There Is No Place To Hide - Just An Opera House To Run

ACCOUNTABILITY, TRANSPARENCY, AND THE FINAL ACCOUNTING - GRAVENHURST COUNCIL HAS PUT ITSELF OUT THERE

NOW THERE IS NO PLACE TO HIDE FROM CITIZEN SCRUTINY

     WHERE WAS THE INVITATION FOR PUBLIC INPUT? WHY WERE THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST DENIED INFORMATION REGARDING THE NEW DIRECTION PLANNED FOR THE OPERA HOUSE? WAS THERE ANY DEBATE AMONGST COUNCILLORS? WERE THERE ANY DISSENTING VOTES?

     I'M NOT REALLY GOING OUT ON A LIMB HERE, OR TAKING ON ANY WEIGHT OF RISK, TO SUGGEST THAT THIS VERSION OF GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, FROM THE BEGINNING OF ITS TERM OF OFFICE, HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST LIKE-MINDED, PARTY-LIKE CLUSTERS OF ELECTED OFFICIALS, I'VE EVER KNOWN, OF ANY COUNCIL IN THE DISTRICT OF MUSKOKA, SINCE THE LATE 1970'S. MAYBE THEY HAVE SERIOUS DISAGREEMENTS BUT NOT OUT IN THE OPEN, WHERE A PESKY REPORTER MIGHT PICK UP THE NEGATIVE VIBES. WHEN THEY COME ANY WHERE NEAR THE PRESS, THEY SEEM TO BE ABLE TO APPEAR AS IF THEY REPRESENT "BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN," INSTEAD OF GRAVENHURST….WHERE THINGS ARE NOT CANDY-COATED, AND ALL IS NOT WELL. THEY ARE SEEN BY CONSTITUENTS GENERALLY, AS A COUNCIL WITHOUT SHARP EDGES. AS IF THEY ARE ALL WEARING FOAM PADDING TO PROTECT THEM, IN CASE THEY FALL OFF THEIR CHAIRS, WHILE SLUMBERING THROUGH COUNCIL BUSINESS. ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO CAN MUSTER A LITTLE BLUSTER, BUT NOTHING TO RAISE THE BLOOD PRESSURE, OR SEEM TO BE DISRESPECTFUL OF EACH OTHER'S FEELINGS. IT APPEARS TO SOME OF US POLITICAL WATCHERS, THAT NOTHING CONTROVERSIAL EVER HAPPENS AT GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, BECAUSE IF IT DID, THEN IT WOULD BE ALL OVER THE PRESS. WELL, WHAT'S LEFT OF IT!

    IF SOMETHING CONTROVERSIAL WAS TO HAPPEN IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, WHAT WOULD THAT READ LIKE IN THE MEDIA? I'D LOVE TO KNOW BUT HONESTLY, IT WOULD BE JUST AN OVER-ACTIVE IMAGINATION, TO THINK THAT THESE PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY GET SPITTING MAD……AND NOT JUST AT A GUY LIKE ME, WHO INSISTS ON RIPPLING THE STILL WATERS. WHAT DESERVES DEBATE, MY FRIENDS, IS THE FACT THAT SO MUCH OF WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW, AS CITIZENS OF THIS TOWN, IS CRAFTFULLY SPUN LIKE RUMPELSTILTSKIN'S GOLD THREAD, TO MAKE EVEN THE BIGGEST ISSUE, SEEM LIKE A MERE INCONVENIENCE……TWINE INTO GOLD THREAD, LIKE MAGIC. THEY DO IT FREQUENTLY. IT HAS BECOME AN ART FORM. I'M DRAWN TO TORONTO POLITICS FOR RELIEF, BECAUSE DOWN THERE, THE MEDIA ISN'T THROWN OFF, BECAUSE SOME MEMBERS OF COUNCIL FIND IT NASTY BUSINESS….THIS FERETTING-OUT THE TRUTH THING. SOMETIMES, YOU SEE, THE CRITICAL PRESS IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR DEMOCRACY. BUT THERE WILL ALWAYS BE THOSE WHO WOULD PREFER, THAT THE MEDIA JUST RUN FEATURE STORIES ALL THE LIVE LONG DAY…..AND LET COUNCIL DO ITS BUSINESS, UNCHALLENGED, UNINTERRUPTED, WITH BLIND ACCEPTANCE ON OUR PART. I WOULD SOONER SMOTHER IN MY OWN VERBIAGE, THAN KEEP MY PEACE, WHEN I KNOW THEY ARE CONCEALING INFORMATION. I CAN NOT, IN ALL GOOD CONSCIENCE, ALLOW A COUNCIL LIKE THIS, TO OPERATE AS IF EVERYTHING THEY DO IS "PROGRESSIVE," AND EVEN DESPITE FLAT TIRES, AND LEAKY ROOVES, DRAFT ONTO THE UNCHALLENGED CLAIM, THEY ARE "MOVING FORWARD." I DON'T SEE THIS, AND I NEVER HAVE, DURING THEIR TERM OF COUNCIL. WHAT I DO SEE, IS A GROUP OF ELECTED OFFICIALS, WHO ARE NOT CHALLENGING STATUS QUO, OR THE CHAIN OF COMMAND, AND SPEAKING OUT; BECAUSE LOW AND BEHOLD, THEY HAVE A RIGHT TO DO THIS. MOST CHOOSE TO COMPLY. IF THEY WERE AS ROGUISH AS I WISH THEY WERE, THEY WOULD HAVE FOUND THEMSELVES PERSONALLY INVESTIGATING, WHY MY SONS WERE QUITTING THEIR JOBS AT THE OPERA HOUSE. APPARENTLY, INFORMATION GATHERING ISN'T A BIG DEAL, IF IT OCCURS AWAY FROM THE SECURITY OF TOWN HALL.

     THE SIMPLE REALITY HERE, IS THAT AS AN APPROVING, ONE-FOR-ALL, ALL-FOR-ONE, KIND OF OPERATION AT TOWN HALL, THEY HAVE, WHETHER THEY REALLY UNDERSTAND IT OR NOT, PUT THEMSELVES UP FOR INTENSE SCRUTINY WITH SOME OF THEIR RECENT DECISIONS; PARTICULARLY SO AT THE GRAVENHURST OPERA HOUSE. COUNCILLORS HAVE, AS THEY SAY, JUMPED ON THE OLD BANDWAGON…..AND WHAT IS IT THAT THEY SAY, IN A MARINER'S CLICHE, IN THE CASE OF DISASTER? THEY'LL BE "GOING DOWN WITH THE SHIP!" FRANKLY, FROM WHAT I KNOW OF THEM, THEY WILL LOOK AT THIS ASSESSMENT, AND MUMBLE AMONGST THEMSELVES THAT "HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT." YES I DO! I KNOW THAT WHEN YOU DON'T STAND UP, AND OBJECT, AND DO SO STRENUOUSLY, YOU ARE PART OF THAT OLD AND FAMILIAR GANG, AND THE SHIP SAILS ON ITS WAY……COME HELL OR HIGH WATER, OR MAYBE BOTH AT THE SAME TIME.

     I HATE THE COMPLACENCY I HAVE WITNESSED AT GRAVENHURST COUNCIL, FOR THESE LAST FEW YEARS, AND I'VE WRITTEN SEVERAL DOZEN BLOGS, TRYING TO EXPLAIN THE DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH A GROUP OF ELECTED OFFICIALS ACTING AS A BLOCK, AND TO SOME EXTENT, LIKE A POLITICAL PARTY. I'M JUST NOT SURE THEY SEE THIS AS SUCH, BUT THEN IT DOESN'T MATTER MUCH, IN THE FINAL TALLY, BECAUSE IF YOU GET ON THAT SHIP, WELL SIR, THERE'S NO TURNING BACK. THE CHOICE TOWN COUNCIL HAS MADE, FOR NEW PROGRAMS AT THE OPERA HOUSE, IS ON OUR BEHALF, BUT NOT REALLY……BECAUSE ALMOST ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF US LOWLY CONSTITUENTS DIDN'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT, UNTIL THE FEATURE MATERIAL STARTED SHOWING UP IN THE LOCAL MEDIA. NO GLARING HEADLINES AND STORIES CONTAINING OODLES OF POINT-COUNTERPOINT…..OBJECTIONS, CRITICISM, OUTRAGE…..OR ANYTHING ABOVE A SNEEZE RECORDED FOR POSTERITY, SO WE WOULD KNOW COUNCILLORS WERE STILL ALIVE OVER THERE.

     WHAT I AM PLEASED ABOUT, IS THAT FINALLY, GRAVENHURST COUNCIL…..THAT OLD GANG OF OURS, HAS COMMITTED ITSELF TO A HUGE CHANGE OF DIRECTION, FROM WHAT IT HAS EXERCISED AS A SORT OF EMBALMED STATUS QUO, SINCE THEY WERE ELECTED. NOW THEY'VE GONE AND DONE IT! THEY'VE MADE THE DECISION TO TURN THE OPERA HOUSE BACK INTO A VENUE FOR SUMMER THEATRE, AND YUP, "PUT ALL THOSE EGGS IN ONE BASKET." COUNCILLORS ARE THE COCKY ONES NOW. THEY'RE SO CONFIDENT OF SUCCESS, STUNNINGLY SO, THAT THEY HAVE BASICALLY IGNORED THE DEPARTURES OF STAFF AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AS A DIRECT RESULT OF THEIR HANDIWORK…..THEIR DECISION…..THEIR INSPIRATION. CAN'T POINT THE FINGER AT ANY ONE ELSE. IT'S THEIR BABY, AND I'VE GOT A LOT OF CLICHES TO REMIND THEM, JUST HOW MUCH THE CONSTITUENTS KNOW, THAT IT WAS COUNCIL'S DECISION TO ALTER THE COURSE OF HISTORY, BY MAKING THIS EXTREME RIGHT TURN; WHEN MOST OF US, WOULD HAVE EXPECTED DUE DILIGENCE, TO HAVE BEEN EXERCISED, AT LEAST A FULL YEAR IN ADVANCE OF SUCH PROFOUND, AND DRAMATIC ALTERATION TO WHAT WE HAVE KNOWN RECENTLY OF OUR MOST HISTORIC LANDMARK.

      GRAVENHURST COUNCIL HAS DONE THE STRANGEST TURN-AROUND I'VE WITNESSED IN LOCAL MUNICIPAL POLITICS. FROM A GROUP THAT PREFERS ITS GENTLE MOMENTS, AND HATES THE LIMELIGHT, UNLESS ITS FOR PHOTO-OPS, THEY HAVE PLACED THEMSELVES IN THE GREATEST PLACE OF VULNERABILITY…… NOT REALLY THINKING ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF HAVING MADE THE WRONG TURN, AT POSSIBLY THE WRONG TIME. IF AT THE END OF THE THEATRE SEASON, THEY ARE HAILED AS HEROES, AND BRAVE VISIONARIES, THEN I SHALL SUGGEST WE GIVE THEM A PARADE DOWN OR UP MUSKOKA ROAD. I WILL WRITE ABOUT THEIR SUCCESSES, IF THEY WOULD AGREE TO TALK WITH ME. I WILL LICK THE SCREEN OF THIS COMPUTER, AND EAT PAGES OF THE MUNICIPAL ACT, IF THEY FEEL IT IS WARRANTED. THEY WILL HAVE THE RIGHT TO CALL BE A KNOB, AND A KNOW-IT-ALL-TURD, WHO WE COULD ALL DO WITHOUT, CLOGGING UP CYBER SPACE WITH UNWANTED OPINION. ON THE OTHER SIDE, HOWEVER, IS THEIR UNDOING. IF THEY FAIL AT THIS ATTEMPT TO REVITALIZE THE OPERA HOUSE, AND DO NOT HAVE THE REVENUE EARNED, TO PUT BACK INTO TOWN COFFERS, TO LESSEN THE TAX BURDEN, THEN THEY SHOULD LET US KNOW, THAT THEY WILL NOT SEEK RE-ELECTION IN THE MUNICIPAL ELECTION OF 2014. THIS WOULD SEEM A FAIR RETURN. MAKE A MISTAKE, COST THE TOWN MONEY, RETIRE AT THE END OF THE TERM.

     FORGIVE ME, IF AS A LOCAL POLITICAL WATCHER AND CRITIC, I FIND GRAVENHURST COUNCIL'S LATEST MOVE TO BE BALLSY. HEY, IT TAKES COURAGE, TO PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE, TO TAKE SUCH A RISK ON THEATRE, WHEN THE LAST PROFESSIONAL THEATRE TO TOWN, WENT OUT RATHER UNCEREMONIOUSLY. BUT BY GOLLY, THEY MUST KNOW WHAT THEY'RE DOING, RIGHT? OR MAYBE THERE IS A COUNCILLOR, OR A FEW, WHO VOTED AGAINST THE NEW PLAN FOR THE OPERA HOUSE, BUT THE MEDIA DIDN'T PICK UP THE DISSENSION IN THE RANKS. WAS THERE ANY? A SINGLE VOTE AGAINST? A LITTLE DOUBT? A SMIDGEON? WELL THEN, THERE'S NOTHING TO FEAR. EVERYTHING, AS USUAL, IS JUST GREAT. SMOOTH SAILING.

     I AM ANXIOUS TO READ, VIA THE LOCAL MEDIA, HOW TOWN COUNCIL HANDLES NEWS OF DEPARTURES AT THE OPERA HOUSE, AND WHAT SPIN THEY MIGHT IMPOSE, TO MAKE IT ALL SEEM LIKE THE GENTLE CONCLUSION OF A LOVE-IN…..WHEN AFTER ALL, SOMETIMES, WE SIMPLY HAVE TO MOVE ON. I WILL BE PARTICULARLY INTERESTED TO READ HOW THEY HANDLE MY SONS' DEPARTURE FROM THE OPERA HOUSE; POSSIBLY INTERPRETING IT AS, "A MOVING FORWARD," SITUATION, AND "WE WISH THEM ALL THE BEST." WELL, AT LEAST ONE PART OF THIS WOULD BE A LIE, IF IT WAS USED, BECAUSE THEY HAVEN'T WISHED THEM WELL AT ALL. BUT THEN, WELL, WE DIDN'T EXPECT A FRUIT BASKET, A PAT ON THE BACK, A HANDSHAKE, OR A WAVE FROM AFAR. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY EXTREME FOR OUR COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, LET ALONE ACT ON. I WONDER IF THESE COUNCILLORS, FROM TIME TO TIME, EVER REALLY LOOK……I MEAN REALLY, REALLY LOOK, AT THE SMALL ONTARIO TOWN THEY REPRESENT……AND THINK TO THEMSELVES FOR A SPLIT SECOND, THAT THEIR GOVERNANCE IS THUSLY, AND REALISTICALLY……THE LEADERSHIP OF A FEW COMFORTABLE, QUAINT NEIGHBORHOODS, IN A ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-THREE YEAR OLD COMMUNITY…..THAT STILL, FOR GOSH SAKES, HAS ITS PIONEER ROOTS SHOWING. AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT……UNLESS OF COURSE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M REFERRING TO.

     THE CITIZENS OF GRAVENHURST, BY TRADITION, ARE PROUD OF THEIR HERITAGE. THEY'RE CONGENIAL FOLKS, WHO SELDOM DON PROTEST-WEAR, OR HOIST PLACARDS WHEN THEY'RE UNHAPPY. THEY DON'T MARCH ON TOWN HALL, AS A RULE, UNLESS ITS IN CELEBRATION OF SOMETHING, AND TO MY KNOWLEDGE THEY'VE NEVER BURNED ANYONE IN EFFIGY, TO MAKE A POLITCIAL POINT. AND, I'M SORRY TO SAY, THEY DON'T PARTICIPATE IN MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS, THEY WAY THEY USED TO, AND MANY HAVE THE BELIEF, "IT DOESN'T MATTER ANY WAY, BECAUSE ONE IS AS GOOD AS THE OTHER." I UNDERSTAND THEM. IN SOME WAYS, I KIND OF AGREE WITH THEM. BUT EVERY NOW AND AGAIN, THERE IS AN ISSUE THAT SURFACES, THAT MAKES US FEEL LIKE CRAP…….LIKE THE TIME COUNCIL THOUGHT IT WOULD BE SWELL TO SELL OFF THE BOG, OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WETLAND, BECAUSE THEY NEEDED MONEY TO BUY A NEW TOWN HALL. THE ISSUE THEN, IS TO MUSTER QUICKLY….WHICH IS HARD WHEN APATHY SETS IN, AND THE RISE TO BATTLE TAKES A LITTLE LONGER THAN IT WOULD, IF WE'D BE ON THE CUSP AS A MATTER OF COURSE.

     WHEN I SUGGESTED, MORE THAN A YEAR AGO, THAT COUNCIL SHOULD CREATE A MANAGEMENT BOARD, OR BOARD OF DIRECTORS, TO LIAISON BETWEEN THE OPERA HOUSE MANAGER, AND THE TOWN, I WAS DISMISSED AS A BUSY-BODY KNOW-IT-ALL, WHO DIDN'T KNOW WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT. THEY WILL FEEL THE SAME NOW, WHEN I SUGGEST IT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE PRESENT STAFFING PROBLEMS AT OUR HISTORIC ENTERTAINMENT VENUE…..BECAUSE TROUBLE-SHOOTING AND RECONCILIATION WOULD HAVE OCCURRED, BETWEEN THE ENLIGHTENED MANAGEMENT PARTIES, LONG BEFORE THE CRISIS PERIOD….WHICH IS NOW.

     COUNCIL HAS HUGE TRUST IN THEMSELVES THAT THEY HAVE MADE THE RIGHT DECISION. AND ALL WE NEED TO KNOW, IS THAT THEY ARE GOING TO ACCEPT ALL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE DECISIONS THEY HAVE MADE, IN THIS REGARD, AND NOT FOB-IT-OFF ON SOMEONE ELSE……INCLUDING THE USER GROUP, IF THINGS DON'T WORK OUT. GETTING "BUMS IN SEATS," IS ALWAYS A GAMBLE, RIGHT? THEY'RE JUST DOING THE JOB THEY WERE SIGNED-ON TO DO, AND I WISH THEM THE BEST OF LUCK FOR A GOOD RUN. AS I WAS A MAJOR MUSKOKA FESTIVAL SUPPORTER IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS, AND A BOOSTER OF MORE ACTIVITIES GOING ON AT THE OPERA HOUSE, GENERALLY, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO SEE SOME LIFE AND EXCITEMENT GOING ON OVER THERE……WITH SOME BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. MY CONCERN, AND I'M NOT ALONE, IS WHETHER THE TOWN DID ITS DUE DILIGENCE, WITH THIS PROFOUND CHANGE OF DIRECTION? THE HORSE, AS THEY SAY, IS GONE, SO CLOSING THE BARN DOOR IS A WASTE OF TIME AND EFFORT. SO WHEN THE PRESS FINALLY GETS AROUND TO REPORTING ON THIS STORY….WELL, WHAT WILL COUNCILLORS HAVE TO SAY? ANY QUOTABLE QUOTES? OR JUST THE TYPICAL SPIN BY THE UPPER ECHELON, THAT ALL IS WELL. FOR THEM…..I HOPE IT IS! GRAVENHURST NEEDS SOME BACK TO BACK SUCCESSES, AND YOU NEVER KNOW…..MAYBE THIS IS THE BIG BREAK-OUT AND BREAKAWAY WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!

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