Border Legal and Consulting Fees

Darn. Buried in the Communications Package again, Item #9 out of 11.

If only there had been a few more days in the last quarter, the fees could have totalled $5 million or more.

Don't worry though. At over $300K in the last quarter, they will top that amount in the next quarter easily. I am sure of it.

Rumour has it that Eddie is well aware now that we are getting the DRIC Road and that Greenlink is dead. One could ask therefore what have we achieved for all of the spending of that money other than the waste of time due to the stalling.

Oh there may be a tweak here and there so that our Mayor can claim a huge victory but in reality the Schwunnels have all been shot down.

What I do expect is that the Senior Levels will pay us some money for being the host community for this project and Eddie will claim victory for that. I expect that the way we will get the money is by overpayment by the Senior Levels on the value of the Brighton Beach lands.

After all, isn't that really the reason why Eddie wants the jail to locate there. If he can convince the Province to pay an excess amount for that land, then that amount would be the precedent for the land that would be used for the DRIC bridge and the Plaza.

Here is what would be fun for the Senior Levels to use as a counter to our Mayor if he gets too greedy. Someone would have to justify why the hundred acres or so at Brighton Beach are worth more than the hundred acres or so that Mr. Fahri bought at the Lear plant where the East End Arena is now being built. That land was purchased for about $8 million. Does anyone believe that Eddie would be satisfied with that amount? I think not.

If you want to ask how I can make the statement about the Greenlink Road, then take a look at Henderson's Saturday column. Most of it is spent justifying the need for having a world-class firm running the DRIC road project. It was only at the end, by the time most people stopped reading the Column, when Gord brings in Greenlink again and in the usual pro forma fashion:

• "Let's not take our eye off the ball. The real issue isn't which company snares those juicy contracts. The real issue is whether the province will come to its senses, put pride and personality aside, and roll out a final design this month that comes close to matching the city's global-calibre, landscape-altering GreenLink plan."

Do you think that Eddie will have the nerve to ask the Senior Levels to re-imburse the City for these costs? Let me see. Eddie can abuse the Senior Levels by playing Perry Mason with their experts, spending money by coming up with ridiculous schemes designed to stall, achieving little, snubbing them and calling them all kinds of names and then expect to be paid back for doing so? Surely the Senior Levels have some principles!

I wonder when Council will ask what the total is for Mr. Sutts' fees and those of consultants to date on the Tunnel deal. It certainly has to be much more than the $1.2 million quoted sometime ago with all the work that has been undertaken.

So far actually this deal has been a success. We don't have the Tunnel!