HawthorneVillager.com

some on extreme right make this argument all the time....

In some places not very far from here where the music has stopped this is happening....

I am just asking to excercise caution and set the bar higher for returns

services like walking track...

I read there was another counselor who was elected and told us that residents considered that cameras were a great idea.

How about velodrain?

Hey KGC thank you for link... As far I am concerned anybody who can figure out how these damn computor things work is a techie. Meant in a good way.

Rick Malboeuf

Is the town allowed to sell naming rights for the drome? Like $10 million over 5 years to call it the BMO Velodrome?

I don't think I received a response to my question to clarify C1. How does this land endowment translate into cash from Laurier to pay, in part or all, for their 2.5M share for the Velodrome?

KGC,

Thanks for your compliments concerning my writing. Not bad for an engineer, I guess. Clearly though you feel I still have some things to work on, including my analysis. Now, to use one of your fave words, THAT’S laughable.

Three lashes with a wet noodle for me for using that pesky emotional language. Some people say “Life’s too short for bad wine”. Me ? I say “Life’s too short for boring language – spoken or written”.

I AM guilty of being a passionate advocate – FOR good ideas and AGAINST bad ideas.

I DO also like to stick my nose in it … when I feel the playing field needs to be leveled – whether the state of affairs results from asymmetry of information and/or expertise, citizen apathy, government staffers and politicians not doing their jobs properly, etc.

As a famed thespian might say “I’ll be back” … with more (!) emotional language.

Bruce Sharp

P.S. Don’t be so shy, let us know who you are !

Great article Bruce and welcome to the forum.

Below is the text of an email sent by me on Sunday -- to the mayor and council. One very minor edit has been made.

Hello folks,

I was disappointed but certainly not surprised by council's January 30 decision to throw their support behind the velodrome.

The following op-ed piece should be of great interest -- even better if you can lay your hands on a print copy; clearly someone at the Spectator thought enough of the issue to do it up right !

http://www.thespec.com/opinion/columns/article/669193--milton-helps-hamilton-dodge-velodrome-bullet

Next, you should read up on the jet-setting trip undertaken by the cycling club behind the velodrome. How philanthropic for a certain home builder to provide his own private jet. It's too bad no one from town council went, otherwise they could have basked in a certain cycling icon's "rock star " aura. More importantly they could have enjoyed all that Amsterdam's "what-happens-stays" nightlife has to offer.

http://www.lesdomestiques.com/?home=pan-am-2015-velodrome-3-cities-tour

http://www.topdrawercreative.com/blog/?p=241

The content of both links is largely common but both are worth perusing. Pay close attention to what is said about multiple uses and it certainly hints at the non-utility of spending $ 3.8 million dollars of development charge money on the velodrome's infield uses. Of course, that's in addition to the $ 2.5 million of MEV funny money already down the tubes and $ 9.4 million of additional up-front costs for an underestimated operating shortfall. Those three amounts total $ 15.7 million.

Of course, there's also the fund-raising aspect, with the jet-setting "phils" to donate $ 7 milion (plus $ 2 million in naming rights) and/or spearhead the raising of an additional $ 3 million for the good cause. If they come up short on the $ 3 million, the town will be on the hook, though perhaps the "phils" could cut back on their jet-setting and pass the hat for the town's taxpayers.

This issue is not over and it will have a long life -- well beyond the next elections in 2014. In the short term, you can also look forward to hearing more about this debacle-in-the-making.

Bruce Sharp

Bruce

I last posted on this thread some 5 pages ago when I thought just about everything had been said and the thread was getting tired. Now you came along and breathe some new life into the topic!

I wonder if the 9 Councillors have given some thought to recent political speculation at the Provincial level and what possible consequences could there be for the Town of Milton if the speculation proves correct.

First there has been the suggestion that the Province wants more from gambling revenue than its current take! I know it has long been Town position that this revenue is not guaranteed to be recurring and therefore it is treated conservatively in the Town's accounting but it is also true that over the past few years this revenue has afforded the Town opportunities for Capital projects. It is Cash income to the Town and if it is lost it will hurt.

Secondly the Drummond report has been released ( I confess I have not read it but I have read and listened to informed comment on it!) and as Mr Drummond states he has not presented an a la carte menu - he has provided a recipe. All his recommendations need to be followed. We know that is not going to happen - not in a minority government and no one of the three political parties, I would guess, will commit to following Mr Drummond! Therefore we can expect to see some recommendations taken up and the shortfall met by increasing taxes either on Corporations or on individuals or both!

Given less disposable income in the hands of Corporations it is going to be even more difficult to secure Corporate donations. Remember also that the population of Milton demographically is vulnerable when Corporations are forced to make headcount cuts to counter increased taxes. So whether the Provinces budgets are balanced at the expense of the Employer or the individual taxpayer we can reasonably expect the residents of Milton also to have less disposable income!

Perhaps those Councillors who regularly debate on this forum would share their views! I thought of starting a new thread and a new poll but on reflection left my comment on this one!

Martin

_________________
Martin Capper

HVRA member

www.cappercares.ca
www.MartinCapper.com

Thanks Bruce for a worthy reply. I hope the KGCs and the councilors of this town come up with personal donations if this project turns out short on the funding end. After all, their well researched and number crunching is only possible if all these ideal conditions are met and we know, in projects such as these, they never are.

I took a crack at reading the Drummond report and there's several items in there on real cost of water and waste water that I didn't quite understand but the implication was more $$$ for that somewhere to reflect the real cost of treatment (maybe not such a big deal with Halton as I think the region does a decent job at cost recovery for this service), potential changes to slots revenue we've been rather used to (unfortunately knowing that this could well be taken away at any given point in time), comments that signal to me the province should be focusing on making better use of existing post secondary spaces before building new campuses - aka, delay Laurier approval, and putting consideration into consolidation of local hydro companies to a regional level to take advantage of economies of scale that could impact Milton Hydro and the dividend revenue potentially that sure are making me think twice about my thoughts on this project And Martin, maybe I missed something but I didn't see suggestions in there on raising corporate taxes, but evaluating the myriad of tax credits and direct funding for businesses to ensure best bang for the buck. But simply looking at the risk to municipal revenues drives my personal risk-meter way up.

[quote] And Martin, maybe I missed something but I didn't see suggestions in there on raising corporate taxes, but evaluating the myriad of tax credits and direct funding for businesses to ensure best bang for the buck [quote]

Quite right he specifically steered away from revenue! I would suggest that lacking the testicular fortitude to implement the recipe as proposed then Politicians will not be able to steer away from the Revenue side and that will mean Corporate and/or personal taxes! You are right to raise the risk meter and our local Councillors imho would do well to do likewise!

Martin

BTW in previewing this post I note that I have fallen into the same trap as Joan - apologies I will avoid the lazy way to quote in future!!!

_________________
Martin Capper

HVRA member

www.cappercares.ca
www.MartinCapper.com

Jan, if you want to provide real facts that can be used to refute aspects of the business case, I'm all ears. No need to worry, I am not holding my breath. By the way, your demand for a zero percent chance of increase to taxes means the ONLY way that can be guaranteed is to not build or take on any infrastructure projects whatsoever (or provide outrageously inflated estimates where the majority of projects come in significantly under budget which defeats the whole point of budgeting). One of the aspects of Project Management is managing risk, not eliminating it. It looks as though our Council is doing a pretty good job at that as per the quote below.



By the way, as an anonymous avatar on the Hawthorne Villager website I pledge to personally donate up to 100 million dollars required to make up for any shortfall. Jan, do you feel better now? By the way, don't cross the street, there is a chance you might get hit.