When city council met to discuss the fate of our Centennial Conservatory, events unfolded like an Agatha Christie novel.
There were deputations, allegations and accusations and a lot of pointed questions that remain unanswered. Call this one The Strange Case of the Broken Glass.
It started on Valentine’s Day when the conservatory was unromantically and suddenly shut down due to a mysterious occurrence. On some undisclosed date on some unknow
n path in our beloved garden, there occurred an incident of great concern involving something rumoured to be glass from the ceiling.
Was anyone injured? We don’t know. Was the incident thoroughly and effectively investigated? Were councillors properly informed about all the details of an incident serious enough to close this cherished and heartfelt sanctuary?
The gallery was waiting to get to the bottom of things, to solve this mystery.
The inner circle was full of councillors and clerks. Some were there to speak. Some were there to ask questions. Others were there for reasons of their own.
The broken glass may have been the mystery, but it was not the whole story.
The big issue was the closing of the Conservatory and rumors of demolishing the buildings or moving them to the entertainment district. Council thought they could just slam the door shut on this one, based on a single phantom pane of glass.
When the deputations started it didn’t take long for the passion and emotion to surface.
This town loves those old glass buildings The horticulturists made their case. Private citizens wore their hearts on their sleeves. Could this be a crime of passion?
Several times the enthusiasm bubbled over into applause for the poignant points being made by conservatory supporters. Coun. Mark Bentz was quick to caution those present that clapping wasn’t allowed.
It must have been very frustrating for those concerned citizens to be shushed by an insensitive council. In this and many other cases our elected officials seem oblivious to the spirit and compassion that is the foundation of our community. They also seem ignorant of the fact that this is a Centennial Project and a much loved legacy.
Judging from the nature of their questions it seemed many councillors were totally uninformed.
Still, troubling issues began to emerge. Thunder Bay has a historical and moral obligation to restore, repair or rebuild this structure. This facility has been mismanaged to such an extent that it looks like it was intentionally left to fall into disrepair.
It’s a mystery why the advertising budget for Thunder Bay’s Centennial Project was nothing more than chump change or why the hours of operation effectively kept visitors away. Nobody knows why huge amounts of grant money were not applied for. And then there’s the glass that triggered this mystery in the first place.
When Jamie Varga took a turn at the microphone questions were finally asked. His presentation began with a short disclaimer but apologies weren’t necessary. He unofficially represented every disgruntled taxpayer, who mostly form a silent majority but occasionally speak out.
Using several strong examples he questioned the decision-making process of an apparently uninformed and possibly misinformed council.
Why were public spending reports not available when requested? How could council possibly make this or any other decision when nobody took the trouble to get the facts? Did they accept everything at face value?
And what about the mysterious glass – did it fall or not? There are no incident reports, no witnesses and very few details other than rumour and hearsay. That’s pretty shaky ground.
Conservatory supporters should be horrified by this crude attempt to shut down their piece of horticultural heaven. Citizens should seriously question the decision making ability of council. If they don’t, all those cherished moments at the Centennial Conservatory will be orphaned forever.
To paraphrase songwriter Neil Young, those dreams will fade away and become memories with no place to stay.
