't been in favour of a youth centre from the beginning. I was just trying to sabotage the project.  He said the AFLC hadn't been built to Code in the beginning and this Council was having to  spend more money to correct the mistakes of the past.

That was the sense of it. The words are mine. If it wasn't so damned  insulting and expensive thatlast comment   would have  made me chuckle.

I don't think of Councillor Abel as the Wise Old Man of the East.

Anyway, users of the AFLC have discovered Council's last decision means their  fitness programs will be  shut down for the next twelve months and the teen cenre, ather being an addition to the existing building, will be  distributed space throughout the centre.

The concept has not been well received. Especially being dropped on them from out of the blue.

A delegation is expected at Tuesday's meeting .

Put out, pardon the pun, users are appealing to their  elected representatives to change the decision.

Excuse me whle I turn my face to the side, cover it with my hand and  indulge an evil grin..

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does the delegation want Council to appeal the additional expenditure, look at another site or dropping this concept of a "Youth Center"? I’m hoping the latter.

Anonymous said...

Uh, I wonder if added into this toxic mess, might be the fact that that poll in the Auroran that ran for about a month couldn't drum up any more than about a 25% approval from residents for the added expense to continue this project ?

Anonymous said...

It was made quite clear at that earlier meeting that the teens were going to have space throughout the project. Including some crazy climbing wall in the lobby. Guess that changing room will remain ' not up to standard '.

Anonymous said...

Laughing with you - but it is going to cost more in the long run. As usual.
They should take a long hard look at the armoury.

Anonymous said...

I'm scared to look at the Agenda. Aren't they doing that tree by-law & that poor guy with the 3 trees? They bloody well should do him first. He's earned it in spades.

Anonymous said...

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