Writing a response (see below) to Mayor Peary\u2019s recent statements concerning the status of the $33,750,000 (capital plus operational funding) the province had put on the table to develop affordable housing on Emerson left me feeling unsettled.<\/p>\n
As a practitioner of good mental hygiene this unsettled feeling meant I needed to take some quiet\/meditation time to gain understanding of what it was about my response that was unsettling my inner balance, my inner peace.<\/p>\n
I determined that taking the convenient, safe, easy way out on the status of the Emerson project, by appearing to accept the Mayor\u2019s statements about the project as if I had no doubts as to their accuracy, my response lacked integrity.<\/p>\n
No wonder I felt unsettled – when you feel very deeply about something, it’s not possible to sacrifice your integrity about that. Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather.<\/p>\n
Being an advocate for affordable housing means I have been following the fate of the Emerson project and its status.<\/p>\n
A variety of sources have told and continue to tell me that the Emerson project was\/is dead despite Council\u2019s claims otherwise; that the actions of Abbotsford\u2019s City Council had resulted in the loss of the $33,750,000 funding for this project. One such source was BC Housing itself which stated that BC Housing had only one project in Abbotsford \u2013 the housing project on Clearbrook.<\/p>\n
I have no doubt that Mayor and Council will insist that this is not the case, that they have not \u2018blown off\u2019 the province and its $33,750,000. Even by Council\u2019s standards, walking away from $33,750,000 is intolerably wasteful and costly behaviour.<\/p>\n
Making Council\u2019s desire to avoid responsibility for the multi-million dollar cost of their actions and the Mayor\u2019s recent statements at least understandable, even if unacceptable.<\/p>\n
How many times have taxpayers been told that Council cannot provide any solid information, for a variety of reasons, when Council wants to avoid providing facts and figures in response to inquiries from taxpayers?<\/p>\n
One can state\/imply that $millions$ will need to be taken out of capital reserves to purchase the property and hope that taxpayers scream against this so it can be claimed the $33,750,000 project was rejected by taxpayers, that Council was only listening to taxpayers in losing these millions.<\/p>\n
As a point of fact: have not all the cost overruns of Plan A reduced the capital reserves to Zero?<\/p>\n
Or one could state one had chosen a location \u201cfurther away from residential areas and would not generate \u201ca public backlash.\u201d\u201d and when such a site, as must any site meeting such conditions, fails to meet the location criteria set out by BC Housing as part of the original agreement between the City and BC Housing for funding the two affordable housing projects \u2013 well then it is BC Housing\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
I expect that my words on the status\/fate of the Emerson affordable housing project to be \u2026 displeasing.<\/p>\n
It was the potential for conflict to arise from the difference between the Mayor\u2019s recent statements on this matter and information I have received on this matter, which tempted me to respond to the Mayor\u2019s statements taking the easy path by ignoring the differences.<\/p>\n
A betrayal of those in need of affordable housing \u2013 and an advocate; a betrayal of my own integrity; little wonder my actions unsettled me internally.<\/p>\n
You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside. Alan Cohen<\/p>\n
Sigh, as Admiral David Farragut is purported to have said: “Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead.”<\/p>\n
\n\n
Reading Mayor Peary\u2019s comments concerning the province\u2019s second offer of $11 million plus $650,000 per year for support services for affordable housing brought to mind George Orwell\u2019s 1984 and \u2018Newspeak\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe snag \u2026 is that the city would have to buy the land.\u201d That is not the snag. The snag to addressing the overwhelming, even desperate need in Abbotsford for affordable housing was and is that City Council has demonstrated neither the desire nor the will to address this pressing issue.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the City\u2019s behaviour on this issue supports the observation of a homeless friend that City Council must be happy with the social and criminal problems that arise from a lack of affordable housing since they have failed to act in a manner to effectively address the need for affordable housing.<\/p>\n
It is Council\u2019s lack of will that has Abbotsford facing purchasing land or blowing off the $11 million and $650,000 a year for 35 years of support services.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Emerson proposal collapsed \u2026 amid strong public opposition.\u201d The Emerson proposal collapsed because Council lacks the desire and the Will to begin dealing with affordable housing issues. It was this lack of desire and Will that had Council fold when faced with fear mongering and screaming NIMBYism.<\/p>\n
Since nobody knew or knows who was proposing to develop the Emerson site and what they proposed for the Emerson site there was no rational reason for the opposition. In turning tail and running council behaved as irrationally as the panicky public.<\/p>\n
Personally I would be very interested in knowing who and what proposal was chosen for the Emerson site by BC Housing in conjunction with the City? Exactly what housing was lost as a result of Council\u2019s lack of intestinal fortitude?<\/p>\n
It is exactly this kind of lack of planning and acting for the future that led to \u201c\u2026 the city owns very little vacant land suitable \u2026 the result of a decision made by [previous] council \u2026 in which the city sold much of its acreage to private developers in order to collect tax dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rather than paying for its spending as it should have through tax revenue Council unwisely chose to sell assets to enable its addiction to spending beyond its income.<\/p>\n
Note: selling off land assets is not collecting tax dollars.<\/p>\n
I suppose nobody should be surprised that Abbotsford is mired in debt, financial woes and social problems when Mayor and Council think along the lines of \u201c\u2026 that would likely make more sense than turning down $11 million.\u201d<\/p>\n
As if turning down $11 million made any sense. Especially in light of the fact that it is Council\u2019s lack of Will and rational behaviour that makes it necessary to purchase land at all.<\/p>\n
Note: it was\/is not just $11 million but $11 million plus $22, 750,000 ($650,000 for 35 years) for a total of $33,750,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Writing a response (see below) to Mayor Peary\u2019s recent statements concerning the status of the $33,750,000 (capital plus operational funding) the province had put on the table to develop affordable housing on Emerson left me feeling unsettled. As a practitioner of good mental hygiene this unsettled feeling meant I needed to take some quiet\/meditation time to gain understanding of what it was about my response that was unsettling my inner balance, my inner peace. I determined that taking the convenient, safe, easy way out on the status of the Emerson project, by appearing to accept the Mayor\u2019s statements about the project as if I had no doubts as to their accuracy, my response lacked integrity. No wonder I felt unsettled – when you feel very deeply about something, it’s not possible to sacrifice your integrity about that. Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. Being an advocate for affordable housing means I have been following the fate of the Emerson project and its status. A variety of sources have told and continue to tell me that the Emerson project was\/is dead despite Council\u2019s claims otherwise; that the actions of Abbotsford\u2019s City Council had resulted in the loss of the $33,750,000 funding for this project. One such source was BC Housing itself which stated that BC Housing had only one project in Abbotsford \u2013 the housing project on Clearbrook. I have no doubt that Mayor and Council will insist that this is not the case, that they have not \u2018blown off\u2019 the province and its $33,750,000. Even by Council\u2019s standards, walking away from $33,750,000 is intolerably wasteful and costly behaviour. Making Council\u2019s desire to avoid responsibility for the multi-million dollar cost of their actions and the Mayor\u2019s recent statements at least understandable, even if unacceptable. How many times have taxpayers been told that Council cannot provide any solid information, for a variety of reasons, when Council wants to avoid providing facts and figures in response to inquiries from taxpayers? One can state\/imply that $millions$ will need to be taken out of capital reserves to purchase the property and hope that taxpayers scream against this so it can be claimed the $33,750,000 project was rejected by taxpayers, that Council was only listening to taxpayers in losing these millions. As a point of fact: have not all the cost overruns of Plan A reduced the capital reserves to Zero? Or one could state one had chosen a location \u201cfurther away from residential areas and would not generate \u201ca public backlash.\u201d\u201d and when such a site, as must any site meeting such conditions, fails to meet the location criteria set out by BC Housing as part of the original agreement between the City and BC Housing for funding the two affordable housing projects \u2013 well then it is BC Housing\u2019s fault. I expect that my words on the status\/fate of the Emerson affordable housing project to be \u2026 displeasing. It was the potential for conflict to arise from the difference between the Mayor\u2019s recent statements on this matter and information I have received on this matter, which tempted me to respond to the Mayor\u2019s statements taking the easy path by ignoring the differences. A betrayal of those in need of affordable housing \u2013 and an advocate; a betrayal of my own integrity; little wonder my actions unsettled me internally. You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside. Alan Cohen Sigh, as Admiral David Farragut is purported to have said: “Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead.” Reading Mayor Peary\u2019s comments concerning the province\u2019s second offer of $11 million plus $650,000 per year for support services for affordable housing brought to mind George Orwell\u2019s 1984 and \u2018Newspeak\u2019. \u201cThe snag \u2026 is that the city would have to buy the land.\u201d That is not the snag. The snag to addressing the overwhelming, even desperate need in Abbotsford for affordable housing was and is that City Council has demonstrated neither the desire nor the will to address this pressing issue. Indeed, the City\u2019s behaviour on this issue supports the observation of a homeless friend that City Council must be happy with the social and criminal problems that arise from a lack of affordable housing since they have failed to act in a manner to effectively address the need for affordable housing. It is Council\u2019s lack of will that has Abbotsford facing purchasing land or blowing off the $11 million and $650,000 a year for 35 years of support services. \u201cThe Emerson proposal collapsed \u2026 amid strong public opposition.\u201d The Emerson proposal collapsed because Council lacks the desire and the Will to begin dealing with affordable housing issues. It was this lack of desire and Will that had Council fold when faced with fear mongering and screaming NIMBYism. Since nobody knew or knows who was proposing to develop the Emerson site and what they proposed for the Emerson site there was no rational reason for the opposition. In turning tail and running council behaved as irrationally as the panicky public. Personally I would be very interested in knowing who and what proposal was chosen for the Emerson site by BC Housing in conjunction with the City? Exactly what housing was lost as a result of Council\u2019s lack of intestinal fortitude? It is exactly this kind of lack of planning and acting for the future that led to \u201c\u2026 the city owns very little vacant land suitable \u2026 the result of a decision made by [previous] council \u2026 in which the city sold much of its acreage to private developers in order to collect tax dollars.\u201d Rather than paying for its spending as it should have through tax revenue Council unwisely chose to sell assets to enable its addiction to spending beyond its income. Note: selling off land assets is not collecting tax dollars. I suppose nobody should be surprised that Abbotsford is mired in debt, financial … Continue reading My Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary’s Statements<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,45,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-homeless","category-issues","category-municipal"],"yoast_head":"\nMy Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary's Statements - James W. Breckenridge<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary's Statements - James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Writing a response (see below) to Mayor Peary\u2019s recent statements concerning the status of the $33,750,000 (capital plus operational funding) the province had put on the table to develop affordable housing on Emerson left me feeling unsettled. As a practitioner of good mental hygiene this unsettled feeling meant I needed to take some quiet\/meditation time to gain understanding of what it was about my response that was unsettling my inner balance, my inner peace. I determined that taking the convenient, safe, easy way out on the status of the Emerson project, by appearing to accept the Mayor\u2019s statements about the project as if I had no doubts as to their accuracy, my response lacked integrity. No wonder I felt unsettled – when you feel very deeply about something, it’s not possible to sacrifice your integrity about that. Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. Being an advocate for affordable housing means I have been following the fate of the Emerson project and its status. A variety of sources have told and continue to tell me that the Emerson project was\/is dead despite Council\u2019s claims otherwise; that the actions of Abbotsford\u2019s City Council had resulted in the loss of the $33,750,000 funding for this project. One such source was BC Housing itself which stated that BC Housing had only one project in Abbotsford \u2013 the housing project on Clearbrook. I have no doubt that Mayor and Council will insist that this is not the case, that they have not \u2018blown off\u2019 the province and its $33,750,000. Even by Council\u2019s standards, walking away from $33,750,000 is intolerably wasteful and costly behaviour. Making Council\u2019s desire to avoid responsibility for the multi-million dollar cost of their actions and the Mayor\u2019s recent statements at least understandable, even if unacceptable. How many times have taxpayers been told that Council cannot provide any solid information, for a variety of reasons, when Council wants to avoid providing facts and figures in response to inquiries from taxpayers? One can state\/imply that $millions$ will need to be taken out of capital reserves to purchase the property and hope that taxpayers scream against this so it can be claimed the $33,750,000 project was rejected by taxpayers, that Council was only listening to taxpayers in losing these millions. As a point of fact: have not all the cost overruns of Plan A reduced the capital reserves to Zero? Or one could state one had chosen a location \u201cfurther away from residential areas and would not generate \u201ca public backlash.\u201d\u201d and when such a site, as must any site meeting such conditions, fails to meet the location criteria set out by BC Housing as part of the original agreement between the City and BC Housing for funding the two affordable housing projects \u2013 well then it is BC Housing\u2019s fault. I expect that my words on the status\/fate of the Emerson affordable housing project to be \u2026 displeasing. It was the potential for conflict to arise from the difference between the Mayor\u2019s recent statements on this matter and information I have received on this matter, which tempted me to respond to the Mayor\u2019s statements taking the easy path by ignoring the differences. A betrayal of those in need of affordable housing \u2013 and an advocate; a betrayal of my own integrity; little wonder my actions unsettled me internally. You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside. Alan Cohen Sigh, as Admiral David Farragut is purported to have said: “Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead.” Reading Mayor Peary\u2019s comments concerning the province\u2019s second offer of $11 million plus $650,000 per year for support services for affordable housing brought to mind George Orwell\u2019s 1984 and \u2018Newspeak\u2019. \u201cThe snag \u2026 is that the city would have to buy the land.\u201d That is not the snag. The snag to addressing the overwhelming, even desperate need in Abbotsford for affordable housing was and is that City Council has demonstrated neither the desire nor the will to address this pressing issue. Indeed, the City\u2019s behaviour on this issue supports the observation of a homeless friend that City Council must be happy with the social and criminal problems that arise from a lack of affordable housing since they have failed to act in a manner to effectively address the need for affordable housing. It is Council\u2019s lack of will that has Abbotsford facing purchasing land or blowing off the $11 million and $650,000 a year for 35 years of support services. \u201cThe Emerson proposal collapsed \u2026 amid strong public opposition.\u201d The Emerson proposal collapsed because Council lacks the desire and the Will to begin dealing with affordable housing issues. It was this lack of desire and Will that had Council fold when faced with fear mongering and screaming NIMBYism. Since nobody knew or knows who was proposing to develop the Emerson site and what they proposed for the Emerson site there was no rational reason for the opposition. In turning tail and running council behaved as irrationally as the panicky public. Personally I would be very interested in knowing who and what proposal was chosen for the Emerson site by BC Housing in conjunction with the City? Exactly what housing was lost as a result of Council\u2019s lack of intestinal fortitude? It is exactly this kind of lack of planning and acting for the future that led to \u201c\u2026 the city owns very little vacant land suitable \u2026 the result of a decision made by [previous] council \u2026 in which the city sold much of its acreage to private developers in order to collect tax dollars.\u201d Rather than paying for its spending as it should have through tax revenue Council unwisely chose to sell assets to enable its addiction to spending beyond its income. Note: selling off land assets is not collecting tax dollars. I suppose nobody should be surprised that Abbotsford is mired in debt, financial … Continue reading My Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary’s Statements →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-07-21T12:56:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"James W. Breckenridge\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=1401#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\\\/?p=1401\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"James W. 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Breckenridge","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"My Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary's Statements - James W. Breckenridge","og_description":"Writing a response (see below) to Mayor Peary\u2019s recent statements concerning the status of the $33,750,000 (capital plus operational funding) the province had put on the table to develop affordable housing on Emerson left me feeling unsettled. As a practitioner of good mental hygiene this unsettled feeling meant I needed to take some quiet\/meditation time to gain understanding of what it was about my response that was unsettling my inner balance, my inner peace. I determined that taking the convenient, safe, easy way out on the status of the Emerson project, by appearing to accept the Mayor\u2019s statements about the project as if I had no doubts as to their accuracy, my response lacked integrity. No wonder I felt unsettled – when you feel very deeply about something, it’s not possible to sacrifice your integrity about that. Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn’t blow in the wind or change with the weather. Being an advocate for affordable housing means I have been following the fate of the Emerson project and its status. A variety of sources have told and continue to tell me that the Emerson project was\/is dead despite Council\u2019s claims otherwise; that the actions of Abbotsford\u2019s City Council had resulted in the loss of the $33,750,000 funding for this project. One such source was BC Housing itself which stated that BC Housing had only one project in Abbotsford \u2013 the housing project on Clearbrook. I have no doubt that Mayor and Council will insist that this is not the case, that they have not \u2018blown off\u2019 the province and its $33,750,000. Even by Council\u2019s standards, walking away from $33,750,000 is intolerably wasteful and costly behaviour. Making Council\u2019s desire to avoid responsibility for the multi-million dollar cost of their actions and the Mayor\u2019s recent statements at least understandable, even if unacceptable. How many times have taxpayers been told that Council cannot provide any solid information, for a variety of reasons, when Council wants to avoid providing facts and figures in response to inquiries from taxpayers? One can state\/imply that $millions$ will need to be taken out of capital reserves to purchase the property and hope that taxpayers scream against this so it can be claimed the $33,750,000 project was rejected by taxpayers, that Council was only listening to taxpayers in losing these millions. As a point of fact: have not all the cost overruns of Plan A reduced the capital reserves to Zero? Or one could state one had chosen a location \u201cfurther away from residential areas and would not generate \u201ca public backlash.\u201d\u201d and when such a site, as must any site meeting such conditions, fails to meet the location criteria set out by BC Housing as part of the original agreement between the City and BC Housing for funding the two affordable housing projects \u2013 well then it is BC Housing\u2019s fault. I expect that my words on the status\/fate of the Emerson affordable housing project to be \u2026 displeasing. It was the potential for conflict to arise from the difference between the Mayor\u2019s recent statements on this matter and information I have received on this matter, which tempted me to respond to the Mayor\u2019s statements taking the easy path by ignoring the differences. A betrayal of those in need of affordable housing \u2013 and an advocate; a betrayal of my own integrity; little wonder my actions unsettled me internally. You are in integrity when the life you are living on the outside matches who you are on the inside. Alan Cohen Sigh, as Admiral David Farragut is purported to have said: “Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead.” Reading Mayor Peary\u2019s comments concerning the province\u2019s second offer of $11 million plus $650,000 per year for support services for affordable housing brought to mind George Orwell\u2019s 1984 and \u2018Newspeak\u2019. \u201cThe snag \u2026 is that the city would have to buy the land.\u201d That is not the snag. The snag to addressing the overwhelming, even desperate need in Abbotsford for affordable housing was and is that City Council has demonstrated neither the desire nor the will to address this pressing issue. Indeed, the City\u2019s behaviour on this issue supports the observation of a homeless friend that City Council must be happy with the social and criminal problems that arise from a lack of affordable housing since they have failed to act in a manner to effectively address the need for affordable housing. It is Council\u2019s lack of will that has Abbotsford facing purchasing land or blowing off the $11 million and $650,000 a year for 35 years of support services. \u201cThe Emerson proposal collapsed \u2026 amid strong public opposition.\u201d The Emerson proposal collapsed because Council lacks the desire and the Will to begin dealing with affordable housing issues. It was this lack of desire and Will that had Council fold when faced with fear mongering and screaming NIMBYism. Since nobody knew or knows who was proposing to develop the Emerson site and what they proposed for the Emerson site there was no rational reason for the opposition. In turning tail and running council behaved as irrationally as the panicky public. Personally I would be very interested in knowing who and what proposal was chosen for the Emerson site by BC Housing in conjunction with the City? Exactly what housing was lost as a result of Council\u2019s lack of intestinal fortitude? It is exactly this kind of lack of planning and acting for the future that led to \u201c\u2026 the city owns very little vacant land suitable \u2026 the result of a decision made by [previous] council \u2026 in which the city sold much of its acreage to private developers in order to collect tax dollars.\u201d Rather than paying for its spending as it should have through tax revenue Council unwisely chose to sell assets to enable its addiction to spending beyond its income. Note: selling off land assets is not collecting tax dollars. I suppose nobody should be surprised that Abbotsford is mired in debt, financial … Continue reading My Integrity, Emerson Housing and Mayor Peary’s Statements →","og_url":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401","og_site_name":"James W. Breckenridge","article_published_time":"2009-07-21T12:56:44+00:00","author":"James W. Breckenridge","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"James W. Breckenridge","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.jameswbreckenridge.ca\/?p=1401"},"author":{"name":"James W. 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