The Town has today officially released information showing how much was spent hiring:

(a)   an external planning consultant (Ruth Victor) who concluded there was no reason why development should not occur on the former gold course lands. Ruth Victor cost $129, 000 in fees up until 25 November 2013 when the Town decided, at the eleventh hour, to back Glenway residents at the OMB. 

(b)  a legal team (Mary Bull and Johanna Shapira) to put the Town’s case to the OMB. The performance of the external lawyers was woefully inadequate. Embarrassingly so.  I blogged at the time – only half in jest – that I could have made a better fist of it. Their fees came in at $489,841.

(c)  The Town’s external planning consultant (Eric Chandler). On 28 March 2014, I wrote: “The Town relied on Eric Chandler, a retired Chief Planner at New Tecumseth who, despite his genial manner and wide experience, could not answer for decisions made by the Town’s planning department. There was no-one from the Town Planning Department sitting in, addressing issues there and then, as they arose.” Mr Chandler, in his role as witness at the OMB Hearing, cost $50,091.

(d) The external planning consultant (plan review) cost $31,337.

(e) OMB Hearing meeting space and sundry items such as reimbursement for planning assitance to locate and secure independent planner cost $17,022.

Excluded from the above are the Town’s internal costs (principally planning and legal) which are assumed to be unquantifiable.

These figures provide the backdrop to the forthcoming Glenway lessons learned meeting.