Dear Editor:
RE: Motion to hold meeting on moving county administration centre defeated, Feb. 3.
I feel county councillor Campbell Cork has an excellent idea in his motion. It is worthy of investigation for a number of reasons.
It makes a lot of sense to have your county administration centre within the county you represent. Could you imagine having our federal government located in Michigan? (maybe a good idea given the current turn of events).
Support and be part of the community you govern. There is a lot of commerce that flows out from a facility such as this, well beyond anything that is tendered. Heating fuel, maintenance services, printing, stationary, etc. How much of the county annual expense budget flows to vendors in the communities they represent versus going to Guelph vendors?
Some councillors argue there are currently too many demands on the table. Reviewing your real estate assets with an eye to consolidation could result in significant reductions in annual spending and through divesting of surplus real estate (including the current admin building) might reveal the ability to relocate and fund some of these other pressures.
If the expressed need of $27 million for a parking garage at the current location could be avoided via relocating to the county’s current campus, where there is plenty of land for parking, could be seen as another enabler via cost avoidance.
I’m just touching some of the thoughts that come to mind and these are not intended to reflect all the potential (if there is any) in councillor Cork’s motion, but we will never know what possibilities exist if council won’t even agree to a discussion and taking this idea to the first gate via a high-level analysis of the potential.
Council work is a flow. It doesn’t begin and end with each election. There is still eight months left in this council’s term and many will be re-elected. Kicking this down the road until after the next election is not reflective of the proactive work of this current council. Any other thoughts out there?
Tom Sullivan,
RR4 Mount Forest