Credit To Chiarelli Where It’s Due: BENN
It is important to give credit when credit is due. As long as the credit is given to the right people.
The city recently announced that it would exercise the bargain purchase option on 100 Constellation Drive, an office building in Centrepointe … a city facility at which about 2,000 city employees report to work at.
The media reports are replete with boasts from the current administration about their brilliant decision to exercise the $19-million purchase option on the land and building, a building that it values at more than $90 million. Except, and there is always an except, the current administration does not deserve much in the way of the credit for this decision.
Some 24 years ago, the newly amalgamated City of Ottawa made the decision to lease this eight-storey building, after the demise of Nortel. The lease included a fixed price purchase option. The aforementioned brilliant $19-million purchase option was negotiated during the tenure of then-mayor Bob Chiarelli and the senior administrative team led by city manager Kent Kirkpatrick. And that is who deserves the credit for this upcoming transaction. An example of the visionary nature of the Chiarelli administrations.
More to the point, the current council and senior administrative team deserve not much more than a bronze medal for reading comprehension. Only one question remains, will they be gracious to publicly acknowledge Bob Chiarelli and Kirkpatrick for the city’s good fortune?
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It’s about time somebody recognises Bob Chiarelli , he was a very good mayor and appreciated by everyone. He knew exactly what he was doing all the time. Maybe it’s time to say thank you to him and Kent Kirkpatrick for the good work they did. I do not recall any problems like we have now. So on my behalf I thank both of them for all they did.
Annette:
I echo your sentiment. The Bulldog endorsed Bob Chiarelli in the last municipal election.
cheers
kgray
Not to mention Bob Chiarelli and Clive Doucet getting the 2006 O-Train “demo project” through Carleton U to South Keys. It worked efficiently for many, many years. What year is the “upgrade” now expected?