CORNWALL Ontario – Is Mayor Kilger and his council after the RCAF Wing ? According to documents from Committee meetings it appears that the Wing is in play and part of the secret closed door Divestiture meetings taking place during the last year of this term.
With Mayor Kilger and Councilor Grant on the Committee the waters are very very muddy. Clearly this was not part of any election mandate nor is the secrecy something that the public is happy with.
The Waterfront Committee is essentially a few developers, a few from council and city management, and some inside yes people. There truly is no representation from the public as those members were ostracized from the last committee because as some put it “..they weren’t interested in turning the waterfront into condos…”
Asked for comment Mark A MacDonald, a bitter rival of Mayor Kilger in the last election and previous council, stated he had “no comment at this time” .
The Wing has been trying to sign another lease now for nearly a year as their past lease has expired. The hall is the only waterfront location that is licensed on our waterfront currently and besides being in need of some repair allegedly doesn’t generate a lot of cash for the Federal government.
What do you think Veterans, supporters, and tax payers? Should the RCAF Wing get another lease? Should the city take over especially after the cover up of the Chem tanks? Does Mayor Kilger have a moral mandate to be negotiating anything without the public giving him that support and why wait until the last year of a term to be focusing on these issues; especially since he and most of his council have not filed their papers to run again?
UPDATED
At tonight’s Waterfront Development Committee Councilor Grant shared that there is a meeting regarding the Wing at the end of this month scheduled.
You can post your comments below.
Yes, the RCAF Wing should get another lease. Yes, the city should take, anything is better than having the federal gov’t as landlord (see harbour tanks as an example). Would you have Mayor Kilger go the the taxpayers whenever anything is to be decided? And what does the fact that most of his council have not filed their papers to run again have to do with this?
I completely agree that the RCAF should be granted another lease and not only that but it should be a permanent lease (I would say ownership of the land) and it should not be under the federal government at all but under the city. The entire waterfront should be owned by the city and not the federal government. We are sick of the dirty, underhanded dealings going on.
Have you changed your tune? I thought everything in Cornwall city management was corrupt and run by a “clique?” How could the RCAF Wing get a fair deal then?
Hugger the only fair deal is when we see it on paper and even then I have my doubts. Developers are salivating for the waterfront and a better idea is for them to build those “condoms” in their own backyard. No I haven’t changed my mind one iota and still feel the same way and that won’t change one big. A big change in leadership and how things are run is absolutely necessary. Things cannot go on the way they are or the town will finish worse than what it is now. Only a very few people have a say and the rest are trampled upon. I don’t believe in political parties at all only the individual and that is the way it should be.
Agreed, a change in leadership is needed at the federal, provincial and municipal level. But that’s where political parties come in. People banding together for the common good. Most times it’s to pick the lesser of a few evils. If there were no political parties you’d have everyone trying to do everything all by themselves. That starts total chaos and nothing gets done. I’m the same way with unions. I don’t like them, but they do serve a purpose, people banding together for a common goal.
Hugger I sure do see your point. I think it is different to have political parties for federal and provincial but as far as municipal politics goes they don’t need that kind of a system. What is important is the individual person who can run a city or town to the best of his ability and have vision for the future as well as the present and not have a clique on the end of his tail telling him what to do or not do and it is up to counsel itself and not anyone else from outside his office. Every leader from the top down must be replaced as soon as possible. Things are in a real chaos now and ruining the country. Bare Ass has to go and I wish that the people would wake up to know how bad he is for the town.
Party politics was bound to start at the municipal level. It’s very big in Quebec. I see it spreading across the country. They may not call it “party politics”, but it is. They call it “putting a team together.”
This is indeed, a possible serious blow to our waterfront as we know it ! Little information is available, which is of little surprise to me, but with the level of transparency of late, it makes for an elevated level of concern. The RCAF (wing) is a waterfront fixture & should remain as such until they (Wing) say so. If anybody or group, is to receive a lease for that property, it should be the Wing, not the City.
Hopefully, citizens will be receiving ALL the information on this possible proposal, before the City deals away our Park & waterfront.
We have just two fall-back positions to use, the upcoming fall election & the City MUST go to a public forum to get to publics views before any changes are made to the Official Waterfront Plan.
WFC (Shadow Group)
The RCAF wing should remain the way it is (untouchable) by Bare Ass and this thugs or anyone else. The waterfront is very beautiful as is and should not have any condos around there at all. If only the people of Cornwall heard what I heard when we lived there about how beautiful the nature is with that park and all the parks and leave that beauty alone. Condos can be built anywhere. Anybody who lives in these highrises know what “prison” means. These are not healthy places to live and not for seniors nor families. Leave the parks alone and you have no idea how beautiful they are and tourists all say the same things.
Yes, the waterfront should be left alone. Seems kind of strange you condoning high rises when you live in one.
Hugger I have always condoned highrises to the hilt and I don’t like this at all nor does my family. We do have a good landlord and good neighbors even living in this part of Ottawa that is well known for what kind of an area it is. We have excellent people around us and I have no complaints about that at all. We do have a lot of water damage because the building needed a new roof which was put on 10 years ago but nothing is perfect. What I like is that it is a security building. When we lived in duplexes and garden homes there were break ins around and lots of sales people and noisy tenants but this landlord is very picky especially after having very bad tenants who lived across from us. Now he is a lot more picky about who he rents to.
We should all be relieved that Jules condones (approves of) highrise apartment/condo buildings. Millions of Canadian highrise dwellers would be totally devastated if she didn’t.
Furtz try and live in one of these prisons and then come back and tell me how it was for you. I will be waiting to hear from you and see how honest you can be. LOL LOL. ROLF! I have been living in one for most of my life and I can guarantee you that I know what I am talking about.
If the building isn’t to your liking move. Most apartment buildings are now “security” buildings. It all depends on how they define “security.” If there was as much wrong as you say I’d be moving.
Jules. I lived in a highrise for a few months in the seventies. Not my cuppa tea, but it beat living on the streets.
Furtz now you see my point of view. I lived in these places since the 70’s as well and why I won’t move is because we have great neighbors in the building as well as those in the singles, and a few of the town homes. I have lived in many places here in Ottawa way back when from the 70’s to the 80’s and this place is the best. This apartment was my second place of living here in Ottawa and it was a much better area in the past. Today the area has deteriorated because of the type of people and like any neighborhood if you have certain people living in it there goes the neighborhood. It is the same in Cornwall and elsewhere if you have bad people living near you or in your area of town God help you.
I saw videos on the waterfront committee in Cornwall and the only way to go is low rise like what Mr. John Merkell built on Water Street. The old radio station can come down and build there in that spot. I am sure that there are home owners who would love to part with their land and have condos built in their place. Those would be good for seniors to live in the central area and near the water but not in the park. The park is for everyone. When people want to live somewhere they want to be quiet and living in a park is not ideal at all. These high rises are dangerous and not suited to the elderly nor the disabled nor for families. We lived in many different types of housing here in Ottawa and one thing about this building is a mighty good landlord who is an individual landlord and the place is very clean thanks to the landlord and very good supers. A lot of other places are nothing but dumps inside and out.
I did a little research looking at the condos as well as hotels in Brockville and you can’t compare the two to be exact. I did see a high rise condo where their marina was located and that was one of my ideas as well but not to take the park apart and build tons of condos and take away the park from the people which would be totally insane. You have to take into consideration who is going to buy those condos and many will not leave the cities to go to Cornwall to purchase and with those tanks that are situated there now with Trillium and the federal government it is a dream that will not happen. Nobody is that stupid to buy with that in place. Looking at Brockville and looking at Cornwall are two towns that pass each other in the night – neither one is the same. Brockville is a tourist town and a lot more beautiful. There is no comparison between the two at all whatsoever.
I agree with Jules, sort of. The area on Water Street would make a good location for low-rise condos. The only thing I think holding it up is the old arena site. I think it may be a partial brownfield property due to the chemicals used in the ice cooler plant. Perhaps if condos were built there that might be the start of a turn-around fo`r that area.
What Mr. John Markell built on Water Street is perfect and believe me folks he has done an impeccable job. High rises would block people’s view on Water Street and those things are more costly to build (highrises that is) than low rise condos. Low rise is a lot safer for anybody young or old and not many people want to live up high. I know because many people ask me how we can live up so high and even our super and his wife say the same thing. My own daughter says it all the time that it is best to live low and believe me she is right indeed. I love how Mr. Markell has his condos in the right architecture and that is the way to build. There are homeowners who do rentals and would want to sell to the developers like Mr. Markell and others since owning and renting out is a real headache for a lot of people. If the land at the old arena can be cleaned up and also use the land at the old radio station that is the way to go. Water Street is an excellent area to build condos and you are right where the downtown is including Le Village. Making new streets like one gentleman said in a video would be a great deal more expensive. I am trying to cut costs here as well.