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COLUMN: MBL plan fails to give the people what they want

'Just because you live here and have been thinking about the Midland Bay Landing property for years...doesn’t mean you have any insight,' author says regarding how powers that be seem to feel
2021-10-23 - MLBDC (1)
Mayor Stewart Strathearn and MBLDC board chair Bill Kernohan are seen on what columnist describes as "first tangible achievement of the MBLDC. Several hundred meters of windswept concrete instead of the avenue of trees bordering the water and sheltering the mixed use trail as depicted in The Plan."

Here’s something we all have some experience with.

You live in a neighbourhood or work in an enterprise and someone in admin says we think it’s time to make some changes.

Well, sure, always room for improvement so you say – based on my experience in this maybe we could do this or change that.

But admin says, “well we’re not sure that’s the way we want to go” and “let’s hire a consultant.”

So you go through the process and back comes this report – expensive report – and it says maybe you should do this or change that. Now, surprise, we have a work of genius.

Just because you live here and have been thinking about the Midland Bay Landing property for years, talking to other interested members of the community, paying the taxes that have gone to the hired Midland Bay Landing Development Corporation board members, the studies and the consultants - that doesn’t mean you have any insight.

I’m not the only person who has written to Midland Today to suggest the property could be used to better effect.

And I know that there are many more who have concerns about turning the last piece of accessible waterfront in the town over to concrete and construction.

And the response has always been that The Plan was approved 10 years ago, after consultation with the community.

The Plan allows for 25 percent public space and walkways and access to the water. That all the other aspects of The Plan are highly desirable, returning tax dollars to the community and adding much needed housing.

In pursuit of The Plan the MBLDC contracted with Georgian Bay Communities, a development company from Barrie, to submit a proposal that would guide us through the several steps leading to a concrete (term used advisedly) realization of The Plan.

Given the oft-expressed commitment mentioned above, we’d expect a lock-step duplication of what has supposedly guided the Corporation throughout its history.

Interesting that the first tangible achievement of the MBLDC is several hundred meters of windswept concrete instead of the avenue of trees bordering the water and sheltering the mixed use trail as depicted in The Plan.

Interesting that board chair Mr. (Bill) Kernohan’s response to the presentation by Georgian Communities is that they are “very pleased with the technical and conceptual proposal they made to us.

“It’s very much aligned with the official plan and master plan,” he’s quoted in a recent news report. “They showed a lot of creativity in building on the master plan and improving it in many ways – especially with a number of the public realm elements.”

These people from out of town think there are ‘many ways’ The Plan can be improved upon.

They think 'especially' that changes to the public realm can be made. We have again paid to be told something we were already saying.

But if that’s what it takes to get them to hear it then maybe it’s money well spent.

There are supposed to be further public consultations.

I hope they get a lot of feedback. I might drop by, but they know how I feel. Let’s hear from everybody.

Bill Molesworth is a retired CEO and chief librarian of both the Midland and Fredericton public libraries.