Poor planning

This time of year, many a student rushes to finish a final project or assignment, having left it to the last minute. Other times, the student will come with hat in hand to their teacher, and sheepishly request an extension. “I just need a little more time.” Sure, the due date has been known for some time, but poor planning has left the student asking for a few extra days to put everything together.

Anyone who’s read the story on the city’s harbour front woes on page 7 will read that analogy and see some familiarity.

Currently, the city is looking at the possibility of asking the federal government for an extension on developing the harbour lands that it inherited from the crown several years ago. The acquisition of the lands, which came after some time in court, came with a caveat for the city: develop the land so that there are amenities such as a public marina, green space, walking trails and more by January 2017, or face a multi-million dollar levy from the feds for not complying with the original deal.

With that deadline barely a year away, what has the city done thus far? Environmental studies have continued on the land well past the expected timeframe, and that’s about it. No money has been set aside, having been deferred from this year’s budget to 2016. That would be the proverbial student sighing, “Oh, I’ll get it done tomorrow.”

Now, the city is planning to go to the professor, that is the federal government, and ask for an extension to October 2018 – a 22-month extension – to get the work done.

Mayor John Henry says that “in his heart, they’ll do the right thing” and grant the city that extension. But what if they don’t? Will the city be forced to push through development of the land as fast as possible to meet the deadline, or will it swallow the $4.2-million pill from the feds? Because remember, that $4.2 million has to come from somewhere.

And if the city is forced to push to get development done, they become the student rushing to get the project done before the deadline, and more often than not, that student isn’t gunning for an A+. They’re just hoping for a passing grade.