Friday, April 11, 2008

HOW COUNCIL NEARLY BLEW MOODY

Monday night's Council meeting certainly was a variation from the from the leaderless and vanilla drivel we have become accustomed to.
The comments, challenges and insults volleying back and forth had the Mayor looking like he was a spectator at a tennis match. Thankfully, for this city, Councillors Osterman and McIntosh stepped into the breach and provided the much needed leadership in the chamber.
Responding to the request from Voice to put a motion on the table, limiting the expenditures at Moody pool to $3.3M., Councillors M&O put some sanity into a situation that has been marked by incompetence, pandering and games-playing.
Voice, in it's letter to the councillors, reiterated the position that it has made publicly on several occasions. First, Voice supports the construction of a pool in Moody Park, an area highly in need of amenity services. Second, Voice does not support the expenditure of $6M. on a two month a year pool operation. If that figure is to be seriously looked at, Voice is in favour of examining the feasibility of a year round pool operation in the immediate area.
The meeting on Monday night, the salient portions of which we hope to soon have available on this site, certainly further revealed what to many has become abundantly clear:
1. The absolute leaderless drift of this council,
2. The complete disregard by the Labor Council Slate (Harper, Williams and Cote) for those people paying the freight, either directly through property taxes, or indirectly through rents,
3. The impetuous, sanctimonious and disrepectful behaviour of some council members reveals their hidden agendas and their inability or unwillingness to examine the issues impartially.

The Moody Park Pool, once again, is an issue that highlights the lack of direction at city hall and good public policy regarding development, development cost charges and amenity charges. The dictum in progressive communities, that growth must pay for growth, has been ignored in this city, to the peril of it's residents.
Although there have been countless missed opportunities, Council now needs to proceed on a steady course, and provide sound direction to staff based on the needs of the community and also on the resources available.
There certainly is no place for the threats, insults and childish behaviour witnessed on Monday night.
- C.C.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, could this signify a break in the slate? Usually Cote, Donnelly, Williams, Harper and Wright all vote as one.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, and usually Donnelly just waits to the end to see which way the wind is blowing. It was interesting that he seemed to actually have an opinion on this one.

Anonymous said...

Watched that Council meeting at which they had the blow-up.
Helium Boy said he was "ashamed to be a council member". He should be. He was put in by the District Labour Council, and has been a patsy for the Bizarre Harper ever since. Meanwhile, the bag lady from Sapperton just watches everything zoom over her head. It is all just a little too complex for her.
Meanwhile, the Mayor just keeps spouting off sayings he has read on bumper stickers.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Voice for brokering a reasonable solution to the Moody Park Pool fiasco.
This council couldn't manage a lemonade stand. When you guys started I thought it wouldn't last 6 months. Now you are giving the
12th St. mafia fits.
I'm surprised that the thought
challenged mayor didn't propose to put a highrise on Moody Park to pay for a new pool.

Anonymous said...

Helium Boy, good one.
When the going gets tough, he looks like a deer in headlights.
This whole thing is such a smozzle. Who tore the old pool down? Why didn't they use the hole from the old pool for the new one?
Why was it filled in? Wasted money, wasted time. Now Harper,
Cote, Williams & Wright, try to sell themselves as saving the pool,
on borrowed money yet.

Anonymous said...

The stories and editorial in the Record are completely biased as usual. I know Pat Tracy is a labour council lacky, but this is ridiculous. I guess she's practising for her endorsement editorials during the election.She sounds like their spin doctor. She must be after Blair Fryer's job.
Jakebreak