By Markham Hislop, Editor
I see Ald. Ric McIver is in hot water for saying he hopes Race City sues the City of Calgary over its lease and wins. The Calgary Herald is reporting that Ald. Gord Lowe, while not mentioning his colleague by name, tore a strip off him nevertheless for daring to suggest such a thing. He even went so far as to hint that Ald. McIver breached his fiduciary responsibility to the municipal government and fumed that if the City were a publicly traded corporation the offender would be turfed from the board.
But that’s just it, isn’t it? The City of Calgary is not a publicly traded corporation. And Council is not analogous to a board of directors. The former are elected in a political race and the latter are appointed or elected at an annual general meeting of shareholders.
What really blisters my buttocks about this story, though, is the lack of context.
For instance, is the Herald aware that Race City already launched a lawsuit against the City back in August? For that matter, does Ald. Lowe even know that?
Once the motion was passed by Council in late September to direct City administration to negotiate a new lease, Race City owner Art Mackenzie returned to court and asked that the process be delayed into 2010 to give the two parties time to meet and discuss the terms of an agreement.
Ald. Lowe might have a point, albeit a weak one, if a suit had not been filed, but was subsequently, and Ald. McIver’s actions could be construed as having encouraged Mr. Mackenzie to undertake his action. Then, if a judge decided in Race City’s favour and the City incurred damages as a result, Ald. Lowe might have an argument.
But that horse left the barn four months ago. As it stands now, Ald. McIver was expressing frustration with the City’s negotiating team and their preposterous lease proposal to Race City in late October. His remarks are nothing more than passing comment on a judicial process that is outside his influence.
Why didn’t the Herald know about the suit? And why hasn’t it reported about the suit since the original story ran last week?
A little context goes a long way, doesn’t it?.
But that’s only the beginning. The real story is what angered Ald. McIver in the first place. As SECN reported November 24, on October 23 City Hall presented Race City with a new lease proposal. Lease payments demanded by the municipal government were $1,080,000 a year, up from $37,000.
That’s right, folks, a 3,000 per cent increase! As the southeast alderman said in our story, Council gave City officials clear guidance to negotiate the new lease on the same terms as the old.
To rub salt in the wounds, the City demanded a $180,000 deposit just so Mr. Mackenzie could ask for a meeting to discuss the proposal. As you can imagine, Ald. McIver was pretty steamed about that, too.
Surprisingly, (well, I wasn’t surprised) the Herald didn’t report those facts, either. Surely they had them? Mr. Mackenzie told me during our interview that he had just hung up the phone with the Herald reporter.
But we’re not finished. The impetus to the Race City stories last week was actually a supposed $3.1 million “subsidy” needed to construct storm water retention ponds. The ponds were the alleged reason the department of waste and recycling gave to strong-arm Race City out of its original lease in the first place. These ponds have to be built one way or another.
Ald. McIver wasn’t too happy with his Council opponents who tried to paint the extra money as a subsidy to a private business – sucessfully as it turns out because the Herald and other media accepted the comments at face value without knowing any of the background to the issue.
Now that you know the context of Ald. McIver’s remarks, don’t they appear more reasonable than you have been led to believe by the Herald story?
The real outrage should be directed toward City Hall, which is abusing Race City unmercifully. Calgary media blow a gasket when an alderman charges a $79 golf lesson on his expense account, but ignore the story completely when the municipality acts like a tinpot dictatorship and treats a local southeast Calgary business in the most shameful manner.
That is the real story behind the Race City debacle. And no one wants to hear it. Not one newspaper, TV station or radio station has bothered to dig for the facts. Not one. I should add that all media in Calgary received a copy of the City’s lease proposal to Race City and none of them bothered to do a thing with it. Shameful.
The only place you will read the truth about Race City and City hall is in SE Calgary News. I know that sounds arrogant, but it’s true.
Ald. McIver should not have apologized for his statement. He should have stuck to his guns. The comment was innocuous and did not breach any of the responsibilities he holds to the municipal corporation.
He spoke the truth and it’s only a shame that more people won’t hear it.
Related posts:
- VIDEO: RACE CITY SURVIVES CITY COUNCIL VOTE, ALD. McIVER'S MOTION PASSES 8-7 Race City's popular Secret Street program will continue for another...
- ALD. RIC McIVER BACK FOR LAST DITCH ATTEMPT TO SAVE RACE CITY Race City's parking lot is often a sea of sports...
- CITY HALL TRIES TO IMPOSE 3,000% RENT INCREASE ON RACE CITY…AND RELATED NONSENSE By Markham Hislop, Editor Has City Hall declared war on...
- SECN INVESTIGATION REVEALS CITY LEASE OFFER TO RACE CITY INDEFENSIBLE By Markham Hislop, Editor Monday we discovered City Halls wants...
- VIDEO: RACE CITY NEGOTIATES 2-YEAR REPRIEVE FROM CITY HALL Race City’s uncertain future appears to be a little brighter today after...
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
I posted the following comment on the Calgary Heralds website concerning this story, I’ll be surprised if they publish it.
“I’m amazed at the number of comments about ” Why should we fund Race City?”
First off, the $3.1 million will have to be spent at some point no matter if Race City stays or goes, providing the ponds are going to be built. Bronco Billy & his cronies on the council are just trying to lay the expense on Race City because they want it killed for personal reasons.
2nd, Race City gets used by 1000-2000 Calgarians every week at ZERO expense to the city. Can Lindsey Park, most swimming pools, Shaw Millenium Park, ect, ect, say the same?
How many lives are saved each year because we have a swimming pool or a skateboard park?
I’ll guarantee Race City saves 20-30 Calgarians lives minimum each yaer because of the carnage that would be happening on the streets if it wasn’t there. People will street race, it’s been happening since the first cars were built so closing the track won’t stop it, it will just make car enthusiasts into criminals.”
Thank’s Markham for being the voice in an otherwise silent media void.
OK, how about this kind of deal. The city wants Race City to absorb the cost of the storm sewer ponds. Fine let that happen however If Race City is paying for them, allow Race City control over them and charge the usage back to the city. I’m sure Art can create enough of a usage fee to get his money back. If he has to pay for them, he should own and control them. Remember, Art was willing to work with the city to incorporate the ponds with a redesigned road course and the city wasn’t interested. Race City should be subsidized for having the ponds on the property, not taxed more.
It really annoys me when everyone cries because they don’t have an arena, baseball or soccer field in their community or any other activity venue and want the city or community to build one but complain about Race City costing the city money. If a large soccer facility was sitting where Race City is, it would be hard to take over the property.
Hear! Hear!
Election is fall 2010…..we need these bozos out. I, personally, will campaign in whatever manner possible to get Bronco and his cronies out! We, Calgary, deserve better.
Markham, I really do appreciate how you have gotten the facts straight on all the BS City hall has been throwing at the facility. Art has truely been trying to work with them, with no luck. I am beside myself on how all the other media in this town has been totally wrong about the facts and just taking the Mayors remarks as truth, and we all know that there is little or no truth to any of this.
When The City sat down with Art and I in August of 07 and told us we were done in 2010, I started to wonder , what was really going on. I can almost certainly say that the Provincial waste site approvals were in process and approximately $1 million spent on the waste pond and development approvals even before they had that meeting with us. I’m just looking to prove it.
Ric has been nothing but supportive in this whole process and he seems to be the only councilor that really wants to know what the real truth is.
When the meeting to hold a Indy Car race at the track was presented to the city, then and only then did all the red flags go up for the city, and within a few weeks we were told they were not renewing the lease. Humm, I think this was planned all along by the Land fill boss!!
Rome Awde
I have enjoyed motorsports most of my life. I am planning on road racing a small motorcycle this coming year. A new bike has been puchased and is being prepared. I attended the Friday night event and commited to friends that if the track is around in 2010 I will race my full size bikes on Friday nights. I am 62 and live in central Alberta. It is the same distance for me to go north and support a city that embraces sports or go south to one that tolerates them. Guess where we will spend our money.