LETTER – City council shouldn’t just rubber stamp everything from staff
Coun. Stephen Karpuk.
I attended the city council public hearing for the new subdivision in Dufferin area. There were so many question by council members that were unanswered by staff that I question why any council member would vote yes to this city spawling housing proposal.
So, I was astonished to hear Councillor Karpuk say yesterday that council member should have supported the city staff experts recommendation to allow the housing subdivision. Are these the same experts that recommended the Alternate Approval Process or, AAP for the $150,000,000 for the Performance Arts Centre which has ballooned to $211,000,000. Seems they forgot about the fibre optic cables that require nearly a million dollars to move and other construction difficulties. Or the city experts that recommended siting the Dufferin multiplex ice rinks over a Coquihalla land fill site requiring million of dollars to excavate before construction can begin.
Or city experts that recommended through another AAP to tear down rather than repurposing the current RCMP building worth millions of dollars with demolition costs of millions of dollars. To construct another building for hundreds of million dollars on the demolition site. When a new RCMP building could be built on another lot.
Mr. Karpuk seems to believe city council members should rubber stamp every recommendation from this spend and tax city administration. Our representative democracy requires city council members to question the city’s so called experts to arrive at the true picture and spend taxpayers dollars wisely.
City council chose thoughtfully in voting No.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
I generally agree with Mr. Davies letter. I am, however, in favour of the PAC, and wish it had been built originally at a significantly reduced amount, even when adjusting for inflation. The cost of construction, particularly post-pandemic, boggles the mind, and makes one wonder where the money is actually going, and if we are receiving good value. I am also in favour of the iceplex, although if there are geo-technical issues with the site, this should have been explored more thoroughly. The fad amongst politicians, present Council included, of an addiction to constantly looking for new ways to spend other people’s money must stop immediately. Once again, the proposed Summit Connector pedestrian footbridge comes to mind. It’s time that idea was put in the garbage once and for all. I am generally in favour of public spending on projects that serve the general public, for example the new skating facilty at Riverside Park. Spinning the cost, however, as somehow being magic money that came from the Province, is patently ridiculous. There is only one taxpayer, and so by extension the cost of the facility was absorbed by the taxpayers, regardless of what made-up magic fund the money came from. There is nothing free about free money. As to the housing project in West Dufferin, while I have no objection to the development itself, you only need to look at the track record of the proponent to understand why this project should not see the light of day with this particular developer.
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Armchair Mayor: Some names that are appearing on this site may well appear on the ballots this fall.
Shall we see any of the local journalists (presently employed) throw their respective hats into the ring? “Holliday time at City Hall” reads a sign perched above the Ord Road/Westsyde Road intersection. “No Joshing around on Council” on a sign by Collingwood Drive and Westsyde Road.
“Reeve for Mayor” is not an oxymoron but a possible sign by Wal Mart.
“Cronin for Council” on a sign in Valleyview.
Oh, the possibilities, Mel.
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Garry your observation are insightful and your questions deserve an answer. Similarly, I too wonder the fact that despite many unanswered concerns (even just the fact that commercial and light industrial activities are totally incompatible with residential living especially around the noise issue) four councillors voted to allow this development to proceed. It goes to show the ineptitude, dangerous and general ineptitude, of our current local government.
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