CFN – Yes ladies & gentleman it’s that time again for your Cornwall Free News Turd of the Month! Keeping with the spirit of our Intensely Local focus we have dedicated this months award to Cornwall Ontario City Councilor Denis “The Liar” Thibault.
Mr. Thibault, one of the main power brokers at City Hall tends to work in the shadows and was the architect behind the Waterfront Condo initiative. He also sits on boards like that of Aultsville theatre; the tax payer and community supported St. Lawrence College auditorium that now uses those resources to promote concerts locally as well he’s director of the Eastern Ontario Training Board.
But that’s not why he’s your Cornwall Free News Turd of the Month for November! No, Councilor Thibault wants to use the capital from the Progress Fund to pay for the Lecky Dome or Benson Centre as its been named.
Some background. When Cornwall sold its electricity company some wise people took $25 million dollars and created The Progress Fund which is very progressive. Sadly though it hasn’t grown as the interest from monies earned from the fund have all been used to fund projects in the city and (stop laughing! ) keep taxes down.
Now instead of funneling a small percentage of those earnings into the fund to help it grow it’s remained stagnant.
However Councilor Thibault has repeatedly advocated for the principal of the Progress Fund to be used to pay for projects. Of course well all know that once you spend money like that it’s gone.
Recently council took out a loan to pay for the City’s share of the Benson centre. It’s a sizable amount and of course almost all of the available projected monies from the Progress Fund will be used to cover the cost. However at the end of that term Cornwall will still have $25 million in the bank. Something it wouldn’t have of those dollars were spent.
It’s that kind of thinking that makes the good councilor and proven liar our Turd of the Month!
The Lecky Dome: The athletic Scott Lecky who is the poobah at the Ramada in Cornwall Ontario was the Chief beater of the drums for the creation of the Benson Centre; something that many were opposed to; especially in the location chosen.
His grateful thanks for the City building this truly expensive facility nearly across the street from his hotel, which surely would benefit, was to build his new home just outside of Cornwall City limits thus averting having to contribute taxes to help pay for the Benson Centre.
Further lobbying even dictated that people from outside Cornwall would pay the same fees for using the Benson Centre which means that Mr. Lecky and his family pay the same fees for their use of the Ice and facilities while not paying the freight as residents and taxpayers of Cornwall.
Luckily council rebuffed Councilor Thibault and the Progress Fund is safe for now. Just like our Riverfront greenery is also safe for now.
The question is for how long as people like Mr. Thibault after getting rebuffed slither back to the shadows and continue their machinations?
You can post your comments below.
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Jamie =I do agree that Denis Thibault is the architect that brought forth the waterfront Condo Plan then he sat back and let Roy Perkins advance that dumb plan of Condos on the parking lot east of
the Civic Center . Should the Water front committee not have stopped Roy Perkins in his attempt ? Is or was the Committee Chair or Co Chair not aware that a Conflict Of Interest was apparent or
perceived to be so by many persons ? Or does the answer to that
question really come down to the fact that the majority of the WFC
are PACKED with Heart Of The City persons and as such their hands
are tied and they can’t speak up ? No free thinkers on WFC there all
controlled persons .
Hey, I like the Benson Center and, not in defense of anyone in particular, SOMEONE SOMEWHERE WOULD HAVE HELD INFLUENCES OVER OTHERS TO ACQUIRE IT HERE OR ELSEWHERE IN THE CITY if they had the network in place that got it here, well, it would have been at the old Courtalds’ property and the NAVCAN site would be the fall guy for the hotel critics. The Best Western and others on the Brookdale strip stand to gain as well….and possibly ALL Inn’s in the entire region when we have 54 traveling teams at a time coming into the city to play hockey………even in from the USA.
The Benson Centre is turning out to be a major factor in the potential growth of the city and certainly for the overall visitation and renewed appreciation for CORNWALL now that the ‘smell’ of money is no longer the issue here. So, paid for with funds other than homeowners tax dollars…….lets consider that ‘we’ve all won here’ and in time it will be paid for.
We have already seen major international acclaim for it haven’t we. Somebody was right somewhere, aye!
Regarding the ‘Progress” fund ‘regressive’ nature as in no protection against inflation, I’ve never understood why such an illustrious group of councilors would not at least hold a minimum of the interest in place to retain some measure of a leveling out its ‘buying power for the future values’. No, take ALL the interest seems to be the motto operandi.
Jamie, thanks for calling it as you see it!
Dukers1 can you please substantiate your quote above about the Benson Centre :
“The Benson Centre is turning out to be a major factor in the potential growth of the city and certainly for the overall visitation and renewed appreciation for CORNWALL”
“We have already seen major international acclaim for it haven’t we.”
We needed to replace two old rinks with two new rinks. We bit off more than we can financially chew at the expense of tax payers and the fact that we won’t be able to fund any major projects over at least ten years.
Great for those that advocated for the arena, but totally poopie for those that have a bit larger vision of what we can do and need in Cornwall.
Our Benson Centre= I seem to recall it being said / Build it and they will come / perhaps but only at a big discounted price . I seem to also remember it being said what a shame local persons wanting ice time having to travel out of town as ice time not available here . It seems with the discounts they put into effect they also had to cut ice rental to those already renting . That item cost 10 thousand dollars . IT will be most interesting to see if that move will cover the loss and make a profit on top of that by getting more ice time rented ? It better we don’t need a Loss Leader on this one .
Denis Thibault is “cow dung” of a lifetime period. This is a big mouthed no nothing loud mouthed BS artist. I sure did figure out a long time ago that he was part of all the boondogglese of the “tax mahal” you call a Benson Centre. Well he can take that dome and climb on top and rotate to his heart’s content. I hope that he has a good time out of it. This guy Licky should join him up there as well and rotate.
These are the people who steel the money from the people and you all wonder why your taxes keep rising – GIVE THESE JERKS A GOOD LOOK AND YOU WILL KNOW WHY AND KILGER AS WELL WHO IS KILLING YOU IN THE POCKET BOOK. I told you that this would happen and I am not kidding any of you.
When we lived in Cornwall there was a man who described politicians as a bunch of “cow dung” and he said you know that you have to step into one little piece of DOO DOO but you just wonder which one. Well we know all the DOO DOO around the council table and higher and all you all have to do is kick on the CRAP out of office immediately before they do any more damage. This jerk is one big trouble maker indeed which I have always said in my posts.
A concerned Taxpayer, the problem is, when someone on a committee stands up for there own belief’s, that is not in line with the powers that be, they are black balled and ostracized to a point that they give in, or resign, This is a very frustrating city to do business in.
Using the Progress Fund would deplete the only tangible asset the city has. And borrowing from the bank at 3% would make the Benson Centre more costly (by millions) than the much touted bargain it was supposed to be.
Why not instead create a legally binding mortgage or other such instrument, and borrow from the Progress Fund… at 3% if you wish.
At least the money would stay in Cornwall and the progress fund would grow.
Willie 191 you are not kidding about that it is very hard to do business in Cornwall and all there is is backbiting. André Rivette has seen his day of this and so has the gentleman who resigned Mr. Leslie O’Shaughnessey. These two gentlemen deserve our respect and were good for Cornwall but the rest need to be put out to the “cow dung pasture for good”. That goes from the top guy downwards. We were told this (about hard to do business in Cornwall) by Cornwallites as well as people from the outside who went to do business in Cornwall. One man said that if he didn’t know some corporate heads from outside of Cornwall he would never have been able to succeed in his business venture. No wonder so many people left and never came back. I am very honest when I tell all of you that I went to school with some of the best people and very few came back because those who came back had their father’s businesses that they inherited. Everyone else are in other cities across the country and elsewhere and Cornwall lost its best people and now look at what is around as the heads and at the council table except of course for André who has my best regards and deepest sympathy at the same time.
OMG sorry but have to ask, who took the poop photo…..
Hailey it’s public domain poop 🙂
admin November 19, 2012 at 12:22 pm
Dukers1 can you please substantiate your quote above about the Benson Centre :
“The Benson Centre is turning out to be a major factor in the potential growth of the city and certainly for the overall visitation and renewed appreciation for CORNWALL”
“We have already seen major international acclaim for it haven’t we.”
Jamie, seems everyone thinks they are paying a portion of their property taxes towards the Benson Center OR that the city is depleting the progress fund to pay the still owing 10 mil. plus.
It is my understanding that council voted only to use the INTEREST from the progress fund over the next 15 years to pay down their balance…7.0 mil. with 3.0 mil. balance to deal with then.
What ‘other projects’ as a councilor would YOU or any others in this newspaper have preferred besides the replacement rinks the Benson center provided?
No matter the item on the agenda someone will bitch about it because that what arm chair management does.
Dukers1 of course no matter what would be decided someone would complain! If I had been on council I would have argued to simply upgrade the Bob and replace the SI in a different location with a single or double pad depending on the contribution from the hockey community.
In my opinion those that wanted this facility did not pay their fair share.
I think any dollars spent on a facility in the community should be in part supported by those that want it most. Want an art centre? Have artists raise 5-10% etc.
Minor league football in Cornwall showed up at council with 10% of the monies they needed for their project. To date I have yet to see the turf they asked for. ( I could be wrong of course)
At the end of the day it’s all our fault for who we elect. The choices they make they only do because they earned the right amount of votes unless you’re one of those that subscribe to the last election being “rigged”….
Duckers most of the people who wanted the “tax mahal” you call a Benson Centre were mostly from people who live outside of Cornwall and do not pay their taxes to Cornwall. The people in Cornwall are the ones who are paying the “brunt” of the taxes, etc. on that place. Cornwall didn’t need such a huge facility and especially not on heavily polluted land and from stollen money. The Bob Turner Center was built in 1959 and I remember the man Bob Turner and his wife and children way back then because we used to talk to them and there were many events held for families back then which I miss very much.
You already have the Civic Centre and I liked going there with my children who were teenagers at the time and I am not a sports fan but I really enjoyed watching the hockey games there. My son still has the “Aces hockey shirt” and still wears it sometimes.
Duggers taxes are going to get a great deal higher and people have to put the money into the most important things. Most of the people are senior citizens and then what is going to happen to those buildings when young people will no longer be around to enjoy it. You have to think of everything before making a project. We all want things and I can make a long list for you but I live with reality and not with dreams. There are roads here in Ottawa where they are replacing sewar pipes and enlarging roads and those are necessary and the population keeps growing here and too many cars on the roads. People have to do what is necessary first and do things in a logical and honest way and a healthy place for people to go and not that dirty, and heavily polluted ground where it will cause severe health problems down the line.
I see you have once again resorted to puerile writing – a default mode for you, it seems. Whilst on one page you proclaim lofty, yet seldomly achieved, journalistic goals, on another you resort to juvenile name-calling. Your “journalistic skills” must surely have been developed in a rubbish bin as it appears all you are truly able to express is rubbish. Perhaps, once grown, you may succeed in living up to your own goals.