From The Daily Graphic, One of the best editorials I have read in a long time.

The road to a new multiplex on the Island in Portage la Prairie has had more than its share of ups and downs — not including the major heave in the Crescent Lake bridge.

Ratepayers of the city and rural municipality have been on a rollercoaster ride, particularly lately. The latest high was Monday’s pep rally/sod-turning ceremony at the construction site on the fairgrounds. All three levels of government were caught up in congratulating each other, as well as local native leaders, on all of their efforts to this point.

Congratulations for what? While it is good to fully secure the federal and provincial contributions to the project, the city, RM and Portage Recreation Committee still don’t have all of the funding in place. The $5 million the committee was counting on from the federal government is actually just $3.3 million. (Although, it is important to note, it usually takes many years to get any federal funding and that time was much reduced.) The Doer NDP government has now officially confirmed it will fulfill its election campaign promise of $5 million, even though not all of it will be matched by the federal Conservatives.

The $3.3 million (federal) + $5 million (provincial) + $16 million from the city + $8 million from the RM + $1.1 million in corporate sponsorships for naming rights = $33.4 million. That’s still $2.3 million short of the project’s estimated $35.7-million tab. Plus, judging by the web poll question at thedailygraphic.com, more than 85 per cent of respondents say they will not be making a personal financial contribution to the multiplex. In a story in The Daily Graphic on Aug. 15, the mayor said he is confident the individual donations will pour in once construction gets underway and the excitement starts to build.

Perhaps, but there are some things the municipal councils are going to need to address if they have a hope of swaying public opinion to the positive:

1. Sign the lease agreement already. It has been well over a year since the fairgrounds was chosen as the site of the new multiplex. Some site preparation has already begun — to the detriment of the Potato Festival’s charity slo-pitch game, it should be pointed out — and yet the city and RM don’t have the official right to do anything on that land yet. In their hurry, the municipal officials aren’t getting all of their ducks in a row.

2. Stop calling and then cancelling special council meetings. There has been too much of that lately. And, the RM should be following the same protocol for informing the public about special meetings as it does for its regular meetings. Send out an agenda to local media, just as the city council does. Putting a notice up on the municipality’s website alone looks like it has something to hide, even if it doesn’t. All of the false starts on approval of tenders and the lease agreement serve to make the councils look disorganized at best. And that’s not good when so much taxpayers’ money is on the line.

3. Communication. It can’t be stressed enough that more needs to be done to keep the city and RM residents up-to-date on the project, including pre-emptive explanations for the delay in the land-lease agreement. What is the particular wrangling that is taking the lawyers so long? The less information Joe Public has, the more likely he is to fill in the details for himself.

This multiplex will be a great venue for Portage once it is built, regardless of its location. The people it will draw to this city and the recreational opportunities it will provide are numerous. The city, RM and PRC just need to get their collective act together.

Clarise Klassen is the managing editor of The Daily Graphic.

The City and RM keep talking about the 35.7 million dollar project. Let’s have a look at the numbers, because that is what real business people do when analyzing a project.

City 16 million

RM 8 Million

Federal Government 3.3 Million

Manitoba Government 5.0 Million

Donations and Naming Rights to date 1.2 Million

Additional Fundraising yet to come 2.2 Million. (It is interesting that in the past they talked about 4 million total fundraising and they have already scaled that back to 3.4 million)

So that is 35.7 million

What about interest costs to repay the loans taken out by the City and RM? Local taxpayers have to pay that back so it needs to be included in the cost.

RM 4.2 Million in interest costs over 15 years

City 6.4 Million in interest costs over 15 years

So that is 10.6 million in interest costs over 15 years which is included in local taxes

35.7 million quickly becomes 46.3 Million

Now here is the kicker.

The RM has indicated that the facility will operate with a 1.2 Million dollar deficit every year. This burden will also be placed solely on local taxpayers.

Over the first 15 years that is another 18 Million Dollars

46.3 Million quickly becomes 64.3 Million dollars of which

52.6 Million Dollars will be paid directly by local taxpayers in the City and RM

Just think what could be done in this community with over 50 million dollars? How many jobs could be created by industry and businesses moving to Portage because we are forward thinking and have a tax structure friendly to business?

Where will the City get the huge amount of money needed for Sewer plant upgrades in 2012 / 2013 ? A project that will have long term effects on the environment and is for the good of all residents in the area.

Instead we want to spend it on a hockey rink and half a swimming pool.

So much for forward thinking ………….

All the dignitaries looked very happy at the the sod turning today. You would think that they had this whole deal wrapped up and the community behind them.

In the past week both the City and RM have cancelled several special meetings to approve tenders.

While apparently their lawyer is out of town, another Daily Graphic report mentions the project manager had some concerns about what was in the tender.

Unconfirmed reports have the tender amount well above the budget, so is that what the project manager had to change?

What was the rush to begin tearing down fences last week which caused disruptions to the Potato festival? Especially since there is no legal agreement in place yet with the Fair Board?

What about the Harness Races scheduled at the end of the month?

Did they have to show some progress to keep up the impression that things are going ahead?  With a Daily Graphic survey showing 93% of respondents will not donate any money to fundraising efforts, what does that tell you about community support?

Businesses that signed up for naming rights and other donations have already had angry customers refuse to continue doing business with them and moved their accounts or have chosen to take their shopping elsewhere. Once again, what does that tell you about community support?

Let’s not forget the many Portage residents who offered up donations of 10,000$ each, but only on the condition that the facility was moved to the Republic Park where every public survey and consultant reports have indicated it should go. That would have raised more money from local citizens than the Portage Recreation Committee has raised from private individuals in 3 years

If Premier Gary Doer thinks the NDP will garner enough votes in Portage with this pitiful handout, he is sadly mistaken. When 1400 people sign a petition in 4 days to Save the Island, I can’t imagine them voting for any provincial politician that helped the City/ RM pull off this scheme.

With the impending legal challenge and upcoming votes in City and RM councils, wouldn’t it be the prudent course to have everything in place before spending any more money? It would especially be the fiscally responsible way to do things

What is the rush?

From The Portage Daily Graphic. ( Check out the link for a picture, this is the closest these guys ever get to real work )

With scenic Crescent Lake as a backdrop, officials from all three levels of government met at the fairgrounds on Island Park in Portage la Prairie Monday to announce funding for the PCU Centre, and officially turn sod on the project.

Manitoba Premier Gary Doer, along with Vic Toews, president of the Treasury Board, on behalf of Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, Rona Ambrose, Portage Mayor Ken Brennan, and Toby Trimble, Reeve of the Rural Municipality of Portage, made the announcement to the crowd of nearly 200 people gathered at the future site of the sports multiplex.

The $35.7 million project will receive $10 million through the Canada-Manitoba Municipal Infrastructure Fund (MRIF) and an additional $1.7 million is being provided from the province’s Building Manitoba Fund.

The $10 million MRIF contribution is split equally between the three levels of government, and no new funding was announced at the ceremony.

Mayor Brennan said he was thankful to see the funding from the provincial and federal governments confirmed at the ceremony, and is eager to see construction get under way.

“We made a giant step forward today,” he said. “Turning the sod is ceremonial, but it does mean something.

“The project is going to go, it’s going to be successful and we’re going to have a great recreational multiplex.”

From the Portage Daily Graphic

Portage RM council postpones approval as final wording fussed over by lawyers

Posted By Shane Gibson, The Daily Graphic

Posted 13 hours ago

A hastily called Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie council meeting on Friday was supposed to give the proposed PCU Centre the green light to start construction — but the full gallery of citizens who came out in opposition were told the special meeting had been just as hastily cancelled.

Council had planned to approve the final agreement between the RM and City of Portage and the Portage Industrial Exhibition Association for a 99-year lease of the fairgrounds on Island Park to be used for the multiplex. The first of five tenders for the construction of the $35.7-million sports facility was also to be voted on at that short-notice meeting.

Reeve Toby Trimble explained to the roughly 16 surprised citizens in attendance the lease agreement was still in the hands of lawyers with a couple last-minute wording changes. He also said although the first tender came in within budget, council had a few wrinkles to iron out before voting on that as well.

“(The project manager) had some concerns about what was in and what was out of one of the tender packages, so he just wanted to talk to the bidder before we accepted it,” explained Trimble after the meeting.

After learning about the cancelled meeting, many of the residents voiced concerns about how much notice was given prior to the hearing.

The meeting had been advertised on the RM’s website since 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 13, fulfilling the municipal government’s requirement to give 24 hours notice of a public hearing.

Oakville area resident Dwayne Leslie questioned how fairly the RM gives public notices.

“We have to give 96 hours to come and speak (in front of council),” he noted in the council chamber. “It would be nice if you could at least give half of that to us, so we know what you’re up to.”

From the Portage Daily Graphic

After months of debate at city hall and in coffee shops throughout Portage la Prairie, preliminary work has gotten underway on the construction of the PCU Centre.

A trailer has been set up at the location acting as the site office, construction crews have been busy building a safety fence around the 8.5 hectares of construction site, and the official sod-turning ceremony is scheduled for Monday.

“We’re really looking forward to this, for the community,” explained Portage Mayor Ken Brennan. “We know that the community has been waiting for this for decades, and it’s going to feel real good on Monday when we finally get this thing going.”

Officials from the federal, provincial and both municipal governments will be on hand at the ceremony to discuss their financial contributions to the project.

As well as the government funding, $3-$4 million of the $35.7 million the new multiplex is projected to cost will be provided by fundraising efforts from the Portage Recreation Committee (PRC).

The PRC will embark on the second of three fundraising phases this September. The second phase will see the PRC canvassing businesses, foundations and other organizations in the community for donations.

“The reason we didn’t do much through the summer, is because it’s just a lousy time to try and get people together,” explained PRC co-chairman Brian Gilbert. “Everybody is on holidays and businesses are under pressure because of staff shortages.

“By the time September hits everybody is kind of back down to a schedule and structure, and it’s a little easier to sit down and talk to these guys.”

The third and final fundraising effort will be started by the end of the year, and will involve going out into the community and asking individuals to donate money for the project, a feat that could prove to be difficult according to a recent unofficial web poll conducted by The Daily Graphic on its website, thedailygraphic.com.

The poll showed 93 per cent of those who responded would not contribute personally to the project, a fact that doesn’t concern Gilbert.

“I’m confident we’ll raise the money we need,” he said.

From the Portage Daily Graphic

A special council meeting of the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie, intended for 9 a.m. this morning, was cancelled suddenly, although 16-20 concerned citizens from the RM and the city were prepared to attend.

Many of them were there to witness the RM council’s plan to move forward with decisions regarding the new multiplex, which is about to begin construction at the Island Park fairgrounds.

The meeting was called, the reeve said, to vote on a long-term lease agreement with the Portage Industrial Exhibition Association and to approve the first tender for construction of the multiplex.

Reeve Toby Trimble said the meeting was put off to next week because the fair board’s lawyer is not available and the replacement lawyer did not feel comfortable with some of the items in the contract, and asked to wait for the primary lawyer’s return.

He also said the tender came in on budget, but there were still a few outstanding issues the project manager wanted to iron out.

In the place of the RM meeting, the RM council held an impromptu, 20-30 minute question and answer session for the citizens who had lined up outside the RM office this morning to attend.

A separate City of Portage council meeting was also scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday. The results of that meeting were not known by press time.

From a tiny link on the RM website

PUBLIC NOTICE is hereby given
that a Special Meeting of
Council has been called for Friday,
August 15th, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. in the Council
Chambers of the Rural Municipality of Portage la
Prairie to discuss the following items pertaining to
the multiplex recreation facility:
•
Tender 1 Package
•
Land Lease Agreement
Thank you.
Council of the Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie

A select group of people received this invite today.

The Province of Manitoba

and

The Government of Canada

with

The City and RM of Portage la Prairie

invite you to an announcement and sod turning

ceremony under the

Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Program

Date: Monday August 18th, 2008

Time 3:00 PM

Location:  The Portage Fairground Just North of the Grandstand in the City of Portage la Prairie

For more information, contact:

Marcus Miller

Communications Coordinator

Canada-Manitoba Infrastructure Secretariat

Tel 204-945-8778 or 1-800-268-4883

Looks like some action today at the fair grounds, it appears they are removing the chain link fence from around the racetrack and repositioning it around the outside of what will be the construction area.

I wonder how safe the track will be for the possible last Great Western Harness Racing meet scheduled for August 30-31 2008 ?

How can they start work without any tenders yet being accepted?

How can they start demolition when the Fair Board agreement has not been passed by either council ?

Why was the City’s special council meeting abruptly canceled just minutes before the scheduled start time today?

Is it because the first tender came in so over budget they don’t want the public to find out ?

Inquiring minds want to know……..