I have just finished reading the letter to the editor written by Mr. McRadu [Published on Sept. 8.]
There are several inaccuracies that I think should be corrected.
First, let me say that although I have been a councillor in 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 since 2008 and will be for a few more weeks, I am writing on my own behalf and not on behalf of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 council or the District of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料.
The concern expressed in the letter is the possibility of leasing space for a new city hall. No final decisions have been made in this regard and no negotiations to my knowledge, are underway.
Suggesting otherwise is groundless.
At last year’s budget discussions, council gave staff the approval to consider leasing as an option for city hall along with building and owning the premises.
I was one of the councillors that voted in favour of that resolution. The District of 老澳门六合彩开奖记录资料 has limited resources for capital projects. One of the constraints on a municipal government is its borrowing capacity. As we plan for future projects such as expansions to Brennan Park or the library, we must deal with limited resources and the ability to borrow.
Our staff have told us that borrowing to build and own a city hall would effectively postpone our ability to construct other major capital projects for some years.
The five-year capital plan passed last year does have a placeholder provision for possible rent of $1,000,000, but this is in that plan for planning purposes in case such a lease is preferred. No rent has been negotiated.
The five-year financial plan is reviewed and updated each year and often changes from year to year. That number is not a final number until a lease is actually entered into. The thought that a lease might be for 40 years has been invented. There has not been any discussion on that point that I have been part of, and I doubt that the District would ever enter into such a lease.
As the mayor was quoted as saying, all options are open. This would include a co-location with other government agencies, including the school district.
It is misleading to suggest that there has been no cooperation between the school district and council because no meetings have been held between council “as a whole” and the school board in the past few years.
There has been considerable contact between our staff and members of council with the school board and staff and any inference that the District is somehow ignoring or stonewalling the school board is pure misinformation.
One of Mr. McRadu’s concerns with leasing is that at the end of the term of the lease, there is “no asset at all.”
This completely misses the point. Yes, there is no equity in a city hall building, but it ignores the fact that other buildings and infrastructure could have, and likely would have, been able to have been constructed by using the resources that would have gone into a city hall building.
So, when that is considered, it would seem that for some, it is more important to apply limited District resources to an office building rather than other sought-after amenities such as an expanded pool, second skating rink or expanded library. That would not be my choice.
Doug Race
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