CONSULTANTS GET PAID TO DO WHAT THEY'RE TOLD & FOR THEIR CLIENT LOYALTY

On the above basis (in the title) one has to congratulate Conestoga Rovers & Associates. Similarly for GHD. As one reads multiple (ten) technical reports from a consultant, spaced over 30 years, one's perceptions of the big picture tends to change. For me the first time through reading the reports I was left with a sense of the blind leading the blind. Holy crap but were all these guys, Township staff and consultants, completely stupid and devoid of common sense? Second time through my perceptions changed somewhat. Third time through as well.

Right now I'm realizing that consultants' reports are an exercise in research, writing, diplomacy, tact and occasionally bluntness. Too much of the latter and the world's best consulting firm will quickly be out of work. The reason: there are absolutely zero qualifications to be a client of a consulting firm, other than being willing to spend your money. Hence clients can be incredibly stupid, incredibly criminal, incredibly biased and incredibly self-serving.

On a totally different note (HA!) let's look at some to date not publicized aspects of the Bolender Park Landfill. For example did you know that despite GHD's nitpicking and silly comments in their September 14/17 review of my August 22/17 Delegation to Woolwich Council; that chemical wastes are specifically mentioned as being industrial wastes in the letter from the 1962 Sanitation Committee to Elmira Town Council? Also if you think about it, what exactly are the industrial wastes from a chemical company? Of course they are chemical wastes! Duh! Hence for this as well as other documentation, chemical wastes were deposited in the Bolender Park Landfill.

Secondly as I have repeated in my multiple Delegations to Council, if you're not going to do continuous monitoring of methane gas probes around your landfill then you at least must monitor them on a regular, ongoing basis. This Woolwich have never requested/ordered their consultants, either CRA or GHD to do. At one point I thought that CRA had been in charge of the monitoring schedule until further backchecking showed that in their September 25, 1987 report (pg. 4) to staff (& Council) they strongly recommended regular monthly gas probe monitoring. Of course Woolwich staff (& Council) failed to do any such thing. Did the buck stop with the Director of Engineering, the Chief Administrative Officer or ultimately with Council? How much were Council kept in the loop?

Last Tuesday evening there was discussion by Dan Kennally regarding a so called natural barrier to methane gas migration. This so called barrier was described as a drainage ditch and then later on Mr. Kennally called it a "creek". At that point I was shocked because no way in hell can anybody describe it as a creek. I believe the term running water was also used. Dear God you stupid, stupid people. As usual there were no questions to me from Council after my Delegation hence I had to sit down. Therefore with the stilted process at Council meetings, neither Delegates nor audience members can offer clarifying comments or points of order from the gallery even in the most egregious cases crying out for clarification of a fact or issue.

Now there are two possibilities here. Either Mr. Kennally was bald faced lying like a dog or he is woefully ignorant of the basic topography of the area between the east end of the Bolender Landfill and the High St/George St./Charles St. subdivision. There is a dry ditch running parallel (ie. north-south) with the eastern border of the landfill and the nearest High St. home. It is not a drainage ditch with the possible exception of a torrential, sustained rainfall and then likely rain water would drain southwards into the park itself. There was no water in it yesterday nor any other time among several this year and last when I have done an environmental field trip to the area. Furthermore a local resident I know well has advised me that he has visited the path beside the ditch with his dog on a regular basis over the last nine years and has NEVER seen water in that ditch.

I suppose there is a third option here for Mr. Kennally. Perhaps, despite being a planner, he is directionally challenged. There is running water running in an east to west direction at the very north end of the landfill. It most likely originates from a tiny spring which is simply groundwater emerging at the ground's surface further east along the Trans Canada Trail (Kissing Bridge Trail). This very small amount of surface water drains westwards towards Arthur St. where it makes a 90 degree left turn (southwards) and most probably drains into the Canagagigue Creek just about where it crosses below Arthur St. beside Walco equipment. This tiny "creek" absolutely is not connected to the totally dry ditch that runs between the landfill and the east side subdivision.

These are not the only lies, misrepresentations or errors, whichever you wish to believe, that were presented to the public by GHD, staff or Council on Tuesday night. By what right do either elected representatives or staff paid by taxpayer money, think that this is acceptable? Consultants being used to hide behind is one thing but blatant and ongoing misrepresentations or lies are something far worse.