Much has been accomplished since Save Our Waterfront was launched a year ago, and 2000 of you joined with me to seek a better plan than high-rise development replacing 2-story heritage buildings in the Old Lakeshore Road area of our downtown waterfront.

Some of those achievements are detailed below and you should all take pride in celebrating them. I couldn't have done this without the support of the Save Our Waterfront leadership team and all 2000 of you standing with me, sending donations, putting up lawn signs, and lending your voice for a community-led vision for waterfront development.

But our work isn't done. Our waterfront is far from saved. But you wouldn’t know that reading city information.

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.

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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.

Transparency on taxes

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.

Other issues

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.

Read More]]> http://abetterburlington.ca/2010/05/community-engagement/pier-transparency/feed/ 4 http://abetterburlington.ca/2010/03/waterfront-development/pier/ http://abetterburlington.ca/2010/03/waterfront-development/pier/#comments Tue, 16 Mar 2010 01:08:46 +0000 Marianne Meed Ward http://abetterburlington.ca/?p=1171 The pier in Burlington's downtown waterfront has been plagued by delays and cost overruns. The question everyone is asking: what’s going on? We’ve been led to believe the contractor, Harm Schilthuis, is to blame. This is a local company with 57 years in business, which has successfully completed many other projects in Burlington, including the Discovery Centre and Aldershot Arena. Why would they stop work on a job if they didn’t have a reason?

Over the past few weeks, I’ve used my journalism background to investigate. There’s more to this story than we’ve been told. Furthermore, there’s an option on the table from the contractor to finish the pier – as early as this fall if work begins immediately. We know the longer this project is delayed, the more it will cost, and we’ll spend money on litigation, not finishing the pier.

We need Burlington City Council to make a decision quickly - and tell taxpayers how much this is really going to cost. You can help by sending an email to mariannemeedward@bell.net to add your name to the list of residents asking for transparency on the options available to finish the pier, and the final price.

Details of my investigation are here, including interviews, research of public documents and material obtained under Freedom of Information. You can also leave a comment at the end of the post.

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