Christopher Watts has left a new comment on your post "Question of the day":
Actually I have an understanding of how the Aurora Historical Society has spent grant money over the past 4 years.
That's not to say that it was easy to gain such an understanding. Their website is a joke, reports are usually only provided to the 20 or so odd in attendance at their annual general meetings and they are not as comprehensive as what is provided to council their primary funding source.
From the society's own recent history I have no idea why council was so complacent in continuing to hand over, now $70,000 in the 2014 budget cycle when the AHS has jettisoned the Aurora Collection to the town and significant problems with respect to sustainability were highlighted prompting council to agree it "needs to have a discussion".
No discussion has taken place since the budget back in February. No discussion is in sight, as the Mayor seems to be expecting it only to take place if a notice of motion is made, failing to provide the leadership to bring one forward himself.
If the Petch House is the tip of the iceberg then the Aurora Historical Society is the Titanic. $70,000 lifeboats aren't going to do anything to alter its course.
So he does post with his real name. Not as anonymous to promote his site.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if he realizes that volunteer based groups usually have no money to invest in web sites that are not "a joke". They are usually done by a volunteer who is doing it with his or her's best ability.
Unless and until he realizes that volunteer run organizations only have so much to draw on, the web site is not a big factor.
Perhaps he should volunteer some of his time and expertise to provide "proper" web sites to volunteer organizations in Aurora. I doubt he would agree to do that because a dose of reality hurts the ego.
Ummmm...Mr Watts and Mr.Heard both tried to volunteer long ago and were excluded.FACT
Delete10:44
ReplyDeleteOnce again you miss-fire. I have repeatedly written on Evelyn's Blog that I am the individual who regularly notes an appearance of new material on Mr. Watt's site. As far as I know, he has never flogged his site - he does not have to. We find it all be yourselves.
Can you say, "axe to grind"?
ReplyDeleteAll those at the council table agreed that the outfit was in " dire straits " [ Cllr Humfryes ] but no one has the courage to deal with the situation. I see no way to force the topic into discussion when election mania is on the loose.
ReplyDeleteSo, the estimable Mr Watts says that the AHS website is "a joke." His most recent blog post takes the Town to task regarding the Heritage component of their website. Obviously, this is an important issue to him.
ReplyDeleteWhy then, is his Aurora heritage-focused website (auroraheritageauthority.com) yet to be developed? It is parked, with nothing done since he registered the domain name.
With a shared interest in Aurora's history, I'm waiting to see what his site might include.
11:28 - you may or not be the only one who does it
ReplyDelete11:58 - I agree, it's fine to complain about others. Put up or shut up.
11:28
ReplyDeleteI also comment when Christopher is up again. I guess that makes me some " red-headed " gnome too. I generally use the lower case " christopher " so as not to disturb the very real troll lurking here.
11:58
ReplyDeleteWay to deflect attention from the comment which was right on target. The historical Society admitted to Council that they were a financial mess & we can see their web-site ineptitude. This despite their ad for someone to work there and do everything but wash the windows while being paid from taxpayers' funds.
13:03
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. You are upset that their web site is "a joke". You are upset that they are out of money and asking for more. So, how do you expect them to improve the website? Unless someone with the skills (Watts for example) volunteers, they will have to pay for it.
I suggest that if the Town gave them the cash and they spent it on website development, that would not be acceptable either.
Perhaps they should take down the website entirely.
14:44
ReplyDeleteSorry. It's the same old argument every year. We tried but this or that did not work. We will do better but we need more money. Yeah, I know we said we would handle that display and we contracted it out. That was a mistake. And maybe the fund-raiser should have raised some money and been in Aurora. That might not happen again. The roof is in trouble and no one ventures near the foundations but we will try to be wheelchair accessible soon. The window-frames are cracking but that might just be because it is an old building.
Please, just one more round of cash - we will hire someone to fix all the communications and apply for all the grants that are no longer being given out by governments.
Yup, and can we blow your nose for you, too ?