Hall Marks with Emma Reilly

Twists and turns

What a mess.

That's the phrase I keep hearing about the Pan Am stadium debate.

Councillors are confused, the TiCats aren't budging, we've lost track and field, and it seems like every day there's a new wrench thrown into the mix. My story today takes a look at the various elements at play, from the TiCats new amphitheatre proposal to the White Star group's new stadium plans.

So, folks, here's my question for you: how are you coping? Are you feeling overwhelmed by the pace of all the new developments? Are you confused about any elements and looking for clarification? Are you getting fed up by all of the stadium drama?

The Future Fund's future

There's a ton of interest around the blogosphere and in the media about yesterday's Future Fund board decision. The board ruled that the $60 million it has approved for the stadium should only be used for a stadium at the west harbour.

Yesterday's board meeting was really interesting. The council chambers were full of community members who clapped every time a board member spoke in favour of the west harbour, which gave the afternoon more of a community meeting feel. I think it's safe to say that the Future Fund board members aren't used to such a large audience.

Like most citizen boards, the Future Fund governors are only a reccommending body. Council can choose to ignore them if they so choose (and they have ignored the board's recommendations before). But it makes it a little harder to select the east mountain. At the same time, council desperately needs that money to build a stadium. Essentially, no future fund money means no stadium - and that means no Games.

So, my question for you today is this: do you think council will listen to the board? How do you think they will handle this recommendation.

Breaking news

It's official - Larry Di Ianni is running for mayor. He kicked off his campaign this morning at Terra greenhouses in Waterdown. Read the full story here.

Thoughts? 

Heavy metal

Were you one of the 55,000 households that  received a letter in the mail warning you about lead in your tap water?

My story today talks about how tap water in homes built before 1955 may not be safe for children under six or pregnant women. These letters landed the same month the city launched its "I drink Hamilton Water" campaign, which encourages Hamiltonians to choose the tap over bottled water. Read the full story here.

The city says the problem isn't the municipal water, but lead servicing pipes on private property and older fixtures inside homes. They're recommending that anyone who lives in a home built before 1955 flush their pipe for at least 5 minutes anytime the taps have been off for more than six hours.

Obviously, the city has no control of lead pipes in private homes. However, it does seem like bad timing to launch a pro-tap water campaign the same month you warn residents their tap water could be unsafe.

Do you think this is just bad luck, or a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing? And are you concerned about the quality of water in your home?

PS - As you may have noticed, City Hall has entered the dog days of summer and posting around Hall Marks has been correspondingly light. Blogging over the next few weeks may be less frequent than what you're used to, but I promise things will pick up once city meetings start revving up again.

Familiar face

Anyone out there - especially those of you who live in Ward 1 - recognize this face?

This is Sarah Thompson, one of the frontrunners in Toronto's mayoral race.

But before Ms. Thompson threw her hat into the Toronto ring, she was a Hamilton gal who ran for Ward 1 Alderman in 1997. The then-29-year-old was inspired to run for council after an attempt to turn the ground floor of her Aberdeen Avenue home into a bookstore got hung up in City Hall red tape.

Thompson - who went by Sarah Whatmough back then - lost to Mary Kiss and Marvin Caplan (there were two alderman per ward at that time). However, she's decided to give politics a second round in the Big Smoke.

I'll leave you with a column written by Andrew Dreschel. Any of you remember Sarah Thompson?

9/22/1997
Newcomers restore faith in elections
Andrew Dreschel

It happens simultaneously. The lawn signs start going up and the candidates start knocking on your door. It's election time in the city.

I live in Ward 1.

A couple of times I've caught glimpses of incumbent Mary Kiss making the rounds, but the first campaign sign that appeared in my southwest neighbourhood and the first face on my own doorstep belonged to challenger Sarah Whatmough.

Whatmough, 29, is a personable young woman who's running for council because, frankly, she believes she can do a good job.

She's confident in her managerial abilities, her leadership and motivational skills, and she believes passionately in basing all her decisions on ethical grounds.

"My father always told me when you don't know what to do about something, do what's ethical."

Some might call that naive. I call it refreshing.

There's nothing like talking to enthusiastic newcomers to restore your faltering faith in municipal politics. When the challenger is credible, it can give you that same pulse of hope you feel when the calendar changes and a new year begins.

Because they're untried, newcomers are unsullied by the rivalries and personality conflicts, the backroom machinations and manoeuvrings that all too often become second nature among city hall careerists.

True, if elected, they too may fall prey to the pitfalls and games of elected office and their sparkle, like the new year's, may eventually fade.

But at least they offer voters the choice of a fresh face and voice. It's about the only advantage they do have.

Most are facing an uphill fight.

It's difficult to unseat an incumbent because of the built-in advantage of name recognition, an important factor given that voter turnout in city elections hovers around a dismal 36 per cent. When you consider that an aldermanic candidate needs an estimated $10,000 to run a strong campaign, the task becomes that much harder.

Candidates need the money for signs, leaflets, renting a campaign headquarters, running in phone lines. Because incumbents have an established political base, their greater resources for drumming up cash and volunteers give them an immense edge.

Whatmough, like other unknowns, has little choice but to campaign on the cheap.

She's already spent about $2,700 on signs and leaflets. The money has come from her own savings and donations from family and friends. She figures she'll need at least another $1,000 before the election's over.

For headquarters, she's using her Aberdeen Avenue home. You can't miss it. It's the one plastered with black and white campaign signs. Why black and white? Colour costs more.

She has 10 full-time volunteers working for her. She's hoping to eventually field 15 to 20.

Right now, she's one of four candidates in Ward 1 (deadline for registrations in all wards is Oct. 10).

She's up against Kiss, a member of council for 15 years, and Marvin Caplan, who won his seat in 1994 after Terry Cooke stepped aside to run for regional chair.

The third contender is Cam Nolan, executive director of the Hamilton Construction Association, who finished third in a field of eight in the 1994 election.

All three of them are experienced community networkers.

Whatmough's record is relatively weak as far as community and committee work goes. She participated in official plan amendment meetings and is a former secretary of the Kirkendall Neighbourhood Association. But her business career may carry weight with voters concerned about city hall management.

She's a doer who loves challenges.

Whatmough started pumping gas when she was 15. By the time she was 18, she was operating a station for Texaco. She was 20 when she switched to Sunoco: they offered her two sites and she jumped at the opportunity.

Whatmough soon established a reputation for improving volume and service. At 25, she was managing five stations. She's currently running two in the Hamilton area and has won the top Sunoco dealer award in Ontario two years running.

She's also a mature student at Mac and hopes to open a bookstore and lending library in her home, a plan that's raised some controversy among neighbours opposed to a business operating in a residential area.

Whatmough knows she's an underdog but like all newcomers, she's dreaming the dream. "I think I have a chance if I can get out to enough people so they can meet me, " she says.

It's a good thing she likes challenges. This may be the biggest of her life.

Printer police

Last week, amid all of the drama about the Pan Am stadium, city council considered an interesting proposal to hire a full-time employee to oversee its biggest contracts: desktop computers, printers, and cell phones.  Here's a snippet of the story written by my colleague, Meredith MacLeod.

The city wants to hire a full-time employee to police printing and cellphone use among workers.

That person would help the city save as much as $700,000 a year in printing costs by controlling printer purchases, and making sure staff use both sides of the paper, only print when necessary and only use colour when needed.

The position was recommended in a report to city councillors outlining a five-year, $6-million printing contract with Ricoh and will be dealt with in next year's budget. Staff indicated the yearly savings under that contract over actual costs in 2009 could amount to $700,000.

"In order to achieve these savings and more, it is essential that a position be created to monitor and report on the use of print equipment on a regular basis," reads the staff report presented to committee of the whole.

There were no details provided about salary and benefits for the proposed position.

Rob Rossini, general manager of finance and corporate services, says the printing, cellphone and desktop computer contracts are three of the city's biggest deals. Technology is making the contracts more complex to manage.

That has resulted in some cost-overruns, he said.

The issue of hiring a full-time contract manager was referred to 2011 budget deliberations but a number of councillors indicated they aren't in favour.

"It's going to be a real tough sell for me. Whether we kill it now or kill it at budget, that's fine," said Councillor Lloyd Ferguson.

We've talked about some of these issues on Hall Marks before (here and here), so it's interesting that the city seems to be putting its money where its mouth is in terms of clamping down on these contracts. On the other hand, I've heard some criticism about the need to spend money on a full-time employee to monitor these large contracts.

What do you think?

Game on

Welcome to Hall Marks' live blog, where I'll be posting the developments as council discusses Michael Fenn's Pan Am report. I'll be updating as often as possible, so check in throughout the morning to see how things play out.

10:44 - Everyone is starting to assemble.  Cats president Scott Mitchell just walked in, as did facilitator Michael Fenn.  John Dolbec and Richard Koroscil  from the Chamber of Commerce are also here.

10:51 - City Manager Chris Murray kicked things off with a brief introduction about today's meeting. "The reason why we're here is to hear from Michael, his summation of the process, and where we are going forward," he said.

10:52 - Michael Fenn is starting to discuss his report. He's congratulating all sides for their cooperation, with special shoutouts going to Chris Murray, the city's Pan Am head honcho David Adames, the mayor, and even the media for respecting the process.

11:02 - Fenn has finished up what was a very brief presentation. Sam Merulla is asking Fenn about some of the financial commitments made by the TiCats yesterday - but he was just shut down by the mayor. Eisenberger says he wants to keep council focused on Fenn's report for the time being.

11:08 - Lloyd Ferguson says he's relieved about the TiCats money. "I felt a huge sign of relief coming out of the city this morning. We made a quantum step."

11:10 - Chris Murray says the Pan Am HostCo has okayed going forward with two sites today and choosing one by August 12.  HostCo originally set a deadline of July 9.

11:15 - Bernie Morelli also seems to be drifting from west harbour. "From my perspective, we're moving in the right direction," he said of Fenn's report.

11:19 - My colleague John Kernaghan was just emailed a statement from Ian Troop, the CEO of the Pan Am Games: “We’re encouraged.  We know that Mr. Fenn, the City and the Ticats have come a long way in reaching common ground.  The essential next step in the process is Hamilton council’s review. Once the City has this and can come to us with specific direction, we’ll be able to offer our perspective.  Until then, I will not speculate or pre-suppose what the City will come to us with.”

11:27 - Fenn says he's already talked to executives from the ORC (the province's real estate agency that owns the east mountain land) about the potential stadium site.

11:41 - Councillors are still asking questions about Fenn's report. No real fireworks yet.

11:49 - According to Chris Murray, Scott Mitchell said he wants to sit down with city staff and go over the offers in Bob Young's letter as soon as possible.

11:55 - Sam Merulla likes east mountain. "We have an opportunity here that is going to mitigate the financial impact," he said. "I just wish that we would have done this a year and a half ago – but better late than never."

11:57 - Brad Clark wants an on/off ramp leading from the east mountain stadium to the Red Hill expressway. He says he's had calls from residents are concerned about traffic in the area, and this would be a good way to mitigate it. He's asking for an amendment to ask the province to help pay for these ramps.

12:03 - Margaret McCarthy seems resigned about spending $60 million on Pan Am, but still voiced her disappointment about where that money is going.
"I look at $60 million, and I just think ‘what a colossal shame.’ This project is not getting my support, full stop."

12:10 - Several councillors have already hinted that the east mountain is the "ultimate destination." Both Tom Jackson and Bernie Morelli have asked why council is still even considering west harbour.
“Why wouldn’t we just cut to the chase given that everybody is moving in the right direction?,” Morelli said.

12:16 - Margaret McCarthy has walked out of the meeting.

12:21 - Scott Mitchell just walked out - just as the mayor was starting to speak.

12:24 - Mitchell just stepped back in for a moment as the mayor was speaking - but he's left the room again.

12:27 - Okay. They mayor's finished speaking, Mitchell's back in the room. Eisenberger said he doesn't want to abandon the idea of west harbour, but he's willing to move forward with the consideration of the two sites. "I am not prepared to throw (west harbour) over the side of the boat," Eisenberger said.

12:37 - Brian McHattie just spoke out about how the tides seem to be turning away from west harbour. "I don’t think that’s progressive thinking," he said. "I’ll be so bold, and no particular offence meant, but to me, this is all about private interest trumping public interest."
McHattie also wants to look at another source of funding for the city's contribution, as the Future Fund was supposed to be for legacy projects. He argues the city shouldn't spend the last $60 million of that fund on something that doesn't fit that mandate.

12:45 - Brad Clark just suggested suspending discussions with the Edmonton Oilers' group who proposed taking control of the stadium until things with the Tiger Cats are firmed up. However, he didn't  turn that suggestion into a motion, so it's hard to say how serious he is about this issue.
"It sends strange messages to our prime tenant when we’re also discussing the same thing with another body."

12:48 - Council quickly voted to approve the staff recommendations, which are to look into both proposed sites and vote on a site August 10. The meeting has adjourned. I'm just heading out to scrum the mayor and I'll be back in a few minutes with a wrap-up.

1:19 - So, I'm about to head back to the newsroom and start writing - but I think it's pretty safe to say that the tide has turned from west harbour. During the scrum, the mayor basically reiterated  what he said  in today's meeting - that he thinks west harbour is way more progessive, but he's willing to look at another site. 

There are several people chasing this story today, so check the paper and thespec.com for full details tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone who tuned in and for all of your comments!

Game day

Hi folks - I'll be live blogging from today's meeting as the events unfold, but first I wanted to post two letters that were released yesterday. The first is Bob Young's letter that outlines his financial commitment to the east  mountain site. The second is the mayor's response.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger July 6, 2010
City of Hamilton
and Members of Council

Subject: Moving Forward

Dear Fred,

The Hamilton Tiger-Cat organization has had an opportunity to digest the Report of Facilitator Michael Fenn and the recommendations that he has made to both Council and the Tiger-Cats. Having grown up a proud Hamiltonian, I am grateful to Mr. Fenn for his sincere efforts to bring us together.

I am certain that you would agree with me that the past two months have afforded both parties with greater insight into the vital importance of reaching some strategic decisions to ensure we build a stadium to welcome the Pan American Games, and serve as a sports and entertainment mecca for our community for decades to come.

With few exceptions, we embrace Mr. Fenn's Report. We are mindful of the concerns held by the Province of Ontario, and those of Ian Troop, Pan Am Hostco CEO, as they pertain to agreeing on a sustainable site immediately. I am certain that you share our anxiety that further delays will force the Pan Am Committee to seek venues elsewhere in the province. That would be a horrible outcome for our City.

The identification by Mr. Fenn of the "ORC" lands on the East Mountain was not our first choice. You will know that we had several other locations that we believe would have made fundamentally sound business cases for the stadium and its tenants. For various reasons these sites were taken off the table.

Mr. Fenn's choice of the "ORC" East Mountain lands represent a compromise to our organization. We are prepared to accept that compromise now, and negotiate with the Province of Ontario and the City to make this a reality. There are a wide range of advantages inherent in this compromise site proposed by Mr. Fenn: 

1. The Government of Ontario through the ORC (Ontario Realty Corp.) own these lands and expensive land assembly is not required.

2. The subject property is within the urban boundary of Hamilton and permits me to achieve my goal as Caretaker for the team, to ensure the Tiger-Cats remain in Hamilton for another one hundred and forty years.

3. The East Mountain ORC lands would not be the subject of Ontario Municipal Board hearings, or court actions, and the property could be "shovel ready" in a very timely manner.

4. The location of the compromise stadium would be very convenient for most fans. As Mr. Fenn properly noted, our business plan requires that we elevate our marketing activities to strategically position the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as a "regional" Southwestern Ontario CFL team. The "ORC" East Mountain compromise speaks to the importance of "tomorrow’s fan" and will serve as a facility to draw people into Hamilton for football and other events. As well, the site will not negatively impact area residents and as such, the stadium will have a great deal more multi-purpose flexibility.

5. Senior executives of Metrolinx, the province of Ontario’s public transit organization, met with senior city officials, the facilitator and ourselves and they confirmed that regardless of stadium location a downtown Hamilton station at Liuna station is part of GO’s expansion plans.

6. The compromise site achieves the objective of a second Hamilton GO train station as confirmed in our meeting with Metrolinx. It would be our expectation that a GO bus terminal would be on site, as well as ample parking for other buses to support our strategic regional bus/ticket marketing program that we will launch with the CFL throughout Southwestern Ontario.

7. The lack of remediation, planning and expropriation problems associated with the East Mountain "ORC" site enable us to conclude that together we can complete the construction of the stadium as soon as 2013 within the budget commitment of the city of Hamilton.

8. We believe that the essential ingredients to a successful and sustainable stadium, as documented in the Facilitator’s Report, are inextricably tied to the sustainability of the Hamilton Tiger-Cat Football club, the oldest professional sports franchise in North America, in Hamilton.

Our Commitment to the City of Hamilton

Success in any business undertaking is the sum total of everyone doing their part. The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are prepared to do their part and more. Our contributions to the new stadium will total in excess of $74,000,000.00. Specifically:

1. The Club will contribute $15 million to the cost of the stadium and precinct.

2. The Club will operate the stadium and cover the estimated annual operating cost of $3 million per year. Simply put, the City will not be responsible for stadium operating losses going forward. Over the 10 year initial management contract this will total $30,000,000.00.

3. The club will assume the transition costs between today and the opening of the new stadium of an estimated $10,000.000.00.

4. The Tiger-Cats commit $14,000,000.00 to bring two Grey Cup Games to Hamilton as soon as possible. The quantifiable economic benefit to the community will exceed $200 million.

5. Associated with this, working with the City, we will ensure the location of the Grey Cup Festivals in the area of the West Harbour/North End community. This will be an opportunity to showcase our Waterfront to in excess of 20 million viewers throughout North America.

6. As you know, I am involved in the business of professional soccer through the NASL and the Carolina Railhawks Soccer team. It is our view there is a great deal of synergy for combined football and soccer organizations. As such, we have secured franchise right for Hamilton with the North American Soccer League. You will find, attached, a letter from F. Selby Wellman, Chairman of the NASL Finance Committee. Working together, I am confident that we can bring the appropriate level of professional soccer to Hamilton. Purchasing and establishing a new professional team in Hamilton will require an investment of greater than $5,000,000.00 over its first few years of operations.

7. CFL marketing. Having met with CFL Commissioner, Mark Cohon, you will be aware that the Tiger-Cat "brand" is amongst the strongest in North America. This is a reflection of the tremendous fan loyalty that has evolved over many years. Our fan base, web interest, and viewership are amongst the highest in the CFL. To this end, The Hamilton Tiger-Cats, and the CFL, will enter into a long term strategic marketing program to communities within 90 kms of Hamilton to encourage them to attend Tiger-Cat games and spend time in the City. It would be our intention to work closely with the Economic Development Department of the City to enhance these CFL marketing investments.

8. As you know, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats have formed a working agreement with Mr George Schott CEO of Osmington Inc. As referenced in the Globe and Mail, Osmington Inc, a Thompson family company, enjoys an enviable reputation within the development, finance and entertainment community. Specifically, Osmington developed the highly successful MTS Centre in Winnipeg, the third busiest arena in Canada. Mr. Schott has deep roots and has invested heavily in the Hamilton community. He shares our sense of enthusiasm about ancillary and complementary developments at the "ORC" East Mountain stadium site. The City of Hamilton may be assured that through our collective resources, we will do our absolute utmost to optimize the stadium precinct.

9. The Club has engaged Mr. Denis Braham, Chairman and CEO of Winstead PC, one of the leading stadium construction advisory firms in North America. They have recently advised on both the new Cowboys Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL, the Meadowlands home of both the New York Giants and New York Jets, and the new Yankee Stadium in New York City.

10. Consistent with the Ticats highly successful community outreach “BeFit” program, we intend to leverage the site infrastructure to provide a youth leadership program for the East Mountain community. This will engage the entire community and would provide fitness, nutrition, obesity management and leadership training skills that will have a lasting value for our young people.

The Way Ahead

It is time to move forward. There is so much more that binds the City of Hamilton and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats than divides us. My family has lived and worked in this community since 1870. We have supported a wide range of worthy charity and community endeavours and will continue to do so. My commitment to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats is stronger than ever as evidenced by commitments made in the past, and commitments made today.

But the time for "two track" discussions must conclude or Hamilton risks losing Provincial and Federal funding that it may never see again. The "ORC East Mountain" lands are not our first choice. They are not our second choice. But it is a site that allows us to move forward now.

I would ask that Council consider the significant proposal that I am advancing through this letter. We are prepared to enter into negotiations with the City and with the Ontario Government through the Ontario Realty Corporation, with a view to completing a Definitive Agreement on the "ORC East Mountain" site as quickly as possible. Council will be assured of our total cooperation moving forward.

I will endeavour to make myself available to elaborate upon our commitment in conjunction with our President Scott Mitchell and my Corporate CFO Doug Rye, C.A.

Sincerely,

Mr. Robert (Bob) Young
Caretaker

--------

Mr. Robert (Bob) Young
Caretaker
Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Dear Bob:

Thank you for your letter of today and for acknowledging in it the fine work of facilitator Michael Fenn.  I believe he did an outstanding job and has produced an excellent report.

As you know, that report will be considered by Hamilton Council at a Special Meeting of Committee of the Whole tomorrow, Wednesday, July 7, 2010.  There is no doubt that Council’s discussion of Mr. Fenn’s report and his recommendations will be considered given the detailed and generous proposal that you have made in your letter of today.

We would all like to see an acceptable site chosen as quickly as possible; Mr. Fenn suggests that August 31st should be the deadline for settling on either the West Harbour or the new East Mountain site.  Certainly, that deadline would provide ample time to meet the requirements of building a new stadium in time for the 2015 Pan Am Games.  In any case, Council will follow the appropriate process and make its views known during the meeting tomorrow.

From our past discussions, I know that you and the Tiger-Cats share our city’s commitment to its responsibilities to choose a site that is fiscally responsible, that will leave a worthy legacy for the community, will contribute to our “city building” initiatives, and that, whichever site is decided upon, the City should move forward with the revitalization of its downtown core and waterfront precinct. 


Yours truly,

Fred Eisenberger
Mayor

Thoughts?

West Harbour or East Mountain?

The surprises around the Pan Am stadium debate just keep coming.

Yesterday, we learned that Fenn's report has solidified the TiCats' preferred location for the Pan Am stadium - a patch of land on the east mountain currently owned by the province. You can read Fenn's full report here and read John Kernahagn's article about it here.

This new site has everything the TiCats want: highway access, lots of space for parking, and no remediation necessary.  It's completely different from the downtown location preferred by the city that requires some cleanup but offers way more in terms of urban transformation.

Yesterday, I polled a few councillors and found that they were still supportive of west harbour - but only to a point. Russ Powers told me he didn't want to be part of anything that pushes the TiCats out of Hamilton. Bernie Morelli said he knew from the beginning that west harbour wouldn't be easy to sell.

With the Katz issue, Fenn's report, and a looming deadline from Pan Am officials to firm up the site, I'm sure I'm not the only one whose head is spinning. What do you think? Are you following this debate, or just waiting to see what happens when the dust settles? Which site do you prefer - west harbour or east mountain?

I will also be live blogging from tomorrow's special meeting as council discusses Fenn's report. The meeting will start right after council finishes their Board of Health meeting - so tune tomorrow morning for a full blow-by-blow.