1947 replies to this topic

[Nparker]

...I have a problem with the politics that have contaminated the process.

This.

[rmpeers]

And how many of my civic tax dollars have been spent so far to achieve precisely nothing?

Aren't we at at least $2 million? Our council's approach to fiscal prudence is literally that of a sailor on shore leave, who is also high, going on a shopping spree. I swear they must think magical elves make the money appear for them to fritter away as quickly as possible.

Edited by rmpeers, 16 October 2019 - 12:45 PM.

[Midnightly]

Aren't we at at least $2 million? Our council's approach to fiscal prudence is literally that of a sailor on shore leave, who is also high, going on a shopping spree. I swear they must think magical elves make the money appear for them to fritter away as quickly as possible.

 

 

they think the city's contingency fund is a big piggy bank for them to dive into whenever they need extra cash for something

[Victoria Watcher]

imagine what would happen at your workplace if you or you as part of a team spent $2 million on a project only to find yourself back at square one a year later and that money at least partly gone.  would you have a job anymore?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 16 October 2019 - 03:11 PM.

[rmpeers]

I feel like many voters have a sense of disconnect about where the money comes from. I suspect that some renters, since they don't directly pay property taxes, are not really aware of how the CoV's easy-come-easy-go approach to money impacts them.

[Nparker]

...I suspect that some renters, since they don't directly pay property taxes, are not really aware of how the CoV's easy-come-easy-go approach to money impacts them.

Getting an annual property tax bill makes one well aware of the CoV's approach to spending.

[Victoria Watcher]

victoria council candidate:

 

Jeremy Caradonna: Let the people vote – A referendum is needed on the Crystal Pool dilemma

 

I live four blocks from the Crystal Pool, on the 1300 block of Gladstone Avenue, and have patronized its aquatic facilities and outdoor playground for years. My daughters love the tall slide in the playground. I have played soccer on the ball field, made many a picnic on the grass, and tossed a frisbee with my friends and family. 

 

But a few years ago, I stopped using the pool. After slipping on the ridiculously slick floors in the men’s shower room for the umpteenth time, and after years of staring nervously at the glass structures that adorn the sketchy-looking skylights I, like so many Victorians, began taking my kids to the newer and safer pools beyond the city limits – Esquimalt, Gordon Head, and Oak Bay.

 

https://www.victoria...l-pool-dilemma/

 

 

 

A referendum would allow the public to decide upon all of the following: 

• which site makes the most sense, based on cost and community needs;
• whether green spaces and athletic features are kept at current sizes or expanded;
• the perennial issue of parking-lot size;
• whether the pool is 25 or 50 metres (a vexing and complex issue, for sure); and
• the social and environmental impacts of various proposals.

So I call on the City of Victoria to identify 3-4 site proposals, cost them out, assess them holistically, and put it to Victorians to make the ultimate decision via a referendum.

 

 

i think that would be difficult. anybody that understands how these work knows how to skew the options presented.  and then at the end of the day you might have one proposal that "wins" with 34% of the vote.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 November 2019 - 07:57 AM.

[Mike K.]

See, this fellow adjusted.

[Victoria Watcher]

See, this fellow adjusted.

 

this fellow must not read the papers or vv.  how could he not know the pool was up for renewal?

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 November 2019 - 08:01 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Crystal Pool keep-up a costly affair



By Brennan Clarke
Victoria News
Jan 12 2007


City councillors not anxious to throw good money after bad

The rising cost of maintenance at Victoria’s aging Crystal Pool has some councillors demanding progress on plans to build a new recreation centre in the city.

Commenting on proposed annual maintenance costs in excess of $900,000 for the coming fiscal year, Coun. Geoff Young suggested the money would be better spent building a new pool and recreation centre.

“This is now a major expenditure program of close to $1 million a year,” he said Tuesday during the first of three special council meetings held to examine the 2007-08 municipal budget.

“My fear is that at some point we’re going to have to say ‘this is ridiculous.’ We’re going to say ‘we can’t afford to do this.’

“At some point it’s going to be cheaper to hire a taxi to go swimming in Saanich.”

The city recreation department unveiled a redevelopment plan for Crystal Pool in 2004, but the proposal called for the closure of several Victoria community centres and met with stiff opposition.

Since then the recreation department has conducted several rounds of consultation, but made precious little progress. Last spring, the department hired a consultant to help organize a community forum in June and “collate” the feedback with the goal of developing a plan some time in the fall.

Recreation director Donna Atkinson told council a steering committee is slated to hold further meetings beginning in February.

Coun. Helen Hughes warned that rushing into another ill-conceived plan would be a mistake.

“The steps need to be taken extremely carefully or else we do not carry the rest of Victoria along with us,” she said.

mailto:bclarke@vicnews.com

 

it's been in the news for 12+ years.  and this guy wants to be a councillor? 

 

oh well i guess it worked for sharmarke dubow.  he'd never even voted in this country and he became a councillor the same day he voted for the first ever time.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 19 November 2019 - 08:07 AM.

[spanky123]

Lots of options have been examined. The City even hired a marketing expert to try and spin a positive outcome for a referendum. 

 

Bottom line is that the City reserves do not have sufficient funds to build a new pool and the Mayor and council do not have enough confidence from the voters to try and borrow the money.

[G-Man]

We save a whack of cash every year we don't replace it. I am still a huge fan of refurbishment. Close for six months and fix the parts that don't work or just do a little bit each year during the September closing.

[spanky123]

We save a whack of cash every year we don't replace it. I am still a huge fan of refurbishment. Close for six months and fix the parts that don't work or just do a little bit each year during the September closing.

 

True that. Not surprisingly, the warnings by City staff years back that maintenance would cost millions a year to keep the pool open if we did not replace it have not come to pass. Fancy that.

[Midnightly]

True that. Not surprisingly, the warnings by City staff years back that maintenance would cost millions a year to keep the pool open if we did not replace it have not come to pass. Fancy that.

 

 

it's the same tactic they used for the bridge replacement and look how well that worked out... in the end we did get a new bridge... but at a hugely inflated budget, steps were missed and had to be patchworked when it arrives (really they forgot to add lighting in the design) it's already in need of repair... and ofcourse projects that take much much longer then they should (atleast with the pool it's dragging out before the work starts)

 

Helps will remind anyone that she voted against the replacement but she was there happily smiling for the ribbon cutting

[spanky123]

^ And I will remind people that what Helps voted against was the budget for the bridge arguing (correctly) that the contingency wasn't large enough. I don't recall her ever voting to refurb the bridge instead of replacing it.

[Nparker]

Glad to hear that one of our "overburdened and underpaid" CoV councillors finds time for social engagements.

[Susan] Simmons is an ultra-marathon swimmer who has used the sport to overcome symptoms from multiple sclerosis (MS). She did the plunge as a call to action to Victoria council to prioritize building a new Crystal Pool facility. She invited councillors to join her in the 6^C water so they could see where swimmers will need to go if no new pool surfaces, but none of them took up the offer.“[Coun.] Sarah Potts texted me to say she had social commitments,” Simmons said, noting she had said yes previously...

https://www.vicnews....r-crystal-pool/

 

[aastra]

 

She invited councillors to join her in the 6^C water so they could see where swimmers will need to go if no new pool surfaces

 

For many CoV residents the pools in Oak Bay or Esquimalt are closer and/or more convenient than the pool at Central Park*. I'm going to say swimming in the ocean would tend to be the last choice for most people.

 

*This works both ways, of course. People from other municipalities who work in Victoria might find the Crystal to be more convenient than a facility closer to home. Victorians who work or shop in other municipalities might find the pools in those places to be more convenient.

[aastra]

It's not so cut and dried*, is my point. People aren't locked** to a particular facility just beside they reside in that facility's municipality.

 

*towel reference

**changeroom reference

[Mike K.]

I’m glad the councillors backed out. This is a silly idea. No sound person would jump into the frigid sea* because they can’t swim at Crystal.

*it’s not ocean until it’s ocean.

[aastra]

 

This is a silly idea.

 

Exactly. We need to start using our noodles. Don't just run and dive in. The taxpayers are already treading water.