Recent history only:
Wasn’t there a plebiscite vote about this? Yep.
Didn’t the mayor say he would follow the results of the vote?
Well yes, but sometimes people say things that they know are not true. This was also the case in the big meeting about the Solar Complex in the Sportsman’s Lounge, where the mayor presented false information about the property.
In the end, despite false and deceptive information from the mayor and the town in favor of sale or renovation, demolition got the most votes in the plebiscite. According the the mayor’s math, this meant there was an overwhelming mandate to sell the Solar Complex. In claiming that “sell” had won, the mayor noted (and exemplified) that some people just aren’t good at math.
After arguing that Faro needed to save the Solar Complex during the OCP discussions (more on that in the next paragraph) and seeing he wasn’t winning, the mayor then pushed for the sale of the Solar Complex. At the last moment however, he recused himself because he was suddenly possibly interested in purchasing the property. The mayor had been the driving force behind the potential sale of the property, and momentum was lost when he suddenly became the potential buyer. Not entirely unexpected.
The future of the Solar Complex was also discussed in the “community engagement” portion of the creation of Faro’s “Official Community Plan” or OCP. The “What We Heard” document provided by the consultants mentioned that the Solar Complex was “a focal point of the conversation”.
“The ideas of a ‘Main Street’ core, including the removal of the Solar
Complex and re-routing the road to support a small-town and friendly Main
Street feel with new commercial opportunities.”
If you have never heard about this idea, it is because when the town printed the “What We Heard” document in Focused on Faro, any mention of replacing the Solar Complex was removed. For the full “What We Heard” compared to the Focused on Faro edit where almost all content was removed, it is available here.
Here’s more that the town edited out the the “What We Heard” report provided by the consultants:
On the idea of a ‘Main Street’ core, we heard support for being more deliberate about the heart of Faro. To have more flow, less in-and-out, and to create a feeling of gathering and mingling (more than just a place to park). We heard about the importance of maintaining safety, especially for kids, and ensuring that any planning process is transparent and involves citizens.
The Solar Complex was of course a focal point of the conversation. One resident wisely pointed out that there were two paradigms: those who knew what it was in its heyday, and those who only know it as it stands abandoned. Some would like to see the facility renovated, some removed completely, while others would like to see some form of replacement to support commercial spaces. There was concern about costs and to what extent residents should/could shoulder the cost, while others were concerned if removed, there would just be a hole. Ultimately, there is recognition that the status quo in 2033 – the next time the OCP will be reviewed – would be a lost opportunity.
Mayor Bowers saw that there was more interest in redevelopment and the main street core idea than in saving the decaying building – and at this point removed the Solar Complex from the OCP, claiming the overwhelming mandate to sell the property rather than discuss redevelopment options.
As the consultants noted, this is a lost opportunity. Removing the center of town from the town’s 10 year planning document because you’re not getting the result you want? Thanks Mayor Bowers, for wasting our time and money on the OCP and the plebiscite.
So what happened? False and misleading information provided to residents, badly and misleadingly worded plebiscite questions, irrelevant information added to the town website just before the plebiscite making it harder to find the relevant reports about the Solar Complex, ignoring and attempting to modify the results of the plebiscite, and removing the future of the property from the 10 year OCP planning process.
Where do we go from here? We start be being honest. We read the most recent report on the Solar Complex. It has been removed from the town’s website, but is available here. We discuss politely and in good faith what’s best for Faro and we respect the ideas of others. And we make progress.
The mayor’s dedication to saving the building is interesting but, false information, misinformation and dishonesty is not helping the town move forward and only creates division. Please be respectful of the residents of Faro. Don’t lie to us. I am amazed and disappointed at the amount of damage that one person can do.
Leave a Reply