By Pepper Parr
BURLINGTON, ON. April 16. 2013 I guess we should have expected this. The pier will be open for the Sound of Music festival and the city is going to muscle in on their event to hold the opening. There are going to be several openings- an Official one – which appears to have been cast in stone because the Pooh-Bahs have to get their Day Timers tuned up.
Councillor Craven wants every former Mayor drawing breath to be on hand. This Official Opening is planned for the Friday, June 14th and then another opening on Saturday in the afternoon for the taxpayers that have to pay for the massive over run on the public purse to get the thing built.
We can see no word other than massive when you take something from $6.9 million up to more than $19 million – and it ain’t over yet. But that’s an issue your city council is prepared to bury for as long as they can.
Right now they want to talk about fireworks, speeches and balloons and who gets to get their picture taken when.
The promenade leading to the pier entrance is getting a new surface. In the upper left you can see the mini-beach that got formed naturally – probably the only bonus citizens are going to get out of a very expensive project. It will look nice when it is done though.
You can hear the squabbling beginning. When Councillor Dennison heard the schedule it didn’t take him long to tell staff that he “respectfully disagreed” with not allowing the public out on the pier on the Thursday – which is when the Sound of Music are going to do their kick off.
There is going to be a fireworks display and the pyrotechnics people have to be on the pier setting out the “explosives” they will use to get those fireworks into the air to ooh and aaah everyone.
That wasn’t going to stop Dennison – he wanted the public to be allowed to walk out on that pier just as soon as the ribbon was cut.
Dennison wasn’t going to let this one go – he kept at it and questioned staff on the details which are in that sort of coming together stage.
A newly installed light standard at the very end of the pier. The structure underneath the pier deck is a construction trestle that is now being taken out.
The Burlington Teen Tour Band is going to march out onto the pier and it looks as if they will be the “first” people that will actually be out over the water. One can only wonder what will be going through their minds – it is going to be a magnificent structure.
If the BTTB isn’t the first then the Sound of Music parade might be the first – staff were skinny on the details at a council committee meeting on Monday..
