Residents said Scugog Council acted swiftly after their 5:2 vote in favour of hiring a costly consultant, to be funded from the Municipal Projects Reserve, to determine the future use of the Port Perry Fairground.
The contract value is $92,500 excluding HST, according to the township.
In July, at a closed council meeting, a decision was made to release an RFP without public input on the matter. At the special council meeting held last week, multiple presentations and letters of objection, as well as a petition signed by over 3,500 people, were ignored, said residents Ray and Sharon Smith.
They said: “In a statement released by the media, Mayor Wotten thanked staff ‘for delivering on what we (council) asked for… My wish is that all voices are captured…’ This statement clearly indicates that recent public input was not welcomed by council and they have, instead, chosen to be detached from the people they represent regarding the future of our fairground park,” the residents said.
“The people are the experts, not outside consultants. Scugog taxpayers will now bear the cost of council’s poor decision. It begs the question, why did council approve a $1 million transfer into the Municipal Projects Reserve last year as a result of the budget surplus?” they asked.
Earlier Story
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