Councillor Fata disputes Sault Star reporter's OLG/EDC piece

SooToday.com has received the following letter to the editor from Ward 5 Councillor Frank Fata.

He describes his letter as a "response to Della-Mattia's article in the June 5 Sault Star, 'Council wise to take aggressive approach at keeping OLG jobs in Sault.' "

To read SooToday.com's coverage of the Council decision in question, click here.

************************

To the editor:

With all due respect to the Sault Star and the EDC, I take exception to Elaine Della-Mattia's strong opinion that the expenditure of the $100,000 by the EDC was the absolute right thing to do and anyone voting against it was "out to lunch."

It is, without doubt, my opinion and, I would suggest, the opinion of others on Council and in this City, that this  expenditure is, I would suggest, a crap-shoot without any guarantees that it will be "money well spent."

If things work out and there is success with this EDC venture and we see direct evidence that jobs were created, then I would be the first to "scream from the roof-tops" that the EDC did a great job and "congratulations to our EDC on their success on this Project!!!"

Elaine states,"It makes perfect sense."

I say nothing in life is perfect and this certainly has a long way to go before it even comes close to resembling a perfect decision.

I believe that some Councillors were simply more convinced that the EDC will do a great job of selling SSM to the OLG.

For myself, on this particular venture, I disagreed and chose not to ante-up and, can I say, gamble with taxpayers' money.

Sorry!!

Elaine states, "Fata is dead wrong."

Not just wrong, but "dead wrong."

I do not agree and is there a crystal ball that she is gazing at that allows her to make this infallible statement?

No!!

She is a Sault Star journalist who decided to share an opinion with us which, obviously, contradicts mine.

Time will tell who made the right decision, Elaine.

Elaine states, "To do nothing, means you get nothing."

Again, simply your opinion and not necessarily shared by anyone else, certainly not by me.

What is certain is that taxpayers will be out $100,000 and again, as I would call it, a "crap-shoot" that no one, including the EDC, can predict the outcome.

Doing nothing and saving $100,000 taxpayer dollars was,in fact, an option!!

A while back, the citizens of this City got turned on to the idea that this City would be the Multi-Model" Hub of North America.

We were fed a vision of large, super-carriers flying from Asia over the North Pole and landing at our SSM Airport.

That never happened and I would suggest to you, will never happen.

That pipe dream cost taxpayers over $250,000.

Again, I must reiterate; I sincerely hope I'm wrong on this matter and the $100,000 handed over to the EDC ends up being "money very well spent."

For now, I remain convinced it will not be.

I would suggest no one on Council is convinced either and certainly, neither is Sault Star journalist Elaine Della-Mattia (unless, of course, she actually does have a crystal ball ??? ).

- Councillor Frank Fata, Ward 5

*************************