MORE EXPENSE AT RECREATION CENTRE? WE'RE AHEAD OF THE TOWN ON THIS ONE
DO YOU HEAR THE REFRAIN: "WE TOLD YOU SO?"
THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE NEWLY REFURBISHED (WELL NOT QUITE) GRAVENHURST RECREATION CENTRE, WILL BE SOME TIME IN THE NEXT FORTY YEARS. OR WHEN THEY GET THE ROOF FIXED, THE PAINT TO STOP FLAKING OFF, THE DRAINAGE PROBLEMS FLUSHED AWAY, AND WHEN ALL THE LITTLE EXTRAS, WE'RE PAYING FOR, GET WRAPPED UP. I'VE NOW DECIDED I WON'T BE ATTENDING THE OFFICIAL OPENING CEREMONY, WHENEVER THAT MIGHT BE, AND THIS IS MY SINGULAR ACT OF PROTEST…..IF NOTHING ELSE, FOR A PROJECT THAT CAN ONLY BE DESCRIBED AS A DEBACLE. WITH BAD ECONOMIC NEWS COMING FROM EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES, AND A LOT OF WORRIES ABOUT REAL ESTATE BUBBLES AND RISING INTEREST RATES, THE TOWN OF GRAVENHURST MIGHT WANT TO THINK LONG AND HARD ABOUT THE EXPOSURE WE HAVE TO DEBT, AND PROJECTS THAT KEEP COMPOUNDING WHAT WE OWE SOMEONE ELSE. THEY MAY BE OBLIVIOUS TO NEWS ABOUT AUSTERITY AND RECESSION OVERSEAS, BUT WISE TOWN OFFICIALS WOULD START GETTING A LITTLE FIDGETY ABOUT THE MONEY PIT WE CALL OUR RECREATION CENTRE. THERE MAY SOON BE A POINT IN OUR HISTORY, WHEN THE COST OF KEEPING IT OPERATIONAL, IS GOING TO MEAN THE SACRIFICE OF MANY OTHER PROJECTS THAT NEED TENDING. IF WE WERE HIT HARD BY ANOTHER RECESSION, AND THE EXTENSION OF AUSTERITY MEASURES, AS WE HAVE SEEN IMPOSED, RATHER AGGRESSIVELY, BY BOTH LEVELS OF UPPER GOVERNMENT, WE MAY HAVE TO MOTHBALL THIS BEHEMOTH CENTRE, DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS. THIS ISN'T ABOUT THE "SKY FALLING." I'M JUST SUGGESTING IT MIGHT BE WORTHWHILE LOOKING UP NOW AND AGAIN.
IF LOCAL CITIZENS BEGAN COFFEE SHOP CONVERSATIONS WITH, "I TOLD YOU SO," THIS WEEK, THERE'S A REAL GOOD CHANCE THEY'D BE TALKING ABOUT THE REPAIRS THAT HAVE TO BE MADE TO THE NEW RECREATION CENTRE ROOF. THIS MAY RATTLE TOWN HALL A BIT, BUT THE TRUTH IS, SOME SAGE FOLKS IN THIS TOWN, HAD SERIOUS INITIAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE MARRIAGE OF OLD ROOF AND NEW, BETWEEN THE POOL AND THE ARENA. "HELL NO, IT'LL BE FINE!"
SOME OF THE CRONIES WHO GATHER TO TALK ABOUT THE OLD DAYS, AND PAST ADVENTURES, AND THE YESTERYEAR WHEN THEY BUILT-THINGS THAT WERE "DONE RIGHT THE FIRST TIME," ARE HAVING SOME FUN WITH THIS LATEST ARENA / POOL NEWS. PUBLISHED ON THE FRONT PAGE OF "THE BANNER" WEDNESDAY MORNING, WAS THE LATEST RECREATION CENTRE UPDATE, OFFERING-UP A SMATTERING OF BAD NEWS FOR TAXPAYERS. OUR OVER-BUDGET REVAMP AT THE CENTRE, IS STRETCHING INTO THE WILD BLUE YONDER IN COSTS, AND APPARENTLY, AND ALLEGEDLY, THE REPAIRS ARE NOT COVERED BY ANYONE…..EXCEPT FOR, WELL, US! THE BUCK STOPS HERE. WE SHOULD GET T-SHIRTS MADE, WITH THIS LOGO, AND ON THE BACK, SOMETHING THAT READS, "TAXPAYERS ALWAYS GET IT IN THE END." AND WITH THE MONEY RAISED, WE COULD BUILD-UP A RESERVE OF FUNDS TO OFFSET THE VERY NEXT DISASTER TO HIT THE RECREATION CENTRE.
Funny thing. I had just again crumpled up the paper, after reading only one article, and thought…..hey, I wonder if this story will make it into the Mayor's newsletter….which must be coming soon? Then the intrigue got the best of me, and I started to think like a reporter, from back in my not-so-eternal youth. How long has this issue been known by council? Seeing as it was kind of a winter / spring "melt-water" thing, and had obviously shown as a problem before this week, how many weeks or months has this issue been ping-ponged around town hall. When it finally makes its way to the front page of the local news, chances are it had some rolling time first, while staff and councillors tried to figure out a way of discussing and resolving it before the bestial taxpayers got a hold of it……in this case, courtesy the press doing their job. I'm going to stretch out on this limb now, and suggest that there was some down-time, when the good folks at Town Hall were trying to figure out how to mitigate-it into oblivion; before that is, it inevitably hit the street as a front pager dinger.
Could Town Councillors honestly blame those of us who thought about the degree of difficulty, and risk, merging the two roof-tops into one; perfectly sealed, totally safe and sound sheet, of water resistant surfacing? We're the same coffee-shop folks who inhaled our muffins when we read about the requirement for another roof on the new town hall, because the original roof…..well, it wasn't the right one! But we purchased it, right? We insisted on an inspection before we sealed the deal, correct? Were there mistakes made? I may be missing something as an historian, but I don't remember any councillor, from this term, or the previous term, standing up and taking some of the responsibility for the short-fall, which became a roofer's dream gig. Yup, those T-shirts would have come in handy to mark that occasion as well.
Once again, the problem is that words like "accountability" and "transparency," are scent diversions, when used by government representatives. We've been so abused by words like this, that most of us have stopped using them altogether, in our own reactions and conversations. They simply don't meant what they are supposed to, anymore, at least according to the dictionary definition. The reality this issue has been of some concern to staff, and councillors, for more than just a few days, means they had more than enough time to make a call to the news media, and have a proper sit-down session, to present, in advance of a council meeting, the next "big thing" at the newly refurbished recreation centre. If they want to mitigate impact, this is precisely the format to have followed. Confront the issue, and offer to answer all the questions, and offer opinions about council's concerns, and the rights and privileges of the taxpayers to be angry. Letting it come to council first, suggests to me, they let this pot simmer too long. This isn't the fair play of democracy, transparency or accountability, to only come clean when the press attends an open meeting, and there's no choice but to make the matter known. It makes us "critical thinkers" wonder about all the other items, important to us, that are being controlled, avoided or sanitized, because of the furor that might erupt as a result of them being known. I wouldn't blame any of the new councillors for being angry about what a previous council burdened them with, because the roof issue, on the recreation centre, and the new town hall, were not their responsibility to approve or object……except as interested citizens. The problem now, today, is for an attitude adjustment at town hall, even if they don't think it's necessary. They are looking bad. Mostly, because councillors won't break away, from the pack, and admit they're outraged at more than just a critical blogger. The fact there's a controlled burn here, is a challenge to those of us who want to see democracy in action. If it takes some rigorous counterpoints, and maybe even a tad of internal bickering, it would be nice to know there's an attitude brewing, that we simply can't continue to do this "Oh well," thing, and then cut a cheque to the contractor selected to fix a problem we should have caught in the planning stage. So what is the dollar value of repair, that is either going to get some discussion brewing at town hall, or send ratepayers to the front door with placards? This is an interesting question, because it's bloody unlikely local ratepayers will ever react that way. This may be council's ace in the hole. We just want council to represent us well. To be careful with our money, and make good investments. We don't want them to agree all the time. We don't want them to be a political party. We want dissidents. Whistle blowers! Anything that shows us status quo isn't the standard of operation at town hall. It's starting to look like the shadow of the Titanic, and you know how that ended. That "tip of the iceberg," thing. There is consequence here, and a political price to pay, if we can't start pulling councillors away from the core philosophy, of keeping the nasty stuff in-house.
Now if councillors or town staff think this is brutal and unfair of me, to draw to public attention, let me ask one question, and only one. If this was your own personal building project, on your dime, would you have made damn sure from the onset, that problem areas of the project you were paying for, were addressed, as much as humanly possible, before the first hammer blow, and shovel full of earth was excavated? You see, in the "damn sure" department, that would have meant knowing fully, the consequences of unwanted expense, any wrong decisions would cost your pocket….not mine. There were a lot of people who didn't like the hurry-up plans that were being employed, to "get the project shovel-ready." It's still why I don't like any reference to "shovel-ready," for any number of other town projects. Now we are stuck in the middle of two hard places, and if the repairs are of substantial cost……what choice do we have, but to cough it up. What is our limit? When do we finally say, this needs to be managed differently in the future, in order to cover any other surprises that may be in store? While I'm reasonably confident councillors are upset by this news, as they have no choice now, but to defend their position of "pay-up or else." Or be seen as a defector or detractor from the united front, wishing to make this latest problem go away. I don't think it will. Based on the problems and cost over-runs so far, it seems some of the critics have been right all along about "the money pit," thing.
As we fiddle and fart over a roof innovation at the recreation centre, I'm certainly glad it won't be at the expense of a new roof that has been promised, and is overdo, for our Opera House. I noticed the call for tenders in this week's Banner. There's a lot of history under this roof…….that has lasted quite a few years as roof finishing goes these days.
I think the real problem for our councillors, is that they don't know "the word" on the street. They operate on a day to day basis, without really knowing the criticism brewing under their watch. I don't have enough readers to create a flash-protest, at Town Hall, so they need not fear me. But they should be aware that this latest revelation is not going over well…..and of this they should be heartily concerned, about what conversations are circulating, during our morning coffee-chats, that involves them personally. So much of it is based on the misrepresentation of those two words I mentioned earlier…..accountability and transparency, such that they've lost all significance when used by government. And yes, it's an international thing!
There will not be one taxpayer, who gives a crap about this town, who will deny or diminish the necessity of fixing the roof. We've put too much money into this project…..all Canadians by the way, to have it destroyed because we blocked additional money from being spent to keep our assets from disintegrating back into the hole from where it began. The reality check is, that we can't, as a population in this town, forget what has happened to date……and if a councillor was to hear, passing by one of these coffee-time chats, a verbal allegation that the town has mis-managed the project, might they at least stop, and say, "you may be right." I could live with the "may" part in this response. It's a long-term responsibility thing that is going to nag this council and the next, so it may be time to retire the "oh well" responses, and start managing for the future potential……., that a more profound admission may be required. Right now, the taxpayers are pretty sure the response, is simply stated, "we're screwed." And then we have another sip of coffee and talk about more pleasant subjects.
And on the other hand, it's great to see progress in main street building, and news of empty structures being occupied again, and reports that another business, will be re-built on the main street property, where the fire destroyed three buildings last year. We've got a new restaurant on Muskoka Road, and it's a pretty chipper attitude out there, compared to a year ago, when doom and gloom was the smell of burned-out futures. As for work on The Barge, I most certainly have reason to applaud Gravenhurst Council for making this right, and doing the necessary upgrades to keep the summer concert series alive at Gull Lake Park. If there is any one who might think money has been wasted on The Barge…….call me and we'll chat. As for cost efficiency overall, it would be hard to compare The Barge with any other town asset. It has taken a modest contribution each year for upgrades, and with donations helping to offset operational costs, it would be hard to argue The Barge has been too costly. The reason it is taking so much money now, to upgrade, is the result of all the years it didn't receive the care and upgrades it required. For the age of the structure and the amount of upgrades it has had over a half century plus, let's just say, it's one of our true bargains in this municipality, for the return we get in patron participation.
I always feel, as an armchair critic here, that I'm not treating our elected officials very well, with all this assorted criticism. I want them to appreciate one thing, above all else, if and when they demonize critics. I did my service in the editorial field, in a far more aggressive media environment, when there were seriously competing newspapers coveting what council was holding back. Only a few councillors today would remember the day, when the press had fangs. Sharp ones. And they weren't afraid of being perceived as nasty or jackals, if what they were ferreting out, was within the "public's right to know." So regardless whether they think this latest scrutiny is savage, it is one tenth of what they would have received a while back. They wouldn't be quite so comfortable with those "oh wells," if they had to deal with an aggressive media scrum on the way to the coffee machine. This isn't speculation on my part. It was actuality. I liked it then. Councillors were forced to be open with the media, and if they were covering up something relevant, they had to deal with the fallout of being exposed. I'd like to think investigative reporting isn't the only way to get councillors to be open and obliging, but at the present, it seems, the only real way to get some serious counter-point going at town hall…….because the lack of front page debate is very troubling, at a time of so many contentious issues. Council isn't a social committee. The kind of heartbreak that should be inspired, having to repair what has already been dealt with, during the renovation, is what must surely cause, even one councillor, to "freaking lose it!" We're getting close. The "Family Compact" thing, is uncomfortable to me. I worry about this affection for compliance, just because heart-stopping debate seems so ugly. Sooner or later, as my mother would say, "you're going to pay for eating all that candy." She was right every time she said it, but you know what, she didn't need me to qualify it with "yes mother, I know." I had a childhood full of stomach aches. I was a stupid kid. My wife keeps me from being a stupid adult.
I have offered an armchair critic's warning about quite a few little issues, stewing in this town, and I'm sure the standard retort, upon hearing that I've written yet another lengthy tome, inspires the audible mumble, "Go away kid, you bother me!" Do you know how many times I've had that blurted in my face? It doesn't change the fact that my experience in these matters, should warrant, on trust, a little respect. I've never once blown off a councillor or any town official, who needed a little clarification to an issue I raised……and requested a little of my time. I would be a crappy critic indeed, if I refused to face the music I orchestrated!
Thank you all for joining today's blog. Please feel welcome to join me once again.
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