Mayor's Corner (Maybe referred to as the first campaign speech?)

Mayor's Corner

Summer is gone, rivers have receded to near normal, the leaves are turning yellow, the kids are back to school and some are leaving for college and we are all in the process of adjusting to a new schedule knowing all too well that Halloween and snow are but a few months away. This year there will be a change in our schedule in that it will be an election year. I encourage anyone with an interest in the well being and progress of our community to consider “running”. Particularly I encourage any of our many, many competent and intelligent women to step forward. Speaking of schedules, the time requirement for elected officials has changed. Terms are now four years. In some quarters it has been estimated that the extra year may cause as many as thirty to forty percent of current mayors not to run. It gave me pause for thought so I noted down the “very approximate” time commitments one would need if elected. It is quite a bit of time and doesn’t include issues that come up daily. In no particular order they are, or would be (based on an eleven month year), approximately: 88 Agenda Preparation Meetings (1 hour each) 8 Alberta Urban Municipalities Association & Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties Conferences (Edmonton/Calgary 3 – 4 days each) 88 Governance and Priorities Committee Meetings (2 hours each) 70 Special Group Meetings/Speaking Invitations (1 – 2 hours each) 88 Council Meetings (3 hours each) 12 Parades (2 hours each) 88 Policy Committee Meetings (3 hours each) 12 Parade Related Activities (2 hours each) 8 Special Meetings – (Approximately 2 hours each) 44 Newsletters and Seasonal Greetings 44 Mayors Meetings – Lethbridge 100 Radio Comments – (Approximately) 44 Alberta SouthWest Meetings (various Southern Alberta communities) 1,040 Daily Conversations with the Chief Administrative Officer 4 Federation of Canadian Municipalities Conventions in various Canadian centres (4 to 5 days each) 1,440 Citizens Calls (over 1 per day) After jotting down these approximations, I realized being the Mayor is quite onerous regardless of how gratifying it is. Well I have until the 23rd of September to decide, as do your current councillors. Our community is starting to thrive. Building permits and construction are up and several new businesses have opened. Planning for a new hotel just South of the Crowsnest Consolidated High School is underway by a private developer. Demolition of the old hospital and Learning Centre should begin this month and meetings with potential developers are occurring and being sought after. The development of the new mine has now been confirmed and the Riversdale people will be making some announcements shortly. At least one family from the Company is living in the Pass with other individuals to arrive shortly. I think a new mine is now a reality. Another mining Company is also interested in the area, however your Council has had no communication from them at this time. Our new entrance signs at the East and West end of our community will be going up by the end of October. Your Council has now begun the process of annexing a portion of the MD of Ranchland. Unlike some of the hysterical newspaper headlines the process will be a logical, sequential series of events with perhaps some heated community meetings along the way. However at the end of the process I feel our Crowsnest Pass will experience huge benefits relative to tax issues and tourism potential for many years into future. Our Prevention Task Force is being developed and individuals are being requested to participate. The Provincial Government has treated us very well relative to the compensation for flood damage and are very pleased with our efforts to mitigate future natural occurrences through Task Force recommendations. All told your Council has come through a difficult summer on top of things. I am looking forward to a long, dry, warm autumn that we can all enjoy. “Every generation thinks its problems are unique and potentially fatal. And yet every generation has survived to the next.”                                                                       Carl Sagan

Hotel moving forward without a developer? and the on going myth that Insurance premiums will drop

Well the good news keeps on coming, the Mayor's latest Corner is out (available on the municipal web site link on the side of my blog). The optimistic  side of me says that he's basking in the long sunny days of summer has put him in a better mood. There are no attacks on the "Caver's", "wannabe's" "old boys club" or any other group that disagrees with him. The pessimistic side of me thinks that it's only two months before the election and that he is attempting to set the table for that event.

Any way I have to give this man credit in the sense that he is now putting the positive spin on every thing he can on the hotel deal and other issues. You wouldn't have thought it but soon we will actually be in a better position to move ahead on this project. As one of my readers keeps reminding me "which years snow fall was he talking about. 

"Our hotel project is moving forward again. The Council approved the moneys necessary to maintain our ability to build a Best Western hotel and to proceed with the demolition of the old hospital and centre. We should see the demolition begin in September. These moves will place us in a better position to attract new investors/developers, recoup our investment, and hopefully see our hotel under construction next year at this time."

On to the issue of Insurance and all the excitement over potential decreasing rates this is what the Mayor has to say in his corner.

"We are beginning to see results from some of our long term planning. The Director of Protective and Community Services, Mr. Albert Headrick, informed the Council that as a result of the restructuring of our fire services and providing more efficient fire services our community rating (provided by the Canadian Insurance Underwriters) has, and is improving, and within a years’ time our commercial/residential fire insurance costs should stabilize or perhaps be lowered. A full report will be upcoming on our website."

Councilor Gallant goes on to say the following on his blog about the same issue:

"While every insurer will be different, I would suggest that public/commercial property owners ask to review their building insurance policies as they should be able to realize some savings."

"While there is no guarantee at this moment that policies will change, insurers will be hard pressed to justify the current rates based on this new rating".

"Assuming that the Fire and Rescue Department is able to keep up with their current operational protocols, Underwriters will improve our rating to 2 out of 5 for urban areas. This should, in turn, be realized in savings to residential property owners." 

I would encourage every home/business owner to contact your Insurance brokers and question how these new ratings will affect your own policy. While your on the phone with your Insurance company ask them which bracket your property fell into prior to our new rating (protected, semi protected or un-protected) and ask them which category you will fall into after the new rating.  

Hotel deal what's next?

Over the weekend I have received a lot of comments on my blog and around town about the news release from the municipality regarding the loss of the Medican deal.  

A couple of common themes I heard over and over again a lot of people were not surprised. The Municipality made a deal with a company that was under court protection, to save itself from it’s creditors.

How long did the Quebec manufacturer story drag on, and what was the result of that endeavor. The CAO announced after a year that the company realized we were to far from Lethbridge and the ceiling on the old Artic Spa building was too low, I would be taking a look at my management team if it took them a year to figure those things out.

The Mayor as spun this tale for how many months about waiting for Best Western approval. I think lot of other peoples agree with my opinion, that was just a stalling tactic the real issue from day one was finding the $8-12 million to build a hotel.

Everybody know if that kind of money was available,  the demolition would have started by now. I am sure the hotel owners would have been more than able to hook up with a hotel chain somewhere during the next two years while the hotel was under construction.

My concern now is how will council proceed in a desperate attempt to salvage something from this deal just mere months prior to the election.  

I take the following quote from the most recent Mayor’s Corner:

“At this point we are still working with the Vachon group (hotel finders) to attract a Best Western or other hotel chain to build. In order to retain our right to build a Best Western for two years, we need to consider putting up $50,000.00. A decision regarding clearing the property will also have to be made very shortly”.

Unless I am totally miss reading the above quote it sounds like the Mayor is going to attempt to persuade Council to put up $50,000 to retain the rights to build a Best Western.

This is crazy for so many reasons, the first being these are taxpayers dollars, is anyone aware of a government at any level that is in the business of buying franchises, rights etc?

Two if the hotel finders (Vachon group) are so certain that a hotel (with real investors) can be found let them put up the $50,000 they should easily be able to regain their investment with a hefty return from that future group.

Third what guarantee will we have that a new hotel group will have any interest in being a Best Western. Would the municipality limit potential Investors to only those that want to open under the “Best Western” name. Let the people that are prepared to put up $10-12 million pick the name for their hotel.

Then the Mayor talks about a decision regarding the clearing of the property must be made shortly. He is wrong a decision of that significance, should be made by the next council comprised of seven people with a clear mandate from the public.

The municipality in the Medican deal allowed $800,000 for the demolition of the building. That would be roughly half of what this municipality has in reserves, they could take out a loan for that amount. Are those decisions a council should be making in the last two months of it’s mandate? How long before a new hotel developer comes in, how long before the municipality recoups it’s money?

Who will have these answers I don’t know but I do know I will not be listening to the Mayor’s predictions I will finish with a quote from his Oct 2012 Mayor’s corner:

Oct 17, 2012 the Mayor states "I am pleased to announce that after months (and months) of work we have as promised, resolved the problem surrounding the Crowsnest Learning Centre and "old" hospital facility. The new hotel restaurant truck stop complex -is a go! The last few legal details are being ironed out and early next month we and the developers are looking forward to holding a public session to gather your input as to what you would like to see happen"


Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day

"Unvarnished facts and truth" edition number two "The Mayor's corner

Below is another fine example of providing the "unvarnished facts and truth" once again using the Mayor own words. Please don't forget to vote on my poll to the right to voice your opinion on the Mayor's newsletter.

Mayor's Corner

Well the end of June and beginning of July will certainly be remembered as very wet and very hot. I have several issues I would like to comment on this month. First the flood, I won’t waste your time discussing the details as you have seen them on our website and heard them on the radio. Suffice it to say people are being well taken care of through the exemplary efforts of our Provincial and Municipal governments. During the past weeks I have visited the flood areas on foot, by car, and helicopter. I found myself asking why did we have this much damage and the resulting discomfort? We have had previous floods in 1995 and 2005. Our emergency preparedness plans were in place and executed properly. Granted we have had one of the greatest rainfalls in our history. I think the right answer came to me in a conversation with our Operations Director. We were discussing a large dam of logs on Lyons Creek (see our website for pictures) and I asked how long would it be before we could remove it. His answer was it may be difficult because they are not within our boundaries. Therein I felt was the answer to my question: Why do we suffer through this every decade or so? I think the answer lies in communication, planning and a working integration of government departments and our municipality. Government departments fulfill their individual mandates very well (even if we occasionally disagree with them) and they cooperate with municipalities whenever requested, however each department has a mandate to fulfill. Sometimes they don’t quite fit with Municipal objectives. From my perspective it is our job to create a situation where several government departments, our municipality and citizens with historic knowledge come to the table to seek solutions to our issues rather than avoiding the issue “till next time”. As such I will be discussing with Council the formation of a Task Force consisting of representatives from various government departments, from our municipality, and our citizenry, as well as others with expertise in municipal issues. At this point at least three major contentious situations have been identified as they have previously caused issues. They are: the Drum Creek/Byron Creek situation, the Lyons Creek situation, and the Blairmore Creek situation (above the hospital). Perhaps other areas will be identified. I don’t want to see a repeat of what we have just experienced given that our best planning “may” be able to prevent this from happening again keeping in mind that Mother Nature absolutely refuses to read our plans. Hopefully Council will agree. The second item I would like to comment on is Ranchland. A number of people have asked me why? Well we are in an inequitable position relative to an area with around eighty residences and seven times our size. We have around 5,000 people in a much smaller area and very little linear assessment. As such we are forced to maintain our costs basically on our taxpayers' backs and to my mind this is inequitable. As a municipality we can only stretch a dollar so far and ultimately we have to go to the taxpayer. I had been looking at the Ranchland situation well before the Riversdale Mine appeared on the horizon. The mine simply reduced the amount of land we need to annex for our future sustainability. From my perspective the partial annexation of Ranchland will have a minimal effect on their current and future sustainability. However let me, from a layman’s perspective, demonstrate what such an annexation would mean for us as taxpayers. Annually, we would receive a tax levy of $3,800,000 from this new industrial base. Maintained in reserve and invested, at the end of a ten year period, the compound interest would provide approximately $1,850,000 of interest income to support the Mill Rate Stabilization Reserve and $38,000,000 for community building. The first year interest can easily be applied to the Mill Rate Stabilization Fund which will begin to stabilize and offset our taxes for many years to come. At year five we would have $19,000,000 being available for community building. In year ten, we would have $39,850,000 in our tax stabilization plan and community building enhancement. Early in the process we could perhaps begin work with the Crowsnest Cando group on a recreation centre. Of course there will be costs related to the property annexed such as roads, trails and bridges, etc. however I see this area as a major future tourist draw particularly for quading, camping and snowmobiling. As I say these are a laypersons’ thoughts “for demonstration” only. In reality we would be seeking both internal and external financial advice. I think this is the way to overcome our tax issues. Arguing over trucks, equipment, numbers of employees, expenditures on consultants and other ways to stretch the dollar while our community deteriorates is a waste of breath. We must take steps to alleviate our basic problem. To this end we have discussed the matter with Ranchland to no avail. As such I will be calling for a motion to begin the annexation process with the M.D. of Ranchland at the July 16th Council meeting. I hope the Council agrees with me, as I hope you do. It will, if approved, be a long and grueling process (at least two years), but it needs to be done. On another matter, we have had a rough and disappointing month with our hotel development. To put it in a nutshell, here is what has happened to us. A chain from Fernie, which belongs to the Best Western group, has complained to Best Western that our hotel would infringe on their business area. The “complaining” process took five months (if you remember I was very unhappy over these delays). The Fernie group successfully delayed our progress. In the meantime, the Medican investors took their money and went elsewhere with it. Medican then decided to let our contract run out, although the Best Western Board of Governors still approved us locating a Best Western here. At this point we are still working with the Vachon group (hotel finders) to attract a Best Western or other hotel chain to build. In order to retain our right to build a Best Western for two years, we need to consider putting up $50,000.00. A decision regarding clearing the property will also have to be made very shortly. So there you have it. These things happen in building a hotel, but business is business. There are ups and downs, but we will persist. On the positive side, I attended a meeting with a developer who is considering building either a mini-storage condo or a smaller hotel next spring. (Thank heavens he already owns the land) Very shortly I also plan to meet with an individual to discuss the possibility of a convention centre separate from the hotel – more to come this fall on both of these potential developments. Please remember most of these projects take several years to complete, so have patience. In closing, I can’t help but poke some fun at our local “Cavers”. It appears that this newsletter, committed to truth and fact, is somewhat unnerving to the “oracles of rumour and misinformation.” Perhaps they are losing their stature on coffee row or on the silly blogger circuit. This month the usual material has ranged from bad-mouthing our emergency procedures and our people, and of all things, to undermining our newsletter. The actions and success of our Administration and crews speak for themselves. As to our newsletter being political; well, I am the Mayor and I will make some political comments and I do trust that you will form your own opinion. So far no complaints, except from the Cavers. Please note that this newsletter is budgeted for and falls within our plan to improve communication and transparency. It costs you about $0.65 per month and I have many requests for twice a month. Further, the Council expects to have a report on streaming our Governance and Priorities Committee and Council meetings directly to you, hopefully by September. We would also like to arrange for our seniors to view us “in living color” at the York Creek Lodge, Long Term Care and our Senior Centres. Soon I hope you will all be able to see and hear us – and watch us commit our errors and omissions (which we are learning to make fewer of as we progress). Have a wonderful summer! “The truth doesn’t hurt unless it ought to.” - B.C. Forbes Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day

"Unvarnished facts and truth" edition number one "The Hotel"

Back on June 15 the first Mayor's corner came out, this was the one where the Mayor began to reach out to the community and the people that  don't agree with everything he says. He felt the need to direct his comments at the "barber shop quartet" "coffee time guys and gals" "local papers" and for good luck he threw in "local blogs" and the "numerous letters to the editors".

He concluded his Mayor's corner by stating "if we miss anything please call myself, the Councillors, or our Administration for the unvarnished facts and truths"

The hotel issue has been awfully quite especially after the municipality went to the effort of placing the letter from "the Penrose group of companies" stating that Best Western would make a decision by June 17.

I have spent the last couple of days talking to some of my fellow citizens about the hotel and maybe our expectations were to high, what gave people these high expectations. Well I though long and hard and decided maybe I should look for the "unvarnished facts and truth" on this issue. What a better place to find the facts and truths than the Mayor's corner and the CAO reports in the municipal newsletter.

Aug 15, 2012 the Mayor states "During the next fifteen months my goals are specifically: to bring our hotel development to fruition"

Sept 14, 2012 the Mayor states "Administration is actively negotiating the new hotel development"

Oct 17, 2012 CAO's report states " Negotiations on the sale and development of the former Crowsnest Centre site and construction is proceeding. Administration and the developer have reached agreement on a number of conditions with a few remaining"

Oct 17, 2012 the Mayor states "I am pleased to announce that after months (and months) of work we have as promised, resolved the problem surrounding the Crowsnest Learning Centre and "old" hospital facility. The new hotel restaurant truck stop complex -is a go! The last few legal details are being ironed out and early next month we and the developers are looking forward to holding a public session to gather your input as to what you would like to see happen"

Oct 17,2012 Letter from the Mayor to Allison Redford "As such we now have a new hotel, restaurant and truck stop development which will begin in the spring of 2013"

Nov 19, 2012 CAO report states " Administration and the developer for the former Crowsnest Centre site development continue to solve and complete development issues and anticipate that all remaining issues will be resolved within the next 30 days"

Nov 19,2012 the Mayor states "We are in the process of determining an open house date for our hotel development team to gather input from yourselves regarding the development. I suspect it will be in February. Contrary to rumor no "flag" hotel has yet been determined.

Dec 18,2012 CAO report states " Administration and the developer for the former Crowsnest Centre site development have had several discussions over the last few weeks. The majority of sale and development conditions have been satisfied for both parties with the finalization of agreement to be expected by month end. A new Hotel developer is partnering with the main developer and we are expecting the development process to start moving forward very quickly"

Dec 18,2012 The Mayor states "The hotel/restaurant/truck stop legalities have made significant progress and are drawing to a close and we are planning a public session in February. Initially it was predicted that they would not begin demolition until next spring but apparently they are planning to start much earlier. I am told they are close to selecting a "flag" hotel chain"

Jan 23,2013 CAO report states "A formal announcement is anticipated this week concerning the development on the former Crowsnest Centre site"

Jan 23,2013 the Mayor states "In February our hotel developers will be here for a public open house and to provide us with an opportunity to have input and ask any questions we may have. I am pressing for an early start for the deconstruction and new construction to begin"

Feb 19,2013 CAO states "Medican group and Group/Vachon hosted an open house on Tuesday Feb 12,2013 at the Elks Hall. The open house provided an opportunity for the developers to present their plans for development of the 2.5 ha. former hospital site. Architectural and engineering firms involved with the project were also on hand to discuss specifics related to the project and had conceptual drawings on hand for public's review.

Feb 19,2013 CAO report also states "sale and construction agreement was made official on Feb 4" "A soon to be named 60 to 75 room international hotel with amenities including pool and hot tub, breakfast area, and meeting space will be the primary development with other development plans including a franchise restaurant and other complimenting developments" "The purchase price of the land is in the amount of $1.1 million dollars which is made up of cash and the value of the demolition. The agreement further requires the demolition to be completed by late summer, with the foundation work to be completed by late fall. The hotel construction is required to be completed within 2 years of the signing of the agreement which means hotel opening by early 2015". "This area will be developed into park space with funding from Medican"

March 15,2013 CAO report states "The development agreement process has begun for the former Crowsnest Centre site"

March 15,2013 Mayor states "As you saw, heard, and discussed at the presentations and open house the hotel development is on its way"

April 19,2013 we are met with silence regarding this issue.

May15,2013 CAO states "The municipality has provided an extension to Medican to May 31,2013 for completion of final site engineering and site design, obtaining a development permit, securing an agreement for the hotel chain, Council approval for waiver of off-site levies, and negotiation and execution of a development agreement. This extension is needed as the application submission to Best Western Board of Directors was deferred to the week of May 13,2013 for consideration"

May 15,2013 The Mayor states "Last week I kept my promise and announced on the radio, as soon as I knew, that our new hotel will be a Best western. Final approval should be given between the 13th to 18th of this month. If it is not approved by the Best Western Board of Governors we will move to the Holiday Inn group. Regardless things are on time and we should see demolition activity late this summer"

June 17,2013 we are met again with silence regarding this issue.

Finally again we have the letter from the Penrose Group of companies available on the Municipality web site http://www.crowsnestpass.com/ under Press Releases and Announcements titled Crowsnest Centre Development.


Over the next few months leading up to the election I will publish several more of these "unvarnished facts and truths". To avoid any errors or miss truths I will attempt where ever possible to only use the facts available in the municipal newsletter.



Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day 

Mayor's Corner and local media

The Mayor found the time to describe his feeling about the local newspapers I have had responses from people stating that he is 100% right to that's BS and everything in between. I would like to get a sense of how many readers feel about the Mayor's attempt to communicate with the public every month. Go over to the new poll on the right and take a moment to express your opinion of the Mayors Newsletter.

Turn up the volume and check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsuHEznbxjg

If you can't hear it, it sounds like "We have two newspapers and they put out a lot of crap"


Note: Keep in mind one very important number $4325

Silly season officially begins.......

In another distinguished example of making friends 101, after a couple of absences the latest Mayor's Corner is out. We the residents of the Crowsnest Pass have now been blessed with an addition to our vocabulary of the word "CAVE'rs". We owe his worship a ton of gratitude for en-lighting us.   Mayor's Corner

This has been a different Spring. Let us hope summer is a little more predictable. We are however, entering another season which is very unpredictable. It usually starts about this time and ends immediately after the October election. Government bureaucrats often refer to it as “the silly season” that is, when politicians begin to appear everywhere making all kinds of promises (usually outlandish) and begin to pay close attention to people, groups and organizations they had previously ignored. Like other species on this planet they often resort to “eating their own” that is, their political colleagues. Most will resort to self-aggrandizement speaking at great length at any opportunity to confirm their concern and prowess regarding community affairs as well as their grasp of municipal governance. Human nature is indeed fascinating. I gave our Council a “heads up” about the silly season a few months ago advising them that people in the Pass could sniff out such antics in short order. I leave it to the reader to assess if any of your local politicians or “wannabees” fall victim to “the silly season”. I don’t think this Council has to come up with a show of new promises – it’s all there in the Strategic Plan, a plan that can be adjusted on an ongoing basis depending on context and timing. No doubt we will be treated in the upcoming months to the overtures and exhortations of has-beens, want to be’s, regressives (back to the good old days) and progressives of various sorts. I am sure we will have a slate of candidates fuelled by our local CAVE’rs as well. There are those who would suggest we are in a “political mess”. Not so. We are in a period of “change” which was what you demanded and what your Council is delivering. Decades of a no-change, beg the government for funding, drive business away through the lack of a policy-driven municipal government, is all falling by the wayside and to some this is uncomfortable.  Such “change” will ultimately benefit the majority of people in our community: the seniors, the young, the business people, the newcomers, and the “little guy” on the street. Unfortunately our traditional “old boys clubs”, and others simply don’t understand it and continue to maintain their sense of entitlement and backroom control of our future. Enough of politics and on to other topics. Last week I kept my promise and announced on the radio, as soon as I knew, that our new hotel will be a Best Western. Final approval should be given between the 13th to 18th of this month. If it is not approved by the Best Western Board of Governors we will move to the Holiday Inn group. Regardless things are on time and we should see demolition activity late this summer. The Riversdale group is still flying in groups of investors and the company should be “going public” in the next few months. We are awaiting the arrival of its first administrator from Seattle once his work visa etc. is processed. As recommended in the Mayor’s Task Force on the Economy, and then in our Strategic Plan, an Economic Development officer has been hired. I wanted to see this person hired early last year however many issues transpired and we were unable to get it done. Regardless she will begin her duties towards the end of the month. A press release will provide accurate details. However she is originally from Southern Alberta, a graduate of the University of Lethbridge, has extensive experience and was looking for an opportunity to “come home”.  My thanks to our Economic Development Committee for their patience over the past several months. Your patience will be rewarded. This is the last person to be hired in our restructured administrative team, a team of well trained professionals who work for our betterment. I previously indicated we needed to change “the way we do business” and this team, now complete, will continue to do just that. Good things will come of this. There is a hustle and bustle in the Pass we have not seen for some time: new people, new construction, new businesses opened and soon to be opened, inquiries regarding a second hotel, inquiries over a truck stop, interest in a large development in Coleman. It’s taken many months but it’s starting to happen. “You can’t create a future by clinging to the past.” *CAVE’rs – “citizens against virtually everything” entitlement – the state of being entitled, the right to guaranteed benefits under a government program. NOTE: Check out the story in this week's Promoter by Joni MacFarlane CAO briefing meetings defended http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/05/15/cao-briefing-meetings-defended

Big news more is here! The Crowsnest Centre Site is sold.

Last night CAO Myron Thompson in his report to council stated that there should be an announcement this week on the old Crowsnest Centre site.

I am told that some time in just a matter of days we will be receiving another rousing issue of the Mayor's corner, gloating about all the good things they have done or going to do for our community.

Keep in mind this is an election year, the local politicians at least the one's seeking re-election will be spending the next seven months convincing us that they are critical to maintaining the "momentum" moving forward. Come September/October we are going to hear again and again how important it will be that there  be continuity within the council ranks. To keep the confidence of the Coal miners, Hotel developers, Quebec manufacturers, and to conclude the Annexation process in our community.

I believe that the people in the Crowsnest Pass are too smart to buy this very old political game. At the end of the day is any company that's serious about spending ten's of millions up to $5-600 million to develop mines, hotels, or manufacturing plants in the Crowsnest Pass, going to back out because the make up of council changes? I don't think so.

If local council's were that important to this process wouldn't the Riversdale group have the MD of Ranchlands council on board?

Note: Latest Update on the Crowsnest Centre Site From the Pass Promoter's very own Joni MacFarlane

A large construction company has just been awarded the sale and contract of the former Crowsnest Centre site.

Council voted unanimously on Jan. 22 to enter into a sale and construction agreement with Medican General Contractors.

Started in Medicine Hat as a concrete company, Medican began building single-family homes and condominiums and was one of the first builders to introduce luxury condos for homeowners aged 40 and up.

They’ve now expanded across the country with completed condo developments in Quebec, Saskatchewan, B.C. and Alberta.

The municipality said details of the sale would be released to the public shortly.



http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/01/23/crowsnest-centre-site-sold

Christmas comes early.......Crowsnest Pass

Well just seven days before Christmas and we are all blessed with the best gift of all Newsletter #67 (has it been that many already) and my personal highlight “The Mayor’s Corner”.  Well here is my interpretation of what jolly old Saint Bruce has to say.

“Sometimes good leadership means making tough decisions that may make people unhappy and I appreciate that.  Clearly, we must work harder in the community to communicate the rationale behind the decisions we make.  We all want the same thing: a vibrant and prosperous Crowsnest Pass.”

Well maybe they finally are getting the message that people are unhappy, working harder to communicate I have said it before they have done a better job of communicating than any previous council. Maybe it’s what you are saying not the fact that you are saying it.

“Further, we have noted the growing popularity of ‘Shootin’ the Breeze’ and recently, the ‘Fernie Free Press,’ both of which are available in many local outlets free of charge.  The Voice, a web- based newspaper is also available, and in the future we will be considering these media in order to improve our communication”

So does this mean they will continue to communicate in the present local papers, or is this the year end message that Randy, Lindsay and Joni keep reporting the news "accuratly". We do have alternatives.

“The people from Quebec, the hotel developers and the representatives of the heavy industry have all noted the ratepayers petition and the resulting inspection.  I hope the inspection occurs as soon as possible to prevent any reactive concerns from developing on the part of these businesses.”

Sounds like the laying of the groundwork to place the blame just in case things do not work out in any of these area’s, I guess a politically shrewd move.

However that group, this past week determined that due to the ratepayers petition and the resulting inspection that they would decline meeting with us until the situation is clarified.  Depending on the date of the inspection, possibly three to four months away, and a final report,  I suspect we will be putting this major activity “on the shelf”

Why the hell would a municipal affairs petition have any bearing on a “jamboree” being held in Bellevue this summer. Will everything that does or does not happen now in the Crowsnest Pass be blamed on the petition and the ratepayers?

“In closing, I will note that as your Council we have had to undertake some serious planning.  In following these plans we have had to make some difficult and unpleasant decisions for the long term benefit of our community and its citizens.  The “heavy lifting” is almost done and beginning next year we will begin to see the positive results of that planning and those decisions”

So we have got all the really crappy stuff out of the way, now all the good things are going to happen just coincidently in an election year. 

"Mayor's corner" lessons in control, silencing the critic's

Further to the Mayor's corner newsletter, which I understand now is going to be delivered in our mail box on a regular basis. I would like my readers to take a look at the comments I made back on March 22 in reference to a lambasting the Mayor gave the media at the meeting of March 20,2012.

"Just prior to going into camera the Mayor announces that he is going to do something different. He is going to allow the media the opportunity to ask a question each to clarify anything that may have happened that night. Didn’t seem like a bad idea until suddenly the Mayor seized the opportunity to chastise the media for some “blatant errors in both papers reporting over the last few weeks”, then the lecture turned to how critical it is that they report the council proceeding “accurately”. When a member of the media attempted to respond to his comments she was shut down very quickly and told this is not a “debate”.  

     

You can read the full post at http://crowsnestpasshome.blogspot.ca/2012/03/control-name-of-game.html    it's titled "Control the name of the game" 

Mayor's Corner "Shinning a light on the truth"

MAYOR'S CORNER

Hello everybody! Welcome to the first edition of our attempt to bring you the facts and truths about “things” we are doing to improve our community. Why are we doing this? Well the fact of the matter is we are getting a lot of questions; questions about what people have “heard” and “read”, heard from the local “barbershop quartet” and from the “coffee-time guys and gals” and read in the local papers. When people phone or ask the Council and myself or the administration about “what they heard” they are given the truth – without the extra little “twist” that makes gossip so spicy. As for the newspapers we have very little to do with what they write. We have received numerous complaints regarding local blogs and the numerous letters to the editors which are frequently the uninformed ramblings of unhappy people. Many of our taxpayers are concerned over the blogs, the newspapers and the letter writers. However, your Council is concerned that the information you are receiving is simply not the truth. Further to this, we now live in the age of the internet. Think of it this way: when a blogger writes a tasty bit of “twisted” gossip (or twists the truth) or when a newspaper uses a negative spin to describe your Council’s efforts, or  when the papers print a letter to the editor it goes on the internet, Alberta-wide-Canada-wide-Worldwide – forever. Now, if a person drove through the Pass and thought of moving here or starting a business the first thing they would do is go to the internet to find out about this place called Crowsnest Pass. Guess what they will see? Please remember: we are all painted with the same brush by those who are painting our picture. Only the silent majority can change this unfortunate situation. 

These are the reasons we have decided to embark on a journey of providing you with facts and truth. We are expanding our website with more and more information, we have started a Facebook page and this is our first attempt at a regular newsletter. Your Council and Administration can place only so much information on these three sources so if we miss anything please call myself, the Councillors or our Administration for the unvarnished facts and truth. I am busy but never too busy to talk with you.

Comment: Well I am sad to say that the end is near for all forms of media in the Crowsnest Pass the freedom to express one's self is coming to an end.  We will no longer need newspapers that use the "negative spin" those people writing the letters to the editor based on "the uniformed ramblings of unhappy people" or the "twisted" gossip on  blogs.  

The silent majority needs to change this "unfortunate situation, we no longer need radio, newspapers, blogs, just call the municipal administration or a member of council they will tell you "the unvarnished facts and truth".

Where will we get our hair cut or go for a coffee? maybe the "barbershop quartet" or the "coffee time guys and gals"  will want to talk about politics, will they have the "unvarnished facts and truth" to have a proper discussion? Will they need to just contact administration or your council prior to discussing politics with their friends or customers.

The only question I have is who will determine  the correct positive spin in the paper, that letters to the editor are probably informed and only written by happy people, or that only untwisted comments are placed on blogs.  Maybe the next administrator that's hired could be in charge of the Department of "Unvarnished facts and truth" and make sure that all newspapers, letter writers, and blog owners conform.     

Please take a moment and answer the poll on the right hand side.