"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 13 October 2013

When is a Secret Not a Secret

The subdivision agreement gives the town first right of refusal if a school board  has no need of a site
 set aside for a possible school.

The agreement is a public document.

For  the town to be considering first right of refusal means the school board has decided not to use the site. It must be a matter of public record.

That a decision  is pending can be deduced from that which is already  public. information.

In camera  meetings happen when the municipal interest  needs to be protected

Only  three aspects of  this issue are not  already public;  an acceptable price., the right purpose and the decision

I'm not sure why the asking price for the land should be the town's secret to keep.

Tenders are opened in public. Bids are analyzed  and listed in public. Recommndation  is submitted to Council and subject to debate;

I believe the decision to be made on the unneeded school site should debated and decided in public.

For that reason, Councillor Gallo's use of town stationery to  under-inform  a specific neighborhood    is of secondary importance.

The real question is when does the public officially get to hear about it?


16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wasn't the town offered a school site once before ? One it wisely turned down as a potential money-pit? Maybe those residents now in a tizzy fit should visit that property & see the condos. It took ages, cost an awful lot but now revenue from taxes can make its way to Aurora.

Anonymous said...

Councillor Galo has shown that he is most comfortable when he works with his pack. He will not be a lone wolf this time.

Anonymous said...

What I am hearing is that it up to Council to set this matter straight with those residents. There isn't the sort of anger that there was over the abuse of that property owner with the tree problem. After watching that unfold, the reaction to this seems to be a tired shrug. It is such old stuff with demands being made simply because it is possible to play out these dramas.

Anonymous said...

If this is The Lure of The [ Former ] Reserve Hydro Fund, people are going to have to think again. Using that requires in-put from the ENTIRE town. So far, there is a marked disinclination to use it for ANY Council projects. Note the Auroran polls for a perhaps blurred but also accurate reflection of Auroran sentiment. It was never intended for one particular group of residents.

Anonymous said...

Maybe this is that new math. Aurora accepts $2 million in lieu of a park and still gets to keep the land for a park. No wonder students are failing to grasp the concept.

Anonymous said...

Are they seriously suggesting over-riding the Master Plan ? I know we have a Council that voted to ignore its own tree by-law against legal advice but this is over the top. It is hard to believe electioneering and posturing will drag the whole town into another stupid decision/











7

Anonymous said...

You write that you favour a debate on the school site. Frankly that scares the bajebbers out of me. This Council is already famous for its switching of sides under noisy pressure tactics. You will find that the majority of quiet residents have no confidence in consistency. There is none.

Anonymous said...

No, 20:22, I think you'll "find that the majority of quiet residents" are oblivious.

Anonymous said...

Another meeting tomorrow night. Ironic when if you held a meeting to discuss turning the land round High Tor into a park, there would be just as many residents demanding it be stopped.

Anonymous said...

@8:07
Really ? Were you on sabbatical during the last election ?

Really said...

No, 20:41. Did you not notice what paltry percentage of the populace actually bothered to vote?

Anonymous said...

To 23:05
Yup. Just what was required. Of course it could have been better.

Anonymous said...

@23:05
Quality votes over quantity votes.

Anonymous said...

But, not even the motivation of ridding us of that nightmare of a mayor - and the majority of her minions - was enough to get most of the electorate out to the polls. What was it, something like 38%?! All of which demonstrates my point about the majority of residents being oblivious.

Anonymous said...

11:24... You confuse OBLIVIOUS with DON'T CARE. The majority of residents know nothing about the Town, it's council or what is going on. Most blue boxes are filled with Auroran and Era-Banner newspapers that have gone straight from the door step to the blue box.

They don't care because Aurora is their bedroom community. They are more concerned with the price of gas, the time it takes to commute to their jobs and what happens once they get there.

Most Aurorans would not know who Geoffery Dawe is if you were to put him in a line up. However, Mayor Ford would be identified off the bat.

It's the way it is... I gave up trying to convince locals any differently. I gave up worrying about why they don't care or don't vote. It's not worth worrying about.

Anonymous said...

"The majority of residents know nothing about the Town, it's council or what is going on."

Um, 16:08, I'd say you're the one that's confused - you just gave a good description of oblivious.