PelhamToday received the following Letter to the Editor in response to THE HOT TAKE: Arch you kidding me with these Pelham arches?:
I think that James Culic and I probably are worlds apart in our political beliefs, yet I find many of his recent contributions include many things that I agree with. If we ever sat down over a pint, I imagine we could probably find far more to agree about that not.
I was most impressed with his info on the Burgoyne Bridge and its ‘suspension’ arch. I didn’t know and it saddens me personally. I went to a pre-sea training school on the Isle of Anglesey, North Wales, on the banks of the Menai Straits. Road access was from the mainland via the iconic Menai Suspension Bridge, an incredible and beautiful example of a real suspension bridge.
That the Burgoyne Bridge is a sham totally broke my illusions, and I’ll never look at it in the same way again.
Additionally, just how many Niagara politicians, planners, consultants, developers and contractors knew just how much of a tax wasting project it would be, even before the Niagara taxpayers even heard about or before it ever came up for a vote by council? Openness and transparency? Not so much. Even at that time, we all knew that Niagara and most of its municipalities were all crying about lack of ‘funding’ for vital services each and every budget time and continue to do so.
As for Pelham’s own folly? I don’t envy the taxpaying residents one bit, little different from many other municipalities, towns and cities where politicians, not just Ford, but those of all the major parties, continue to make promises that they know they cannot afford on the recommendations of their staff, who we taxpayers all know, we cannot really afford either.
I don’t think Jame’s ‘zing’ was as simple as a ‘Gotcha’ moment. The Sunshine List is downplayed by politicians, and by all government workers, as being economically irrelevant, it’s even been suggested it should just be scrapped.
Although there are many wealthy folks around, I wonder just how many Niagara taxpayers can only dream of an annual income of $100,000 with a generous paid-up pension, plus many additional benefits.
Isn’t it past time that the only folk footing these ever-increasing costs should be shown, at least a scrap of transparency and be told, for instance, the actual numbers of township staff in, say, 2010, plus the actual number of township staff in 2025, and the same figures for the staff on the Sunshine List, then and now? That would be for all cities, towns and municipalities in Niagara Region and Regional Council.
James’s comments about the number of Town workers still continuously involved in monitoring Pelham’s arches might also beg the question, just how many folks have been involved in this single project since its very beginning?
Andrew Watts
Wainfleet