Mayor of Bayham still hopeful

On Sunday I noticed an article on the Elgin Central website that caught my eye. The Mayor of Bayham stated in a phone conversation that Project Ojibwa appears to be on schedule. I was a bit perplexed for a moment,then I snapped out of it and realized the mayor is looking at this through rose coloured glasses. Mayor Acre laid out the anticipated schedule for what she would like to happen with the sub, however she failed to mention one very key point "The Federal Grant Money!" By the time they move this thing the grant will have expired and too my knowledge, it has not been extended. Without the $1.9 million nothing is going to happen. My message is simple, please quit perpetuating the myth that something is happening when in fact the opposite is true.

I think at the end of this process plenty of people are going to be disappointed because of all the misinformation. Everyone's hopes are being built up for nothing. My suggestion would be to have a town hall meeting so that people can ask the hard questions and decide for themselves what is really happening, or better yet just have an open and honest dialogue and report the facts on where the project stands. The Mayor of Bayham can say whatever she wants because she is not running for re-election, just know that when the spring comes around and there is no submarine to be found anywhere it may leave people wondering about the integrity of this whole process.

The latest on Project Ojibwa

Well since no one else not even the military museum has said anything regarding the fate of the sub I might as well report on it. As it stands now the military museum is trying to get an extension on the federal grant money because it expires in March 2011. Of course the Ojibwa is not going to be moved this year and perhaps not ever be moved. Once the Seaway closes this year it will not reopen until probably sometime in March which will of course be too late. So this leaves the museum in a bit of a bind because there funding could be lost for good. Bayham council cannot do anything until after the election on October 25th.
Of course there are other issues as well like where will Bayham get the money to dredge the harbour. At the September 2nd council meeting they wanted to set aside $200,000 for dredging purposes, this of course would only cover about a quarter of the cost. I'm not sure where Bayham plans on coming up with 200k as well, keep in mind it is a small municipality. I hope Bayham does not stick it the tax payer, a one percent tax increase in property taxes would generate $29,000 so to raise 200k taxes would need to go up 6.9%. I don't know if that is their plan however if you are a tax payer in that municipality you may want to inquire about this with your local representative.
I have one request for the Elgin Military Museum, please update your website the project phase page was last updated on 07/23/2010. I just wish they were a bit more up front regarding this project. I can see why Port Stanley was not that interested in the project because there seems to be a lack of information regarding this whole thing. Anyways prove me wrong Elgin Military Museum let everyone know what is going on. If you want people to get behind you and support this you need to be more upfront that is why people like myself a very skeptical regarding this.

Bayham Council Meeting September 16th 2010

The monthly council meeting is being held on September 16th, it will be interesting to see if anyone mentions the H.M.C.S. Ojibwa. The Municipality of Bayham website still has mention Port Burwell is the new home for the Ojibwa. My guess is they want to give it some time before they totally discount the idea and finally admit that the sub is not coming. I can understand them wanting to wait as long as possible to concede. It looks really bad if you make an announcement then turn around 2 weeks later and tell everyone it is not happening. As well I'm sure the Ojibwa is not a main focus considering there is an election coming up in October. However lets get on with it and make the announcement that the H.M.C.S. Ojibwa is not coming to Port Burwell.

Project Ojibwa dead in the water

Well it is official and there is no surprise that Project Ojibwa will not be happening in Port Burwell. Two short weeks after it was announced that Port Burwell would be the new home for the submarine the Municipality of Bayham realized in their September 2nd meeting that the harbour needs to be dredged at a cost of $500k - $ 1 million and of course there is no money to do this. There are no plans in place to dredge the harbour this leaves the project in limbo for the time being. I wonder if the Elgin Military Museum will go back to Port Stanley and ask them again. This project was just too much to put together in a short period of time, there is no business plan that I have seen therefore leaving the Ojibwa with an uncertain future. The good news is the $1.9 million federal grant won't be wasted on a failed project. The grant will be withdrawn if it is not used by March 2011. I would rather see the money put to better use.