A Piss Poor Idea: Winnipeg's Water Park Scheme

Tomorrow Winnipeg's City Council will vote on whether or not it should give a private developer $7 million tax dollars to build a less-than-world-class water park on one of Winnipeg's most prized parcels of land. Fervently backed by Mayor Sam Katz, the Hotel & Water park scheme calls for the new attraction to be built in the heart of Winnipeg at the historic Forks. As luck would have it, the proposed site for the new water park just happens to be across from Mayor Katz's very own baseball stadium. As majority owner of baseball's Winnipeg Goldeyes, Mayor Katz has recused himself from Wednesday's votes on both the land sale and the tax dollar give-away. Yet, notably, he only did so after some Winnipegger's worried about the state of the city raised serious questions about Katz and his role in the affair. And, again notably, he only recused himself after he had already done the local media rounds to promote the deal and was secure in the knowledge there was zero chance his confederates in his 'cabinet' would fail to back the scheme at the committee level. As such, j'accuse that Katz's je me recuse was, at its core, a purposefully disingenuous ruse and too little too late to be considered a truly ethical and effective recusal. 

The Mayor's insincere ruse aside, there are many other troubling aspects to the present water park scheme before City Council. For instance, whose idea was it to offer the designated land (Parcel 4 at Winnipeg's Forks) exclusively to this particular developer instead of opening it up to other competitive bids?  Where is the detailed plan? What happens to the provision that binds the water park developer to issue $700,000 in vouchers per year to low income children for 25 years should the developer go bust and/or sell the property?  And finally, why is City Hall so hell bent on ensuring $7 million tax dollars must go to a private water park rather than to our local community centres?  As Dennis Lewycky of Winnipeg's Social Planning Council pointed out on CBC radio this morning, the monetary math of the scheme doesn't add up. The plan, he says, "Just doesn't make sense." And because it doesn't make sense, its important City Council say no to this scheme now.

Councillors Steen and Sharma, are you listening? Despite all the propaganda you've heard from Mayor Katz & Co., the proposed water park (at 50,000 sq ft) will, most assuredly, be 'less-than-world-class'. We don't need a substandard 'Wally World-esque' structure at the Forks. We need to stop wasting taxpayer money on back room deals. We need to redirect the funds in question to our existing community recreational facilities. We need to do better by our historic site at the Forks. A piss poor idea from the start, this scheme should be thrown out with the bathwater - anything less would be a civic crime. Councillors Steen and Sharma, Winnipeg deserves better, please vote NO on Wednesday.

Winnipeg is officially "Katzville": And like its mayor, Katzville is sick!

"To wrap up the speech, the mayor assured the crowd that Winnipeg is well on its way to economic growth." Err, ... thanks Global TV, you mindless parrots! Here, try these Free Press interpretations of his State of the City address instead - they got it right:

Mayor Katz "... was avoiding the larger question about the need for a new political and economic relationship between the city and the province." AND, "... did not mention this is a city that right now does not produce enough revenue to pay its bills."

Clearly, here in the "Katzville" all is not well. But you wouldn't know it if the only person you ever listened to was the bespectacled moron who, sadly, is our very own Hizzoner. To hear him say it, Katzville (formerly a city called Winnipeg) is on the precipice of greatness!

Yes sirree, we are "World Class"! But only if one defines "world class" as: making a bogus announcement of hosting the big-game; having one newfangled cop-chopper in the sky; and not being able to pay one's bills or live up to one's promises. Yep, Mayor Katz, by those standards we are indeed world class! World class all the way baby! Err, that is, if you're comfortable being mayor of a town that sees 48,000 of its citizens having to rely on food banks! Yep, aside from hunger and a myriad of other human issues that you have failed to address here in Katzville, we are, indeed, world class Mr. Mayor - a "world class" failure in the making!

Farce - Winnipeg Style!

Hey Winnipeg, wanna a new football stadium? Here's the price: make the decision quick, don't reflect, don't question, and make sure Mayor Sam gets to go on his Arizona XMAS holiday and newlywed fuck-fest on time!

"The deal must be signed Wednesday to ensure the construction costs are locked in at $190 million, Mayor Sam Katz told reporters Monday after a closed-door council seminar."

Whatever the merits of the existing proposal (and they are sparse at best) we, the taxpayers, do not deserve to be treated in such dismissive fashion.

THIS IS A $200 MILLION DOLLAR EXPENDITURE - surely to fucking Christ we taxpayers deserve more than 48 hours to weigh its merits! But no, as sheep we will follow... travesty!

A Special P.S. to Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger --- BTW, MY Premier, OUR Premier, OUR DEAR Premier ... in case you're interested, there's only one politician's future and one politician's asshole that's in danger of being irrevocably burned at the proverbial electoral stake here - YOURS!

re: "the non-profit Winnipeg Football Club must repay the province $85 million over 40 years"!!! Are you fucking kidding me?

Where's the accountability here? My 12 year son will be 52! I will be dead, you will be probably be dead, and (if there is a God?) Katz will have mercifully expired in Arizona ... and the loan will not have been re-payed! Well done you idiot! Guess there's nothing like giving that one-note-uber-simpleton Wee-Hughie an unnecessary edge.

Jesus! Even a supporter like me can see this deal is indefensible. All the weasel words in the world, and all the Rastafarian-inspired-smoking-"tax-pay-back-schemes" in a bong can't hide the fact that this is almost an entirely financed PROVINCIALLY FUNDED SCHEME!

Egad! What a mess... S'cuze me ... I gotta go upchuck now.

5 Stupidest Things I Have Read Today - pt.1

Okay, here goes... a listing of the 5 stupidest things I have read today. Enjoy.

1. - "In oral cultures, the most significant historical information is found in oral sources, particularly stories."
* MacKinley Darlington, "Captain Death Strikes Again: Tuberculosis and the Stó:lõ 1871-1907", (MA Thesis: University of Saskatchewan), 2010. p.3

2. -"World-class news commentary from the most authoritative news source in Canada" * Globe & Mail's banal banner boast on their "Commentary" section webpage (devoid of hubris)

3.- "If Prime Minister Stephen Harper had the oratorical style of a Barack Obama, the nuanced elegance of a Pierre Trudeau, or the fire of a John Diefenbaker, his speech last week on anti-Semitism and Israel would be put on a pedestal." *Toronto Star, Nov. 15, 2010 (editorial)"Stephen Harper is exactly right on Israel" - UTTER BULLSHIT!

4.- "Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 31, 2010 – Premier Greg Selinger and Mayor Sam Katz today joined Ken Hildahl, Chair, Board of Directors of the Winnipeg Football Club, David Asper, Executive Chairman of Creswin Properties Inc. and University of Manitoba President, Dr. David Barnard to announce a plan to accelerate construction of a new community-owned football stadium at the University of Manitoba. ... Beginning this summer, Creswin will construct the $115 million facility with an opening in time for the 2012 CFL and Bison football seasons" *Government of Manitoba News Release - Jesus, that's always good for a laugh!

5.- "Harper said his government's budget forecasts are ... already forecasting modest economic growth in the years ahead." *Vancouver Sun, Nov. 15, 2010, "Global trade imbalance serious, but not an urgent issue, PM says" - "already"?

Dear Premier, Our Premier, My Premier: DON'T FUCK THIS UP!

Sources say the price is more than $160 million and the stakeholders are now huddling to determine what comes next. The project will require extra money or the design could be altered to make the stadium fit the $115-million budget used to put together the existing funding package.


Dearest Greg,

Oops, where are my manners? May I call you Greg? No? Am I being too personal? Really? If so, I apologize... err... (ahem) let us start again.

Dear Mr. Premier,
(The same one who promised all Manitoban's we would only be on the hook for no more than $90 MILLION of our hard earned tax dollars to fund yet another Asper vanity project... i.e. a new Winnipeg Football stadium),

Must say sir, I was quite disheartened to read the this news. Forget about the insipid calculated timing of the release of this story mere days after our recent civic election... how odd? Wow, what a coincidence? I mean who knew this was in the pipe? Did you? Did Katz? Did Asper? I bet one of you "True Blue" knew? But as that fat corrupt mafia guy on TV used to say: "fogetta-bout-it". Who-knew-what-when-was-convenient-for-them is not my point here.

My point here, and what is bothering me, is that I fear you, our Premier, my Premier, our Dear Premier, are about to break our trust. I fear that you, our Premier, my Premier, our Dear Premier, may soon succumb to the most debilitating Manitoba political disease of all ... aka: "The AKA's" ("The Asper-Katz Appeasement Syndrome").

I fear that even now this affliction, the "AKA's", may be taking hold of your person and senses and causing you, my Dear Premier, to lose your bearings, good judgment, and moral compass. Please, my Premier, our Premier, ... our Dear Premier, ... please say it isn't so! Please confirm for us that you are healthy. Please confirm, in no uncertain terms, that you are not afflicted. Please confirm you are immune to the "AKA's" by announcing that you refuse, ABSOLUTELY REFUSE, to enter into any further discussions regarding a rejigged/re-vamped funding agreement with either of these these boldfaced opportunists.

You made a deal with Asper... a deal is a deal. Cost overruns are his responsibility. Further, it is his responsibility to deliver the product originally promised (amenities and all). Anything less is a deal breaker. Surely, my Premier, our Premier, my Dear Premier, you don't want to be seen as one who breaks either deals, or the trust of the people - certainly not at this juncture. Not when so much is riding on your integrity. So, my Premier, our Premier, our Dear Premier: NOT ONE MORE RED CENT for the AKA's! Not now, not ever - - A deal is a deal!

One Observation Deserves Another

"By my count, Sam Katz has a conservative majority on council to do what he wants."

Fuck me! God help Winnipeg - cause Lord knows - we 'Peggers who aren't members of the Chamber of Commerce are going to need it!

Manitoba's Bill 35: "A slap in the face"? "Don't go there"

Manitoba's Bill 35 - the Municipal Conflict of Interest and Campaign Financing Act.

"In a bid to stimulate confidence in municipal politics, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Steve Ashton unveiled legislation Tuesday that seeks to ban union and corporate contributions to municipal election campaigns."

As some have noted, this really isn't a bad idea at all. After all, it will "improve transparency and accountability in municipal government.".

Today we read that the most vociferous critic of the legislation, Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz, is now back-peddling on his earlier condemnation of the proposed law by calling it an "innocuous document". So then, if this is how the Mayor Katz really feels towards Bill 35, why did His Petulance throw such a royal hissy fit earlier this week when the "laudable, necessary reforms" were announced?

'For the province to jump into this, when ... we're looking for revenue…[I told them] this will cause a real ruckus at City Hall; don't go there.'—Sam Katz, Winnipeg mayor - CBC.ca

"I told them point-blank this was a slap in the face to city council..." the mayor said. - Winnipeg Free Press

Huh, "a slap in the face"? "Don't go there"? Where does Mayor Katz, get off sounding like such a loser? Such a victim? Surely, something is amiss? Or maybe, just maybe, it is the following aspect of the new law that really rubs him the wrong way, the one that will require:

... all municipalities to establish a code of conduct and conflict-of-interest rules for municipal employees. The rules must include prohibiting employees from: using information not available to the public and obtained through their job to further their private interests; or; using their position to try to influence a decision that would further their private interests.

Maybe this is what Katz sees as a true "slap in the face"? Maybe he sees this clause as a threat; as a barrier that will undermine his ability to conduct his business as usual. Maybe, that's why his shrill voice was warning the Province "don't go there"? After all, in this city, it's always about him first - the people second.

But don't worry Mayor Katz, you keep telling 'em! You go girlfriend! Whine and then back-peddle all you want. Say whatever you wish. Just be aware that most Winnipeg voters see nothing wrong with the new bill. Further, we cannot help but be suspicious of anyone, especially OUR MAYOR, whose knee-jerk reaction to the proposed legislation would leave us with less accountability and less transparency at his City Hall!




FYI - In a totally unrelated aside:
Subject: Re: Origin of "don't go there"?

"In the mid-to-late '70s, ... "Don't go there" was in common use among gay yuppies then. Sometimes it was extended into "You don't wanna go there, girlfriend." I don't recall encountering the phrase in the mainstream until the '90s, ... By this time I suspect that the hip gay guys in Chicago wouldn't have been caught dead saying such a thing."

ARSE-O-theWeek: Sam Katz

[as originally posted 01/02/09 on my formerly free thinking blog http://tworippingarseholes.blogspot.com/ ]

Oh, you bridge-building mayor you! Who opines his city councillors "are not doing the right thing" when they oppose him; who calls them "hypocrites" and accuses them of "not telling the truth."

Congratulations Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz - you are Arse-O-the Week!

Okay, we know this is strictly an inside the frigid 'beltway' story. But sometimes, the big hairy arse turns out to be the gorilla in your midst. So, what has Winnipeg's Krafty Katz done to merit this award?

Well, to be clear, it has nothing to do with his propensity to deny we citizens access to the results of taxpayer-funded polls. No, it has nothing to do with that. Also, it has nothing to do with his reversing his position on Winnipeg's rapid transit system after his tenure has so far been practically defined by his opposition to the project. No, it has nothing to do with that.

Also, it has nothing to do with the fact that his private business transactions and questionable dealings repeatedly get in the way of governing. So much so that it recently, distracted "city council from its normal business for almost a month." Nope, nothing to do with that. Nor is it because he rejects a standard solution to this problem because he believes (as a fellow frogger blogger said): that "a blind trust — an actual legal structure — is 'unadulterated nonsense'."

It's not even because his professional baseball team has just avoided having to pay more than $300,000 in outstanding interest to a former government sponsored Investment Fund because, as Katz claimed, their was a phantom deal "that forgave ... hundreds of thousands of dollars in interest on two loans." Too bad, so sad, there was no "written agreement" - it made things very tough on the Queen's Bench official who ruled in Sam's favour "despite the inconsistencies in the evidence" surrounding the "alleged agreement."

And we didn't even consider his shameless promotion of minor business news, out of all proportion to its real impact on our daily lives. (e.g. "There's no doubt there are many Winnipeggers that are jumping for joy and are excited beyond the excitement they might have for a birthday, an anniversary or winning the Lotto 6/49. People love IKEA, there's no question about that.")

And it is definitely not because of the sordid details of his messy divorce and "about putting (his) wife on the payroll, about nannies’ salaries and so on” which have become easy fodder for the press.

Finally, to be absolutely clear, it is not because he is Jewish. We Two Arseholes firmly believe that one's faith has no bearing on their capacity to rise to the level of supreme Arseholed-ness.

Here's how he has risen to that level:

First elected in 2004, he said he entered politics because he 'believed' he "could do a much better job than the politicians that were running." Well, 'belief' is a funny thing - and sometimes one's 'belief' it is just plain wrong. Since taking office, this self-proclaimed non-politician has demonstrated a striking inability to govern for all citizens. Rather, intent on preserving the primacy of the business-elite, Katz governs from the right, for the right, because (don't ya know) he is always "right". As another local blogger noted, Katz's "not a politician" claim simply doesn't ring true. More accurately, said another, Katz should have claimed he is "not a GOOD politician."

Katz doesn't play well with others and (as a local hack highlights) he is prone to Dubya moments of disconnect. Asked if he had any failures in 2008 Katz said: "I can't think of a specific failure, per se. If there's one that you have in mind, please let me know."

Here's one. Recently he said: "Who knows what next year will bring" - well it is our sad duty to report that next year is now here. Today we go to the City Clerk's Department website to see what the Executive Policy Committee is up to these days. Hmmm..let's see: a meeting of this Star Chamber is scheduled for Thursday, January 8th (6 days from now) and as of this late Friday posting there is as yet no agenda posted. No agenda? No agenda! Sam has no agenda?

Of course he does - it's just not one the public will swallow. Working to concentrate power and wealth in the hands of your friends among the business elite is hardly a civic agenda. It is, of course, a plan - a class plan, if you will.

Katz once reflected how, as children, he and his brother "called each other all sorts of names in Yiddish". We don't know Yiddish and our vocabulary is limited, but we think ARSEHOLE fits 'His Honour' right now. The "agony" that his tenure has wrought far outweighs the collective "ecstacy" that's for sure.

A third term for a man who once said "two terms is enough for me"?

Oy Gevalt!