lisa (
December 30, 2009)
I agree with others regarding the over reliance on consultants My fear is that they will only take the pieces of the report they want and decide to nix the projects they don't want (ie JM and Keewatin rinks) citing that there is not enough money. There has never been enough money to twin the rink in Kenora - people have wanted that for years! And someone thinks that now, in our current economic climate that there is going to be the money for it. I say build on the strengths and assets we already have - the maintenance and upgrades to the three rinks we already have. As for the theory that a bigger venue would attract bigger events, that is exactly why there is so much interest in building a concert hall venue, and there is NO MONEY or city support for that either! |
Randy (
December 29, 2009)
Why are we always paying for consultants? Aren't we, the people who live in this town, smart enough to make decisions on our own? Don't we vote people into council to make these decisons for us? It's embarassing, let alone expensive, that we have to turn to outsiders, people that don't live here nor pay taxes here to make decisions for the people that do. |
Webmaster (
December 29, 2009)
You may have noticed an adjustment in the vote count. This is because a few people submitted multiple votes, some as many as 30, over Christmas. Normally I eliminate these votes on a regular basis but took Christmas off. There were four majors who submitted the votes to support their position. I will be publishing their IP addresses if this continues. |
Josie (
December 29, 2009)
More consultants studies! We are nearing the 2 million dollar mark paid out to consultants since the inception of this council. Do we not have any expertise employed by the city to look at these options rather than paying out for something we really cannot afford? Keewatin and Jaffray Melick arenas should be definitely upgraded and we did not need a study to tell us that. This council is going to break the bank with their excessive spending and getting rid of any municipal assets which helped to lower our tax base. Enough already! |
What report? (
December 29, 2009)
Has anyone actually read the report? Is it available for the public to read? In person? On line? Anywhere? I will only comment on the little bit that the Enterprise provided this past weekend: Where is the $10 million for the twinning going to come from? $3 million gets us 3 arenas (Keewatin requires 1 and JM requires 2) in a time when the city has gone through 2 mill closures and other lost revenues and the entire world is trying to recover from a recession. How can this make any sense to anyone at this point in time? As for dumping Keewatin arena on volunteers, to me this is saying that either this is a way for the city to have it closed without the blame or that all the individuals that run the arena do not require any skill set whatsoever. For all of you that work at the 2 arenas, I would be offended by this suggestion. If volunteers can run this arena, why not suggest that the Rec Centre arena also be run by volunteers? As well, where exactly will these volunteers come up with 1 million dollars required for the repairs?
As a taxpayer and a huge contributor to various recreational programs through the years, I hate to see my money used so frivolously. Is the drive to the Keewatin or JM rinks (10 extra minutes) so bad? If you lived in Winnipeg you would be traveling a lot longer than that…been there done that. As for the “extra wages” to man the Keewatin arena, I am not sure in a year how much “extra” the cost in wages are because of the distance, but I can guarantee it is nowhere near 7 million dollars (10 million to twin minus 3 million to repair Keewatin and JM). Remember, Keewatin only has to have someone there when the arena is in use (evenings, weekends). If this report is so great, why is it not yet available for the public to read? Please, everyone, think before you act. I for one cannot continue to afford this spending. Before this plan is accepted, please “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”
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more craziness (
December 28, 2009)
Well, well - another consultant's report that says exactly what council wants - what a surprise!! Will this council only be happy when all the City reserves have been drained? Exactly how do they plan to ensure that "volunteers" to run the Keewatin Arena have expertise with ice plants, zamboni operation, etc. Seems a lot to expect from volunteers - maybe they will just close Keewatin (as I'm sure has been the plan all along). What's another $20 million to dump on the taxpayers (those of us who are left, that is). Just when I think it can't possibly get more ridiculous, it does. What is next? |
Kim (
December 28, 2009)
Big ideas..twin, twin... Where are you going to park the cars on main street?? STOP the madness. |
what????Th???? (
December 28, 2009)
This council needs to understand the difference between need and want (much the same as most of the citizens have had to do since the mill closure and related down spin). What is wrong with bringing the existing arenas (JM & Keewatin) up to standard as mentioned in other posts, and employing what we have to "earn" any upgraded pie in the sky facility we can't afford right now. How about a business plan. As nominations appear to have opened, this council may be a "Lame Duck Council" as defined in the Municipal Act and therefore restricted to items previously approved in budget prior to this nomination date. Hmmmm Maybe a referendum on election day? I doubt it. If it smells like fish ..... |
Nice Try (
December 28, 2009)
The plan was always to twin the pad at the Rec. Center in Kenora. Council hired this consultant to deliver the report that council wanted. After the financial fiasco of the Wellness Center (the one you the taxpayer is still paying for) council knew we wouldn't tolerate any more mismanagement of our taxdollars and dropped the idea of a twin pad. Now that council thinks we have forgotten the Wellness deficit they can move forward with twinning the pad because a "Consultant" recommends we do so. There was a previous comment around lack of content in the report, and the reason for that is because council is really only interested in the Rec. Center. Rightly or wrongly - for me the issue is the duplicity of this council and that they continue to insult the intelligence of our community. And by the way I hope that when council receives the report at council meeting on Jan. 11, that at least one councillor (Van Walleghem - Recreation Chair) asks for the name of the individual or organization that suggested Keewatin Arena should be run by volunteers. That information was collected during "public consultations" and is public. Those that think Keewatin should be run by volunteers need to "put their money where their mouth is" and be the volunteers to run Keewatin Arena. Like that is ever going to happen! |
RR (
December 27, 2009)
I'm definately not saying don't upgrade the arenas. The rec center should have been twinned years ago as was suggested by the community years ago, only to fall on deaf ears, and definately upgrades to Keewatin and JM. What I am saying is look at the whole picture and do the job properly this time. We need to broaden the spectrum of facilities to entice more to come and give our kids more activities to enjoy. |
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