New Nelson councillors reveal city Budget 'eye openers'
Nelson Star, Feb. 7, 2019
While councillors gush how much they've recently learned about the City's budgeting - and how well it all works - something refreshingly new, possibly game-changing for Nelson's property-owners' perception of the budgeting-process is brought-up by Councillor Anderson.
Yet not developed in the write-up or anywhere else since.
$85K Expenditure = 1% Property-Tax Increase
If - according to Councillor Anderson - at City Hall any expenditure of $80K - $90K - as a "rule-of-thumb" - indeed equates a 1% property-tax increase: with this simple measure major expenditures - particularly those not budgeted - could/should be under much more motivated public scrutiny.
This may partially apply even to grants for budgeted/unbudgeted expenditures - seeing their intent still (always!) requires Council's approval.
1. Exercise Equipment - Lakeside Park
While sets essential for an all-around work-out are part of the older yellow equipment - they are not replicated in the newer black bits and pieces.
Of which 4 sets are clearly dangerous for any age-group; with all sets marked 13+: not to be used by children under 13.
Yet hordes of unsupervised very young children are all over this equipment on soccer-Saturdays; fewer and of all ages - still in numbers - during the rest of the week.
But even the most attentive sometime-supervision won't mitigate the spelled-out danger-factor.
The reason given for installing the black equipment is that the yellow presents liability-issues: it therefore must be replaced. Even though none of the yellow sets are inherently dangerous - they have caused no injury over time - are simple to use and in just fine working-order.
Also see post
An Exercise in Liability
11 Nov, 2018
City Hall - seemingly oblivious to real-time liability-issues with the inexpertly slapped-together black set-up - paid about 78K tax-dollars for it: unapproved by Council. Total costs were about $140K - with a cost-overrun of about 13K (also unapproved!) - and include a grant of $65K from the (silent on this!) CBT.
A 1% property-tax increase for someone's ill-conceived vanity-project at City Hall.
With local news-media nowhere in sight. At best - maybe unaware.
2. Cottonwood Market
Over time/in stages - at least 83K tax-dollars are approved for a new Cottonwood Market, including $40K for a band-shell: this approved in 2017, and announced by City Manager Kevin Cormack to be in place by summer 2018.
Having produced neither the band-shell nor the Market's reincarnation, at least $122.600 went somewhere elsewhere - this including 40K from the (silent again!) CBT!
Another 1% property-tax increase!
If (some of) these funds were misapplied to other purposes instead: one must presume those were unbudgeted, unapproved.
None of these Market steps into nowhere questioned in local media.
Both fundings graphically-simply represent City Hall's rule-of-thumb. There are others. These two examples of budgetary shape-shifting were not volunteered to the public.
'An expenditure of $85K equating a property-tax increase of 1%' should become a mantra hummed by the property-owning public, with City Administration held accountable for every tax-dollar (to be) spent!
Strictly kept in check by Council (once they're done gushing!).
Consistently reported by local news-media - in the readers' interest.
(Their purpose - isn't it?)
22 March, 2019:
Over several days now - the yellow exercise-equipment has been torn-down set-by-set. With the demolition finished today - seemingly this equipment (in perfect working-order) will become landfill(?).
The story goes: City Manager Cormack wanted to give it all away - but found no takers!
Accountability!
Image Credits:
simpsonnotaries
kgwn.tv
naimacanada
Colin McClure, CFO
cmcclure@nelson.ca
Kevin Cormack, CAO
kcormack@nelson.ca
John Dooley, Mayor
jdooley@nelson.ca
City Council
nelsoncouncil@nelson.ca
Pam Mierau, Manager - Development Services
pmierau@nelson.ca
Aimee Ambrosone, Director - CBT
aambrosone@cbt.org
"We want to talk about how we can improve what we have..."
Alex Thumm, Planner
Placating some will disgruntle others - no matter what: we only got what we only got!
Shutting down the single possibility of dealing with the parking-issue - a parkade - because of no land/no money: while superficially reasonable shows a lack of vision!
Vision to Context
And therein lies the rub: Nelson doesn't have a vision of itself. Vaguely aware of a need, over the years several times trying to buy one from snake-oil salesmen passing through. Also vaguely aware of this approach to an identity not working.
All the while chugging along without structured context (based on/in a vision):
in identity-crisis mode.
Example: Slicing-up streets for bike-lanes means (again!) redoing Nelson's traffic-flow and parking overall, thereby congesting downtown more.
That bike-lanes mean more people here will use more bikes - instead of cars - is simplistic.
We are not Vancouver!
So - we need to stop either yet another parking-redo - or the feel-good bike-mentality which Council wants to feed with its share of parking-amnesty money, instead of donating that to a charity, as originally suggested.
You can't effectively have both: more parking and bike-lanes.
Do councillors living out-of-town - the majority - regularly commute by bicycle?
The Sustainable Waterfront & Downtown Masterplan - which should provide guidance/context here - actually is only an inventory-list with a few yawning ideas.
The Plan itself - not based in a vision either - was put together by outside consultants who also gave us Hall St. 1&2, promptly showing no affinity for Nelson.
As in: Hall St. 1&2 - or Stores-to-Shores - starts poorly downtown to end poorly at the waterfront's major waste-water outfall, with its very own viewing-area.
A good logo provides positive brand-recognition in a nutshell. Telling of the absence of a vision-thus-context: the logo of Nelson and Kootenay Lake Tourism is not a logo - but an unimaginative, unremarkable, unmemorable jumble!
Most significant: it does not represent Nelson+ favorably to outsiders!
Railtown Parkade
The shabby current one sucks the energy right out of the whole - otherwise spectacular - block: the stately Hume, the Beauty and the Beast Court House, the neat brick/granite box that used to be Emergency Management BC, and some of the very few remaining old trees downtown.
The Nelson and District Arts Council (NDAC) might envision this Blade-Runner silo as a canvas in its 2nd Mural Festival.
But enough already with mud-puddle 'heritage' colors!
Don't think of a new parkade as just another place to put your car for a while - but a visually stunning, multi-function cultural presence: to be experienced with/without a car.
Replacing the Central School gym and Rod & Gun Club as inadequate community meeting-places; used for performances, celebrations and exhibits; parts - including the roof - rented out as the local go-to place for commercial events.
Adaptable for anything!
The Railtown location is ideal for tourists, with its proximity to the Station and within comfortable shopping-distance from Baker St end-to-end.
No BUTs!
Think big, think future! With a strong vision in place: necessary opportunities will present themselves - as will financing!
A vision first - the natural order - then structured context!
A Vision of Nelson
An inspired/inspiring vision of Nelson-as-a-whole will guide mindful planning, within the context of the whole truly being more than the sum of its parts = synergy.
Creating such a vision starts with a survey of how Nelsonites perceive an ideal Nelson. Positivity only! No limits to imagination!
Multi-media contests organized by the NDAC/CDC support the process creatively. With the public as participants and jury.
While this discovery must be allowed to take its course: band-aid (no context!) projects will need to be put on-hold for the time being.
Image Credits:
Bjarke Ingels - BIG
Alex Thumm, Planner
athumm@nelson.ca
Pam Mierau, Manager - Development Services
pmierau@nelson.ca
Natalie Andrijancic, Planner
nandrijancic@nelson.ca
Sydney Black, Director - Arts Council
info@ndac.ca
Joy Barrett, Cultural Development Officer
cutural@nelson.ca
City Council
nelsoncouncil@nelson.ca
John Dooley, Mayor
jdooley@nelson.ca
