THIS WRITER HAS SOME SERIOUS CONCERNS
In his editorial of March 11 Adam Nyp helps our Mayor attempt to redefine the debate on the art gallery. Give it a listen at http://www.1047.ca/audio.php
He refers to downtown banking on an artistic renaissance. This is news to me. I wasn’t aware that downtown merchants had been polled on this issue. There was probably some claim made in the Lord report but since so many of the other claims in that report have been exposed as a load of hooey I wouldn’t take any unverified statements seriously. If they were polled they certainly didn’t vote in the Heart FM poll, or maybe they did. 🙂 Any downtown merchants that bought the artistic renaissance line when they used it to justify destroying the downtown market to turn the building over to the little theatre knows it’s a load of crap. Culture doesn’t bring people downtown. Never has. Never will. RETAIL brings people downtown. We don’t need an artistic renaissance downtown. We need a Retail Renaissance. Here’s an idea. How about we turn the Shoppers building over to the market vendors? That will bring people back downtown.
He also mischaracterizes the positions of Pat Sobeski and Deb Tait. He states they are opposed to sinking millions into the gallery. That is simply untrue. They are definitely opposed to sinking millions into the Shoppers building. The whole point of calling for a feasibility study was to explore other options that might be more suitable and attract support from the community and council. That never happened. The intent of the study was subverted and it became a PR presentation in favour of the Shoppers building. No other options were explored.
The Mayor and Adam Nyp would have you believe the Shoppers building is the only option. That’s the big lie. They think they can win this by defining the terms of the debate. Not only isn’t the Shoppers building the only option, it’s probably the worst possible option as evidenced by the questions posed by councillors Sobeski, Tait and Northcott at the meeting last Thursday.
Don’t let the Mayor and his enablers define the terms of the debate. The Shoppers building is not the only possibility for a gallery. How could it be? It only became available a matter of months ago. They have been looking at optons for a new gallery for years.
Why are other options not being explored? How did a study that was supposed to look at other options turn into an infomercial for the Shoppers building? Most importantly….. Who will look like an idiot if the Shoppers building is rejected?
This isn’t about a gallery. It’s about a Mayor and a few councillors who rammed the Shoppers purchase through without doing their homework and now find themselves stuck with a turkey.The Shoppers building is the only option for them. If they can’t turn it into a gallery they will be exposed as irresponsible and incompetent. I’m surprised they’re putting so much effort into it. It’s not like it will be the first time they’ve made fools of themselves.
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10 Comments
Hire another consultant to contradict this consultant. They all are paid to lie for whomever hired them. They are compelled to lie by virtue of taking the dirty seed money.Many consultants do not even have credentials nor do they require them.
Why is it that Harding is always the one doing the talking? I’d like to see Nyp do an on air interview with Sobeski, Tait and Northcott.
Come on Adam. Set it up.
“Hire another consultant to contradict this consultant.”
That’s not a bad idea. At 60 thousand a pop and allowing for three months to prepare a pack of lies it would be much cheaper to just keep receiving consultant reports than to build a gallery.
We could call it a consultant stimulus. Maybe we can get a grant.
I like that…consultant stimulus! i think we’ve stimulated more consultants in Woodstock than anything.Did Harding take lessons from Harper?
Another aspect of this thing is that they claim they will have increased kiddies programs through the facility if it is bigger and better. That’s bullshit. Thames Valley has constantly been reducing its’ travel allowances for school trips and there will be no increase in kids attending the gallery. The entire report was bullshit and the write of the story is completely right when he says that the council appeared to push only the shoppers building, even though it isn’t the cheapest opportunity.
You’re right, someone is trying to bury this Shoppers fuck up.
Their real fear is that if the Shoppers/gallery deal tanks people will start asking questions about precisely how our Council managed to make such a stupid purchase. The backroom machinations that lead up to that aquisition do not bear up under close examination.
Hey Adam. How are those interview plans shaping up? 🙂
Since I know for a fact that Adam Nyp routinely reads this blog I’m going to guess that we’re not getting an answer to the interview request. Why not Adam? What’s the problem with responding to a reasonable request? Why does Heart FM only present the Mayor’s views? Why is it that the three councillors whose views are supported by 89% of the respondants to your own poll are being shut out of the dialogue? And just how much business does Heart FM do with the the City of Woodstock on an annual basis and how would it be impacted if you pissed off the wrong people?
That market idea doesn’t sound half bad.. I wonder how much that would cost.. The city owns the building now anyway. If a new downtown market will bring people to the core why not?? Maybe they could put a market on the bottom two floors and art gallery on the top two at least them we can kill two birds with one stone. I like the idea of the art gallery filling vacant space downtown rather then adding a new building but as a taxpayer I also like the idea of getting a better bang for my buck.
Why not wait till toyota sales drop. Toyota can then donate the plant for a tax break.We could use another one of their WHITE ELEPHANTS. Harding could get a job being the greeter if he could learn to share his crayons.