Just Doin' The Math: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

A couple of things touched my funny bone this week at City Council.   In fact, there are some meetings where  I think there should be an admission charge.

Let me start off with a lesson in math from Glen “Moose” Scott.

Councilor Brian Skakun had asked Council to consider putting a third, two man patching crew, on for the season. That would bring the number of employees to six. Development Services Manager Bob Radloff, said boosting staff from 4 to 6 would mean a 50% increase in the number of holes filled.

Here’s the exchange:

Scott:  I’m not going to get into a mud slinging thing, I just want to ask over to Mr. Radloff a comment that he made got me very curious.  We’ve got two shifts on now that are working on filling potholes,  and he mentioned that if Councilor Skakun got his way and got $213 thousand dollars enhanced ,ah , out of the budget, ah, that would increase  it by 50%.  You’re only putting one more shift on, how are you going to increase it by 50%?

Radloff:  What I was saying was, we’re essentially having 50% more crew members out there on a given day applying pothole repair.

Scott:  Well, as I say your Worship, I’m not going to get into it.  Mr. Radloff’s just confused the issue, he didn’t answer my question, but anyways, we’re not going to debate it, let’s just get on with it.

It is safe to say that Councilor Scott’s strong suit is not math, but then on the other hand it is a tough math question now isn’t it? 

Now to the matter of “floating “a section of the old Cameron St. Bridge down to the railway museum, that idea offered by Joe Graber.

I thought seeing as how I had been up and down the Nechako a few times over the years , my reasoning was getting clouded so, I asked of a few other “boaters “, would they be prepared to hook onto a piece of the bridge floating down the current of the Nechako River? 

I got the “are you crazy look”. Now you could, I am sure, take the beams piece by piece down the river, but would it not make more sense to drive them around to the railway site?

Can any of you boaters imagine what it would take to stop a section of that bridge in mid current and get a hook onto it as it floated past?

The force of the current might dictate where the bridge was going to end up and if you don’t stop it there , you could easily end up with a few new,” little bridges”  at, Oh say , Red Rock Canyon , Quesnel , or even at Hells Gate .

Some times the funnies don’t come from Council members; they come from the gallery as well.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.

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