It makes a lot of people ill!

The question that needs to be asked, “do we have the demographics to support a Performing Arts Center”? Do we have that many cultured people in Prince George and area of 70,000 to actually need another facility? The Playhouse is under utilized as it stands, as with the facility at PGSS. Who are we trying to lure to this grand expense?

We already have an over glorified and overly appointed RCMP station fit, for royal visits, local drunkards, junkies and celebrity gang banger wanna bees. Seriously they went a bit over board on that building, grant you the RCMP needed much more space. But did it need to be so glorious? So now we take our pending storm water tax and redirect it to some facility, that will grant you, be another magnificent building of little or no real purpose.

Perhaps it’s to be a living financial legacy (burden) for the tax payers of Prince George who won’t shop down town if there are parking meters. What a crew with all the screwed up priorities.

We also have to take into consideration that out of the number 70,000; how many of that number are of legal voting age, or how many of that number are in old folks homes and long care facilities that will never, ever in their life times get out to use these facilities; any of the city facilities, not just the PAC. So yes, PG has 70,000 residents, but we should all be reminded how many of them are within the age group to even be considered in lot of the things our council is trying to tell us we need, or we’re being forced to just ‘accept’.

Good point Hello?

Those same aging folks that you place on their death beds are those people who have been building this community and, we are told, that more of them are staying here than moving to lotus land.

That age group is growing as a percentage of the PG population as well as the Canadian population. I believe that age group, at the moment, has more money at their disposal than previous retired people. That age group is seeking memories from the past and gets them in part from the arts, be they popular or classical.

That group will grow in the next decade or two to be double the size than they are right now. It is an increasing audience ….. and yes, the leading edge will be dying off, with twice as many joining the rear end of that retired group that is looking for things to do other than posting on here.

Janet Bigelow works for the City and has the self interest of the Union at heart. No problem with that. She should have.

However, she is not on Council or in Administration that have direction and implementation authority as well as responsibilities. She has non of that!

Union business and setting directions for the City do not mix.

Gus, Tell the people you are on the committee trying to get a performing Arts Centre, that way we all know where you are coming from instead of playing possum.

No public money for the Performing Arts Centre. Private enterprise must build and operate it. The City of PG is running on borrowed money at the expense of the taxpayers. In November, 2014, can we vote some honest, competent people into office for Council, who will eliminate the incompetent spending of one Council after another? Skakun seems to be the only member of Council who is concerned about the value the taxpayers are receiving for their money. We need more like him on Council.

Interesting that Bigelow would state “$42 million when our city is broke”, at the same time that she thinks we should be giving her members a raise!! Remember, a raise after 16% over the past 5 years!

So, are we broke or not Janet? Guess not, when it comes to increasing the salaries of our City employees, right??

Seems to me that we are broke, as in BROKE, as in no wage increases for City employees, no PAC and no more foolish spending of any kind!! Enough already!!

And Janet’s bait is taken hook line and sinker. Well played.

The PAC has absolutely no bearing on the contract negotiations ZERO ZILCH. It is about the only thing that would a stronger opinion in the community other than if the city workers deserve an increase to their already bloated wage and benefit package.

0-0-2 is more than adequate this time round after 16% in wages plus other increases last time. The only reason that Bigelow tries to deflect attention is that she cannot come up with valid reasons for increases over than what is offered. THAT makes me ill.

I agree lonesome sparrow!

Remember, Janet is the Union Rep and she’s caught between a rock and a hard place. Surely she must know that her members did very well over the term of their last contract and surely she must know that the taxpayers are feeling the squeeze and are sick and tired of tax increases. BUT poor Janet has to justify her position somehow!!

That’s one of the biggest problems with Union Leaders! For example, if they demand a 10% wage increase and then are successful in getting it for their members, rather than telling their members how wonderful a 10% raise is, they will immediately start telling their members how they got screwed!

“We got you 10%, but the damn company/city/etc screwed you over! You deserved 15%”!!

Janet has to justify her existence and her own pay cheque somehow!!

Fleshed out analogy I have used before a bit further.

Think of Beth James as nanny with kids Gary and Janet sitting in the cart to shop for their needs for the coming year. After filling the cart with all the necessities and a few extras they head for the checkout.

Unfortunately lined up there are all the extra extras, most private sector nannies use the self checkout so don’t have to deal with it:) Janet and Garry demand chocolate bars and bubble gum(more $ and time off) but have an absolute meltdown when they see their brother and sister in checkout 7 (Kelowna) got a full size Snickers and they only got a fun sized one:(

Nanny Beth finally calms the little temper tantrums, heads for home and as soon as the door opens is met with a 700 voice chorus from all the other chubby little brothers and sisters “WHAT DID YOU GET US?” Beth feeling a little mischievous says “extra diapers for the grievance department”

0-0-2 or serve 72 hour notice.

What neo-liberal rich fascists have to say about anything isn’t worth thinking about. This isn’t a religious or ideological forum. Try thinking for yourself.

All that aside, I still hope the City

LOCKS THEM OUT!

The union should have served strike notice but it looks like they fell asleep at the table yesterday.

I am curious about how many union members support striking or support taking the offer?

I worked one union job for a very short time and since then I have avoided taking any other job that is union so I don’t have very much experience in it but the way I look at it is no one is holding a gun to their heads forcing them to do that job. Every job I’ve had where I feel I was underpaid and overworked, I quit and found something better. Maybe that’s just me.

The PAC issue is a red herring. The city’s share would come from borrowed money, where else would it come from? Of course paying the interest on the loan will mean a tax increase, as does paying of the principal.

Moose; I think you proved your own point. You said every job you’ve had where you felt you were underpaid and overworked, you quit and found something BETTER. Well according to all the union bashers on this site, CUPE members feel they are underpaid and you all feel they are underworked. Why would any of them need to quit a job that does pay that good and according to ya’ll they’re underworked.
We can’t have it both ways. Moose you say you quit jobs that didn’t pay enough. Isn’t that exactly what they’re trying to do? More money/benefits… etc. ? Other people actually quit their jobs for the same reasons people are criticizing the unions for already having!! Double standards as far as I’m concerned. But maybe that’s just me.

So Gus – billm challenged you to state whether you are on the committee to get a PAC in the city?
I see you went quiet after that.
Hmmmm.

Bigelow has fallen into the same trap that many others have in believing the spin from our mayor. Despite the political spin we are getting from our mayor and council the city isn’t broke and a PAC isn’t going to be built for a long time.

First the mayor says the city is facing tough times but of course that didn’t stop her and the rest of Council from giving themselves a 30% raise. It also didn’t stop Council from racking up the same amount of travel expenses. And it didn’t stop the mayor from taking not one but two trips to China. Could it be that the city’s finances aren’t as bad as they pretend?

And if things are as bad as they suggest how can the mayor and council now say they support spending $42 million of our tax dollars on a PAC? The answer is simple, mayor sheri and council know it is easy to say they support the PAC because they know full well there is no money available and no funding sources to be seen at the provincial or federal level. It is all just spin to appease the masses or in this case those groups pushing for a PAC.

The city is neither broke or going to build a PAC anytime soon because no matter what the spin is you can’t change reality and a look at the books shows the city is doing okay but can’t afford any major projects without borrowing a ton of money.

Anyway ms bigelow it is time both sides cut back on the childish attacks in the media, the lack of respect doesn’t look good on you or Council.

“Meantime Bigelow questions the decision of Mayor Green and Council last Monday night to list a performing arts centre as a priority capital project for this city. The proposed facility would cost roughly $42 million, and Bigelow says “I am wondering, if our city is in such a tough financial situation, where is their (city’s) quarter share of the $42 million going to come from? Are they going to be taking that away from re-building or maintaining the infrastructure of the city? $42 million when our city is broke, and who is going to pay for the cost of maintaining such a building? That just makes me ill.”” — although I agree with this statement I can’t help but think it is just political posturing to get the general public on their side.

“Why would any of them need to quit a job that does pay that good and according to ya’ll they’re underworked.” — Think of one word .. “greed”, and as some people have pointed out, bigandlow has to justify her job somehow. Ya’ll? Where do you live? Georgia?