Dear Editor,
Recently Mr. Samuel Wright has taken pleasure or pains to write two missives to your newspaper on matters pertaining to decisions of the IMC in Linden. I have led the way with these two decisions and stand by the consequences arising.
The first involved permission to construct a facility on the Wisroc/Amelia’s Ward Park, adjacent to an area vendors use for discarding rubbish. Council in making the decision instructed the Administration to dismantle the rubbish bin, decommission and sanitise the area. I would not bore readers with the details of the discussions leading to the decision except to say that it was thoroughly scrutinised and for years residents have expressed concern about the garbage in front of the market. One would have thought that the removal of that facility from the area would have been readily accepted. Unfortunately, this was an opportunity to castigate the council and make us all nincompoops. When the question is asked what suggestions are there for correcting the problem we are told that is what you are there for.
The second decision involved the acceptance to place a School for children with special needs in the area adjacent to the Egbert Benjamin Exhibition and Conference Centre (EBECC). Mr. Norvel Fredericks and Nigel Trotman were the first persons who submitted ideas, plans and drawings for the area. In fact Mr. Trotman got the late Mr. “Sinews” Andrews to produce an elaborate drawing and catwalk for the bandstand area. Mr. Fredericks’s plan was more in line with a Botanical Gardens with other facilities for children’s entertainment. These plans were given to the LEAP manager but I noticed Mr. Wright is championing Riverfront Development as though he is the repository of all things developmental in the area. This tantrum like proclivity has never helped us and except for the LEAP-sponsored rip rap on Co-op Crescent and the EBECC (Mr. Wright was consultant), we have had no other movement of this vaunted Riverfont development. Do not get me wrong, I am for orderly development but I am keen enough to know what is in good or bad taste and what is self-serving and selfless. He mentioned traffic issues as his major concern on the roundabout but underlying that is the position that this special school should not be placed there. That school will not give the area the prestige it deserves. That is my reading. So the talk of consultation is thrown in as smokescreen.
My councillors have all voted for the Digicel project and a misconception at a Works committee meeting led to an unnecessary furore, where political smears coloured the debate. That has been settled. We want him to know that despite the hardened and controversial positions associated with Linden, this ‘caba-caba’ council established bipartisanship in moving the process forward. So, under the Gordon-led council we have agreed on many things even when some see it as impossible.
Seeing that Mr. Wright is so uptight about project development in that area I am watching closely his leadership as Trustee of the Linden Fund Trust in whose hand over $5.8m has been entrusted to upgrade the YMCA ground in front of the Mackenzie High School. They have six weeks to finish the project. I have told Councillor assigned to the area, Orin Wilson who was very vocal on the Digicel project to pay attention to this project as well. I have seen no work to date and two weeks have elapsed. Do not tell me anything about equipment because Noitgedacht with its much smaller $1.9m budget is far ahead because there have been less speeches and more action.
I also want to make it clear in closing that I have worked with Mr. Victor Wright (brother of Sam) over the last five months and it was a real joy working with him. He is a returnee as well, undaunted by the many challenges and physically puts himself to the wheel. He has a project in front of the Redwood Crescent area and is doing a wonderful job of beautification. During the period Sam was away he spearheaded the YMCA ground development and brought it to the stage it is today. Guess we are not all made the same way.
Yours faithfully,
Orrin Gordon
