Response to the North Huron Council Reaction to the Blyth BR&E Report

So $2.5million? I can only account for $2.394 million using your given numbers invested in Blyth for Blyth over the last 6 years? Anyway just for fun let’s just break this down. Please note I am using the actual numbers from the budget for the shed of $145,000 not the $80,000 you used.

First remove what was not a Blyth specific but a N. Huron program. That takes out the $80,000 of N. Huron marketing with the Blyth Festival, the $1.2 Million N. Huron ESTC, the $50,000 N. Huron ESTC coordinator, the $313,000 N. Huron Fire Dept. tanker and the $62,000 N. Huron Works Dept. tractor. So that gets rid of $1.705 million right away.

Next lets get rid of what is strictly the cost of maintaining the assets of N. Huron so facility maintenance items. Memorial Hall electrical upgrades $16,000, exterior improvements $140,000, exterior upgrades $88,000, Blyth campground electrical upgrades $14,000, Blyth ball diamond upgrades $15,000. That eliminates another $273,000 so we have now removed $1.978 million.

I hate to do this but I just cannot leave the library rent in here since I find that is a ridiculous attempt to just pad the numbers so there goes another $72,000. So we have now removed $2.050 million leaving us with $344,000 to deal with. Composed of the Blyth campground upgrades $159,000, Campground shed/washroom shower $145,000, unexplained other Blyth Festival programs $30,000 and the $10,000 Streetscape plan.

If we are fair and take the campground items as capital improvements with a life span of 20 years instead of as a lump sum that would give us a more realistic picture. The campground improvements represent then $39,750 for 5 years since 2006 and the shed is $14,500 for 2 years since 2009 for a total of $54,250 over the 6 years. Add to this the $30,000 Festival programs and the $10,000 streetscape plan and voila council has invested $94,250 in Blyth over the last 6 years or the sum of $15,708 per year.

Before you start attacking my method consider that if we use your way of thinking then all of the money spent on the Wescast complex fixes and improvements, the sign for the Wescast complex, the probably now close to $80,000 plus spent to buy a parking lot that is not a parking lot, the signage for your walking trails, the streetscape costs for Wingham and so on over the last couple of years must be attributed solely to Wingham. Do that math and see where you stand then. All this is accomplishing is making E. Wawanosh feel completely left out.

Do you really want to go down that road? How about we just step back take a deep breath and begin the discussion again without the dramatics and monkey like chest beating that has become the trademark of this council.

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