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| Fail Accomplis ~ The New Town Motto? |
| Could a malapropism from the minutes of the July 14 Council in Committee meeting become the new town motto? I think it could work. Either the mayor or the transcriber was presumably going for the French saying fait accompli, which in today's vernacular means "done deal." Instead the message comes across as a fractured Latin adage that might be translated to "failure accomplished." It might actually translate in Latin to faillere accomplis. Anyway, seeing that gaff in print made me laugh - and not in a good way, but in a snark/snort of derision. How very descriptive of the present administration: failure accomplished. Not only has the mayor failed to live up to his promises to the voters, but he has failed to deliver the goods to those who supported him with campaign donations and campaign expertise. While he was promising the voters fiscal responsibility and experience, he was also promising certain campaign donors an easy ride to get zoning changes and first dibs on potential development lands. He has failed to deliver to either constituency, The voters were almost immediately hit with an 11% tax hike and another almost 12% tax hike a year later. So much for fiscal responsibility. The mayor's cronies, who donated to his campaign thought it would be a cake walk, but in the last three weeks of the campaign, a crack team had to be imported to prop up Martin's faltering campaign, despite a large war chest and minions who were encouraged (or paid) to publish character assasinations on his two opponents. But with victory came some weighty paybacks. And, as another newer saying goes, "Payback is a bitch." The changes to the only months-old community plan passed by the previous council, went through fairly easily, but then an appeal to the OMB was launched by a couple of citizens. It was to be the beginning of a wake-up for the beleagured taxpayers of Fort Erie. In previous years, once the election was over, everyone became complacent again and the only noise was that of the grumblings in local coffee shops and bars. A lot of new people have moved into the area, many from the GTA. They have become interested in the workings of the town administration; a little suspicious and cautious. After all, many were probably still smarting over the embarrassment of their city electing an obnoxious appliance salesman as their mayor. It is said that some moved here in disgrace, vowing to never let such an autrosity be visited upon them again. So they started going to council meetings and watching the regular meetings on the local cable station and some did not like what they saw and joined others to do something about it. Thus, causes like trying to save the Ridgeway Shores Golf Course were begun. Others are working hard to stop a proposed marina development that would be built on land now owned by the Niagara Parks Commission, that maintains the public lands along the Niagara River. Then there's the possible sale of the Bay Beach Properties to a developer. The mayor was to deliver all this to his supporters is the widely held opinion of many skeptics. The golf course lands will sit idle until next year while the Ridgeway Neighbourhood Plan is mapped out and approved; the marina is getting fierce opposition and the Bay Beach issue is just another chapter in a long saga of repeated attempts to sell off the lands bordering on the public beach. The previous administration attempted to deliver the property to a developer, declaring parts as "surplus land" but that was stopped by petitions and public outcry. The outraged residents against the selling of any public lands at Bay Beach is bigger and better organized this year. Then there's the big promise: to bail out the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority by leasing its recently acquired Mentholatum Building but a threatened lawsuit stopped that deal in its tracks. However, the PBA is now (allegedly) pressuring the town to buy the property before the New York State Attorney General starts poking around into the purchase, which has been described by many as having been done to thwart the efforts of another group to build an international bridge in the area where the Mentholatum Building and another dicey purchase, the so-called Coal Docks, are located. While one developer cools his heels waiting for a go-ahead, his workers are not getting paid for work already completed. He can't sell building lots until his plan is approved and he has no cash flow and he's getting angry that the mayor hasn't delivered as promised. There may be at least two more OMB appeals as well as another request to the ombudsman to look into a closed meeting that recently took place. The press coverage has not been kind to the mayor and his syncophants either. Angry exchanges; charges of plagiarism; and frustrated delegations to council have been covered by the local media. Some are calling for the mayor to step down or that the town undergo a forensic audit. Its treasurer left for a similar post in another city. It all seems to be heading for a showdown of some kind. That showdown just might happen on July 21, 2008. |
| TALLY OF EXPENSES: |
| According to an unscientific accounting, it appears that the town has authorized or plans to spend the following: 1.) $35,000. for a study to see if a public/private partnership can develop the Bay Beach Properties. 2.) $18,000. for a Santa Claus Parade in the Jarvis Street area. 3.) $45,000. to replace a dock that was damaged by the February storm. The insurance company is not forthcoming to reimburse because the dock sections were not properly stored in a safe off-site location. (Until last eyar, the docks were stored in the the town's truck yards. Last year, they were removed from the water and stored in the Waterfront Park nearby.) The town finds ways to use and waste money for frivilous, careless and unnecessary things, yet an important part of the community, such as the Kinsmen Pool or the Bay Beach Properties and Crystal Beach are neglected or not supported. |