Town to release final parkette costs
Former councillor also calls for reinstatement for council to review accounts
Posted By Ron Giofu/The Amherstburg Echo
Posted 3 months ago
AMHERSTBURG — Town council has agreed to release all costs associated with the parkette in the King's Navy Yard Park after a former councillor appeared before them seeking they be made public.
Diane Pouget asked council to pass the motion to make all parkette costs public "including any and all costs associated with labour and supplies, which may have been inadvertently put in the public works budget instead of the actual cost of the parkette."
Pouget also requested the town to include the final costs developers Mike Angileri and his partners paid for damages incurred during the construction of the Salmoni Place 1849 condominium development and the date this was paid in full. She said she has used a Freedom of Information request to find out costs for herself and that the town has had six months to make it public.
Pouget believes that taxpayers would be "outraged" upon discovering the final cost is "allegedly over half the asking price of the Ranta Marina which consists of 13.9 acres, 104 boat wells and a public boat launch on prime real estate property on the Detroit River." She said the public was led to believe the parkette would be restored at no cost to the taxpayers.
Speaking at the Oct. 26 town council meeting, she further alleged council secrecy, "out-of-control" hiring and spending, not enough tendering of public projects and allowing inadequate amounts of public input into projects.
Calling council's behaviour "totally unacceptable," Pouget said she is one of those who is "serving notice" to town council.
"From this day forward, we are taking back our town," she said.
Pouget also called for town council to reinstate the practice that council review and question the payment of accounts on a monthly basis. That practice was discontinued earlier in this term.
"This is perhaps one of their most important functions of council. It is their right, indeed it is their obligation to do so," said Pouget. "When they gave up this very important function, it appears they lost control of spending our tax dollars."
