Comments on The Burd Report: What do the following projects have in common?

I want to live in a town where: - people don't ge...

2009-05-12T22:25:00.000-04:00

I want to live in a town where:

- people don't get things just because they whine like a 5 year old

- people trust the officials THEY elected.

- people who complain until they make others sick either go away or try something constructive for a change

- I never again here "I'm a senior, so I deserve it all."

- everyone recognizes that our youth are our future

- everyone (me included) says something positive about our community every single day.

Having said all this, I will now take my soap box and go home)

I want to live in a Cobourg that has: -hot dog car...

2009-05-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

I want to live in a Cobourg that has:
-hot dog carts downtown and in the Parks all summer
-a Y outdoor pool that is open when it gets hot, not just between July lst and Labour Day
-lifeguards that are on duty when people are swimming, not just within short, arbitrary hours
-more events that appeal to ordinary people, like the Rib Fest, not just upper crust stufff for the affluent and seniors
-more free events at the Library for kids and adults, longer hours year round
-

In conversation with a relative newcomer to town (...

2009-05-02T12:57:00.000-04:00

In conversation with a relative newcomer to town (only here for the last 15 years or so)he declared that the answer to Cobourg's problems is to secede from the County and set up independently, like Toronto, his hometown, occasionally threatens to do.

I haven't heard this one for awhile now but it interests me since locally I have long resented how the rural municipalities over-ride the needs of the urban areas, especially Cobourg who they all seem to hate with keen jealousy. We pay too much to the County and get too little back - we are just their cash cows.

To add to our frustration, we don't even get to vote for these people so we have no power to change the landscape. We are stuck with it, and them. Maybe getting out would be the way to go, so we could concentrate on our own problems and dedicate our resources where they are needed in town.

Trouble is, setting up Cobourg on its own still leaves us with one small problem, or should I say seven large ones? Current governance of the town has to go, with perhaps an exception or two.

It is clear, however, that the status quo needs to be shaken, not stirred, if we are to see enlightened, knowledgeable government in this potentially delightful town of ours.

While this may not be civic election year, time will pass and the election will be upon us. We should be starting to think about all this now so that those of us who are sick of current governance are ready to act.

For now all we can do is talk about it, but the time will come when we should be prepared to s**t or get off the pot!

DJO

I donated money to help build the old "Y", not a l...

2009-04-29T20:16:00.000-04:00

I donated money to help build the old "Y", not a lot but what I could afford at the time. I have not joined the "Y" because I can't afford to. If the new community centre is to be run by the "Y" will I still have to join in order to use it?
I think I can find better and more satisfying ways to donate my money.

$27.4 million for a community and recreation centr...

2009-04-29T16:01:00.000-04:00

$27.4 million for a community and recreation centre. If Cobourg has to pay for 1/3 that would be $9.1 million or $507 for every man woman and child in Cobourg, say $2,000 for a household.

I just do not see that this would be a priority for every household in Cobourg, even if they had the money. If they don't have the money it would probably be sucked out of them by non-negotiable taxes. Even if every family was asked to make a donation, whereby richer families could be asked for more, say $5,000 plus for which they would get a charitable receipt, worth perhaps 1/3 of the donation I wonder if many families would see this as a good use of their money. It is not as if most people would get any benefit out of it. I am reminded of the "Y" which is town-owned, but which charges exorbitant fees for people to use. Many people who excercise prefer some of the privately run health clubs.

Perhaps families would feel the money was better spent on their kids, or on a vacation, or on a mortgage pay-down.

I can see that the town needs to keep our roads in good shape, so I can accept these expenditures, although money spent on Kerr Street is just a gift to construction companies since the traffic in Cobourg does not warrant a new east-west corridor and probably it won't be need for another 20 years, if ever.

After paying for roads, sewers, water, policing, buses and all that stuff I really cannot convince myself that the council has any moral right to pay for circuses, such as new community centres, unless they get a plebiscite of the majority of electors in favour. I know that they say 300 people are in favour, but then over 2,000 people signed a petition against the Frink expenditures and the council completely ignored this.

I agree with the previous comment that I wish it was election year. Perhaps we should hope that the whole issue can be put off until the next municipal election and made a topic of that election.

LOCAL SPENDING ON PROJECTS: All of this is quite ...

2009-04-29T14:23:00.000-04:00

LOCAL SPENDING ON PROJECTS:

All of this is quite unsettling. I understand Cobourg's property tax rates to be on the high side already. Can we afford to take on more expensive projects that we're not even sure people need or want?

Where do Councillors and Town staff think taxpayers get their money? Haven't they noticed times are just a bit tough right now and people are losing their jobs alarmingly quickly?

Speaking of the large numbers of seniors living here, I can comment that as an almost retired person I have less income, not more, to provide to the Town of Cobourg for Councillors' fancies and delusions of wellness. And don't come knocking on my door for big donations for the new Y/Community Centre - that cash will be used to buy groceries.

Stimulus money, yes! Foolish spending on vanity projects, NO!

I wish it was an election year for these bozos.
DJO