Saturday, June 30, 2012

One potato,two potato.three potato.four.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Hey Ho ..The Merry O...No":

Sorry to be so slow. Are you saying that the soccer field has been ok'ed but that there has been no decision made on the Bulk Barn deal? I thought only Councillor Gaertner disliked that one. No one is driving the Aurora bus. Soon there won't be any passengers either.


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The Bulk Barn deal closed on Friday.There's another story to tell there. 
Councillor Gaertner did not vote  for the Bulk Barn Deal. The jobs were not good enough. They are a mix. The  majority are head office with a number of warehousing jobs . There is room for  expansion.
The company is coming from Richmond Hill. Most employees are expected to come with them so they are not new job opportunities but that does not rule out  future opportunities  for Aurora residents.
The  application not decided on Tuesday is a new development on the south side of Wellington opposite Smart Centre between Leslie and the 404.
It is a mix of office and retail. and will be new jobs. Councillor Gaertner doesn't like the ratio I guess office jobs in that proposal aren't good enough  either.. On Tuesday, the Mayor and Councillors Gallo and Ballard  joined the Councillor and  tied the vote. Up to that point, there was no indication the vote was even close .
So,The Town still needs to make make a decision.
I'm not sure what jobs would fill the bill with Councillor Gaertner and  her supporters. Nor can I guess why the other three voted as they did. 
Teaching jobs in the proposed separate high school didn't make the grade for the Councillor either   Regional Police headquarters was voted down as well during recent history but not by this group.
But there was great enthusiasm for the Strategic Plan on Tuesday.
Councillor Gallo stated it raises Council's decision- making process to a higher level. We  no longer need to concern ourselves with  "minutaea " of  the town's operation.
It was just an hour later he voted in a tie against a recommendation to approve a development application worth $65million involving hundreds of hours of staff time, several discussions by Council and no doubt hundreds of thousands of dollars of private resources.
If the question at the next Council session is to refuse the application and it passes, we will be staring into the maw of an Ontario Municipal Board Hearing we can't hope to win but will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs to defend.the indefensible .
We have been there before.
Council authorised tenders be called for the artificial turf  field. 
The estimate is $1.4 million. We will not know the full cost until 
the bids are in.     

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