P.G. Says One Thing, Does Another: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

When the City opted to spend $150,000 dollars on a feasibility study for a Performing Arts Center in the city,  they didn’t put any conditions in place that would satisfy the taxpayers that the report will not be slanted in any way towards the project. In fact it seemed just the opposite as the Councilors were tripping over one another trying to be the first to put up the money.

Will the study be conducted with a view to determining whether in fact such a facility will be able to stand alone, or will it draw its revenue and traffic from existing venues such as the Civic Center, Playhouse and Vanier Hall?

The fact that former Councilor Cliff Dezell has assured Council that he will look after the money just doesn’t cut it.

Case in point (well come to think about it several cases in point) 

1. Dezell was on Council when the new Art Gallery was built. He made need his memory jogged a bit, doesn’t he remember that part of the cash for the project, a good portion, was to come from the sale of Studio 2880?  Well folks at last count Studio 2880 remains alive and well, and is still in the City’s hands, so much for that act of wisdom on where the money will come from.
2. Then of course who can forget the purchase of the old Yellowhead Road and Bridge facility on 20^th. Cliff also sat on Council when it was decided to buy that facility, because we could recover a bunch of the money selling the old maintenance yard on 5^th. Well at last count both yards where still operating in spite of the fact that the population hasn’t increased enough to warrant the major increase in facilities, but that move somehow has been lost in the shuffle.
3. Then permit me if you will to drag out the Terasen Gas deal , it makes me shudder every time I drive by the sign on Nechako Road saying "this stretch was paid for in part by money from the Terasen Gas deal". Cliff also sat on the Finance Committee when the City spent  more than $600 thousand dollars to sell the  deal  heading into the referendum on that  "agreement".  Remember,  the  counter petition  clearly indicated the taxpayers did not want to borrow the money for  that deal. I don’t see anywhere on those signs that mentioned that the first couple of years all the money that we got came out of the taxpayers pockets. Nope to the contrary, just spin telling us just what a good deal we got.

Taxpayers have had their share in recent times of things that were to be that never occurred and before we embark on yet another project, perhaps we should first give an honest to goodness account of what it will cost and what it will cost to service it and  just what it will cost the other venues to have a new facility operating in Prince George.

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

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