GRAVENHURST IS FACING A POWERFUL CONFLUENCE OF NEGATIVES - THE UNDERTOW WILL BE FIERCE

With the latest report, the new town hall will need a half million dollar roof replacement isn't all that surprising, when you tally up the other surprising stuff that's been happening in Gravenhurst over the past several years. It's hard not to use words like incompetence and dysfunctional when bandying about the legacy we've been left with by a previous town council. The present council, with some hangers-on from the previous term, have a lot of explaining to do, but I don't think they'll offer much…..except, "I didn't know," and "we were shocked to find out about the roof." Stuff like that we don't need to hear. We'll just fill in the blanks as we have so many times before.

I remember when the previous council decided to fundraise for a new town hall, by selling some surplus property, such as The Bog for instance. As people stood up to our elected officials then, and demanded significant properties be removed from the surplus list, as recommended by staff, it will surely arrive again when citizens will have to defend their town, by letting this present council know, we have priorities too…..and yes competence and accountability are kind of important to us. This latest fiasco demands that "some one," or a "group" be thrown under the bus, for not making absolutely sure that the building we were acquiring was worth the money we paid. Finding out now about a sieve-roof is a wee bit late to protect the stake-holders. Us! Now at a time of fiscal shortfall, we find out another half million is needed to keep council and staff dry. There should be a lot of wet, and red faced folks at town hall. I trust they know how red faced we are, with plaster in our hair, from hitting the ceiling after reading this latest news story.

I had to stop reading a news article about the new recreation centre, in the newspaper this week, and the overview of arena renovations, and how beautiful they are…….and how pleased we should be to have such a wonderful facility in our town. Well, damnation, we paid for it, and handsomely, so bloody hell, it should be exactly what we wanted. Showing us what we paid for, with an exclamation, is nonsensical, and sickly sweet propaganda that is simply a ploy to make the other bad stuff go away. All taxpayers of this province and country, and municipality, have contributed to this beautiful place…..and it should be a dandy for the expense, and additional costs we've all had to cover in one form or another since it began. To be told how thrilled we should all be, to open this incredible facility, is daft, plain and simple, because it is the function and practicality that is most important, not the extravagances of decor….or how it makes using the ice a beautiful experience. When it comes right down to it, it's about recreation, and serving the needs of the citizens of this community. We have paid staff and contractors to provide us with this facility. It was their job to follow through. Whether they did a good job or not will require some time to sort. It should meet our recreation needs firstly, and it would be a bonus for the users of the facility to admit, on their own, that the site lives up to the hype. Or otherwise. I think it's appropriate for citizens to critique this investment, over and above what town staff decides is the publishable review.

In the next half year the present town council will have a rare but interesting confluence of negative currents, with a nasty, ever-tugging undertow. With this latest town hall roof-debacle, and mistaken grant application for the BIA, and the numerous on-going studies and investigations at this same town hall, many of us can't help but fear the capability of the present council to navigate these precarious inter-connecting situations, and protect what we know and love about our hometown character. There is a growing distrust of the present council, and surely they must be aware of this. It's not a good sign in the first year of a four year term. Depending on the outcome of investigations, and an efficiency study, this council will have a behemoth task to win back citizen confidence. Add to this curious collection of interesting stories yet-to-be-told, is the reality our tax bill will likely arrive very soon. All the real estate signs in town? Are people anxious to leave our burg? Do they have the inside track on what tax bills will look like in the future?

There should be some interesting meetings with cottager associations this summer. I hope council reps have something more substantial than the usual rhetoric and smoothing words, to make the "grasping-for-more-money" seem more natural and matter-of-fact; a gentle way of being progressive.

It's a tough economic world out there, and it's about to get worse. Is our town prepared for the economic undertow coming globally? We're in a leaky scow let me tell you, and the waters swirling beneath are threatening like never before. It would have been prudent, and progressive, to have been better off financially, before heading into this precarious global crisis, that will affect every citizen on the planet, in one way or another. We have operated this town on a bed of positives, when in reality, we have had a dry-rot for years, and simply painted a pretty color on top.

As for the nimrods who decided it was a good idea to sign-the-hell out of our newly reconstructed main street, well, it's worth knowing that we're not quite as efficient and sensible as we may have credited ourselves. While it was pleasant to look along the north end of the street and see that construction had finally concluded, the parking limit signs then, had suddenly arrived (without a ribbon cutting or anything) in all their picturesque glory. Now tell me, is this a postcard image of Gravenhurst or not? Tourists, I'm sure, will love to capture this image for posterity. If it was a District decision, then the department responsible, should go back to Hooterville where they belong. If our town played a part in the decision, we are in Hooterville. This excessive signage is stunned. It implies we're all as stupid as those who thought this was a good idea. The only positive here, is that they didn't sign all the parking spots in town. Give them time, me thinks, and they will. As for the expense, well, I can tell you it came out of our pockets.

And there's a bid for one tier government. That would be precious. And watch the tax bill soar into the stratosphere! Signing alone would bankrupt us all!