CHRISTMAS IN GRAVENHURST -

RECREATION CENTRE INVESTIGATION - THE SIGH OF RELIEF HEARD ROUND THE TOWN - WE WANT TO KNOW MORE - AND WE FEEL REAL BAD FOR ALL CONCERNED - 2011 A YEAR WE WON'T FORGET

At around Easter, this year, the citizens of our town had a lot to talk about. A lot of time to fill in the blanks. It was an exercise in small-town "rumor-snowballing," and with the nagging G-8 innuendos, regarding alleged spending excesses, making the rounds, finding Gravenhurst in the national press…..front page…..and not just once, well, it was all a little too much excitement to be calm about the latest breaking news Usually at that time of the year, the most we could expect from the longer, warmer days, is the average bout of Muskoka spring fever that brings out the "gardeners in us!" Let me tell you, there were a lot of front-lawn, impromptu conversations, rakes propped under chins, during numerous neighborhood round-tables. It's certainly true that most people were thinking the worse. Fair or not, they were ready to march on town hall. Not in great numbers….but a wee march none the less. Maybe with a couple of hastily penned placards. If Gravenhurst has ever been fully ticked-off by their circumstances, this was the one that did it! This was a fever-pitch period, few would deny, and it put us in a rather strange light.

Most citizens I talked with, in those first few weeks after the story broke, didn't want to believe there could possibly be wrong-doing, associated with the recreation centre expansion……because getting the new pool was to be a highlight of our modern history. Folks for years, used to motor down to the Muskoka Sands indoor pool, and of course the public pool in Bracebridge…..but a long awaited pool of our own, was a real game changer; a real treat for excited swimmers, young and old. So hearing and then reading about the alleged wrong-doing, and not just in one issue, but over several, plus the other media reports, was beyond anything our town has had to deal with…….and as an historian, I can't really draw a parallel to another community event or calamity…..other than fires and their destructive paths which have hit the community as hard, for as long. These were serious claims being made, and with design problems experienced early in the project, associated with a high water table, and the whole hurry-up process to get the economic development funds in the first place, it's true, a lot of taxpayers saw red and more red. It was a vein-bulging time in our history. For all those intimately involved in the case.

To say some jumped to conclusions… isn't all that exceptional under the circumstances, considering we had lots of other innuendos floating around at the same time. All the Gravenhurst citizens wanted was a new pool. That's it. It had been on a want list for several decades at least, and every time we got close, or thought we could muster a major fundraising effort, something would occur to thwart, or delay continuation of what had always been a good community initiative. To find out that the project would now be embroiled in controversy, seemed to some, just another roadblock….and yes, some did call it "a curse," to getting a public pool. Whether they believed the allegations or not, and honestly I didn't find this all that prevalent over the past half year, most lumped this disaster with a really, really bad year in town generally. And I don't think any one following the other misfortunes, would deny folks the right to feel a little dejected and down-hearted by the succession of unfortunate events, from fire, seemingly endless construction on the main street, economic woes in the business community, record tax burdens and yes……add to this a police investigation. No fun for anyone.

It must have been unbelievably difficult for the contractor, with an outstanding reputation in the industry, in this province, having to continue working on the project, as the investigation continued, with hurtful gossip and unfounded accusations certainly within ear-shot of site workers. Many of us are sorry for having that shred of doubt, which was the general mood…….because we're really not like that as a community. But we are none-the-less susceptible to the push and pull of media coverage, as we are faithful and trustful readers of the daily and weekly press. We are certainly very eager to read more about the story, and police investigation in coming issues.

And of course, we appreciate the great stress Gravenhurst Councillors, and town staff have had to deal with, since Easter, and this was the nasty spin-off of building-fictions where fact and only fact, should have been entrenched. The reality our Mayor held the fort, against considerable adversity, committed to stick with the company, and carry on through the apparent abyss of uncertainty, with a staunch, unyielding determination to finish what was required, was a clear demonstration of a leadership many of us had seriously questioned…….as whether it was the right way, or in error, to carry-on with work, while an investigation was ongoing….. obviously the right decision was made. It was courageous, in my opinion, for the company to have remained with the project, under such intense scrutiny, fulfilling their commitment to a town……that really wanted a pool!

During the initial two weeks, following the allegations being made public, there was a serious amount of story spinning making the rounds…..and many outrageous tales that created ridiculous scenarios some people took as fact. The problem was, clearly, that the town needed to calm the citizens, and without violating the confidentiality of the situation, let us all know……at public meetings…..as many as it would take…. general answers to at least some of the nagging questions…..that would have cleared the air; and smashed the wheel off the rumor mill. Citizens were simply exercising their democratic rights by asking for information, from the people they elected to be stewards of their town. They had to rely, in most cases, on the media to give them a smidgeon…..when what we all needed was for Council to quell fears……to explain why certain information was restricted, why there had been a major personnel change at town hall, and how it all related to the alleged wrong-doing at the rec. centre. Under the circumstances, it would be hard to blame already angry taxpayers, for reading a lot more into the situation than was part of the investigation. Even though there was no news coming from the police, that didn't stop innuendos from flourishing. Even as recent as two weeks ago, I was hearing updated rumors, more compelling than ever, that this was going to turn real bad, and soon. Respectfully, this could have been lessened by town hall……not eliminated, but lessened, by facing the public sooner. Red-faced here in Gravenhurst? We all must be humble to the situation, because, even in modest proportion, we really wanted to throw the town under the proverbial bus……because we felt they'd somehow let us down. Arguably there were shortfalls in communication but they still didn't deserve the brow-beating they took.

I can't imagine that even the most conspiracy-speculating citizen today, isn't feeling the relief of hearing that the police will not be laying charges against the contractor, as there was no wrong-doing or kickbacks substantiated. My wife Suzanne told me about the news report, while we were strolling down the aisle of the grocery store. I damn near fell over a display of stovetop stuffing boxes. Damn thing is, it's almost exactly the same place, as when I first read the initial allegations……reading when I should have been paying attention to grocery store displays. As I was shocked then, well, I was shocked today…..not because I wanted someone to pay for our chagrin, but the fact we had all, to some degree, let our imaginations wander, when we should have been objective……..you know…..the innocent until allegations are proven part of our legal rights and privileges. I'm pretty sure this news story is stirring up household and business chatter all around Muskoka tonight, because despite our huge geographical area, we're a pretty tight region when it comes to headline-grabbing occurrences. And I'm just as sure, many are angry about the whole nine yards of it……that all this had to happen, when all we wanted was a simple…..not too elaborate…..just big enough, public pool for our town.

There is no justification broad enough, or sensibly proportioned, to justify fanning the rumor mill, as we have been over a half year. In history it has happened, and there have been consequences for over-reaction. As nasty as these rumors are, to those affected, they are a fact of life in a mass media, crazy world…..and there is ample evidence of this happening everywhere on God's green earth. Still, I don't think, even with much greater openness from council, that all embellishments would have been contained…..as this was part of a larger profile of taxpayer dissatisfaction, at being told we might hit double digits, for some time, to pay for our brand new pool…….and then to read in headlines, of these alleged problems……it created a very volatile situation, amongst generally fair and amiable citizens. The criticism of the additional pool and recreation centre over-spending, would have carried on, as it pretty much has in ratepayer circles, regardless of whether we hit the front page last April or not.

This is a good town. And we have a lot of conscientious folks who weighed those allegations carefully, and were patient enough to wait for an outcome. After a long, long wait, yes, we could heave a sigh of relief……and I can tell you, many feel pretty bad about thinking the worse of the contractor and the town itself. It is important to appreciate that it was a really bad year here……and while it isn't an excuse for behaving badly, it was certainly a contributing factor in creating mistrust on top of already simmering anger, about tax increases we hadn't anticipated….and news, our financial burdens weren't a one-off…..but a legacy into the future.

We know this isn't over by a long shot, because there are events after the fact. We eagerly await upcoming revelations, to finally find out what it was all really about……if we are ever entitled to review this information, or misinformation, that led to these unfortunate troubles on the construction front, and at town hall. Of course we'd like to know. All we wanted was a pool, and we got so much more!