Many reasons to delay proposed plan

I am writing as a rate payer, residing in the Municipality of the District of Yarmouth, to request that any firm commitment to the construction of a new administrative complex be delayed until at least spring 2009. My reasons are as follows:

1. There has been no clearly articulated benefit communicated to the rate payers as to why the construction should proceed.

2. The public awareness of this project appears to be low and/or recent (no polls, no surveys, no literature, limited web site coverage etc.)

3. There has been, to my knowledge, little public call for the project. I offered for municipal council during the last election, during which time I visited several hundred doors. I did not have one elector indicate a desire for the construction of a new municipal administrative complex.

4. There is a $13-million-dollar justice centre under construction and there will be an increased availability of office space in the existing municipal building.

5. Remaining in the building will likely be a much less costly option than the new construction option – there may be a risk that residential and commercial tax rates may be increased due to the construction of a new building.

6. There is, to my knowledge, no committed buyer nor clearly articulated use for the existing municipal administrative building should it be vacated.

7. There may exist the need/desire to allow for an expanded public consultation.

8. During the last municipal election none of the candidates, to my knowledge, campaigned on a platform that included the construction of a new municipal administrative complex. This raises the question: Should a decision to construct a new complex be taken before the next round of municipal elections, just one year away? Why not take this decision ‘to the people’.

9. Spending for a new building may limit the ability of council to deliver infrastructure upgrades in the future (sidewalks, road improvements etc.).

Trevor Cunningham

Tranquility Crescent, Yarmouth County