This time last year I and many other Candidates including those who were successful and now represent us at Town Council laid out our priorities that we would pursue if elected! These priorities included such motherhood objectives as being prudent with taxpayers monies; being guardians of public safety: ensuring we have a hospital that meets the requirements of the community; and of course that must in every election campaign of keeping taxes as low as possible.
I wonder how many of those elected Councillors would be occupying their chairs if their election promises had said “I believe it is more important for Staff to research the introduction of “Piano Stairs” in the new Milton Centre for the Arts than it is to provide Council with a report on “funding options to assist Halton Healthcare Services in raising its Local Share before determining how to finance a municipal contribution towards the expansion of Milton District Hospital:”
The reason why the latter is emphasised is because it was contained in a Council resolution passed almost one year ago and to the best of my knowledge still does not exist! Last night Council directed Staff to further investigate the installation of a “walking piano” at the new Arts Centre providing it could be done without the use of taxpayer funds!
Councillor Malboeuf’s assertion that having Staff spend any more time on the project was “using taxpayer monies” fell on deaf ears.
With the exception of Councillors DiLorenzo and Barkley all Councillors participated in the debate. 7 Councillors voted in favour of the resolution with Councillors Cluett, Nelson and Malboeuf voting against it. Councillor DiLorenzo was not in the Chambers for the vote.
In dismissing the liability concern that some raised Councillor Best noted that skateboarding is way more dangerous and we have skateboard parks! He somewhat missed the point that only skateboarders use such parks and they are painfully aware of the risks to which they subject themselves.
Councillor Hamid felt that it was unfair to compare the stairs with the Hospital and that the Hospital should not be used as an excuse to reject everything else. Given that the original proposal suggested that the Community Fund might be used as a source of part funding the stairs I think he is wrong. As far as I am aware the Community Fund is a source of funding for some Hospital or Friends of the Hospital projects!
The irony that this motion involved more heated debate and time than the presentation on the Budget and the one on the Hospital was not lost on the audience! I don’t think Rick Malboeuf’s sarcastic question as to whether the piano stairs were “Steinway Piano Stairs’ was above anyone’s head!
Late in my business career I was introduced to, and developed a passion for, Lean Manufacturing, a concept that can be best summed up as a quest to eliminate waste throughout the organization! At last night’s Council Meeting I got the sense that the majority of Councillors do not share my desire for the reduction of waste in the business of the Town. I suppose I should be grateful that the Community Fund will not be providing any part of the funding but I do know there is no such thing as a free lunch!
Martin Capper
May 31, 2011
Agreed, it shouldn’t needed so much discussion and council should have rejected it outright for the tacky eyesore it will inevitably become. Also, if it goes through, who pays for ongoing maintenance and repairs? Doubt any sponsor will want to sign up for a lifetime commitment with zero cost to Milton forever. I seem to find myself agreeing with Mike Cluett’s position on most things, unfortunately I don’t live in ward 6.
Thanks for the recap…and yes the “Steinway piano keys” comment was hilarious and a highlite of the debate.
As I asked staff last night for clarification, this is not the end of the issue. A sponsor has to be found first before we move forward. Councillor Huffman wants this done for the opening, and unless theres a sponsor(s) waiting in the weeds for this, it would be highly unlikely to move forward by that date.
Once this happens, it will be brought back to council for review and an opportunity to accept or reject it. More input is needed from the users at the MCA/Library before we can comfortably move forward.
Judging from staffs report, a significant amount of construction will have to be done to install the steps…which means even after its open, we’ll still be under construction.
The amendment to the proposal states that 100% of the funding has to be from the private sector, which means they cant use the Community Fund (yes you are correct the CF is used for hospital related items – which to me is a BIGGER priority than piano steps)
Anthony….
Thank you for your comments as well. Much appreciated.
Thanks for the summary Martin.
You said: “Councillor Hamid felt that it was unfair to compare the stairs with the Hospital and that the Hospital should not be used as an excuse to reject everything else. Given that the original proposal suggested that the Community Fund might be used as a source of part funding the stairs I think he is wrong.”
It’s unfair to quote half of what I said, when in the same speech I also proposed an amendment (that passed unanimously) to take the community fund off limit.
What was unfair was that the same councillor who used the hospital argument (“hospital is more important, so we shouldn’t even spend time talking about this”) also argued *for* spending $150,000 of taxpayer money (not private donation money) to beautify streetscape in front of 20 homes on Main Street. He also directed staff to research how to upgrade parks in older neighbourhoods. I said it was unfair to ask staff to investigate things that are important to him, but criticize another councillor (Huffman in this case) by using the Hospital argument.
Zeeshan Hamid
Zeeshan
Thanks for providing additional input and I sincerely hope that the amendment you proposed will ultimately ensure that this proposal never sees the light of day!
As you know I urged the retention of some sort of service at the Bruce Street Library an argument that was seen as strange given my stance on other Town expenses! Perhaps Staff could find private sector sponsors for individual Parks and Streets and Libraries so that we can all achieve our pet projects!
I used that part of your comment because I am not convinced that the taxpayers fully appreciate that the Community Fund provides funding to the Hospital and because I remain frustrated that no one has asked Staff when they will provide the list of fund raising options that was requested during last June’s debate on the Hospital!
Once again thanks for your input and looking forward to that coffee!!!
Martin
@Martin,
Bruce Street is a perfect example (I know you’d like to see a library at that location). If at that debate anyone brings up “forget about another library, lets talk about the hospital” or “why is staff investigating yet another library when there’s another one close by, they should focus on the hospital”, I’d say exactly what I said. Regardless of my stance on the Bruce Street library, I wouldn’t want to see anyone trying to kill the debate prematurely.
That’s the problem with the argument you highlighted in bold in your post. That argument can be used against anything one person doesn’t feel strongly towards. That’s a slippery slope. For instance, one could argue that staff has alreay made a decision on the library move (afterall, it was staff who recommended closing the Bruce Street library and the previous council voted on it, unanimously). So now one could argue that re-debating that is a waste of staff time. Take any issue and this argument can be used against that issue (“why is staff wasting time investigating hospital funding when the project isn’t approved yet”).
Debate is annoying, can be long and can seem wasteful, but debate is a necessary ingredient for democracy. Debating issues to collectively make a decision isn’t a waste of time IMO.
Zeeshan Hamid
Hate to harp guys but I want to make sure incorrect info doesnt get out there. The amendment that was pass, did NOT pass unanimously. The 3 councillors who voted against the report, did not support the amendment. I hate to nit pick but the facts need to get out.
Thanks.
Councillor Hamid once again has it wrong when he criticized me for voting against the 92K for piano stairs but supporting the $150K for landscaping Main Street. He neglected to mention that the original proposal for Main Street was going to cost more than 500K. Parks, playgrounds and walkways fall under our jurisdiction and we are responsible for their upkeep. Piano stairs are more of a gimmick and I do not believe are high on the priority list of Milton taxpayer.