CORNWALL Ontario – Like something out of the movie Chinatown it looks like the Mayor and some of his team have been caught gerrymandering in the dark with regards to the divestiture of Harbour lands in Cornwall.
What should simply have been a municipal government yielding to the will of the tax payers and fighting to have chemical tanks removed from waterfront land destined for urban re development has turned into a larger game that the public simply has not endorsed, nor is being given proper information regarding.
Now a document has been produced showing what appears to be some kind of hocus pocus sleight of hand that is to be voted on at a special meeting of council to be held tonight with little to no public notice at 8 PM at 360 Pitt Street. (City Hall)
The letter opens with a zig, but if you read closer to the bottom, it seems to zag stating that
The Mayor and Clerk be hereby authorized to complete all documents necessary to finalize the transaction.
Which transaction exactly? Which negotiation, and which deal?
City Hall has not brought documents public and in fact has refused to issue some of the letters that they have mentioned in press releases. CFN has requested them from CAO Norm Levac with a promise, but no issue of the letters in question.
After all, this is a government that supported having a condo built in the parking lot of Lamoureux Park, and to date has still refused to comment on the Mayor’s own press release that clearly stated that Economic Development knew about the lease to Trillium Distribution Cornwall Inc. without officially sharing that information in their monthly report to council nor the city answering who in ED was the person who spoke with Trillium? Or who that person also spoke with at City Hall.
Surely no “deal” should be signed for any lands until proper environmental studies and due dilligence occur to make sure the taxpayers of Cornwall aren’t saddled with huge clean up bills that we will be paying for long after Mayor Kilger is out of office?
And surely this is an issue that should be before the voters in the upcoming election?
Hopefully tonight will be a full house at City Hall and hopefully some of our councilors actually read what they’re voting on and bring this into open discussion.
What do you think Cornwall? You can post your comments below.
They want the land I know that…. (City of Cornwall) and of course we will have to pay for everything land included….
Yeap. And what has me concerned is that if the city and the MCA are successful is getting “ownership” of the harbour lands is what comes with it. All current contracts, including the tanks, will be included. What are those contracts? The tanks are going to be built. Trillium has a valid contract with Transport Canada, so the tanks will be built. And with a non-disclosure agreement included in the by-law the citizens will never know until it’s too late to know what was negotiated and agreed to.
Hugger the tanks have already been built. The target right now I believe is the Air Force Wing.
The Maire statement will read we lost the tanks deal but i won the Air Force Wing. It stays great politic if your a dummy TO BELEIVE HIM.I FORGOT TO MENTION WE PAY FOR ALL THESE MISTAKES….LOL LOL
What a crock of nonsense
We go from people demanding that Tank construction stop
To Mayor Kilroy and his gang putting out some gobbley gook that nobody can understand
Read this story. Read the SF story…
These clowns..everybody at City Hall..seem intent on doing everything behind closed doors making and breaking deals/bylaws/ who knows what/ without the public/ getting a full view of what the hell is going on
One more shameful period in the history of this dysfunctional city…this is heading into Project Truth territory
When Bare Ass is involved in something you may be sure that it is something evil. Evil people do things behind closed doors. He is a “Maire” alright – a maire in English is a horse but I would love to mention what part of the horse that he is but cannot put it into print. You all know what I am talking about.
The negotiations between Transport Canada, the cIty and MCA will be done in private. They will not negotiate in public and we will only find out when a deal is done. I can understand why. It’s sort of like negotiating a contract with your employees. Only after a deal is done is it announced. If deals are negotiated in public things can get messed up. No one wants to negotiate in public, property values can soar thus costing one side more. Sad, but true.
Hugger if Council and the public knew of the lease in June 2013, well before construction started I have a hunch there would be no tanks in the ground right now.
Admin….I agree 100%. But that’s not how the federal government works. The harbour lands are federal property and the federal government has a valid contract with Trillium. Federal law says that senior levels of government do not have to abide to lower level of governments laws. It can be argued until the cows fly over the moon what was the right / wrong thing to do. But in the end the federal government usually gets what it wants. Hopefully the city and the MCA can get a good deal with the federal government on the harbour lands that isn’t too restrictive and doesn’t include any contracts that the city will have issues with.
Really, in the final analysis, it comes down to … do you trust the current mayor and the current council to do right by the citizens of Cornwall ? Personally, I look at their record with the tax payer and the answer leaps off the page. How about you ?
David Oldham I agree. But the real barometer for how the residents of Cornwall feel will come with the October election. Will they vote for change or more of the same?
When the Saint Lawrence Seaway was finished as a shipping lane in Cornwall those federal lands should have been sold to the city. Take a good look at what is going on with those tanks. There are not enough roads nor wide enough in Cornwall to sustain those trucks and those roads will be damaged and have to be repaired many times a year. I know here in Ottawa (land of potholes) and what the cars and trucks as well as the weather does not to mention the danger that it poses on the roads and to pedestrians. That place is supposed to be a park for the people but instead it has become an industrial area. Harpoon Harpo doesn’t give a rat’s behind for anyone and he is known as “his way or the highway” and the economy is in a very deep hole. Take a good look at those condos that exist on the river are they really worth their price that they ask? Just wait until the traffic comes out with that industrial site and the chemicals being processed and they can kiss their condos goodbye.
I also put the blame on Bare Ass because he along with his thugs knew all about this project and not one peep out of any of them. It is time for a vast change and not just a small one but a vast one including those in the upper administration who should all be booted out and sent on the rails. None of this makes any sense at all.
{Moderated} Jules please ease off on the nasty stuff.
Jules, please stop being a doom and gloom soothsayer. Until they start using the tanks we will not know the extent of any required road work in that area and if the condos will have their value affected.
Hugger 1
Your comment= Hopefully the City and the MCA can get a good deal with the Fed Govt on the
harbor lands etc. In 1784 all Indian land claims were settled at St. Regis by Capt Joseph Brant
the famous Mohawk Indian Chief for all lands in question on the north shore of the St. Lawrence,
that was 230 years ago and I am informed that no evidence has been found to the contrary.
That being the case I feel the City should back away and let the Fed Govt and the MCA settle
the land dispute question on there own .
@ William E Beattie….just as long as everyone gets what they want.