Keep the green or make some greenbacks-that is the question before Greater Napanee council.
At issue is a suddenly very desirable plot of surplus land adjacent to J.J. O’Neill Catholic School. Now that the Algonquin and Lakeshore Catholic District School Board has expressed interest in purchasing the land, council has a tough decision to make.
To their credit, council did a wise thing to get things started. Rather than forge ahead with the decision to sell the land, they kicked it down the road for now, first offering residents a chance to weigh in on what they think should be done with the land. Residents have until Feb. 20 to offer their input on the matter to be included on the Feb. 27 agenda when the issue will be debated in town hall’s chambers.
While seeking public input is always a great decision, it remains to be seen what council will actually do with the suggestions that are received.
It’s unlikely that many of those who take the time to submit an opinion to council will be in favour of selling the land to the school board. Outside of those who have students at the school or perhaps work at the school, an expanded parking lot isn’t going to be all that exciting. In that scenario the only benefit to the average tax payer will be the profit made by the town in the sale of the land. It would also represent a final decision of sorts, with no hope of ever doing anything with the land unless the school board were to return the land in some shape down the road-something that wouldn’t be likely to happen for several decades at least.
Already the suggestions for what to do with the land have poured in over social media. A dog park. Keep it as a green space. Install a playground.
No matter what choice council makes, there’s bound to be disappointed people. How the town will decide who has the best proposal will be an interesting-and a stance they will have to be prepared to defend when offering up their reasoning. Simply allowing folks to offer up their opinion and then going ahead with a decision anyway doesn’t really help anyone.
-In not exactly local news, but still a topic that impacts all Canadians, there are the Bell Media layoffs.
Late last week the media giant announced it would be laying off 4,800 workers, ceasing multiple newscasts, scaling back its programming and selling 45 of its 103 regionally owned radio stations.
The loss of any job is always concerning-regardless of industry. In this instance not only are thousands of Canadians suddenly out of work, but now the country’s already fragile journalism industry has suffered a major blow. Yes, this reporter is in the media business and has a vested interest in the health of the industry. But so too should every Canadian who wants access to quality, trust-worthy reporting. The fewer voices, the easier it is to push alternative facts. That’s something that should worry us all.
-Adam Prudhomme