We may never know whether poor design or poor construction techniques caused the delays in building Burlington’s pier. Even professional engineers disagree on that point. But maligning the contractor’s reputation and spreading false rumours does nothing to advance dialogue and understanding of the situation, nor find a productive solution. Below, some of the rumours I’ve heard (including from city officials!), and the reality.
The cost of Burlington’s unfinished pier is escalating, the “total budget” is a moving target and city documents contain contradictory and misleading information that masks the scale of the increases. Those are the findings of my recent investigation into the cost of the pier.
More than 130 of you have written to me to add your name to a list of residents seeking transparency from the city on costs and options to finish the pier, now two years behind schedule with no completion date in sight. City officials claim they can’t provide those answers for confidential legal reasons, and yet all this information is readily available in public documents – if you know where to look.
We can’t let the city shirk its duty to be accountable and transparent to residents any longer.
A week ago, city council unanimously approved in principle the recommendations of the citizen’s report, Shape Burlington, which called for more transparency, and early public involvement in decision-making.
There’s no time like the present. Councillors can put their words into action by coming clean on the costs and options to finish the pier.
They can also explain why our city taxes have increased at triple the rate of inflation – about 6% per year for the last 10 years. But you won’t know that from reading city press releases, which downplay the increases. Those details are below.
You’ll also find a summary of other issues in our city, including details of two public meetings on Freeman Station (May 16 and 18), the first meeting of the new waterfront advisory committee (May 14), and an opportunity to speak out on accident victims being charged for fire truck calls (June 1).
As always, communication here is two-way – leave a comment below, or email me at mariannemeedward@bell.net to comment or add your name to the list of residents seeking transparency on the pier.
City Hall isn’t listening and citizen confidence in local democracy is declining. City Hall has “a communications deficit.” Those are just some of the findings of the Shape Burlington report on civic engagement released yesterday.
Those findings (full report via the link) are no surprise to followers of A Better Burlington community website, and the Save Our Waterfront initiative. A Better Burlington was launched a year ago to tell residents what City Hall is doing, and to solicit feedback and participation on a range of issues.
One of the biggest has been waterfront development. Residents were not broadly and meaningfully consulted before current city council approved high-rise towers for the Old Lakeshore Road area of our downtown waterfront. Save Our Waterfront was formed as an initiative of A Better Burlington to press for community input before decisions about our waterfront are made. An update on our progress and next steps is below.
But we are not alone in raising concerns about public input. They have been echoed by many other individuals and groups, cutting across a variety of issues. The common refrain: there’s a “need for improvement” in public involvement, to quote Shape Burlington.
Burlington is under tremendous pressure from population growth. Residents have seen schools, shops and parks disappear, replaced by houses and apartments. Urban sprawl and highways are carving up farms and greenspace. Our waterfront is threatening to become tower alley. Our city has more traffic – and more air pollution. Our taxes are going up. You [...]
(originally published in Toronto Sun) There are ways to make people feel totally disengaged from community planning consultations, and intentionally or not, this happens too frequently. Case in point: Last week Burlington city councillors approved plans to redevelop the aging Appleby Mall in the city’s east end into a series of standalone buildings. The mall [...]
(originally published in the Toronto Sun) Last week’s column on how community members often feel shut out of political decision-making hit a nerve. Many of you are telling me: “Been there; seen that.” Heck, even some politicians are feeling shut out — witness the “raucous caucus” Premier Dalton McGuinty faced over his plans to harmonize [...]
(originally published in the Toronto Sun) When you think Whistler, you think skiing. But the British Columbia town is also positioning itself as a leader in managing growth. Once a community of 500 people scattered along Whistler valley, the population of year-round dwellers is now 14,200, with at least that many more as seasonal residents [...]
