posting
03-17-2006, 12:11 AM
Our contributors comment on a variety of local municipal issues. These ‘Op-Ed’ views are published here to further public discussion on these issues. They do not necessarily represent an editorial position by Kingston Electors.
I.M. Pertinent Comments...
I'm back - though some may not view this as a positive development - with a few asides relative to your comments on some of my previous postings.
To Dick, who, among us is the true municipal affairs expert: If anyone takes this little blog seriously then we're all in a pile of trouble. I make no claim to pertinence, only impertinence. I disagree with you, however, about a culture of secrecy at City Hall and what you perceive to be a lack of public input and I direct you to LVEC as a typical Kingston example of public input run amok.
Despite weeks of hearings, public meetings, private meetings, council debates and delegations, studies, reports and nearly $100,000 in expenditures, council has allowed lobby groups to grind to a halt a project that was strongly endorsed in the last municipal election. (In fairness, the city may be dragging its feet just a little as well. Understandable, as staff have rarely, if ever, been called on to deliver a project of this magnitude.) In the real world, outside Kingston, three years is a ridiculous length of time for an arena to be in the preliminary planning stages. Take a look at the City of Toronto's new soccer stadium as one example. Federal funding was confirmed just prior to the January federal election. Toronto is in the ground. How much more discussion does this project require?
In my view, Kingston's lobby groups shot themselves in the foot on Market Square. They backed city council into a corner and forced council to take desperate measures in order to move the redevelopment project ahead. Perhaps if the lobby groups - and I'm not talking about individual citizens with legitimate concerns here, but organized gangs whose hobby it is to stop major projects - could accept that our community needs to move into this century and undertake to add constructive criticism, then council might not have to resort to limiting public comments. It's unfair to put a burden of formal consultation on council when large groups of citizens are unwilling to do their part responsibly.
As supporting evidence, I offer another excerpt from a recent internal KCAL email: "I believe it would be a good idea for all of us to write letters to both government representatives [this refers to federal and provincial] hoping they are not considering the city's quest for assistance in building the LVEC. A great amount of money has been spent, and is continuing to be spent, to make this areana happen--but getting it stopped will save the city millions and millions, as we know." Who gave this lobby group the right to decide what municipal projects senior governments should or should not fund in this city, or to decide this project should be stopped, for that matter?
Now to Evelyn, who, quite rightly, questions the validity of anonymous postings and whether I've attended a meeting of council: a) a pseudonym is necessary if I wish to continue being employed in Kingston and b) if you want to compare numbers of meetings attended over the last 5 years, I can assure you I would win hands down. Have confidence in the KE team. They wouldn't have invited me here if I didn't have some specialized knowledge.
With respect to your comment: "I PERSONALLY, APPRECIATE THE HERITAGE IN THIS GREAT CITY AND DO NOT APPRECIATE IT BEING SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER WITHOUT HAVING SOME INPUT"
Again, I say that if you, and others, are truly so concerned about the bastardization of what you feel is an historic name, then why have you not demanded the city remove the 401 sign that advertises this space as "Kingston Historic Farmers Market?" It's been there for years and to my way of thinking, there's not a whit of difference in a sign that says "Springer Market Square."
To Lydia, who has become enraptured by KEDCO's latest snow job: The one area in which KEDCO truly excels is convincing citizens and city councillors that they're going to do a really great job next year. The way to judge KEDCO is by examining what the economic development corporation has accomplished with $7.5 million in tax dollars over the last three years. If you find something meaningful, please let us know.
I.M. Pertinent Comments...
I'm back - though some may not view this as a positive development - with a few asides relative to your comments on some of my previous postings.
To Dick, who, among us is the true municipal affairs expert: If anyone takes this little blog seriously then we're all in a pile of trouble. I make no claim to pertinence, only impertinence. I disagree with you, however, about a culture of secrecy at City Hall and what you perceive to be a lack of public input and I direct you to LVEC as a typical Kingston example of public input run amok.
Despite weeks of hearings, public meetings, private meetings, council debates and delegations, studies, reports and nearly $100,000 in expenditures, council has allowed lobby groups to grind to a halt a project that was strongly endorsed in the last municipal election. (In fairness, the city may be dragging its feet just a little as well. Understandable, as staff have rarely, if ever, been called on to deliver a project of this magnitude.) In the real world, outside Kingston, three years is a ridiculous length of time for an arena to be in the preliminary planning stages. Take a look at the City of Toronto's new soccer stadium as one example. Federal funding was confirmed just prior to the January federal election. Toronto is in the ground. How much more discussion does this project require?
In my view, Kingston's lobby groups shot themselves in the foot on Market Square. They backed city council into a corner and forced council to take desperate measures in order to move the redevelopment project ahead. Perhaps if the lobby groups - and I'm not talking about individual citizens with legitimate concerns here, but organized gangs whose hobby it is to stop major projects - could accept that our community needs to move into this century and undertake to add constructive criticism, then council might not have to resort to limiting public comments. It's unfair to put a burden of formal consultation on council when large groups of citizens are unwilling to do their part responsibly.
As supporting evidence, I offer another excerpt from a recent internal KCAL email: "I believe it would be a good idea for all of us to write letters to both government representatives [this refers to federal and provincial] hoping they are not considering the city's quest for assistance in building the LVEC. A great amount of money has been spent, and is continuing to be spent, to make this areana happen--but getting it stopped will save the city millions and millions, as we know." Who gave this lobby group the right to decide what municipal projects senior governments should or should not fund in this city, or to decide this project should be stopped, for that matter?
Now to Evelyn, who, quite rightly, questions the validity of anonymous postings and whether I've attended a meeting of council: a) a pseudonym is necessary if I wish to continue being employed in Kingston and b) if you want to compare numbers of meetings attended over the last 5 years, I can assure you I would win hands down. Have confidence in the KE team. They wouldn't have invited me here if I didn't have some specialized knowledge.
With respect to your comment: "I PERSONALLY, APPRECIATE THE HERITAGE IN THIS GREAT CITY AND DO NOT APPRECIATE IT BEING SOLD TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER WITHOUT HAVING SOME INPUT"
Again, I say that if you, and others, are truly so concerned about the bastardization of what you feel is an historic name, then why have you not demanded the city remove the 401 sign that advertises this space as "Kingston Historic Farmers Market?" It's been there for years and to my way of thinking, there's not a whit of difference in a sign that says "Springer Market Square."
To Lydia, who has become enraptured by KEDCO's latest snow job: The one area in which KEDCO truly excels is convincing citizens and city councillors that they're going to do a really great job next year. The way to judge KEDCO is by examining what the economic development corporation has accomplished with $7.5 million in tax dollars over the last three years. If you find something meaningful, please let us know.