On Monday evening, (Dec. 2,) I attended the council meeting about the Municipal Utilities Corporation. As this was a public hearing, I expected that we citizens could ask questions and learn why our Council seems so anxious to move forward on this model. Instead of hearing a clear, concise explanation, we had to endure a 90-minute presentation without substance, facts or details. It bore a strong resemblance to a Time Share spiel without the attraction of a gift for those who stayed to the end.
One image from Mr. Scoble’s PowerPoint slides remained on the screen for several minutes and illustrates the problems with the entire MUC concept.
- image "Delaney letter image" goes here -
Having heard his presentation, I can guess why Mr. Scoble used this image to illustrate the concept of the Municipal Utilities Corporation. The men sitting in the wash tub have no tools for navigation, protection or propulsion and must drift around at the whim of tides and wind – vulnerable to storms, sharks and starvation. (Could this be an analogy for the future of the Corporation?) The picture shows three middle-aged white men as symbols of our community, completely ignoring the mix of age, gender and race which constitute the taxpayers of St. Albert. And perhaps the most significant message is the Nursery Rhyme which normally accompanies this image….
Rub a dub dub,
Three fools in a tub,
And who do you think they be?
The butcher, the baker,
The candlestick maker.
Turn them out, knaves all three.
Rosanne Delaney, St. Albert
