Corp Comm Connects

'Grinch did steal Christmas': Georgina’s $140K snowflake fiasco

Georgina plans to have all 63 LED decorations and hydro poles retrofitted in time for the 2020 holidays.

Yorkregion.com
March 6, 2020
Amanda Persico

The town is moving forward with its seasonal decorations plan.

Last fall, town staff found themselves in a festive frenzy after purchasing new LED seasonal decorations, but not having the electrical hookups on hydro poles to make those twinkly decorations shine.

Traditionally, there have been 54 decorations on display, but thanks to an Ontario Main Street Revitalization grant, the town added 9 more.

By December, 35 of the 63 new decorations were hanging in the town’s downtown areas.

Hanging the 35 decorations exceeded the town’s initial $30,000 budget for 54 poles, which was based on verbal estimates and did not include electrical design and permits from Hydro One, the town’s director of operations, Rob Flindall, said during a recent council meeting.

According to the town, retrofitting those 35 hydro poles with new conduits and breakers cost $37,000.

Council has now approved moving forward with its seasonal illumination plan with a $50,000 budget for the remaining 28 twinkly snowflakes that will be ready for the 2020 holiday season.

The $50,000 budget also includes contingency funds as retrofitting each pole comes with a different cost, Flindall said. Town staff were also tasked with costing out the benefits of using timers since the decorations remain lit all the time.

That brings the total cost of the project to about $140,000 -- $52,000 for the new decorations, $37,000 spent in the fall to retrofit 35 hydro poles and $50,000 to retrofit the remaining 28 poles.

According to the town, about $69,000 of the total cost is covered by the Ontario Main Street Revitalization grant.

“This has taken an unacceptable amount of time and there have been an unacceptable number of issues for simply putting up a light,’ Ward 3 Coun. Dave Neeson said during a recent council meeting.

Local residents are also questioning the process.

“Something went wrong with the execution,” said Jim Keenan of the Pefferlaw Association of Ratepayers. “The lack of oversight is why (the town) ended up in this mess."

He questions how residents could trust the town with larger capital projects if one as simple as putting up Christmas lights was wrought with unexpected costs. He was also dismayed that not all of the LED decorations were up in time for the 2019 holidays.

“There’s a lack of trust,” he said.

The town has received many positive comments regarding the holiday decorations, Mayor Margaret Quirk said, adding the town delivered given the short time frame.

“The snowflakes are energy efficient and are winter-themed, symbolic of the great winter destination that Georgina is spanning beyond the holiday season. Replacement of the decorations was not a planned project -- but one that was expedited to capitalize on government funding that was available,” Quirk said.

At the end of the day, the town went with blue and white snowflakes, which has residents denouncing the lack of colour and lack of holiday spirit on local streets.

“The Grinch did steal Christmas,” said Pefferlaw resident Garry Harpley of the decorations.

“A light bulb on the street does the same thing. People don’t decorate for winter. People decorate for Christmas.”

A breakdown of the 63 season decorations scattered throughout Georgina’s ‘downtown’ areas: