A Project Revised can become Totally Different
When the Fountain/Rink project was proposed, it was a plus for Summer and a plus for Winter. In summer, the green space would be enhanced with a moderate sized shallow pool with a small fountain in the middle. No one imagined a large fountain (e.g. like in Las Vegas) - so the pool was the main feature. In winter, the pool would become ice and there would be skating. At all times, an attractive feature in our “downtown” park. Budget issues were covered by the Provincial Government grant (except for maintenance). We can argue about the actual usage of the rink but it would not be ugly.
Now, because of budget restrictions, the winter part stays much the same but the summer part becomes ugly - a large slab of concrete will certainly be ugly unless it is 100% covered with planters - I think the plan is just some planters. And lots of planters adds significantly to the maintenence cost (do we know the number?). I’d rather spend the extra cash up front to save on maintenance and end up with the original project. The bastardized version now proposed is no longer the original project - it will be plain ugly and awful in summer. We’ll start to look forward to the Rotary tent covering it!
All we need is one more councillor to recognize this situation and speak up.
John Draper
March 23rd, 2008 at 3:21 pm
John
You are dreaming if you think any of the votes will change - King Peter, (maybe Tsar would be a better title), has the orders out; this is something he wants. Perhaps we should be asking why is being so stubborn in this matter. Is it the promise of 1.3 million of supposedly free money (even if it comes from the Province it is still our money) or is it one of his legacy items or is he just proving that he’s the boss and nobody is going to tell him what to do?
Either way I agree with you John it is GD awful and the complaints won’t be about the concrete they will be about the ugly devices sprayed around the place designed to foil the skateboarders.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:47 am
John, I welcome your comments. From discussions around town, I would say that people finally understand the monstrousness of what’s being planned. Imagine putting an ugly Soviet-style expanse of concrete right in the middle of, and as the main feature of, our beautiful little park. I agree with many who have suggested that civil protest verging on disobedience may be the only remaining strategy to stop this thing.
Although Ben is worried about skateboarding, I believe that the new lighting will be a major complaint. There were supposed to be strings of low-intensity LED lights to illuminate the skating surface gently. They have been replaced with floodlights on poles.
March 24th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Canada is probably the only country in the world that exclusively honours foreign authors and poets, while simultaneously ignoring its own.
In British Columbia the Doukhobors erected a statue of Leo Tolstoy. In an Oakville park is a statue to Ukrainian national poet, Taras Shevchenko. In Toronto’s High park is a statue of a Ukrainian woman poet, and in Allan Gardens is a statue of Robbie Burns. Stratford has a statue of Shakespeare, Niagara-On-the-Lake has a statue of George Bernard Shaw and Fredericton has a statue of Longfellow.
I have been in several European cities which have statues of their creative poets/authors/composers/artists. Additionally, streets, parks, blocks, subway stations are named after such people. By comparison, Canadians couldn’t care less about their own cultural icons.
Look at the pathetic example of Canadians ignoring the films of Canadians, preferring instead the films of foreigners. The pathetic fawning of Canadians for multiculturalism has led Canadians to ignore their own creative peoples. What a sick situation when a country puts the cultures of foreigners on a more exalted level than it own.
In Cobourg there allegedly are artists, writers, poets, who appear to have an impoverished imagination when it comes to promoting Canadian culture. The small parkette in Cobourg which will be ruined for decades by a dreary off-the-shelf fountain and concrete landing pad is a case in point.
Here is an opportunity for something unique – a Poet’s Park. Imagine if you will a plinth bearing a bust of Margaret Atwood, Irving Layton, bpNichol, etc. The money for the frink could be set in a trust fund accumulating enough interest to pay for a new Poet Plinth every 4 or 5 years. The erection of the plinth could be accompanied with the presence of the poet, if it is a living one.
Cobourg’s library in conjunction with high school English Departments could use the event to enhance appreciation of Canadian literature, perhaps host a fine dinner in Victoria Hall to celebrate the poet, and encourage a poetry reading performance. All of this could be supplemented with the assistance of the Canadian League of Poets, Ontario Council for the Arts, and Canada Council.
Cobourg is no further away from the Megalopolis than is Stratrford or Niagara-On-the-Lake. Surely a weekend in late April (Poetry Month) set aside for poetry performances in the park would entice cultural cogniscenti to Cobourg.
This is just a rough suggestion. In all the criticism of the frink (of which I have contributed), I failed to notice any alternative suggestions for the park. Well here is one such suggestion.
March 25th, 2008 at 6:30 pm
“In moments like these, I ceased to regret my separation from my native land; and filled with the love of Nature, my heart forgot for the time, the love of home…” — Susanna Moodie
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An off the shelf fountain? Przt. Better yet, name the park after Susanna Moodie. And make a statue of her.
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Susanna Moodie (nee Strickland), born December 6, 1803 at Bungay, England, was the youngest daughter of Thomas Strickland and Elizabeth Homer. The Stricklands were a literary family. Susanna Moodie, her brother Samuel Strickland, and her sister, Catharine Parr Traill, were all well-known in Canada. Susanna began to seriously pursue her literary career in 1818 after the death of her father. In 1831, Susanna moved to London, England were she became associated with the Anti-Slavery Society. While working in London, she met her future husband, John Wedderburn Dunbar Moodie. They were wed April 4, 1831. In July 1832, Susanna, John, and their eldest child emigrated to the Cobourg region of Upper Canada.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
By Cobourg’s shore ere I parked my ass
T’ graze upon the finest grass
T’was ever seen -yet ne’er told
T’be of eastern ‘ponic gold
T’was there I’d seen Epiphiny
And she herself had ‘deed seen me
That twa’ we’d frolic
Midst the oldsters
Ne’er wiser they than us the Goldsters!
March 27th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
Mayor Delanty reconfirmed, at county council, that he “always” supports the user pay concept. How does that position play out in the frink scenario? Will he impart user-pay on this facility to help offset operating costs? Would that be permissible under the terms of the grant? If he does not impart user-pay, how can he keep true to his philosophy which he proudly proclaims? There may just be some wheelin’ ‘n’ dealin’ going on that we don’t yet know about. Keep your ears to the wall!
March 27th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
As I understand it, the council supporters believe that the fountain will be so amazing that people throughout the county and beyond will want to drive to Cobourg to view this off-the-shelf fountain, and in their appreciation will be making wishes and tossing loonies and toonies into the bowls. Certainly a tourbus will bring in the curious from Peterborough and Lindsay.
So Manfred, what do you think would be a proper charge, firstly to get on the grounds, and then the ‘rink? Who stays put to collect?
May 9th, 2008 at 10:07 am
If my calculation is right, as of today it is about 29 months and 29 days to go before the next election on November 8, 2010. Get your jackhammers warmed up!
May 9th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Once the jerkhammers are off council then we can have a Wrecking Ball in Victoria Hall.