It’s not enough that this edition of Collingwood Town Council had to resolve the downtown patio issue, the Admiral Collingwood Place debacle, and the general financial mess left by the previous council.
Now word comes down of one more mess: a commitment to cover any deficit for the Ontario Winter Games, in this case, $75,000 based on a presentation to councillors last night by parks, recreation and culture director Marta Proctor (who, by the way, wears none of this, coming to the job as she did long after the decisions had been made).
Really? The words of former Montreal mayor Jean Drapeau spring to mind, echoing as they must have through the ears of councillors when they wrote that particular blank cheque, and evidently oblivious to how that turned out for Montreal (I think they only finished paying for the Olympics a couple of years ago).
They also based that decision on what appears to be an incomplete budget, based on the numbers flashed on the big screen in council chambers last night. I mean, really — how can the numbers for accommodation costs be more than 20% out of whack? The estimate for food was about 19% off the mark.
It doesn’t help the Huntsville version of the Ontario Winter Games last year walked away with a $200,000 surplus, thanks in part to considerable federal government funding; I suspect OWG benefited from some of that G8/G20 slush fund spread around in Tony Clement’s riding.
The feds answer thus far to our own MP Kellie Leitch has been the doors to the bank vault are closed.
(Even though just before Christmas I had about three or four of the Conservatives tenpercenters dropped off in the mailbox. Hey, Kellie, we gave the Conservatives a majority mandate — which I thought meant you guys would get down to the business of governing, and get your propaganda arm off the public teat.)
It’s unfortunate the volunteer committee tasked with finding money for these games has been given such an uphill row to hoe. Maybe we should be sending a bill to the people who sat around the council table at that August, 2010 meeting, and have them pony up their share of the shortfall…
January 10, 2012 at 1:05 pm
I was just thinking on the weekend about the last council’s mess. Shoppers’ opened their beautiful store, a store which could have been on Hurontario Street bringing many people to the downtown. Carrier and his VOTE buddies were not only disrespectful of the electorate and each other, poor managers, and pompous but were also very short-sighted. They cost us a thriving main street. I appreciate the way our fantastic council of the day entertains, considers, and respects many different points of view.
January 15, 2012 at 8:27 am
A little off the point, but relative, is the return of parking fees to Collingwoods downtown.
That is costing the downtown merchants a huge amount of business since for those of us who do not reside in Collingwood and who have the choice of shopping (in many cases at the same stores) in other towns, having to pay for downtown parking for short store pickups is another layer of tax that I for one do not wish to pay.
It’s costs like that that impede the growth and success of daily and special events in Collingwood.
Another factor is the inability to see to get out of parking spots on the main street when my economically small vehicle ends up being boxed in by two massive gas guzzlers. Center block parking should be for small vehicles and the trucks should be forced to park where they do not impede the vision of others.
This is the type of concern that impacts the life of Collingwood and seems to be totally ignored by those in power.
Parking fees in downtown are a tax break for the box stores with their free parking lots.