Today I was having a conversation with a couple of newer residents of the Crowsnest Pass.
Quickly the discussion turned to the issue of the Crowsnest Centre, one of the folks started applauding the present council for not attempting to run the centre, for moving ahead with the demolition and for finally attempting to take advantage of commercial opportunities on that property.
To this point I totally agreed with this couple, then he totally floored me with the comment "I can't believe that previous councils didn't deal with this issue". Well if I had false teeth I would have spit them out. I asked "where have you been?, haven't you read the papers the last five years?". In all fairness they have only lived here since 2009.
So I ordered another tea and spent the next ninety minutes filling this couple in on the history of the facility.
If present council gets rid of this property and realizes the commercial opportunity that this community so desperately needs I say good for them, and good for the Pass.
I argued for the last ten years that there is no where else along highway 3 that provides the opportunities for commercial development that the Centre property allows for. I asked the naysayers over and over to tell me where else you could go? nobody had an answer.
If the proposed venture for that property comes true I am sure the entire present council and administration will line up for all the glory.
I would like to think that somebody will stand up and say lets give some credit to the majority of the previous council that had the brains to have a vision for this property that saw it being turned into a tax base for this community, a provider of employment and revitalization for this community. I hope somebody has the courtesy to recognize that the majority of the previous council had the "balls" to take this issue on. Believe me over the last three years of my time on council, my life could have been spared a lot of grief if I had backed off on this issue.
This council was given the opportunity to ride in and claim victory way after the battles had been fought for them.
But isn't politics all about timing?
I hope that council finds a buyer for this property quickly, I hope they do the sale with conditions that force a buyer to have a vested interest up front, with very strict conditions that force the buyer to develop quickly.
I hope they don't spend a considerable portion of our municipal reserves to demolish that building to have the property sit vacant for the next ten years.
The last thing this community needs is another developer that promises the world, and delivers nothing but holes in the ground.
14 comments:
Dean,
Good post Dean. You have every right to take credit and feel pride in being ahead of your time with respect to the Centre... but I myself back in 1998, was ahead of even you (which somehow you seem to have forgotten)...
Crowsnest Centre (Recommendations)
It seems people here have short memories of those who stuck their necks out for the greater good only to have their heads served to them on a platter. But those people who have good memories, still remember those of us of good character... although sometimes we have to remind them from time to time. :-)
Character is what you have left when you've lost everything you can lose.
JP
JP never for one second did I intend to forget or not recognize others for what they did in the past as well. I have 3 boxes of history on this place sitting in my garage.
Early this week I was speaking to somebody that was involved in the debate over the centre prior to 1998.
The biggest point I was trying to make is that I recognize the present council will get all the glory for what ever happens with that site
But they sure had it easy compared to what the 2007-2010 council went through and previous councils to that.
There as been no blood or sweat spilled by this council on this issue.
Once again it's all about timing I watched people taking lots of credit for the walking trails last year. But if people did there research 90% of that work and funding was done also prior to this council. They got to be on board for the completion.
Yes, pat each other on the back. My goodness. That is what politics is about - you come and you go and people carry on after you.
I'm sorry to disagree with you Dean but I don't know what 'others' you are referring too? During the life of the Centre, I believe I was the 'first' to speak out against its failures back at the beginning of my term in 1998, followed by you and your gang successfully shutting it down during your last term on council, and now this new gang who it looks like will actually oversee the demolition (which I too think is wrong - let the buyer decide), and, hopefully, the realization of my dream of a Hotel/Casino-Convention Centre for this spot, (for the benefit of this whole community), of so many years ago.
You are right, however, in that they will get all the glory. But we know, we did all the work. As such, maybe one day they'll erect a monument on the site to us dreamers who dreamed yesterday, so that it could be made real today.
JP
I remember the heat the 4 horsemen took and do appreciate what you went through. This council is just following up on what you guys started. Hopefully they do not screw it up by knocking that building down without a firm contract in place to build that hotel.After all, did they not have so much interest that they extended the deadliine, it should be easy to get a guarantee and large deposit.
It will be a small step forward when that eyesore is removed.
JP I am not talking just about people on council.
2:08 Thanks for your kind consideration.
My concern with the building is why expose the municipality to using almost half its reserves to knock down a building. That will hold no relevance to the value or the sale of the property. If the building is there any prospective buyer is going to factor in the cost of that removal to the purchase price.
The other reality is that a private buyer would probably get the building demolished cheaper than the municipality.
So just the fact that the municipality has attached a $600,000 cost to demolishing that building. Is exactly what a buyer will use has a value.
So if for example ABC Hotel was going to buy the property for $2 million they will now offer $1.4 million and they will take care of the building.
A casino/convention centre would be a wonderful idea. It is quite a ways to go to any casino. We would have people from all over.
Dean, are you still attending council meetings? Looking at the minutes of the last meeting I see several interesting items (but no details) including the museum getting monies up front under Bradley that Decoux wouldn't give under Salus? Did they also get insurance, utilities, maintenance and other costly considerations they were after? What about CUPE?
Hope you are doing well and that we start hearing from you again. Best!
JP
Curious...why the Councillor Gallant quote at the top of your blog?
My blog is about politics in the Crowsnest Pass, why not start with a political statement that reflects on what I feel all politicians in the Crowsnest Pass should be attempting to achieve.
I anticipate that with the recent passing of the three year budget that it will be a while before the final part of the quote will be realized!
Dean did you hear that we are getting a Best Western Hotel.
Good news
Really thats news to me I know the closing for proposals for the Centre site was on May 18th.
I would be surprised if council made that decision already.
3:40 I know they are building a Best Western in Sparwood maybe there is some confusion here.
Any word on how many proposals were received by the deadline? I expected a report at least by last night's Council meeting.
The CAO stated that there was a number of interested parties, which are being reviewed by administration between now and the end of next week.
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