Transparency is integral to commitment to public service

Letter to Orillia Packet and Times June 2010
Slightly more than four years ago, prior to and because of the last municipal election, a group of concerned Orillia citizens formed POGG (Principles of Good Governance). Allan Millard, Clare White, Lillian Marsden, Colleen Cooney, Gene and Kathy McBride, and a few others including myself were seeking a signed pledge from all the candidates, that if elected, they would conduct our, otherwise known as city, business in a new, open, transparent and accountable manner. Only one member of our present council signed that pledge.
It is often said that an electorate gets the council it deserves. What have the citizens of Orillia done to deserve the type of councils that have, over the past dozen plus years, brought us to the disappointing conditions that affect Orillia so negatively today?
One situation is that bottomless pit known as the multi-use recreation facility (MURF) site. There seems to have been no legal opinion sought prior to its acquisition and therefore, the liabilities attached to the ownership, regardless of the fact that anybody who has lived here during the past 70 years knows that there is contamination of this property.
By the way, anybody with grand plans for the West Street site, the Ministry of the Environment has only accepted the risk assessment. Any project, especially one that involves disturbing the soil, will require the ministry’s approval and the engineers’ estimate four years ago to abate the soil was approximately $76 million. The certificate of property use has yet to be drafted and then presented for public comment.
Further, any change to the accepted footprint of the building will result in a repeated process starting from the beginning with all the associated costs.
Allan Millard received a settlement from the city in a lawsuit against the present council for defamation.
He offered to donate that sum back to the city (us) if a judicial enquiry was commenced so we, the citizens of Orillia, could finally have some transparency and therefore, accountability in this deplorable situation. He was turned down. This speaks volumes with regards to our present council.
When one runs for elected office, you are entering the public service. Do not let our next council forget this commitment to us.
Jeffrey Melvin Olimer,Orillia