Scrap the Stern

says the North Van council after a 5-2 vote although Ivan Leonard who helped lead the charge of the "Save the Stern" movement, that it was 6-1 but I thought I saw Don Bell join with Voices caucus leader Pam Bookham in opposing the scrapping of the stern.

The stern boondoggle will end up costing the City over a million dollars and won't even stand as a symbol and expensive warning to future Councils to take better care when a special interest group comes in front of you trying to sell you an expensive concept.

Councillor Heywood told a story about his Uncle Jimmy which was almost exactly like what I had written while at Council last night about Grandpa MacKinnon.  It seems like most families have an Uncle Jimmy or Grandpa MacKinnon.

My maternal grandfather served in the merchant marine in the Second World War, probably on a Victory Ship, maybe even made in North Van. He was from Cape Breton in New Scotland as he liked to called Nova Scotia although his part of the clan had come to Canada in the 1790's from the Isle of Barra.  MacKinnons being sept to the MacNeils of Eilean Bharraigh. The MacKinnons, being Catholic had moved north to escape the English burnings until they settled in the Outer Hebrides.

Cape Bretoners and Newfoundlanders have a long maritime history so it was his obvious choice for his contribution towards the fight against the Nazis. Afterwards, his favorite topic was his time on the Atlantic, followed closely by "stupid politicians wasting his money." I think he would have little problem with the decision to scrap the stern.  It was only a symbol and people can make a symbol from anything. Hopefully, it will be something that doesn't cost us millions of dollars.

We should be naming the new museum the Maritime Museum, it won't be the expensive National Maritime Museum rejected by the Provincial Government after they read their unworkable business plan but obviously it can't get to far away from a maritime theme anyway.  The City is tossing a few million dollars into this feature of the new waterfront.

We're also tossing in a few million into the Presentation House Gallery, surely they could establish an area set aside for permanent exhibit space for photos of the old shipyards and Victory ships it produced.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words and far better than spending huge stacks of taxpayer's cash on a rusting, asbestos laced stern. And more every year for upkeep.

Maybe we should take a shiny silver dollar to represent the money shipyard workers spent having a beer in one of the Shipyard pubs.  Perhaps displayed in a public art feature outside one the pubs that will spring up in the new waterfront plaza.

As Roger Brooks might say, "Wouldn't that be cool?"

Voices - try listening to the Mayor for once

Probable VOICES' candidate Kerry Morris appeared before Council trying to launch a campaign plank of his and VOICES' campaign.  htnvcityvoices.wordpress.com/2014/02/08/update-petition-to-stop-the-ocp/

He calls out to "Oppose The OCP" as changes in soon to be amended plan will cause "Residential Taxes to Increase by 15%".  Frankly, this is just fear-mongering in a vain attempt to con voters and shows a lack of understanding of the municipal tax system.

Last year, Mayor Mussatto being frustrated with the lack of understanding about how and why taxes increase, explained the system.

A change in the assessment done by the Province does not mean increased taxes, municipal budgets are done by calculating what your total expenses will be and subtracting the total non-tax revenue estimates to come up with the amount of property tax will be required to balance the budget.

Kerry, building on his first erroneous assumption further leaps to another false assumption that a potential change in a property will cause assessments to increase an average of 15% which by his logic means taxes (mill rates) will increase by 15%. WRONG!

So let's say there was $50 million being raised by property taxes and assessments had just been doubled by the provincial government agency.  The City would just half the mill rate to gather the funds needed to support the $50 million of spending.  Plus whatever increases come up through union contract increases etc.Spending item move in and out of a ten year spending plan so that Council can see the impact that particular spending will on the tax rate. Taxes go up when a new item comes moves into the the current budget.

The taxation devil is in the spending details not in the method of taxation collection. To reduce taxes you have reduce actual spending, something an unregistered political party like VOICES or candidates like Kerry won't commit to.

Where's my ferris wheel?

Tonight (City Hall at 6pm) is the big announcement by Lyle Lanely, er.. Roger Brooks on the future of how millions of tax dollars will invested to create an area which will attach businesses willing to invest (risk) millions of their own money on businesses that have to make a significant profit to pay enough taxes to ensure that the city doesn't end up losing money for their investment.

What do we know so far?  We have a site selected for the relocation of the Presentation House Gallery and it has received promises a few million dollars for their new building and an annual subsidy of $155,000.  The PH Gallery has promised they will fund-raise the rest of the funds and an annual campaign will ensure they are  not back to the Council Chambers with their begging bowl asking the fixed subsidy to be increased. Councilors were obviously worried that the fundraising plan was too ambitious but the PH Gallery was very confident of their future financial support.

The reduced Maritime Museum is almost at the same stage as the PH Gallery, Council has indicated that they will receive a like grant from the City to relocate the present museum to the waterfront, in the old Pipe Shop but the plan done by Colliers does not allocate that area to the new Maritime Museum.  The City has also spent a large part of a Provincial grant, leftover from the time when a larger formal Maritime Museum was being planned prior to the Province rejecting funding after receiving their business plan and fundraising plan. Of the supporters are demanding millions of tax dollars to "Save the Stern" to serve as a prop with the old (yellow) crane to complement the new but reduced Maritime Museum.  Perhaps it was expensive "wants" like this that killed the chance of a large provincial grant and the federal one promised but contingent on the provincial grant.

The Mayor had floated a couple of trial balloons, an aquarium?  With the intent of having a draw that also showcased what North Van was about.  Imprisoned sea life, I think not. Then there the Ferris wheel, actually I like this one.  Visible to seabus traffic and maybe even from Vancouver? It would be part of PNE style arcade and maybe even a hall with slots?  Oh well, the hand wringers would protest anyone gambling.

The Outlook had an opening story on this presentation that gave a couple of hints about what might come.

There would be no chain restaurants or retailers, ie no Starbucks.  The Outlook has Brooks suggesting a 15,000 sq ft ice rink.  Is this to be the big draw the will fill the present and expanded restaurant district as well as the city coffers? Even with a Ferris wheel and big food court and carnival area?

Is this enough of a draw to bypass the challenges of this site? I don't go into the area much as the long slope is quite formidable to those of us with mobility issues. Even with my cane, coming back up slope can be to much at the end of a long day.

We see shortly.  I'll update when I return.

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Well, I'm back, just a few points , it should all up on the CNV.org website soon.  

The stern issue is put off, Roger's guessimate of about 2 million dollars to move the stern to a possible permanent home in a revamped Waterfront Park was shot down by Councillor Bookham who stated she doubted the Stern could be moved twice.  If it was going to the Waterfront Park, it had to be going to a permanent exhibit. I doubt Roger's guess includes the cost of full restoration or the ongoing costs.  If the heritage special interest convinced one of their rich West Van buddies to donate about $5 million to move, restore and fund any annual costs, then it is feasible.  But special interest groups have a tunnel vision about the righteous of their "causes" and rarely change their position.  I think at the end of the day, the Council will end scrapping this expensive symbol.

We should get a Ferris wheel at the end of a new huge Pier and it won't cost us a dime if the a private company owns it. Of course they will take on all the risk and will take all the profit but that's the way it should be.

The other big attraction is the ice rink which will take up the largest part of the whole site at 15,000 sq feet of ice in a 21,000 sq feet footprint. During non-ice times, it could serve as a permanent home of a beach volleyball facility and a music performance facility.

But you should be asking "What the heck are all these shiny things going to cost the taxpayers."  I chatted quickly with the Mayor and asked about the financing.  I asked whether an arms length organisation could be created to receive a loan and make payments until the loan is paid off.  This org would then pay the City a share of the profits.  Details should be included with the announcement when the final "action plan" is unveiled in about a month.

Tony Valente of the Urban Forum declares his candidacy

A few weeks ago, prior to Council meeting, I asked Tony if he was going to run in November and Tyler Russell (NVUF member) quickly interrupted saying "I doubt it, not with a new baby".  My spidey-sense was confirmed and I knew he was running.

The North Van Urban Forum came on the scene almost 3 years ago and I thought to myself, "I wonder if these are activists or a front for another pseudo-political party like VOICES, or something different? I was pretty certain that at least one of the main players would emerge as a candidate, possibly even running an slate.  When Tony joined the Branding Committee, it looked like it was him.

It is possible that VOICES has recruited him to join Amanda Nichol's candidacy and the probable candidacy of Kerry Morris.  Come on guys, don't let yourselves be co-opted by VOICES.

Here's his new website. http://www.tonyvalente.ca/

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UPDATE
Oops, I should clean my glasses once in a while.  It was Benjamin Woolyatt of the North Van Urban Forum who inspired Tyler's interjection.  Happy Fatherhood Ben! Are you now Tony's campaign manager?

The 2014 Election (part 2)

Part 1 focused on the retirements and the Mayor's slate.

http://northvancouncilwatch.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-2014-election-as-it-starts-forming.html

The next undeclared, not legally registered party/slate is Voices or Independant Voices or whatever they have called themselves in the past.  It's best to carefully read my prior posts on them to piece together the Voices chronology.

Councillor Bookham tore a strip off me prior to the last Council meeting in December, stating I should not be saying there was two NDP parties than run politics and Council.  Of course, I didn't mean as an arm of the NDP, even the Mayor's crew is arms length from the formal party.  Bookham defended herself by stating she was a provincial NDPer and a federal Liberal so somehow that doesn't mean than she's an NDPer.  Municipal government is a child of the Province not the Federal government. Provincial legislation creates municipalities and can control any action of Council. In the provincial election last spring, Mussatto, Keating, Buchanan and Bookham acted to elect the NDP. Bell and Heywood worked to elect and Clark who didn't get involved in the campaign as far as I know.  I bet he voted NDP to help create a byelection so his protege Nichol could run. The damage done to our province be damned.

Whose Voice are we hearing?

Voices was born out of the Community Associations concerned primarily about development. So course, they butted heads with Councillor and then Mayor Mussatto and his NDP team who were extremely pro-development. But since they were strongly left wing and NDP supporters it was difficult for them to shape into an opposing force to Mayor Mussatto's team as the more formal role as the municipal wing of the NDP.

Bookham helped start out the Coalition of Community Associations and was the first Co-originator (President) which was intended to act as an umbrella group to strengthen the neighborhood Community Associations. The names and candidates appear in the future in ads published by Voices, or Independent Voices as they were registered under in the election of 2011, in 2008 they  Officers and contact people

The Voices leadership has a pathological fear of being perceived as a political party since they perceive Mayor Mussatto's crew of NDPers as a political party in a federal or provincial sense. Victoria Civic Electors was founded by the Victoria Labour Council to be an arm of the NDP but no party would ever have formal municipal arms.

Who is in charge of VOICES?

There is no publicly revealed Board of Directors. By avoiding revealing who fills the leadership roles, it appears that they are purposely avoiding revealing that the people in charge of VOICES will end up as their pre-arranged choice of "independents" in November.  Don Bell is not involved with them but has received their endorsement to leave the implication that this is part of Don's team so if you are going to vote for him, then vote for these other 6 candidates.  A subtle manipulation.

Hey, VOICES since you demand transparency from Council, how about you follow your own advice?

Legally register, publish your Board, be up front and stop being deceptive.

Will "saving the stern" cancel the new museum? (Updated)

The Council workshop on the future of our new waterfront was cancelled as the Councillors (except Rod Clark) folded to the pressure put on them by a small group of heritage enthusiasts and voted to save the Flambrough  Head stern. The matter has been referred to the Roger Brooks and the Brand Development Team for financial and possible deployment issues.

Councillors Keating and Heywood both pointed out that the city has spent a lot of taxpayer dollars, about $700,000 and we would be spending a lot more to appease the enthusiasts who now say money the Provincial Government gave the City can only be spent on maritime heritage but the funds are probably earmarked for the new museum which of course will have a strong maritime theme.  The Voices municipal political party and their Councillors have joined in that song as they will support anything if they know it will weaken the Mayor, particularly in an election year.

Was this particular stern even built in North Van as I recall the city buying something for the Maritime Museum that just looked like the ones actually built here?  As this letter writer points out, "is neither beautiful or built to last."

nsnews.com/opinion/letters/letter-honour-heroes-not-relics-1.814059#

I'm not sure when the item will come back as scheduling a workshop is tough but maybe they'll do a stern announcement on the 17th as the only open Mondays are holidays, unless they hold a workshop not during Council time.  I think they do want this to be on camera though.

Re-allocating the 4.7 million to cover costs of preserving the stern may be funds are not available to give the Friends of the Museum so we may have a battle of overlapping special interest groups.  I doubt we can afford both.  The point of the new Waterfront is to re-vitalize the area, not to make it a place that is mostly visited by schoolchildren when forced to as part of school trip.

I'm still waiting for the Ferris wheel. Come on Lyle Lanley!

UPDATE:  According to our trusty NS News reporter, the announcement workshop will be on Feb 18th at 6pm.