Councillor says people concerned about park costs

PICTOU – Factual information about a local business park will not be going up on the county’s new website. Coun. Peter Boyles made a motion during Tuesday’s committee of the whole meeting that information regarding the price of the New Scotland

Business Park as well as upgrades to the park, future commitments and the cost of the person hired to sell the land be published on the county’s website so everyone can see the information. Some councillors said they couldn’t vote in favour of the motion because they were unclear what the term “future commitments” meant while others felt that such information would cast a negative light on the park and this type of information would be best shared by word of mouth.

“We have to support this as a council,” said Coun. Andy Thompson. “A decision was made with New Glasgow and it was explained over and over again that we have to be investment ready. It takes time to develop these things. It is a 20-year investment.”

Boyles said his constituents are concerned about the cost of the park and want answers by having all the facts on the website.

Thompson, with the agreement of county staff, said all of the information about the county’s $3.1 million investment into the park is available online in previous news stories or county documents. He said anybody can also ask councillors or staff about the park. But Warden Robert Parker, one of three people who voted in favour of having the information posted, said

transparency is key.

He said the provincial government gets questions all the time about how it spends taxpayers’ money but it doesn’t mean that the opposition or other people don’t support the projects. Parker said he didn’t see any harm in posting this information because publicizing the facts would be better than having people hearing misinformation.

The motion was defeated 7-3 so the information will not be posted.