RUMOURS ABOUND AROUND TOWN

So lets address the latest rumour (merry go) round town.

Apparently the Shelburne District Agricultural Society has listed their property for sale. For a price of $10 million-all public information.

It is my opinion that Highland Companies will be extremely interested in it.

Why?

To donate it to Eddie, I mean the Town of Shelburne for THEIR YMCA, which by the way Shelburne is attempting to seduce five other municipalities into helping to support.

Highlands certainly wants to give something to the community but basically it will be a white elephant.

Yes Mayor Crewson will come out of this smelling like a rose, because he can bestow a YMCA on his loyal subjects, I mean ratepayers. Great reelection platform.

But it will also be bestowing the death of the Dundalk and Honeywood arenas and pools on the people who have supported and used those facilities for years.

The Centre Dufferin Recreation Centre budget shows an operating shortfall in 2009 of $111,458.00 and the operating shortfall for 2010 is projected to be $130,205.00. And that is before they go bigger and better and before THEIR YMCA.

Melancthon already supports three arenas and two pools and have $5 million less in assessment thanks to Highland Companies demolish and burn policy. Melancthon can not sustain that.

When Eddie's YMCA needs a new roof, new headers, a new zamboni, more staff, I hope his good buddy Lowndes is still around to help pay the bills because the only way it can even attempt to come in with an operating loss of less than $200,000/year is to increase usage and where will that come from? Dundalk and Honeywood of course.

Like I say, building it is the cheap part.

And of course, now Eddie, I mean Shelburne is all hey, lets be buddies and work with one another to develop a great recreation facility (I am paraphrasing here), but this is the SAME Eddie who bestowed a user fee on all out of town kids to play sports in HIS parks, because of course their parents didn't help pay for HIS employees to cut grass.

He even took on an elderly woman in a war of words in the letters to the editor when she wrote to say that while the rural area's do not pay taxes to cut the grass in town, but they support the local businesses and she was opposed to the rural families having to pay this fee. But nope, Ed wasn't having any of it then.

BUT, guess what tree Ed is barking up now to position why the rural communities should support the YMCA? Well of course because the rural people all drive to Shelburne to shop.

I swear to God, someone should write a book. Where is Dan Needles when you need him?

Do we need a YMCA? Not sure, but if we do and IF it is sustainable, show everyone the business plan and then the municipalities should pay for it, NOT a company who's stated intention is to dig a 2,400 acre 200 foot limestone mine (I get it Daniher-over decades not at once) on prime agricultural land.

Optics are not great in an election year, or any year for that matter. Highlands has already created enough conflicts of interest with local politicans. This just adds to the fray and "ties up votes" in my OPINION.

Again this is my OPINION only. Something to which I am entitled and entitled to express.