Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
Actually it's more subjective than objective. Everybody has a different idea of what they consider to be frivolous or not.
And some of it is just your 'say so', as there are benefits that aren't easily defined by simple data. For example, the skating oval that you are eager to criticize is a good way to get people out and active in the winter, when they would otherwise probably be sitting inside watching TV or participating in some other sedentary activity. Getting into the habit of skating outside can have spinoff effects of encouraging people to generally be more active in the winter, which has benefits to physical and mental health and thus takes some strain off of our healthcare system (which is translatable to tax dollars). We know intuitively that this is the case, but it is difficult to reflect by data, and nobody will likely ever conduct a thorough study of it. But regardless of whether it actually results in a financial advantage (which I imagine is your main measure of frivolity), if it provides an emotional benefit to Halifax's citizens, I would subjectively judge it as not being frivolous.
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What I wrote to inspire this diatribe bears no relation to your comments. I said:
"The $15 million oval which closes on many winter days due to weather conditions would have perhaps been better realized with a more practical design."
A municipal public skating rink was talked about for years, with the Grand Parade often being suggested as a location a la Rockefeller Center in NYC. But many other locations were possible, and perhaps several could have been constructed around the municipality. But nooooooo. HRM had to yield to decision-making by social media noise and keep the Canada Games oval. It is massive and can only really accommodate speed skating training sessions and very long laps by the public. It is in a location that is challenging for those who do not live on the peninsula. Even more strangely for a facility designed for winter use it seems to close every time we get winter weather. And of course because of its specialized nature HRM spent a bundle essentially rebuilding the whole thing and then adding buildings around it, along with staff bureaucrats to run it and offer free equipment, etc.
More simple municipal rinks could have been built for far less, with needed but not lavish facilities. They could have been dispersed to places that would encourage more of that activity you note - I suspect few Tantallon, Cole Harbour or Lower Sackville residents use the Oval on a regular basis. They could have even hosted a hockey game or two when public skate sessions were not offered. But we ended up with none of that. In short, that money could have been spent far more wisely and for greater benefit and utility to those paying for it. That fits my definition of frivolous spending.
Museums are money pits, plain and simple. Few of the younger generation ever set foot inside them unless they are truly remarkable. Museums in old buildings that need significant renovation, remediation and maintenance are even bigger money pits. Even the Art Gallery of NS, despite god-knows how many 10s of millions spent on its buildings, now says that they are unsuitable for the storage and display of works of art and they need a new purpose-built facility.
I do not want the Post Office building torn down. But I do not want HRM to take it on either, especially when (as you say) they already have an apparently untouchable building in the old SGR library that nobody seems to want.