Readers respond to May editorial (‘Flato investments have helped community’)
Letters
Not to be rude, but the advertising in your publication would help with this editorial on Flato? (Flato investments have helped community, May Advocate) They are developers – for profit. The donations work to their advantage. Anyone who thinks they don’t is a tad naïve.
– Suzanne Alden, Kawartha Lakes
You say, “The donations work to their advantage”. On behalf of the FLATO Academy Theatre, their donations also work to our advantage. Our partnership provides an essential annual investment in the theatre; something we desperately need. If you don’t like this developer, or any other developer, investing in the theatre, perhaps you could recommend some other businesses who would step up to support us. There’s always room for more.
– Craig Metcalf, General Manager, Flato Academy Theatre
You can’t stop change. It’s like a freight train and it’s a-comin’ whether you like it or not. Get on board or get out of the way, as they say. Kawartha Lakes and, I guess, especially Lindsay, is forecast to double in population over the next decade. Canada is offering monetary incentives to municipalities that build, build, build, so we are going to develop, again like it or not. What we need in the face of this reality is good planning and part of that means attracting developers who understand that, along with building, we need services to appropriately serve the growing community, the new and the old and the rich tapestry a knitting of the two together can create. Shakir Rehmatullah, founder of FLATO Developments, seems to get that. It is up to our community to meet him and others like him half way and to work with developers to make the future a great success.
I feel quite special?! You went outside the magazine to the what I used to know as the Academy Theatre to get a response. A reasoned good one, but his best point was I need to step up and find others to invest. Quite right too. Developers are developers, looking out for their best interest as a for profit company. Unfortunately our council didn’t even decide on their latest development, came from the best friend of developers, Mr. Ford?!! So, I’m guessing Joan Abernethy is possibly a friend of Mr. Rehmatullah. (An assumption, in my favour, likely not true) Either, or, I know change is coming, Lindsay is ripe for it, but as we have a town council and a democratic system… should we not have some input? I won’t get into council issues at this point, but it’s coming for them. They will need to step up for the benefit of all. My biggest question is, of all this housing, how much is actually affordable for really low income people?? That, I believe is something the Lindsay Advocate really cares about? I await, with baited breath?!
Suzanne, if you are referring to the Advocate, we did not request a response from anyone. Others read the Advocate as well and the general manager chose to respond on his own, on the original online story thread in which you left yours. We merely published in print what was left in the public domain by you both. This print letter was then shared as ‘one letter’ in this thread.
The Advocate is certainly interested in seeing more affordable housing built. Also attainable housing. Also ‘all’ housing. So we find it interesting when people point a finger at Flato with the expectation this business will build affordable housing and not any other builders in town. Affordable housing in the way we believe you mean it is in the purview of governments, ideally working with private sector partners. We need more government leadership to make this happen, at all levels. It is certainly needed.
We need a City that believes in and supports everyone at all levels. Not everyone can afford 800 thousand dollar homes in our city or more. Let’s face it we know that and it’s no surprise with the Basic income project we had. We need developers to build homes for equal opportunity, but it often comes down to money or how much they make is all that matters not the community or what people in the area need or can afford. I want to see our City grow but in the best interest of everyone. Sure hope everyone coming to the area respects that. We accept change but all building blocks have to go to the right places, to make it work to make it a better city for everyone.