River Road More Smoke Than Gravel

Wednesday, June 25, 2008 03:45 AM

If it is, as has been told to Opinion250 by some Councilors, that they did not know that a plan had been approved and sent out to tender that would see River Rd. raised by 2 meters, then we have a problem at the Hall.

Either the Councilors are not doing their job by knowing what is going on, or the bureaucrats are running the show and they see no need to inform the people that they work for.

The story coming out of City Hall since the whole issue broke, is clouded in misrepresentation. When I first heard the statement from John Brink of Brink Forest Products that it was his belief the berm that was being constructed would be done on a permanent basis and the city was simply using the Province as the cash register to get the gravel there, the line seemed farfetched, until you see the construction drawings.

Why weren’t we, or for that matter the Council, informed that the plans were out for tender to build a portion of the new road? Those plans were not drawn in a few hours and as late as April we were being told that the berm was just part of a study to see what flood mitigation measures were necessary.

To add insult to injury, the new flood plain is 2 meters higher than the old level and in order to change that level it is necessary to pass a bylaw complete with public input. That didn’t happen.

To suggest the City applied for funding for a new River Rd. is correct and it is also correct that they did not receive it. That plan to raise the road by just over a half meter, (2 feet) is a far cry from what we have here.

It is alarming to think that we have elected officials at City Hall that don’t know what is going on. That in itself is not good for the system to operate.

This whole mess begs for a complete investigation of what really is going on and to that end Opinion250 will be filing a Freedom of Information request. That shouldn’t fall on our shoulders had the elected officials being doing their job.

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

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Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 03:45 AM in Views by Ben Meisner

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Comments

Posted by: Eagleone on June 25 2008 6:43 AM

Ben, I'd like to say its at times like this that Prince George is really lucky to have a reporter like you around to get to the bottom of these kinds of things. Because of all the implications this has the potential to be the biggest investigative story in PG civic history IMO.

Posted by: metalman on June 25 2008 7:16 AM

Stay on them Ben.
metalman.

Posted by: RedRock on June 25 2008 8:08 AM

The question now becomes who is to be held accountable?
All the members of city council will be on Nov. 15, lets make sure none is re-elected!!!!!!!
In regards to city administration, lets clean out city hall, starting with the city manager Dereck Bates and work our way down!! Radloff and the rest on that level etc.

Posted by: Dozer on June 25 2008 8:35 AM

RedRock I agree councilors and city stall all should be gone before every investor leave this city for good..

Posted by: Dozer on June 25 2008 8:36 AM

should read city staff got all excited

Posted by: heidi1555 on June 25 2008 8:41 AM

That we know of Eagleone in our short years ;) You know something is up when you are introduced to people...it's written all over their faces. Cold shifty eyes, forced grins with no real conversation. Standing like they should be using the potty...anyway I can't wait to read more.

:)

Posted by: Lamb on June 25 2008 9:26 AM

Good on you Ben!
Finally, a substantial investigative reporter is going to tackle the question of who is really running the City.
I don't think River Road is the biggest issue facing this City but at least it is a beginning point to opening up the lack of transparency at City Hall.
Should we be thinking about a public enquiry?

Posted by: Bridge on June 25 2008 10:48 AM

Lets not forget that we are also responsible what goes on at City Hall. We can clean out the entire staff and council but unless we take an interst in what they do all is invane.

When did you last write a letter to City staff or the council experssing your displeasure on how our City is run ? Did you bother to vote at the last election? Have you had a look at each councilor to see what effort they make towards a better place for us to live ? Will you actually go and vote come November? Lets hope your answere is yes to all of the above.

The Miller Addition group did the right thing and got results. They sure as hell got to the Mayor. To this day I can still see is red face and his arrogont remark, I am not trying to destroy our City".

We need to get all the different groups the air quality, bioenergy ,asphalt and so together and give our Councilors some direction as to what we want. Lets not just cheer Ben it is our responsibility to create change and he can be the messenger.
make Bens effort pay off

Posted by: lostfaith on June 25 2008 10:54 AM

Gravel removal from the mouth of the Nechako river is the answer to the problem.
There is currently a huge one on the go on the lower Fraser river near Chilliwack.

Posted by: owl on June 25 2008 12:14 PM

"When did you last write a letter to City staff or the council experssing your displeasure on how our City is run"

About 2 hours ago ....

Posted by: owl on June 25 2008 12:42 PM

"some Councilors, that they did not know that a plan had been approved and sent out to tender that would see River Rd. raised by 2 meters"

Whether that work has been sent out to tender, I do not know. Ahve we been provided with the information which would indicate that?

All I know is that from the small portion of a single drawing that I can see on this site, that drawing appears to be part of a set of drawings dealing with what? Most likely the birdge approach at river road. The red marker highlights what is noted on the right hand side as the "top of existing flood berm approx elev 572.200"

Having no other documents to go by, that part of the drawing merely indicates the exsting conditions to my eyes.

With respect to the drain rock, I cannot tell whether that is an existing condition or new work. There is a reference to another drawing for details.

Also, having the full plan view which appears to be at the top of the drawing as would be normal for a profile drawing, but cut off, would go a long way to telling a more complete story.

One thing I know for sure, whether the city is doing this without people's knowledge or not is starting to become completely irrelevant.

To me, what is much more relevant is that there are enough people in this community who are no longer trusting City Hall. That is bad and something we all need to do something about.

Posted by: ammonra on June 25 2008 12:57 PM

Time for sober second thought. It is always easy, and eminently satisfying, to call for someone's ouster. Sometimes it may actually be necessary, and that is a decision voters will take in due course.

Just a thought, though. Be wary that those voted in are not worse than those voted out. Kicking out a previous group of councilors is how the present lot got elected, remember. Doing the same thing again may or may not improve things. It may not even guarantee change!

As to the staff. Ousting the whole staff will shut down all City services. Who would hire the replacements if the people who normally do the hiring are no longer there?

Even just firing the senior staff, which I presume may be what is actually meant, will cost millions of dollars. Golden and platinum handshakes abound for non-union staff, which is what the senior administration is composed of.

If you mean fire all the union staff, then expect 500 union grievances, all threatened to be fought individually at a cost of $50,000 dollars each. Are you all willing to spend that much money, or even 10% of it, just to give yourselves a transient hot flush in the groin?

Remember the saying about the stove and the fire.

Posted by: RedRock on June 25 2008 1:50 PM

Let me give you some sobering thoughts in response to "ammonra":
The city, believe it or not, is like a business. The citizens form a dual role they are shareholders and they are the clients.
If the managment team does not respond to the needs of its shareholders or clients timely and respectfully they will be replaced.
The ultimate responsibility lies with the Board of Directors or City Councilors. If senior managment does not preform the CEO and his/her executive team they are the first to go......!!!

That's how I see it!!!

Nothing to do with Union or none Union and
nothing to do with the whole staff, just the ones that are incompedent or indifferent.

Posted by: Bridge on June 25 2008 5:16 PM

Owl, who do you write to? I wrote a letter to Mr Bates but it took six months for a reply. I have written to Mayor and Council but often wonder if anyone reads them. Mr Shaeffer did answere my letters for awhile but later I no longer got a responce. Email seems to work well tho I general get a responce if they happen to be of a positive nature or request information.

Cheers

Posted by: tinyapplecork on June 25 2008 7:02 PM

Thank you for stepping up Ben and Elaine :)

This whole issue surrounding River Road and I might add, Cameron Street bridge (the fact that engineering warnings were either overlooked or ignored) and Cottonwood Island Park(maybe local Parks are not generally on municipality's radar)- smells rotten!
Total incompetence?? Wouldn't surprise me...our infrastructure has been ignored for ages...yet, I think, since the offer of $1,000,000 by business owners to assist and improve the area was blatantly ignored, there is likely something more devious occuring. Couple that with a mayor who blasts anyone with a different opinion or offers alternative suggestion and ends discussions raises eyebrows.

Should councilors have known? Maybe...but, if the items aren't in your package, are you necessarily going to dig deeper? Generally, most would delve, imo, after a few phone calls from citizens or for further clarification on an agenda item. At the token amount they get paid, it isn't meant to be full time. But how far does one get if you get slammed for asking questions?

I am certain Opinion250 will get to the bottom of this nonsense and hold the individual(s) personally liable!