WHffY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAYo DECEMBER 14, 1988l, PAGE 7 PAGE SEVEN A few ýweeks ago we ran an item on the hiring of a construction management firm by the Town to oversee the construction of the new rec complex. Councillors were questioning how this particular company was selected and why there was the need. The issue is much bigger. When should outside professionals be hired, who should select them and how should their ternis of reference be drawn up? Outside management and consulting finms are used by al levels of government and business. They add class te, any proposai or plan. They know how teo ou the wheels of govern- ment - the better they do it, the more they get paid. But their use has become excessive. A great deal of money is spent for things that either should have been done by staff, could have been avoided completely with moresi foresight, or wasn't necessary to begin wîth. --Y The construction management firm is a case in point. ~ Why was construction management not part of the architect's contract? Moriyama and Teshima are collecting a very fat fee te design and oversee the construction of the complex- that's - what architects are for. The. management finm will be working for'the architects not for the Town; therefore, they should be paid by the architects. There should be no question of tenders, or lowest bids, or local versus distant finms - the architect should hire whomever hie wants ..which seems to_________________________________________ be what he intends te do anyway but at the Town's expense. Will we next discover that engineering fees are extra? This kind of lapse in drawing up the architect's contract is why governiment projects always end up so far over budget. Another case in point is the lengthy consultants' report done on the Centennial Building. Partly because the Town wasn't talkcing te the Historical Society, a museuni was not considered as part of the plans, yet now, the mayor himself wants to put the museumn there. A study done, (by consultants) for the Society at the finie of the Lynde House move was more useful in that regard for these consultants considered the Centennial a superb, site for a museum in al respèc à , exc ept availability - the Town had other plans for the building, thank you very much. Not that the efforts have been totally wasted - both reports have lots of useful infor- mation - but a little more cooperation and communication could have saved a lot of money. And how about the "expert" witness the Town hired for« the Heritage Review Board hearing into the designation of Lynde House. She had several degrees after hier name, but lier sole knowledge of Lynde House consisted of four hours of discussion with the staff at Cullen Gardens. While we're on the subject of that hearing, why did the Town have a lawyer (at a budgetted cost of $2,000) nepresent it? No one else did. Counicil also hires Iawyers to represent it at Ontario Mu- t nicipal Board hearings and then fails to defend its positions. At a couple of recent hearings, the appellants were using the Town's planning staff as witnesses té support their appeals while the Towns lawyer called no one. If Council niakes a decision it should be pnepared te, back it up - councillors theniselves should take the stand if necessary te explain their BEYDESHOIRE PAR IN WINTER, C. 1915 decisions. ...Or are 0MB heanings1 simply a way for Council to At left of this picture is the water pump bouse, built in 1904. The chimney was removed in aperte be on the nesidents7 side knowing full well that the the 1960s and the building bas been unused for about 10 years. At centre is the F'resh Air bi appear l ipl vrtr herdcii Home operated by the Methodist Deaconesses of Toronto for underprivileged clildren. Near The at ofsuccesfulconsutingis giing our cientwhat t isthe riginn al edensbore Pavillon, an open-air wooden structure built in 1901 and and represents dozens of applicants for zoming changes, site- West. plan approvals, etc. Inside knowlIedge is worth paying for. a The Town ofWitby is seeking applications for a welfare officer and assistant to the town The use of outside professionals is both a positive and a clerk. find ther sevic s i denand Ifthey can avod so e oath negative trend. The very best people in any field will always e David McKeag is the new Principal of Keystone Chapter Royal Arch Masons. bulîshit of government, why shouldn't they? On the other hand, consultants are expensive and if they'ne only telling 1oo xEARS AGO expense. At the very least there should be a lot more cane in fro terBr y D cb r ,188cLz o o h drafting their ternis of ref erence. T hi s u i isngfo urfls As for the rec complex, the anchitects should be told they Ti su smsigfmcrfls can lire anyone they like ... provided tley pay theni. _______________________________________