Who owns the Best Western rights?

Lot's of information from various sources draw your own conclusions on who actually owns the Best Western rights.  The fact that the $50,000 will be paid back when the land is sold, still means the taxpayer will be receiving $50,000 less value for the property.

The following comes from the municipalities own press release announcing that the deal with Medican collasped.


"The Vachon Group, who is still the official applicant for the hotel development, intends to continue working with Crowsnest Pass on the complex". 


Comments from July 16 G+P meeting 

Chris Vachon spoke to council regarding this issue made some very interesting comments and responses to Councilors questions:

-Investors that were previously lined up went to what they know best the condo market

-The Best Western brand and franchise was approved for the Pass under the Vachon group

-The cost to maintain the Best Western for two years will be $50,000, the way it came across to myself is Vachon put the money up six months ago. The municipality as a deadline of July 26 to make a decision on if they will pay the $50,000 to maintain the rights to Best Western. If they don’t I suspect Mr Vachon will get his $50k back from Best Western and the option to own those rights will disappear.

At this point Councilor Gail asked if there would be a problem finding Investors down the road especially with the MCNP already having the feasibility study done?

Mr Vachon told him that Best Western came in and did their own study and would probably have to update the study when new Investors show up. He also stated that new Investors showing up would be tied to what happens in the Coal/lumber markets locally.

Councilor Londsbury asked if Best Western sees this town has a viable option?

Mr Vachon gave a qualified yes based on once again what happens in the coal industry.

Councilor Saindon asked how can Medican pull out, didn’t we have an agreement, didn’t we honor our side of the agreement, thing’s get difficult they pull out?

Myron Thompson stated terms of the agreement were not met by Medican the contract became null and void.

Councilor Saindon asked what was the out clauses that Medican used?

Myron Thompson responded with “various clauses”.

Councilor Gallant said Best Western did not play games, independent studies said this location was viable, he asked how long Sparwood has been on Best Western books and is there a time limit on how long they will be on the books?

Mr Vachon stated that he did not know Sparwood was trying to get a Best Western until they filed the application for Blairmore. He also stated that Best Western watchs a location for signs of moving forward (foundations being put in place etc)

Councilor Mitchell asked if he had heard correctly that there is a deadline of July 26?

Mr Vachon said yes for the $50,000

Councilor Saje asked for an explanation of what the status of the present contract is?

Mr Vachon stated we will talk further later in the meeting (In Camera)

Pass Herald July 16

“What brings me out here is to see if there is any interest in pursuing a new investment group, under myself,” said Vachon.

Crowsnest Pass Peomoter 

The curious case of the hotel Part 3 from Joni MacFarlane

You'd be forgiven for having difficulty keeping track of the unfolding events surrounding a proposed development for the former Crowsnest Centre site.

Ever since it was announced that the first deal had gone south, the story’s taken more twists and turns than Senator Pamela Wallin’s travel expenses.

First we’re told that after much legal wrangling, a large construction company had been awarded the sale and contract of the site.

An open house presenting an architect’s conceptual designs was held when a new name emerges – that of Chris Vachon, a hotel management consultant.

The Medican deal falls through and now Vachon holds all the rights and none of the risk to secure a Best Western franchise. With hands held to the fire, we’re told it’s now or never - pay this fellow or kiss Best Western goodbye forever.

Now another name comes crawling out of the woodwork – that of Clay Cup Development. Apparently, they were originally involved in the deal before Vachon came along. We’re told they too are an approved Best Western developer and have built one in the past. They call the “now or never” scenario bunk and say that’s not how it works.

They also claim municipalities don’t pay these fees and that it sends up “red flags” to be asked to. Clearly the majority of council members are colour blind.

But wait, there’s more. Clay Cup says they chose to walk away from the deal when they read the “amateurish” feasibility study. Some members of council said they were fired.

Who is telling the truth here and who is not?

Is council adequately investigating these conflicts of information before playing with taxpayers’ money?

More worrying is the obvious conflict between what some members of council knew and what some did not. When and how was this information imparted and why are some members in the dark?

Now with close to a million dollars committed to demolish the site, find investors, a builder, and who knows what else to make a Best Western hotel a reality, this business of “he said - he said” is farcical.

One more chapter on the hotel saga

Now I know it's only $10,000 and some people are getting tired of this story but it's our money so we have a right to know.
Council/administration in their wisdom decided eighteen months ago to hire a consultant to put together a feasibility study for a hotel on the former CLC site.
Rich Eichler Consulting dined at the trough known has the municipality of Crowsnest Pass to the tune of a cool $10,000 and delivered a feasibility study in January 2012 that would give us a "leg up" when we went out to seek hotel investors.
Well after posting a Request For Proposals for months we get "one" company that takes advantage of this golden opportunity, just escaping from court protection "Medican" well we all know how that story worked out (or do we)
So fast forward to July 23 Chris Vachon informs us that just a year later, after Mr Eichler delivered his study that Best Western spent $25,000 on a new feasibility study, did the first one miss something ? Did we waste our $10,000?
Let's fast forward to this week's Pass Herald to the comments from Mr Jeff Carlson CAO of clay cup developers, the company that initially looked at working with Medican and the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass. What did he have to say about the feasibility study "I check out feasibility reports all the time I am not a amateur and the report was amateurish, a waste of money".
How much more money was spent on legal fees putting together the contract with Medican that at one point the CAO told us required 80 some revisions? I hope it wasn't a lot.
The big concern now in line with both Councilor's Saindon and Saje's arguments against accepting the tender for the demolition of the Centre last week is we don't know what the total cost for the remediation of that building is going to be?
Let's hope this story is almost over.

Hotel deal, what a circus.

We find out to much fanfare last year that we have a deal to take down the old hospital and build a hotel.

Medican despite the fact that they just came out of CCAA court protection are the lucky winners of the hotel sweepstakes.

We are told that they are going to pay us $1.1 million for the property! Well not really we find out in dribs and drabs of information that they are getting an $800,000 credit for the demolition of the building, $100,000 from the municipality to build a park and $200,000 cash will hit the municipal coffers.

It was a con job to say the least there (As I have stated on this blog numerous times) was two bids under the $800,000 in fact yesterday Frank Bessinger Director of Public works confirmed that they had a low bid of $577,000.

So why didn’t they say to the public we sold the building for $777,000 ($577K for demo and $200K cash) did they really think Medican was going to use the high bidder?

Then the story gets dragged out for five months because they were waiting for Best Western to let them have their name. Lets get real the issue was Medican did not come up with the $8-10 million to build a hotel.

Then just a mere few weeks back the next saga of this tale pops up Group Vachon paid up front $50,000 to file the application with Best Western for the name and rights to the franchise. But there is a deadline July 26 Mr Vachon can with draw his application at that point and get his $50K back. Or the municipality can put up the $50,000 and maintain the application and the rights to the Best Western name and franchise for two years.

First impression sometimes you have to spend a little money and take a chance to make something work, so the municipality spends $50K to take ownership of the name and rights to the Best Western. Surprise the town owns NOTHING Group Vachon owns the rights to the Best Western name. If any other businessman is thinking about buying a franchise for the Pass just approach council tell them that you will build within two years and maybe they will pay $50K towards the cost of the franchise for you.

Then just minutes before they vote Councilor Gail asks the question “If this doesn’t work out in two years I understand we will get most of our money back except for a few thousand dollars for the administration costs?” Administration tells him we will take the $50K out of land reserves and put it back when we sell the land that the centre is sitting on.   

Well if the land was sold for $500,000 you will not really be getting that amount because the first $50k will pay for the rights to the franchise.

So lets be an optimist and say there is another hotel waiting in the back ground to snap up this golden opportunity to own a Best Western hotel in the Crowsnest Pass. Councilor Saindon made it clear in his line of questioning there is not.

But there is an answer our Economic Development Officer recommends we go on a marketing blitz of the site for the next three months (August, September, October somebody will be selling hope by say late October). She also informs us that there are three conferences coming up in Calgary, Vancouver and Toronto she suggests that council sends her to those conferences to meet with al those potential investors the one’s Medican couldn’t find.

These guys need to tell the truth there is a $50K expenditure of taxpayers money being made to maintain the rights to a Best Western for Group Vachon. The municipality owns NOTHING the taxpayers takes all the risk. Another Investor comes in and wants to go with Holiday Inn Express are we going to say NO?. Two years runs out the $50K got us what?

I think I have made myself very clear where I stand on this issue.

Kudos to Councilors Saindon and Saje who voted against this in a sincere way and stated why they didn't not some phony No vote. Because they knew it was going through any way and just wanted to be able to stand up at a forum in October and say I never voted for that.

 Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day

July 16 G+P Meeting Crowsnest Pass

Group Vachon Hotel status review

Chris Vachon spoke to council regarding this issue made some very interesting comments and responses to Councilors questions:

-Investors that were previously lined up went to what they know best the condo market

-The Best Western brand and franchise was approved for the Pass under the Vachon group

-The cost to maintain the Best Western for two years will be $50,000, the way it came across to myself is Vachon put the money up six months ago. The municipality as a deadline of July 26 to make a decision on if they will pay the $50,000 to maintain the rights to Best Western. If they don’t I suspect Mr Vachon will get his $50k back from Best Western and the option to own those rights will disappear.

At this point Councilor Gail asked if there would be a problem finding Investors down the road especially with the MCNP already having the feasibility study done?

Mr Vachon told him that Best Western came in and did their own study and would probably have to update the study when new Investors show up. He also stated that new Investors showing up would be tied to what happens in the Coal/lumber markets locally.

Councilor Londsbury asked if Best Western sees this town has a viable option?

Mr Vachon gave a qualified yes based on once again what happens in the coal industry.

Councilor Saindon asked how can Medican pull out, didn’t we have an agreement, didn’t we honor our side of the agreement, thing’s get difficult they pull out?

Myron Thompson stated terms of the agreement were not met by Medican the contract became null and void.

Councilor Saindon asked what was the out clauses that Medican used?

Myron Thompson responded with “various clauses”.

Councilor Gallant said Best Western did not play games, independent studies said this location was viable, he asked how long Sparwood has been on Best Western books and is there a time limit on how long they will be on the books?

Mr Vachon stated that he did not know Sparwood was trying to get a Best Western until they filed the application for Blairmore. He also stated that Best Western watchs a location for signs of moving forward (foundations being put in place etc)

Councilor Mitchell asked if he had heard correctly that there is a deadline of July 26?

Mr Vachon said yes for the $50,000

Councilor Saje asked for an explanation of what the status of the present contract is?

Mr Vachon stated we will talk further later in the meeting (In Camera)

At this point the Mayor asked Mr Vachon to stick around until later in the meeting.

Topics of Discussion

Municipal Credit card policy presented to council most of them seemed to be excited due to a policy being put in place. Some thought there was no policy previously they should do a little research and read the previous policy on council remuneration. Credit card limits were increased from $1000 to $2000.

Economic Development and Tourism Advisory Committee terms of reference were presented to council everything appeared to be to council’s satisfaction

Municipal Disaster Relief Plan Task Force- the Mayor explained that he would be bringing forth a position at the council meeting to put in place a “Task Force” of experts, provincial agencies, local people with the historical perspective and members of council to look at ways of preventing future disasters.

Ranchland Annexation- The Mayor stated he would be proposing at the council meeting that this process begin in a formal fashion.

Alberta Transport right of way along Highway 3, concerned raised about the weeds along the highway 3. Mr Headrick informed council that Volker Stevin were made aware of the Municipalities displeasure especially in light of the fact that thousands of people would be coming to our community this weekend.

Streaming of council meeting- The Mayor stated that they have been working on this issue for many months and its time for it to be put in place. At this point Councilor Saje made the point that council had not even made a decision on if they were going to do this. The Mayor stated that he basically did not care what needed to be done between now and then but by August 20 council meeting will be streamed.     

After this council went In Camera for Land and Personnel issues.

CHECK OUT THE POLL ON THE PROMOTER SITE @ http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/07/12/proposed-hotel-on-hold

 Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day

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

Municipal press release on the hotel development

Notice the date on the press release these guys have known about this for 17 days. After the Quebec manufacturer who would ever have guessed.



Crowsnest Pass Council weighs options as hotel development receives a setback

On Tuesday, June 25th, Crowsnest Pass Council was informed that Medican will no longer be partnering with the Vachon Group on the construction of the hotel portion of the hospitality complex intended for the current Crowsnest Centre site. These circumstances will put the hotel development on temporary hold.
The problem revolved around questions pertaining to the ability to retain investment dollars required to construct the hotel while waiting for official franchise approval.
While viewing this turn of events as unfortunate, Crowsnest Council sees this as a setback for the project, not the end of it. “Given the scenery of the site, its strategic location and the enthusiasm from the community for this project, I have no doubt that a development will be built on the Crowsnest Centre site in due course, “said Mayor Bruce Decoux. The Vachon Group, who is still the official applicant for the hotel development, intends to continue working with Crowsnest Pass on the complex. Mayor Decoux says he will press to ensure the site is prepared this fall.
Moving forward, the Council will weigh its options which includes continuing with plans to build the restaurant, and clearing the site to make it attractive for hotel development. “We still have a committed, reputable partner in the Vachon Group to develop the site into what this community has been envisioning,” said Mayor Decoux. “I appreciate their dedication to bringing this development, and its amenities, to our municipality.”
Council stressed that they are committed to continuing to listen closely to the community around how the site will be developed and will provide the community with regular updates on the progress of the project.

Note: Cost of administration $4325 per day

Secret Meeting in the Crowsnest Pass

If you are having problems reading the letter below, just click on the letter and it should pop up. 

For more Information on this story check out what the CNP ratepayers have to say in today Pass Herald http://www.passherald.ca/

I filed a request for information on the secret "briefing meeting" and a few other issues, above is what I received back. First impression is that they are telling me little but some of what they have provided me is very revealing.

First of all these "briefing meetings" have been going on for eighteen months since January 11 of 2012 why is it only in the last month that the CAO and or Councilors have felt the need to tell the public these meeting are taking place. 

Mayor and councilors have received $1890 for attending these meetings,  the information supplied to me surprisingly there was not a need for a "informal verbal briefing" meeting for eight months. 

My next two questions indicate that council was given no information, documentation, plus out of those meeting came no direction, action plans etc. It leads one to ask why bother it sounds like the taxpayers paid almost $2,000 for council to listen to the CAO recite from memory (because there was no documentation available) a bunch of information that could have been put on paper and reviewed at a G+P meeting, if it was confidential under the terms of FOIP then it could have been dealt with at a regular meeting In Camera.

Then I requested information on the tenders on the demolition of the Crowsnest Centre, one of the conditions of the Medican agreement is that Medican receives a credit of $800,000 for demolition which is deducted of the purchase price of $1.3 million. Which is fine if that was what the true cost of demolition is, but if we had quotes lower than that, say around the $560,000 mark then are the taxpayers receiving true value for this disposal of municipal assets?

From everything we have been told the agreement between the Municipality and Medican has been concluded in fact it was released by the municipality and placed on the Transparency CNP site (link to the right). Within the answer I received on that question the reason for not releasing the information I requested is that "negotiations are continuing relative to this property" So is there a deal in place or not?

Are we really just waiting for Best Western to bestow their name on this property or is there more to this story?     

Mayor's Update on the Hotel another study

After deadlines being extended twice already for a development permit and engineering plans, plus an additional extension on the naming of the hotel. Tomorrow is the deadline does anyone anticipate that there will be announcement within the next 36 hours? will there be another extension?. Or are we being led down the garden path once again (Quebec Manufacturer).

The Mayor has tossed around many dates and time frames on this issue and numerous others I was just reminded yesterday about the Rivers Run properties by the end of March. That is the problem when you build up people's expectations you should never be upset if they get frustrated when you don't deliver. 

On the right hand side is a poll on this issue feel free to vote I am trying a different type of poll has the google one's were not working very well.    

Update: The Mayor on his moment with Randy this morning mentioned that Best Western are conducting their own mini-feasibility study that will be done by June 17. Strange months back the Mayor was gloating about how fast this process was proceeding due to the fact that the Municipality had hired a consultant to put together a feasibility study included with the original tender package.
Obviously based on the comments from the Mayor this morning there appears to be a need to re address those original numbers. Or this could just be a stalling tactic because Medican does not have an investor yet.  

Note: Seldom I do this but I am going to high light a comment that was made last night, somebody obviously did their home work. 

Maybe Best Western noticed that the study included in the RFP is bogus.

It says we have heli-skiing, whitewater rafting, windsurfing, heli-touring and paragliding.

It mentions the Bingay coal project (suspended), Devon ("due to the age of its plant,it is in need of regular upgrading. In the future, this in turn should require the periodic services of out of town contracters ..."), pipeline, drilling and forestry companies.

And "Rum Runner days and Thunder in the Valley .. attract several thousands of tourists".

It says we have "Highway 3, the weather accessible ... highway" but then it says "Having hotels in close proximity ... is favourable ... because of poor road conditions which often result in the Crowsnest Pass during the winter season."

Medican and much more (Including CAO raise)

First of all Kudo's on the new sound system in the council chambers I never realized how bad the sound was in there until I actually sat in the public gallery.

Attended council meeting last night (May 7) lots of issues but I know the one most pressing for most of my readers was the Medican development of the Old Hospital site and those previously spoken about timelines, some were for the end of March and some for the end of April, the CAO informed us last night that they all been extended to May 31.

Municipal Office will start opening at lunch hour beginning June 1

CAO is still in the recruiting process for the new Economic Development Officer

The CPO position being advertised is not a new position the original position was only a temporary position which they are now turning into a permanent position.

The municipality is still working on reaching an agreement with the SPCA.

The new Sports and Recreation committee had it's first meeting.

A new contract with CNP waste was awarded to pick up our garbage for the next two years.

Sale of the Bellevue Seniors hall, a motion was brought forth by Councilor Mitchell to enter into negotiations with the Bellevue Seniors to sell them the hall.
During the discussion on this issue Councilor Londsbury gave a speech about how well the communities of Bellevue and Hillcrest have worked together over the years,  maybe the seniors there should consider carrying on that spirit of co-operation with the Coleman Seniors and look at the option of sharing their facility.

Particular Interest during the council member reports several of the councilors mentioned that they had attended a CAO briefing. Later in the meeting Joni from the Promoter asked what is a "CAO briefing" the  CAO's answer was a regular held meeting with council that talks about management or planning issues with no minutes kept or resolutions passed. (Sounds some what like a G+P meeting) and not accessible to the public or the media.      

The following motion was passed on Tuesday night when council came out of camera:

M#6874-13: Councillor Gallant moved that the Chief Administrative Officer’s contract salary be adjusted according to the terms of his contract.

We have heard this story before......

This morning all excited knowing that the deadline of April 30 had pasted and that according to the agreement between Medican and the municipality that the developer was supposed to announce the name of the hotel chain by that date.

So there I sat with the new municipal flag hanging over my fire place, and my pin of multi coloured triangles attached to my pyjamas top. I patiently sat in front of my radio this morning waiting for the Mayor to take his first opportunity since April 30 to bask in the announcement of the hotel coming to the old hospital site. There was much speculation that it would be a Best Western, has one of the comment's pointed out on my previous post, when you read the articles from the Okotoks paper, Medican, Group Vachon and Best Western seem like a natural fit.

I was so disappointed when the Mayor said the Board of Governors for Best Western are meeting next week to make a decision, (maybe the contract said April 30 2014? check below) which is really strange because about a month a go at a previous council meeting the public was told that the Board of Governors were meeting on April 8-11th.

Back to the radio the Mayor states that there are concerns coming from Sparwood because a Best Western was announced there quite a while back, (see Best Western update below, those two year deadlines are going to be difficult to make).

But the Mayor did come to the rescue with more positive news if Best Western does not come through then we have the Holiday Inn waiting in the back ground, hopefully their Board of Governors will not take too long to get together.

Word on the street is there is a third choice, the famous family ran Dick's hostel and discount water slides are taking a look at the site. (The head of the family Mr Dick suggests that he could get all the Dicks together for a meeting to make a decision, very quickly)

On a serious note folks does this not sound like the script from the Quebec Manufacturer saga except every where the words "Quebec Manufacturer" were used previously you now insert "Hotel Board of Governors" I will pee myself the first time I hear at a council meeting, "I'm sure these Board of Governors are running up lot's of Air Miles flying back and forth to the Pass"       

Medican and Municipality of CNP Contract available at http://transparencycnp.shawwebspace.ca/blog/posts/2/5/


Sparwood Update on Best Western site Feb 2012

 http://www.sparwood.ca/government/news/announcements/best-western-hotel-development

Best Western, New hotel in the Crowsnest Pass

I was just asked several questions about the hotel deal regarding the contract with Medican and the timelines laid out in the agreement and what repercussions are involved if the timelines are not followed.

You can see the contract for yourself by going to the following address: http://transparencycnp.shawwebspace.ca/blog/posts/2/5/

Included in the contract are the following conditions on page 7 of the agreement:

 1 (a) Be satisfied with the zoning of the lands and the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass new land use bylaw, on or before Febuary 15,2013
    (b) Completion of final engineering design on or before on March 29,2013
    (c) Apply for and or obtain a development permit respecting the development, on or before March 29,2013
    (d) Securing an agreement with a hotel chain for the development, on or before April 30, 2013
    (e) Obtain a council resolution approving the waive of off-site levies for the development, on or before April 30,2013.

Conditions B and C were extended for an additional thirty days with approval of the municipality, Condition D did that take place? I have not heard anything there is nothing that has been released by the municipality yet.

The agreement also states under section 13 that the clearing of the land including demolition of all the present structures shall take place on or before August 30,2013.

My opinion, there is a council meeting next week (May 7) I expect Bruce will want to receive the maximum exposure on this issue. He will release an announcement in the next couple of days which will allow him to walk in to council next week a hero. He will announce that an agreement has been reached between Medican and Hotel chain ?????? prior to April 30th. Which could not have been achieved without the massive support, guidance, direction and positive thoughts from Council and Administration.

If this does not happen can these deadlines be extended? of course the purchaser requests an extension then the municipality can either agree to the request or let the agreement die, the political repercussions of the latter? not good just months before an election.

Crowsnest Pass Ratepayers Letter to the Editor

Here is the letter from this weeks letter to the editor also check out the ratepayers Facebook page for other information on the organization.

http://www.facebook.com/notes/crowsnest-pass-ratepayers-association/other-side-of-the-story/538457979539095

Other side of the story

The Ratepayers do not have access to the taxpayer funded municipal communications system. It becomes very expensive to advertise on radio, in the papers, mail inserts.

It leaves the ratepayers association seeking other alternatives to getting out our concerns, comments and questions.

In response to the Mayor’s latest newsletter. It is good to see that our restructured administrative staff is working well as a team with our staff.

Maybe the talk of morale at the municipality being at an all time low is not accurate.

The Mayor addresses the issue of differences of opinion in a healthy organization is he referring to Councillor Saje recent statements? Were those the only times that process was not followed? Is Councillor Saje the only one that has concerns?

The hotel development, the selling price of the property was $1.1 million.

The municipality actually only receives $300,000 in cash with $100,000 of that used to put in a playground at the site. The developer was given an allowance of $800,000 to remove the building by August 30. There was a request for proposals, last year were there bids for less than $800,000?

Medican is a company that has had serious financial problems, they are now

in the process of coming out of CCAA court protection.

More news in the Mayor’s newsletter at the open house with Riversdale Mining, there spokesman clearly stated that every thing going perfect the mine would be starting up in 2017, the Mayor now suspects the mine will be in place sooner than anticipated.

The Mayor is also excited about the branding project, that cost the taxpayers $47,000 don’t we all feel “naturally rewarded”. The Mayor’s task force report in May of 2011 clearly recommended the use of the “Mountain

Freedom” brand, that would have cost us nothing. That same report also stated a top priority would be the hiring of an Economic Development Officer

by Sept 2011, the job is finally now being advertised, will it be in place prior to the election?

Ranchlands is going to meet with our council, it would be great news for the taxpayers of the Crowsnest Pass to know when we will be reducing our high tax rates, franchise fees and other various charges with the additional income that Ranchlands will provide. The Mayor should provide us with examples of other municipalities where this process has taken place, we can only find examples where communities anticipating tremendous population growth were allowed to annex their neighbors.

Finally, the Mayor basks in the glory of the Emergency Services Open House, it was great that it brought back memories of a cardboard helmet from his early childhood. What about the memories of the individuals that put 20-40 years of there lives into those organizations.

This will be the first letter to the editor from the Ratepayers Association, we have many more issues to raise, we ask all residents to take the time to think about these prior to October 21. (This letter was written without the assistance of any Public Relations firm)

Hotel contract now available between Medican and the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass

One of my readers as provided me with the address below where you can see the contract between Medican and The Municipality of Crowsnest Pass.

No signatures or date on the contract provided


http://transparencycnp.shawwebspace.ca/blog/

Update on our Hotel Developer in the Crowsnest Pass

I was under the impression that Medican was already out of court ordered creditor protection:

Several interesting stories from the Medicine Hat News, Lethbridge Herald, Western Wheel:

Medican attempts to get back into the swing
Feb 16,2013

COLLIN GALLANT
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com Twitter: CollinGallant
A former pillar of the Medicine Hat construction community is poised to come out from under court-ordered creditor protection, according to Ty Schneider, the chief restructuring officer at Medican.
Court proceedings this week and next should be the final phase, said Schneider, before a new entity emerges from the tangled story of the collapse of the construction and development company in May 2010.
"Things have come along way from where it was, and 2013 and 2014 should be good years of building," said Schneider, who is confident that a Court of Queen's Bench judge will approve the final settlement. 
A settlement arrangement that was voted on and approved in January 2012 that would see unsecured creditors paid up to a guaranteed amount of $2,750 and then part of a $10-million fund built up by the company was approved by a majority of nearly 500 unsecured creditors who voted.
Creditors who spoke with the News this week say they have had no contact with the court-appointed monitor about possible payments. 
In August, officials with Ernst and Young said they were beginning the process of verifying claims. Interview requests with the monitor made this week were not returned.
According to court documents, the new company has three years from the time it emerges from court protection to disperse the funds after it initially builds up $1 million, then quarterly as funds become available.
"It's very clear in the court order, we've agreed as a company to pay $10 million. " said Schneider. "The jobs that we've got are good jobs, and providing that we can get financing, provided the market remains stable, we can do OK."
Frustrated creditors reacted poorly to the news this week that Medican is planning to build a new hotel and commercial development in the Crowsnest Pass but officials with the company emerging from court protection say new money coming in means debts will be settled sooner.
"How do you spend money that you don't even have to pay back money that you can't pay back? It's business backwards to me," said Dawn Cameron, whose company Budget Blinds was owed about $7,500 when the company filed for creditor protection.
Spider Electric of Medicine Hat was owed $1.3 million by Medican, and now the owner is resigned to the idea that no funds are forthcoming.
"Education costs money and we got schooled pretty hard," said company president Mark Simmons. "We prepared ourselves but we're not expecting a nickel."
The original unsecured creditors list shows that at least 66 local companies are owed more than $1,000, and 10 area firms are owed in excess of $100,000. 
During the first year of the court proceedings, unprofitable operations were closed and assets like unsold condo units and land were ordered sold to pay almost $110 million owed to secured creditors.
Schneider said that at least $1 million of unpaid secured debt remains.
Along with work in the profitable concrete pouring wing of the company, the courts have allowed Medican to move ahead with or complete projects deemed profitable in the interest of maximizing the value of assets for settlement.
Along with the Crowsnest development, the company has a new project to build a hotel in Okotoks and is completing work on condo projects in Red Deer begun in 2011. 
Most of the new investment has been made by individuals, said Schneider, though one chartered bank, ATB Financial, has extended terms to the company.


Medican looking to build hotel in the Crowsnest Pass

Feb 14,2013

Dave Mabell
Lethbridge Herald
LETHBRIDGE
Medicine Hat construction company Medican is planning to build an "internationally branded" hotel in Crowsnest Pass and could start work on the 50- to 75-room facility this year, an official with the company says.
It's a new direction for Medican, developer of hundreds of condominium units in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and other cities over recent years.
The company filed for court protection from its creditors in 2010 and is currently working towards meeting the terms of a settlement agreement reached in January 2012. 
Medican has been concentrating on its profitable concrete pouring business during court proceedings, according to legal documents, but a hotel is a departure from that plan. 
Bill Cooper, vice-president of sales and marketing for Medican, says the Crowsnest Pass is long overdue for greater choice in accommodation and dining.
"With its central location between Lethbridge and Fernie, the Crowsnest Centre site is perfectly located to become the destination stopping area for travellers through the southern Rocky Mountains," he said.
Medican has signed an agreement with the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass covering property at the western edge of Blairmore, Cooper reports. 
The hotel – with an indoor pool, restaurant, sports bar and meeting rooms – will be near Highway 3. Adjacent retail spaces are also planned.
"There are exciting things happening in the Crowsnest Pass and we are excited to be bringing forward this hotel and commercial development," Cooper says.
Lethbridge architect Alvin Reinhold Fritz is developing a design for the hotel, he adds. Alberta investors are backing the project.
Cooper said the company has no other projects currently in southern Alberta.
In Red Deer, however, it's developing an adults-only condominium complex adjacent to the 280-unit assisted living complex it built recently for Extendicare. 
Cooper says Medican is selling units in the final phase of a 148-unit condo unit aimed at spouses of seniors who've moved into the health-care facility.
A similar Medican project in Lethbridge was hit by a recession but Cooper says it could possibly be resurrected in improved market conditions.

Hotel construction to start this month

Business: 82-room Best Western project has been years in the making

March 6,2013

It’s been many years in the making, but work on an Okotoks Best Western hotel will finally get underway later this month.

The hotel’s owners have revealed they are planning to break ground on the project on March 20.

Hotel co-owner Roanne Bodnarchuk said there’s a great need for another hotel in town, particularly to support the growing “sports tourism” market in the area. As a regular billet for the Okotoks Dawgs, she has often heard about the need for another hotel.

“The feedback from the billets has been, ‘There’s nowhere for our parents and our families to stay,’” she said. “We started looking into it four years ago after we had our first billet.”

Located next to Costco on Okotoks’ east side, the full-service hotel will boast 82 rooms, a banquet facility, indoor pool, waterslide and meeting rooms. There will also be a restaurant in a separate building on the site and Bodnarchuk said they are working to attract an “upscale” restaurant name.

The Okotoks resident and her husband Greg own BWO Hospitality Inc., which is developing the project.

It has been a lengthy planning process that began several years ago.

The Okotoks Municipal Planning Commission (MPC) approved the proposed Best Western in November 2011.

The developers had one year to meet a number of conditions set out by the MPC and they received an extension in November 2012 giving them until the end of June 2013 to meet the conditions of the approval.

The developers still have a number of steps left to complete before they can break ground.

Okotoks planning officer Wendy Cardiff said a development permit will be issued once the development agreement for the hotel is submitted to the Town and executed.

Bodnarchuck said the final designs for the building have been completed and they are awaiting final approval from the Town on the development agreement.

Medican, the contractor hired to build the hotel, said they are ready to go when they get the signal.

“All of our ducks are lined up and waiting to go and we’re just waiting for that green light, which we know is coming,” said Bill Cooper, Medican vice-president of sales and marketing.

Shane Olson, Okotoks’ economic development team leader, said he believes there’s a strong need for another hotel in Okotoks and has been working to get a new hotel built in town for some time. There are only three hotels in Okotoks. The 64-room Lakeview Inn and Suites is the largest hotel while the smaller Okotoks Country Inn and the Royal Duke Hotel are the other options in town.

He said Okotoks has lost out on several opportunities to host events, major sports competitions and tournaments in particular because of a lack of hotel space in town.

“We believe the regional field house is a huge hook and huge anchor and a reason to build a full service hotel in that area,” said Olson.

Crowsnest Centre are we moving forward?

Tuesday night I went to the open house for the Crowsnest Centre site. Prior to the meeting I was asked by one of our residents that I have known for a long time. If I was surprised to see this happening, and if I wanted it to fail so it would be a black eye for this council.

To clarify that statement there are people that disagree with me on some sensitive political issues in this community, that are running around telling people that I have my own political agenda, that people need to keep that in mind when they read or hear my comments.

Well I’m going to shock you, yes I have my own agenda, some politicians call it a “vision” or “goals” etc. Any politician that tells you he does not have his own agenda or vision is either full of crap or should not be doing the job because who needs leaders without vision? Yes I am going to shock you even more I will be running for council this fall, it is just eight months away I think it is time for people to start stepping forward, speaking up and getting involved in the political process. Personally, I was never impressed with people that showed up for the first time in their life at a council meeting a month before the election, or the night before nomination day suddenly feeling the urge to save their community.  Now you still have time to learn about the process, see how council works and get a feel for the issues that are important to the community and it’s people and decide what your “vision” for this community will be.

To the Crowsnest Centre Site and the comments that have been directed at me. Was I surprised to see this happen?

No for six years I argued until I was blue in the face that this property was the most logical piece of land in the Crowsnest Pass for commercial development. Now some people fought against that with tremendous passion, to maintain what used to be on that site, I did not agree with them but after what has happened in this community over the last two years I understand a whole lot more about the issue of “passion”.  

What did we see Tuesday night? well it started with Bruce spending ten minutes patting himself, council and administration on the back for all the hard work they did to put this together. I am sure there was a lot of work involved and I give credit to them for that, but they should have sat in that council chamber 4-5 years ago if they wanted to see the real “work” that went in to this issue.

Then he introduced the people from Medican, the Architect, and Vachon group and turned the floor over to them. They all spoke well obviously educated people that have seized an opportunity in the Crowsnest Pass, nothing wrong with that.

What did they have to give us? When everybody walked in they were met by a large board with a picture of a nice hotel across from Summitt Home Hardware, a McDonalds and a Boston Pizza behind it. Green spaces, smaller businesses, a park that we the taxpayers will be paying for, and lot’s of large trees on the side facing Drain Brothers yard.

Exciting stuff, then Mr Day from Medican told us this is only a conceptional  diagram there is no guarantee that this is what the hotel will look like, or that these restaurants will be here, they were here tonight to get a feel about what the community wanted to see. He went on to talk about how they have to find all of these businesses, then he introduced the other people in the party who all gave a little information about their backgrounds.

When that was finished the different members of the groups went to separate tables and allowed the public to approach them with questions.

What do we have “today” for the Crowsnest Centre site? We have a group of businessmen that have signed a contract with the municipality (most details of which we will never know) that are going out to attempt to attract a hotel, with possibly some type of convention centre. Later it will be followed  up in phases with restaurants, and other smaller secondary businesses coming in. Do we have anything more solid that that right now? No.

Do I want this project to fail because it will be a black eye for this council and help my political “agenda”? Not a chance, this community needs commercial development we need tax base, we need employment.

I hope for the sake of this community that this is very successful. Myself and the other politicians past, present and future can decide later who takes the credit for this.       

Crowsnest Pass Hotel Update

In today's Crowsnest Pass Promoter is a little more information from Joni MacFarlane about the Hotel development with the financial implications included . From reading the story it appears now that the $300,000 cash we received a $100,000 is directed towards creating a green space next to the development so in all essence the Municipality is only receiving $200,000. At the end of the story is a poll for you to vote and how you feel about the deal.

http://www.crowsnestpasspromoter.com/2013/02/11/hotel-announced-for-crowsnest

Hotel announced for Crowsnest

Joni MacFarlane

Monday, February 11, 2013 5:24:14 MST PM

A 50-75-room hotel, located at the former site of the Crowsnest Centre, was announced last week.

Medican, a Medicine Hat-based construction company and Group Vachon, a Calgary-based hotel management company, signed an agreement with the municipality to build a development that is to include a pool, hot tub, breakfast area and meeting spaces. The project will be accompanied by a complementing restaurant and sports bar as well as a green space with amenities such as a dog run and playground area.

The development group said their vision for the project is to “create a signature hotel and commercial area that will allow tourists to enjoy the numerous outdoor activities available within the Crowsnest Pass and also to create the primary rest area location between Lethbridge and Fernie”.

Medican has been in business since 1974 with a primary focus on development and construction of seniors’ residential communities and retail commercial development.

Group Vachon is a Calgary-based company with over 22 years experience in the hotel industry, building and managing properties including international brands as well as independent hotels across North America.

Details from a public open house on Feb. 12 were not available as at press time.

After the announcement was made, The Promoter spoke with Chief Administrative Officer Myron Thompson to discuss the financial details and implications for the municipality.

Thompson said the purchase price was $1.1M that includes $300,000 cash and total responsibility for the demolition and clearing of the site.

The municipality had looked at doing the demolition themselves, he explained, but it was included in the proposal from the construction company.

“We said, well fine, because that takes that risk and liability from us,” he said. “If we had to spend that $800,000 on the demolition and then get $1.1M, it’s all the same.”

Thompson said they discussed the offer with an appraisal company who said it was “very close to being at market value”. The value had decreased slightly from July 2010 when it had been appraised at $1.4M, he said.

“There was talk about giving the land away for nothing so I think it’s a good deal,” he added. “Because what it does, it develops an entire parcel of land.”

The purchase price of $300,000 is held in trust, Thompson said, and the developer will get title to the land. If they don’t meet the requirements set out in the agreement, there is a certain time period that the municipality can take the land back.

The demolition is to be completed by late summer, the foundation is to be in by late fall, and the development has to be completed within two years from the date the agreement was signed, said Thompson.

He added that Medican and Group Vachon have been working with a hotel developer and the name of this hotel will be announced within the next month.

Lethbridge architect Alvin Fritz is developing a design for the hotel.

A stand-alone restaurant will be built on the site by Medican, he added, and another restaurant will be located inside the hotel.

A separate company has been contracted to do the demolition work, but Medican is unable to confirm their name until the agreement is signed.

As part of the agreement, one-third of the funds from the sale - $100,000 – will go towards development of a green space on the northeast corner of the site, said Thompson.

This land is owned by the province and will be leased to the municipality for Medican to develop a tourist/rest stop with picnic tables, playground, dog run and other amenities.

The balance of the funds $200,000 – will go into land reserves, Thompson said.

There are many steps to be taken before demolition and construction get underway, he said, such as rezoning of the land and development agreements and permits.

“We had 82 changes in the agreement. Eighty-two,” Thompson emphasized. “I don’t think people realize the amount of work that we went through… to protect the community so we didn’t end up with another River Run… I know the concerns and it’s a balancing act not to scare these guys away but yet protect ourselves and I think we’ve got a really good deal.”