City reduces waterfront development ambition during historic open meeting
By Sam Strangeways
|
|
Open doors: The Corporation of Hamilton held its first open board meeting in more than 200 years at the Mayor's Parlour, City Hall, yesterday. Pictured sitting around the table are the Mayor Charles Gosling and his aldermen and councillors.
|
|
Photo by Tamell Simons
|
|
The Corporation of Hamilton has revised its plans for a waterfront development — slashing the budget from a quarter of billion dollars to less than $200 million.
Mayor Charles Gosling told the first open board meeting at City Hall yesterday that the new figure was "much more reasonable" than the estimate his administration was given when it took office in July.
"It is more in keeping with Hamilton, more affordable and will be quite an enormous resource for the city and Island as a whole," he said.
A waterfront development plan for the capital was first proposed at least a decade ago. Alderman Pamela Ferreira said Sasaki Associates, the project's architectural and planning consultants, would meet with the municipality's development committee early next month to discuss the plans.
Yesterday's meeting is thought to be the first opportunity members of the public have ever had to watch part of the decision-making process at City Hall.
Mr. Gosling delivered an account of his team's first 100 days in office and described the meeting as a "fairly normal" example of what usually goes on behind closed doors.
He warned in his opening remarks that it "may not be exciting at all" as the Corporation is in a "short lull" before the 2010 budget is presented in December.
The Mayor did not refer directly to Government's plan to close down the municipality during the hour-and-a-half long session in his parlour.
But he said he hoped an amendment to the law to give all eligible city residents a vote in elections would come soon. The restrictive franchise was cited by Cabinet Minister Walter Roban in June as a reason for getting rid of local government.
"Our goal is to partner with the Government to build an alliance with a respectful, open dialogue," said Mr. Gosling yesterday.
He added: "The Corporation of Hamilton is committed to enhancing and growing local services offered to the Hamilton community, while allowing Government to focus on other important national issues outside of the city that require immediate attention, such as education, unemployment and safety."
The Mayor said the Corporation — which has often been criticised as an old boys' club — was also committed to running the city openly and would be appointing members of the public to sit on its committees.
Mr. Gosling said the idea was to "incorporate new ideas and points of view in our planning".
Other issues which came up yesterday included:
• The Corporation's finances. After nine months, City Hall is $775,000 short of reaching its budgeted revenue for the year of about $18.4 million and is $240,000 over its payroll budget.
• The Corporation has spent about $5 million on five properties on Washington Street, some of which were "crack houses and abandoned, unsafe buildings," according to the Mayor.
• A plan to introduce "city rangers" with powers of arrest onto the streets of Hamilton. Members have been asked to review a draft of the ranger programme prior to it being presented to the Governor and Police Commissioner.
• Proposals to move the Farmers' Market to the west of the former Corporation works depot.
• The unveiling of the 'We Arrive' slave memorial sculpture for Barr's Bay Park, which will be on Thursday, December 3.
• The pedestrianisation of Reid Street. The Corporation's infrastructure committee is to re-evaluate the idea.
The next board meeting is at 9 a.m. on Thursday, December 3.
