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There was an article in last Friday’s Telegraph-Journal that really ticked me off.

It featured various quotes from Ward 4 Councillor Bruce Court on helping to fund a new recreation complex being organized by the Saint John Exhibition Association:

• “I just don’t know if we can afford it.”
• “My main concern is where we’re going to get the money from.”

Why does this tick me (and many others) off?

This comes immediately after he voted in favour of Peel Plaza – committing the city to spending millions of dollars on a new Police Station and Parking Garage, something that the city can’t afford without borrowing money.

To top it off, it looks like the Parking Garage will actually lose money year over year, putting the taxpayers of Saint John in an even worse financial state.

Taxes will go up, yet, residents will receive no better services that what they have now.  So much for council’s 2009-2012 priorities (which DO NOT  include a new Police Station or Parking Garage)!

Today’s newspaper featured my letter to the editor in response:

Recreation complex should be a priority

Friday’s article titled “Councillor has doubts about project” features lots of talk from Bruce Court about concerns on costs for a new recreation complex on the East Side.

He says in the article, “I just don’t know if we can afford it.” Funny, he never asked that question when it came to Peel Plaza.

He voted in favour of building a large new police station and parking garage uptown. These costs are still up in the air – yet we are moving full steam ahead.

Can we afford that? No, not without taxes going up.

In the end, it all comes down to priorities. For my family, a recreation complex, like the one the Saint John Exhibition Association wants to build, has many more benefits to the people who live in this city now and to people considering moving here.

If my taxes are going up to pay for something, it better be for something that we need. Recreation and clean drinking water are real priorities.

I wonder when Bruce Court will realize that!

SHAWN PETERSON

Saint John

This past Friday, the Telegraph-Journal posted one of my Letters to the Editor along with another great comic by Greg Perry:

Deputy mayor speaks for him

Regarding Mayor Ivan Court’s “Stabbing us in the back” comment, the only people being stabbed in the back are the taxpayers in Saint John. This was captured perfectly by Greg Perry in Thursday’s comic.

The mayor and the majority of council seem bent on spending our money on items that are not priorities for the citizens in Saint John. The real costs of Peel Plaza seem to be growing each day, and it’s only thanks to Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase that these issues are even debated.

Stephen Chase has consistently been on the side of taxpayers since being elected, and I am so proud to say that he is representing my voice on council. It’s going to be a long two years until the next municipal elections in May 2012; however, until then, we can continue to count on Stephen Chase to represent us! “In Chase I trust.”

SHAWN PETERSON
Saint John

There were several other related letters that were really great to read as well!

It’s good to see so many others in Saint John concerned about Peel Plaza and the Parking Garage:

Be prudent and shelve proposed garage

In response to “Tempers flare at council,” Oct. 13:
Your article stated, “[Deputy Mayor Stephen] Chase said the city needs to be financially prudent to look for other sites to make sure a garage is built at the lowest possible cost.”

I personally think that the only way for the city to be financially prudent is to not move forward with the garage at all and to be more responsible with spending decisions.

Although city manager Patrick Woods stated taxpayers would not be on the hook, we indirectly will be, because $300,000 a year that would be going into public funds for city service costs would be returned to the parking commission to assist with funding the garage.

Also, if something were to happen to the financial situation of the garage, it would be the city that would be on the hook for it, and therefore taxpayers. The real question is, why are we building a parking garage to provide space for a provincial building?

Should that not have been considered by the province before beginning the construction? The new police headquarters will have underground parking, so this garage is not needed to accommodate additional cars from there, yet its design is “more than twice the size of the anticipated needs of the new courthouse” (“Drop the double speak and debate the costs,” Oct. 14).

It seems there is some back-peddling happening, yet again, because of miscommunication taking place between city staff, council, and the public. When will this end?

SCOTT MCKINNON
Saint John

What’s wrong with cost efficiency?

Well, from the comments this week from our esteemed mayor, Ivan Court, bringing a plan to the table that will save “us” (the taxpayers) money is “stabbing us in the back.”

I can’t believe that a mayor can get away with accusing his deputy mayor of this for bringing forth the idea of lessening the cost of a parking garage for Peel Plaza.

We could have been much smarter with the decision to build a new police station and bus terminal. Someone steps up to the plate and is lambasted by the leader of this city. No wonder Saint John is looked down on by so many of our outlying communities and provincial rivals.

What type of leader calls out another councillor for trying to bring a more cost-effective plan to the table? Even worse, only one councillor supported the deputy mayor on his motion, Patty Higgins. At least there is one councillor besides Mr. Chase who would dare step on the mayor’s Plaza deal.

Saint Johners will have an unique opportunity to make some changes at the council table through the upcoming byelection. It is clear that the mayor and most of his council want to leave their mark on the city through the Peel Plaza development. All the while, we sit here waiting until we get the next boil order from the city.

Wake up council! It was bad enough that provincially, we had the Liberals making inept decision after decision, but to have to stand by and watch this mayor and the majority of councilors waste our money is unfathomable.

SCOTT WADDELL
Saint John

What’s driving Peel Plaza?

When highly educated and intelligent people have to resort to double-speak and bullying to push a project forward that has no apparent advantage and goes against priorities they have set themselves, I’m forced to wonder why.

Who is really behind this project? Who has the power and influence to convince our civic leaders and city managers that it is in their best interest to support the project? Who will benefit from this development?

Are others asking the same questions?

DON LEAMAN
Saint John

A lot has been made of the attacks from Mayor Ivan Court against Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase in the media recently: Tempers flare at council, Clash of the big two, etc.

In case you missed it (background on the parking garage proposal), here is the quick overview of the attacks:

Sparks flew at common council’s regular meeting Monday night during a debate about alternative sites for a parking garage that’s now proposed for the city centre.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase proposed issuing a call for proposals to ask private companies to suggest cheaper locations for the garage, but he drew the ire of major project supporters.

Councillor Chris Titus called the proposal “irresponsible,” while Mayor Ivan Court accused Chase of “trying to stab us in the back,” charges the deputy mayor denied.

Chase said the city needs to be financially prudent to look for other sites to make sure a garage is built at the lowest possible cost.

“Stab us in the back?”

The only people being stabbed in the back are the taxpayers in Saint John, which was captured perfectly by Greg Perry in the following comic:

The Mayor and his henchmen (the majority of council) are hellbent on spending OUR money on items that are not priorities for the citizens in Saint John.

Go ask people – you will soon find that clean, safe, drinking water is a real priority (unlike Peel Plaza)!

The real costs of Peel Plaza seems to be growing each day, and it’s only thanks to Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase that these issues are even debated.

Stephen Chase has consistently been on the side of taxpayers since being elected, and I am so proud to say that he is representing my voice on council.

It’s going to be a long two years until the next Municipal elections in May 2012; however, until then, we can continue to count on Stephen Chase to represent us!

“In Chase I Trust”

After the recent mess with the Police building vote (for Peel Plaza), you would think that Council would be more inclined to think more about the ramifications to the taxpayers in the city!

The next messy vote coming up is around the parking garage that the city wants to build for Peel Plaza.

It sounds like a fine idea, except for the fact that this parking garage will cost  us (the taxpayers) every year that it operates:

Should common council approve a new garage for Carleton Street, the parking commission would own, operate and finance the structure.

To cover construction and operating costs, the commission would have to put about $300,000 of its annual surplus revenues into the project. The commission typically generates surpluses as part of its regular business of offering parking services in the city.

This means that we, as taxpayers, will be subsidizing people driving into the city center and parking for the day.

At least one Councillor can be counted on to represent us – Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase.

“Peel Plaza is going to be a sponge that will sop up all the available financial resources of the parking commission,” Chase said.

The deputy mayor said he’s opposed to the parking garage and plans to vote against it once the matter comes before common council. He said he’s not happy that taxpayers would have to spend $300,000 a year to subsidize a new parking structure.

“Everything about this project is like taking a round peg and trying to smash it into a square hole,” said Chase, who was also among three council members who voted against a $20.6-million police station. “It’s costing valuable revenue that could otherwise be spent on curbside services and recreational needs.”

Unfortunately, there are still those Councillors out there looking to make a name for themselves.

I’d typically advocate contacting them to let them know what you think; however, I’ve recently found that most don’t care what you think.

Until we can get the silent majority to stand up and fight, Peel Plaza is a done deal – one that we will be paying for many generations over.

After much public outrage over the costs of Peel Plaza, last week Council voted to go forward with the Police HQ component of Peel Plaza:

In one of the most contentious decisions of its mandate, common council voted Wednesday night to build a $20.6-million police station in the city centre.

After a two-hour debate in the council chamber, eight of the 11 politicians approved what will become a legacy project for the group of civic leaders.

Deputy Mayor Stephen Chase, Coun. Bill Farren and Coun. Patty Higgins were the only dissenters around the council table who argued the city could not afford the project, the most controversial component of Peel Plaza.

The threat of a property tax rate increase now looms over the municipality as city staff’s funding projections call for council to rein in spending or hike the rate.

Not that I am surprised that it was pushed through, given the quality of council; but, I am proud of the following three Councillors for standing up for taxpayers and voting against this deal:

You have earned my support (along with many others) for your stand!