The Visit of Frankenstorm to The Opera House

FRANKENSTORM "SANDY" AND AN UNFINISHED ROOF AT THE OPERA HOUSE

ANOTHER MONTH AND THE ROOF STILL HAS ITS VISIBLE PLYWOOD

     I READ AN ARTICLE IN THE BANNER THIS WEEK, REGARDING THE OPERA HOUSE ROOF. IT'S OBVIOUS, THE REALLY BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK WAS THE USE OF THE WORD "NAZISM," BY AN ANGRY GRAVENHURST COUNCILLOR, PROTESTING THE UNFAIR WAY HIGHWAY II PROPERTY OWNERS, IN GRAVENHURST, ARE BEING TREATED BY MTO. THE OOMPH WAS SPENT ON THE FRONT PAGER, I GUESS, WITH LITTLE ENTHUSIASM LEFT TO GO AFTER THE OPERA HOUSE STORY. THERE WAS A STORY. BUT IT WAS SORT OF LIKE WAVING A TEABAG OVER A CUP OF HOT WATER, BUT NOT LETTING THE TWO MEET. YEA IT WAS THAT WEAK. THE OPERA HOUSE, IN CASE YOU DIDN'T KNOW THIS, HAS BEEN CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC ON AND OFF, FOR MORE THAN A WEEK, THIS MONTH, WHICH ACCORDING TO THE SMALL NOTE POSTED ON THE DOOR, HAD SOMETHING OR OTHER TO DO WITH THE ROOF RESTORATION. THE EXPOSED PLYWOOD KIND OF GIVES IT AWAY, THAT SOMETHING IMPACTED THROUGH THE ROOF, DURING REPLACEMENT WORK, THUSLY MAKING AN UNEXPECTED OPENING WHERE THERE SHOULD BE WOOD. WAS THE OPERA HOUSE CLOSED AS A RESULT OF AIR QUALITY OR FROM WATER PENETRATION OR BOTH? IT DIDN'T APPEAR IN THE ARTICLE, EXACTLY WHY THE BUILDING WAS CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC FOR MORE THAN A WEEK. I HAD SUGGESTED AT ONE POINT, ON THE EVENING OF A PARTICULARLY HEAVY RAIN EVENT, THAT COUNCILLORS MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER DONNING RAIN GEAR AND TOTING SOME PAILS, JUST IN CASE THE ROOF WAS LEAKING, AS WELL AS EMITTING SOME DEBRIS OF UNKNOWN QUALITIES INTO THE THEATRE AREA. THAT WAS A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO.

       WHILE I HAVE SEEN SOME PROGRESS ON THE ROOF, I'VE ALSO, LIKE MANY OTHERS IN THIS TOWN, HAD REASON TO PONDER WHY IT IS TAKING SO LONG TO FINISH THIS PROJECT. I HAD ALSO SUGGESTED THROUGH THIS BLOG, TWO WEEKS AGO, THAT IT WOULD BE A SWELL IDEA FOR THE TOWN TO OFFER-UP EVEN A BARE BONES PRESS RELEASE, TO THE LOCAL MEDIA, TO EXPLAIN WHY THE OPERA HOUSE…..OUR BUILDING, HAD TO BE CLOSED AT ALL. NOW A COUNCIL COMMITTED TO TRANSPARENCY, WOULD SEE THIS AS IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY. CAN ANYONE AT TOWN HALL, EXPLAIN WHY WE WERE EXCLUDED FROM THIS PUBLIC INFORMATION? IF WE CAN READ A NOTE ON THE DOOR, FROM MANAGEMENT, SURELY WE COULD HAVE HAD AN EXPLANATION FOR THE NOTE, SENT TO THE MEDIA, FROM THE TOWN, TO INFORM US…..THE CONSTITUENTS. WHEN COUNCILLORS YELL BACK, "WE ARE TRANSPARENT," THEN MAYBE THEY COULD ALSO DO THEIR OWN RETROSPECTIVE…..AND OFFER US THE REASON WHY THEY COULDN'T SPARE A FEW WORDS TO THE MEDIA, ABOUT PROBLEMS THAT HAD BEEN ENCOUNTERED.

           NOW I'M NOT A BORN AND RAISED MUSKOKAN. BUT I'VE KNOWN AND INTERVIEWED MANY OF THEM. MY WIFE AND FAMILY ARE FROM PIONEER STOCK IN MUSKOKA, DATING BACK TO THE 1860'S AND 70'S, AND WE'VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT WEATHER, AND LEGENDARY WINTERS THAT POPPED UP WITHOUT WARNING, THAT WERE ALWAYS MORE SEVERE THAN THE LEGEND BEFORE IT. EVEN THE FARMER'S ALMANACS DIDN'T SEE THE MONSTER COMING. WHAT I AM HAVING A REAL PROBLEM WITH, OTHER THAN THE FACT THE TOWN DOESN'T FEEL IT NECESSARY TO SHARE WITH OTHERS, WHAT THEY KNOW, IS THAT WE HAVE A HAD A LOT OF RAIN THIS AUTUMN. IT HAPPENS IN MUSKOKA WHENEVER WE HAVE A LENGTHY DRY SPELL. GOING BACK IN THE HISTORY BOOKS, IT HAS WORKED THIS WAY FOR GENERATIONS. MUSKOKA HAS AN AVERAGE RAINFALL / SNOWFALL AMOUNT THAT STAYS PRETTY CLOSE YEAR AFTER YEAR. IF WE GET LESS ONE SEASON, WE'LL MAKE UP FOR IT IN ANOTHER SEASON. SO THIS FALL MAKES UP FOR THE DROUGHT OF JULY AND AUGUST.

     IT USED TO BE THAT YOU'D RUN STUFF LIKE THIS PAST THE OLDTIMERS. THE ONES WHO REMEMBERED THE GREAT FALL AND WINTER EVENTS DATING BACK THROUGH THE PAST HUNDRED YEARS. THESE OLDTIMERS, IF THEY'D BEEN AROUND TO SEE THIS UNFINISHED OPERA HOUSE ROOF, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE LATE SEASON, AND CATCH-UP OF PRECIPITATION, WOULD PROBABLY SHAKE THEIR HEADS, MAKE SOME GROANING NOISES AND HAND GESTURES, CHOMP DOWN ON THEIR PIPES, OR WAD OF CHEWING TOBACCO, AND SUGGEST "IT'S TOO LATE IN THE SEASON TO HAVE A PARTLY FINISHED ROOF." I KNOW THE ABOVE DESCRIPTION WAS UNFAIRLY CLICHED, AS A LOT OF OLDTIMERS DIDN'T SMOKE PIPES, CHEW TOBACCO, AND ALWAYS  OFFER DOOM AND GLOOM SCENARIOS, FOR THOSE WHO WERE BEHIND THEIR TIME FINISHING A PROJECT. THEY'D STILL UTTER THE SAME OBSERVATION HOWEVER, THAT IT IS RISKY BUSINESS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE KIND OF WEATHER THAT'S COMING DOWN THE PIKE IN THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS.

     SUZANNE SAYS I WORRY A LOT. SHE'S RIGHT. I DO. AS AN HISTORIAN, AND FORMER MUSEUM MANAGER, AND SOMEONE WHO HAS HAD TO DEAL WITH HISTORY RELATED DISASTERS, FROM FLOODS TO EXPLODING OIL FURNACES, I KNOW HOW AVERAGE CAN TURN TO HORROR IN A MATTER OF A FEW MINUTES. "ON MY WATCH," I'D TELL SUZANNE. "THAT'S WHY I HAVE TO WORRY. IF ANYTHING GOES WRONG, I'M RESPONSIBLE. THERE'S NO ONE ELSE TO BLAME IF THERE'S A PROBLEM. ESPECIALLY ONE I COULD HAVE PREVENTED." MY QUESTION TO TOWN COUNCILLORS, IS THIS. WHAT BURDEN OF RESPONSIBILITY DO YOU HAVE, EACH OF YOU, IF THERE IS A SERIOUS WATER ISSUE, BECAUSE OF THE COMING STORMFRONT, THAT CAUSES DAMAGE TO THE OPERA HOUSE? WHAT IS THE LIABILITY? WITH A ROOF STILL SPORTING A PLYWOOD PATCH ON THE SOUTH SIDE, AND THE SURFACE STILL VISIBLY UNDER-PROTECTED, FROM WHAT IT HAD BEEN, EVEN WITH DAMAGED SHINGLES, BEFORE THE ROOFING WORK BEGAN, WHAT WILL BE THE CONSEQUENCE OF A LEAKY ROOF OTHER THAN WET THEATRE CHAIRS……AND A MOP-UP EXPENSE? WHAT WILL THEIR STORIES BE, IF THERE WAS A REPORTER ACTUALLY WILLING TO INVESTIGATE THE ROOFING DELAY…..BECAUSE IT IS A DELAY. CASUAL BYSTANDERS, PEDESTRIANS, OLD FARTS AND YOUNG FARTS, CAN SEE WHEN WORK IS ONGOING, AND WHEN IT ISN'T. SO IT WOULD BE RIDICULOUS PROPAGANDA TO SAY EVERYTHING IS WHIPPING RIGHT ALONG.

     SO BRING ON A FRANKENSTORM, NAMED SANDY, INTO THE MIX OF A SUBSTANTIALLY WET MUSKOKA AUTUMN SEASON, THUS FAR, AND AN UNFINISHED OPERA HOUSE ROOF. I'M ONLY ASKING A QUESTION HERE ABOUT RESPONSIBILITY. NOW IF THIS STORM HITS ON MONDAY AS THEY ARE PROJECTING, WITH LOTS OF RAIN AND HIGH WINDS, WILL OUR COUNCILLORS FEEL CONFIDENT IT'S NOT GOING TO RAIN INSIDE THE OPERA HOUSE? CONSIDERING THAT IT MAY RAIN FOR MOST OF THE NEXT WEEK, HAVING A POROUS ROOF IS A DEFINITE DRAG ON HOUSEKEEPING. WE WILL SOON BE IN NOVEMBER AND MAYBE IT WILL BE A FOUR WEEK INDIAN SUMMER. REMEMBER THE EDMUND FITZGERALD, AND IT BECAME A SONG. I'D HATE TO HAVE ONE WRITTEN ABOUT THE OPERA HOUSE.

     THERE IS ALSO THE POTENTIAL FOR SNOW DURING THE BRUSH WITH SANDY, IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS. SO HOW MUCH WORK WILL GET DONE ON THE OPERA HOUSE ROOF, IN THE NEXT SEVEN TO TEN DAYS? ONE MIGHT ASK THE QUESTION ABOUT THE STUART MCLEAN VISIT IN LATER NOVEMBER. ANY CHANCE OF IT BEING DONE THEN?  THESE ARE JUST A FEW ROUTINE QUESTIONS THAT, YES, COUNCILLORS DO HAVE TO ANSWER……ESPECIALLY KNOWING THE OPERA HOUSE, WITH A PARTIALLY REPAIRED ROOF, COULD BE PARTICULARLY VULNERABLE TO A SERIOUS DELUGE. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE BEING PROMISED, SO I DON'T FEEL I'M OUT OF LINE ASKING THIS.

     NOW HERE'S A LITTLE SOMETHING TO MULL OVER. I HAVE BEEN RECOMMENDING AN OPERA HOUSE ADVOCACY GROUP FOR SOME TIME, TO SHOULDER SOME OF THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WELL BEING OF THE HISTORIC MAIN STREET FACILITY. IF THEY HAD TAKEN MY ADVICE, AS SOMEWHAT RESPONSIVE AND LEARNED, FROM EXPERIENCE, THEY MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CALL ON THE MEMBERS OF THIS ADVOCACY GROUP, ON A STORM WATCH, TO ASSIST WITH ANY EMERGENCY SITUATION THAT MIGHT DEVELOP AS A RESULT OF CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS. IT WOULD HAVE SHOWN, THAT THE TOWN WAS WILLING TO SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ALL THE RIGHT REASONS, TO PUT PROTECTION OF OUR ASSETS ABOVE THE TYPICAL PROTOCOL OF, "WE CAN HANDLE IT." THIS IS THE CASE, OF COURSE, AND IT MAY NOT SEEM LIKE MUCH OF A GAMBLE, FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN, BECAUSE WILLPOWER CAN STOP BAD THINGS FROM HAPPENING. RIGHT?

     THE REASON I PEN THIS KIND OF WARNING, IS THAT THERE IS STILL A GOOD CHANCE TO BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES, BEFORE THE STORM IS PREDICTED TO HIT OUR AREA…..WHICH BY THE WAY, IS IN A SPECIAL WEATHER WARNING AT THE PRESENT TIME. SO IT WOULD SEEM NOT JUST PRUDENT, BUT "MOVING FORWARD" SENSIBLY, TO MAKE SURE THAT THE REPAIRS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, PRIOR TO NEW ROOFING MATERIALS STILL BUNDLED AT THE BACK OF THE BUILDING, ARE GOING TO HOLD IN HIGH WIND AND HEAVY RAIN. THERE'S STILL TIME FOR DOUBT AND IN THE CASE OF OUR HISTORIC ASSET, THE JEWEL OF THE MAIN STREET, I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT EVERY ELECTED MEMBER OF OUR COUNCIL, UNDERSTANDS THE RISK THEY'RE TAKING, IF A PROBLEM WAS TO DEVELOP DURING THE WORST PART OF THE STORM. IT WILL NOT BE AN EASY OUT, SAYING THEY "WEATHER DID IT, SO IT WAS UNAVOIDABLE." IT WOULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF WE HAD A FINISHED ROOF, HEADING INTO A WEEK OF WET WEATHER. DON'T YOU THINK? IT IS A MATTER OF ACCOUNTABILITY THAT THERE IS NO ESCAPING, AND NO CRAFTED PRESS STATEMENT ABOUT IT BEING AN "ACT OF GOD," WILL SUFFICE. GOD DIDN'T TAKE THE SHINGLES OFF THE ROOF.

     RIGHT NOW, THERE'S TIME TO MAKE DAMN SURE, THE ROOF IS SECURE ENOUGH TO SURVIVE THE REMNANTS OF A HURRICANE. MAYBE IT WILL JUST BLOW OVER. I'M SURE MANY ARE HOPING SO, INCLUDING ME. I DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT BEAUTIFUL BUILDING DAMAGED, SEEING AS I'M A PART OWNER, JUST LIKE MANY OF YOU. SO HERE'S THE THING. I'M GOING TO BE WORKING ON MY OWN ROOF THIS WEEKEND, TO MAKE SURE I'VE DONE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, AHEAD OF FOUL WEATHER, TO MITIGATE DAMAGE INSIDE AND OUT. AS I DON'T WANT WATER IN MY HOUSE, OTHER THAN FROM A TAP, I'M SURE THAT IS HOW COUNCILLORS AND TOWN STAFF FEEL ABOUT THE OPERA HOUSE. SO GIVEN THIS WIGGLE ROOM, I REALLY THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA TO MAKE SURE IT CAN WEATHER THE STORM UNDER ITS PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCE. IF NOT, AND IF THERE IS ANY DOUBT, THEN BY GOLLY, COUNCILLORS SHOULD CONDUCT A LITTLE INFORMAL PHONE TREE, JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYONE'S CONCERNS ARE ADDRESSED.

     IF THIS CAME TO COUNCIL, AS A FULL BLOWN DISASTER, AFTER THE FACT OF SANDY'S SCHEDULED VISIT, IT WOULD BE HARD FOR ANY COUNCILLOR THEN, TO SAY, "I DIDN'T KNOW," OR "I THOUGHT IT WOULD HOLD." WITH A LENGTHY TURN OF WET WEATHER ON A PARTIALLY FIXED ROOF, AND WINTER A HAIR'S BREADTH AWAY…..ALONG WITH STUART MCLEAN, I THINK IT'S TIME TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT THIS ROOF THING…..AND THAT'S NOT TOO MUCH TO ASK, CONSIDERING THE LENGTH OF TIME THAT HAS BEEN SPENT ON IT SO FAR.

     HERE'S A LITTLE TIP FOR THE ROVING REPORTERS OUT THERE. FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON, WHY THE DELAYS, WHY THE OPERA HOUSE WAS CLOSED OFF AND ON FOR MORE THAN A WEEK, AND IF THERE'S A COMPLETION DATE BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST AND STAYING SNOW.

     HERE'S HOPING FOR THE BEST. THANKS FOR JOINING TODAY'S BLOG. I HOPE SANDY DOESN'T BECOME A MODERN DAY HAZEL.