Just a waste of more tax dollars?
At the August 10 Special Open Council meeting, Mayor McKay announced the appointments to the Colliery Dams Select Committee. Mr. Lorn Gale and Mr. Peter Urquhart will represent the CDPPS and Mr. Wally Wells and Mr. Leon Cake were chosen as the members from the community at large.
Whether this committee will be able at all to satisfy the intent of it's creation by Councillors would seem doubtful as the spillway has now been put on the fast track, with the promise of shovels in the ground by Sept. 15 I believe.
Unless I misunderstood, Council's original intent was to have the committee act as liaison between Council and the Water Comptroller and city staff. The purpose would have been to allow for some more time to consider if the current spillway option is really what is needed in Colliery Dams Park or if in fact far less costly options might be available.
Council approved waiving the purchasing bylaw which would have required a public tender and instead are going to invite four contractors to submit tenders for a cost plus contract. It is said the design work will be 80% complete by Sept. 1 so what input the select committee will have in this process at this point seems a bit of a mystery.
It will provide the appearance of city hall having consulted with the public and included them in the process which may include such things as what kind of plants might be used to replace the trees that will be removed to allow for the spillway. As for the spillway itself, that has already been determined.
That's the needless spending of likely $5-million or more - but it's only us who're paying it.
ReplyDeleteDid everyone notice the more-dictatorial approach from the mayor to running Monday's council meeting? Out-of-Orders galore, threatening to recess to have a talking to an overly-questioning councillor, Brennan piping up to champion her friend's boathouse and basically endorsing a new fire station and 20 firefighters - although we'll have to anxiously await the city's trumped-up report she asked for.
In her financial disclosure statement of 2014 Brennan got $750 from the firefighter's social fund to help her run her re-election campaign.
Kev