Why Did Eddie Chicken Out?

I understand that CBC TV had scheduled a TV debate to be taped on Wednesday for viewing on air before the election. However, I have just learned that the Mayor has pulled out.

Really, can you blame him? He expects to win bigtime so why give any kind of publicity to people who will say that he has made some mistakes or has not done what he promised to do. If there is a debate and he makes a big mistake, there it is for everyone to see it. No percentage in that. He has everything to lose and nothing to gain.

Now why Eddie is so scared is beyond me. It's true that he has no control over the debate. (No Procedural By-law he can fall back on if the going gets tough). I know that he does not like to be attacked (remember what Alan McKinnon did to him in Tecumseh). However, the Star told us "He's been knocking on doors, shaking hands on the streets and preparing an election file to respond to his critics. "

I don't get it...when he had the chance to "respond" he cut and ran.

BREAKINGNEWS UPDATE

Another exclusive story uncovered by the BLOGmeister.

We have cracked the Mayor's secret Blackberry code. The rumours are true. Every single action that Eddie makes on camera at Council is choreographed by the E-Machine and telecommunicated to him via his Blackberry. Nothing is left to chance

To access the top secret Blackberry portal to send instructions/requests directly to Eddie Francis , please go to Click here for Blackberry Secret Code and type in your request. See if you can get him to follow your instructions and implement your policy. (I suggest you start by suggesting he “build an arena now” and see how he responds…)

Now YOU can feel like the Eminence Grise and control Eddie!

PS Let your friends and colleagues know how they can play in the political "backrooms" too by forwarding this BLOG to them. Egg them on!

Border and Arena

There are two big files that have dominated Windsor in this term of the Mayor and Council: the border and the arena. I had this strange thought that the way the arena file is being handled is very similar to what we've seen with the border file. See if you agree:

1. In megaprojects, proponents overstate benefits and understate costs
2. Are we getting a "Port Huron" solution for the new arena but NOT getting a "Port Huron" solution on a twinned bridge, at least not so far
3. The Government wants to compete with private enterprise in a matter that is not a core function of Government
4. No one knows how much money the Government will ultimately have to pay but we all know it will be a lot more than advertised
5. No one knows exactly where the new crossing will go; no one knows exactly where the new arena will go
6. The two arenas will be a mile apart; the two bridges will be a mile apart
7. The consultant is at the borings stage with the border; the arena is at the boring stage
8. The Government is prepared to spend all the taxpayer money it can to ensure that it owns/controls the new crossing or arena
9. Government has an unfair advantage since it is a competitor of the private enterprise entrepreneur and can impact the private project negatively
10. Government action is undertaken in secret in a less than an open and transparent manner
11. Private proponents do not seem welcome
12. Beztak and Project Ice Track were chased out of town by Council; DRIC and the City (via Sam Schwaratz) chased DRTP and the Ambassador Bridge Co. away
13. Senior Levels are fighting amongst themselves on the border; Windsor and Tecumseh are fighting over the arenas
14. It is a "horse race" to see who builds the new crossing; it is horse racing at the Project Ice Track Tecumseh complex
15. Sam Schwartz wanted a Horseshoe road in Windsor; Gary McNamara got horseshoes in Tecumseh
16. Gridlock Sam was involved with the City over the border; gridlock will be involved if we have 2 arenas in the same location
17. There is underutilzation at the existing arena, the Barn, so we want to build 3 new ones; there is 58% utilization of the Ambassador Bridge and Government wants to build a new crossing
18. Overcapacity can mean financial problems or bankruptcy of a new or existing crossing or arena
19. There are threats of lawsuits over the arena decision; there are threats of lawsuits over the crossing decision
20. The Bridge Co. does not need a Presidential permit from President Bush to build its crossing; Wayne Gretzky does not need a permit from Mayor Francis to build his restaurant in Tecumeseh at the Project Ice Track Arena.
21. Were the choices in the arena and border pre-determined
22. The Spits will play at the arena; the border file makes me spit

DRIC And School Buses

At our last DRIC CCG meeting, we heard from one of DRIC's experts telling us about their air monitoring program. It will last until some time in the new year I believe.

I guess it makes everyone feel better to know that this is being done. It can be said, with a straight face, that DRIC bowed to the community demands. Of course they are dealing with something irrelevant but it plays well in presentations made by DRIC to demonstrate community responsiveness. I must admit that I am not sure what the purpose of it really is from a community perspective other than "feel-good" or perhaps to give someone an argument why Governments should spend billions when it is not needed.

Diesel emissions will no longer be a problem. The end result due to community demands will actually be that tunnels and below grade roads will not be needed and at grade roads work just fine thank you. The reason, emissions will fall rapidly over the life of the new road. In other words, the community do-gooders just sealed their own doom and the air monitoring work being done can support a minimum case being proposed by DRIC as our solution. Ironic, isn't it!

That this is perfectly clear should be apparent when Minister Cansfield came to town. She said (unfortunately not reported by the Windsor Star):

• "We’ve heard your concerns that an increase in truck traffic will increase air pollution in Windsor and Essex County. Our air quality specialists are working with provincial and federal agencies to identify the air quality impact of the various options.
  
  Air monitors have been placed along the Huron Church/Highway 3 corridor – I visited the site this morning.
  
  This is an extraordinary step in response to what we’ve heard from the community.
  
  Air quality modelling is an essential part of the DRIC air quality assessment. Computerized models will allow us to make informed and reliable decisions about the air quality impact of the new crossing, plaza and access road.
  
  People in Windsor and Essex County should also know that new truck emissions standards come into effect in January 2007. A combination of new engines and lower-sulphur fuel will eventually cut emissions by more than 90 per cent.
  
  The average truck life is about five to seven years, according to the transport industry… that means by the year 2012 – 2014 trucks will have these new engines with reduced harmful emissions.
  
  The access road to the new crossing will continue to be consistent with the existing homes and businesses along Highway 3/Huron Church Road. That won’t change. Highway 3 is a provincial highway and has been for 75 years, the only difference is the trucks using this road will now be headed for the international border instead of city streets."

Since the trucks will have the reduced emissions by 2013, the year the new bridge is to be built, do you really think that billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent for DRTP's Green Solution just to make Mike Hurst happy or for a tunnel from Highway 401 to the Ambassador bridge? We know where the road is going since the Minister just told us and we know already what kind of road it will be. Why aren't we building it now and creating thousands of infrastructure jobs when we need them? Sandra better start working on that after the jobs she already produced for us.

Do the Tunneleers want to do something useful to address a real problem and stop dealing with the phony one created by the Eminence Grise for re-election purposes? Here is an excerpt from a Sierra Club report dealing with health risks to children:

• "Certain groups have an even higher risk of developing cancer as they are exposed to higher than average ambient air concentrations of DPM:
  
  Children riding on school buses are exposed to DPM levels that would lead to a lifetime excess cancer rate of up to one in 256 if they were exposed to this concentration of DPM over their entire lifetime. While this is an extreme example, it demonstrates the severity of the emissions that children are exposed to when travelling to and from school. This risk is above and beyond the cancer risk that everyday exposure to average ambient air DPM levels poses to children."

If someone wants to do something useful on diesel fuel emissions, here is a simple strategy. Spend the billions for a tunnel in Windsor to:

• "Protect children by retrofitting existing school buses and restricting future purchases to clean alternative-fuelled school buses"
• Retro-fit trucks now so that all of Ontario can have reduced diesel emissions!
  

What's Wrong With Windsor Government: Monday Council Agenda

When you decide for whom you wish to vote in a week, remember this last meeting of Council before the election. Secrecy, MFP, the arena, fiscal responsibility and the border all in one meeting. It is almost as if the Mayor and Council are rubbing it into our collective faces and daring us to do something about it.

I have the perfect example of what is wrong with our local government. Monday's Council Agenda fits the bill perfectly. It represents everything to me in a nutshell that is wrong. And those in power just do not care.

Let me prove it to you:

COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS (Posted late Friday afternoon after 2 requests by me)

It's buried there as Item #13. A good choice of number too. The City Solicitor "apologizes" for not giving Council the monthly report on Legal Fees on the border file as he was directed to do. (Of course where were the fiscally responsible Mayor and Councillors ensuring that the reports were prepared but that is another question).

We learn the fees have gone up in total to $2.8M approx. We have no idea if these fees represent all of the costs since the basis of the numbers has never been disclosed and which Departments are included is unknown. It is just "border file" however someone has decided to classify it. If it is not within that classification, it is NOT reported. As an example, is the Tunnel Improvement Plan "border file" work or not?

The fees shown are about a $270K increase from some date. The last reported fees in the Star were in May, 2006 for a total of $2.3M. Were there any reports in the interim? If not, the difference between $2.8M and $2.3M is $500K, not $270K. How is that explained? Where did the extra $230K go?

One interesting point: in the May story, it was written "Estrin's fee for the OMB hearing comes to $771,712. But the figure does not include the approximately two weeks he spent at the hearing itself." The new Report says Estrin's additional fees charged for the Interim Control By-law/OMB hearing was almost $175K. I'd like to know what that amount represents. Does it represent 2 weeks work?

Let me guess what is really going on that is being hidden from us for our own good I guess. We are at war in Windsor. We have "enemies" according to Councillor Halberstadt. His Ward mate, not to be outdone before an election states: "[Councillor] Valentinis, explaining that the city is in a battle for its future with four powerful, tightlipped competitors who have mega-millions at stake -- the Ambassador Bridge company, the DRTP and the two senior governments.”

I'd like to know why they are "enemies" wouldn't you? What have they done to deserve this. I may disagree with them but "enemies" and "battle." Overly dramatic don't you think? Is this Estrin's language or Council's? I would like to know.

But the Mayor and Council will keep us ignorant as they spend, spend, spend knowing what's best for us. After all, who wants to know what the real facts are since it might spoil the REAL PLAN. It's better to pretend that we are in a war....better than telling us how to fix the border when Schwartz is gone and Eddie does not know what to do.

THE ARENA (Filed some time after noon on Friday)

I sent this email early Saturday morning to Councillor Gignac and copied her colleagues and Council candidates, amongst others, after reading her quote in the Star:

• "You are quoted in the Saturday Star as saying:
  
  "But the bylaw also allows for "sole source" purchasing under certain circumstances, meaning a contractor can be chosen without asking for bids, if the city feels it's in its best interests.
  
  Current Ward 5 councillor Jo-Anne Gignac said the city proceeded under that section of the bylaw."
  
  Please let me know forthwith which section is that because there is none in the By-law that I can find. Section 32, the Sole Source section, has no such provision.
  
  Clearly you are admitting that Council is acting without authority! What do you intend to do about it on Monday night when the Arena matter is before Council. You have no choice now but to ask that the Arena matter be reconsidered and that the By-law be complied with.
  
  I do expect your answer by noon on Monday, before the Council meeting, so that I may decide if I should be a delegation."

Pretend that we are in compliance with a Section of the By-law that no one can point to so far. Check out Item #7 on the agenda and see what you learn about the arena:

1. The torrents of money that Henderson said we will have here due to the Mayor's brilliance financially are not here yet. Pretend that they are and call our need to finance the arena "interim bridge financing" so no one is the wiser. This is the second time that I have seen the word "bridge" used for loans. I don't see this as short-term money but as a loan. Time to talk to some accounting experts on this one!
   
   Do you see anywhere how much that is....nope. They don't dare tell you. Why not.....here is what I wrote before:
   
   "If the building of the arena is fast-tracked, and wouldn't it have to be if the Spits want it soon, the Treasurer admitted that there would be $4-5 Million of "temporary costs." I hope we have the budget for that or we might have to raise taxes and then Councillor Postma would be in big trouble if she was still on Council."
   
   Pooof, the cost of the arena has just ballooned to $52M and we have not even got started yet! That's money that could have been given to the poor starving children for breakfast meals to replace the slots revenues that Eddie lost for us!
   
   Remember the infamous words "Read my Lips; no new arena taxes."


2. You now know that Councillors were in such a rush to do something to get re-elected that they had no idea what they were getting and that they were buying something that did not work for us ie a 1999 Port Huron arena (pop. 35,000) for 2006 Windsor uses (pop 200,000+). Pretend that it does however!
   
   Ex-hockey dad, mayoral candidate Dave Wonham first pointed out the lack of seating at the three "Practice rinks" so tournaments could not be held. Now we will have "bench seating" for 150 at each rink. That is a far cry from the number of seats at Riverside (700 seats) and Adstoll (900 seats). You just know that additions will blow up the cost higher.
   


3. Now the PCR people have given a 60-day extension to their offer to build the arena. Councillor Jones asked for a slight delay. Didn't the PCR rep say previously that costs could rise if the project were delayed. I remember that increase could be several percent. I guess that changed now.
   


4. I wonder why Administrators are signing the deal and not the Mayor? If it goes wrong, then he can say that he did not know!
   


5. There are "fit-up costs" and "site servicing costs" but they are NOT revealed.
   



6. I wish I could ask the City's experts how a 1999 arena priced at $60M can be built in 2006 after the increase in costs over that time period (eg 35% for the bus terminal, tripling for streetscaping) for $48M

MFP: PricewaterhouseCoopers Review of the Controls and Procedures of the Financial Services Function of the Corporate Services Department

Pretend everything is under control.

This report is as a result of MFP ie to ensure that the proper controls are in place and being followed. Oh MFP, that's the file that Eddie now says "saved" us so much money ie somehow spending an extra $68M or so over what we expected to spend is turned into a "savings." Eddie forgot to mention how an error allowed our Forensic Accounting Report to be used against us!

PWC was retained to ensure that an MFP type situation could never happen again. They issued a report. I'd love to be able to tell you what is in it but I cannot. It is not posted. Oh we are given the good parts of what PWC says in the Agenda item but who knows if there are still problems that were identified. We'll never know that. (It was just like the MFP Forensic Audit Report in the first place---it was never posted online either so we could learn how bad things were).

Now I have to ask the good folks of PWC some questions.

1. Their Report may have no value....after all, they did the work for Project Ice Track which several Councillors tried to discredit. That report was critical of Administration. Shouldn't PWC be concerned now about the quality of Admin work? Where are the checks and balances to ensure that does not happen again?
2. PWC can see how easily Councillor Gignac may have been given incorrect info about the Purchasing By-law. Couldn't that happen again? Where are the checks and balances to ensure that does not happen again?
3. PWC should wonder whether what the City is doing in respect of the arena may be in violation of the City's By-law. Where are the checks and balances to ensure that does not happen again?
4. MFP was a Public/private partnership deal. When Eddie became Mayor, Section 32 of the Purchasing By-law was amended to allow P3 deals as Sole Sourcing. In other words, another disaster waiting to happen. Where are the checks and balances to ensure that does not happen again?

There you have it:

• Megaproject running amok
• Secrecy
• Late posting on a Friday afternoon of key Council Agenda Items
• No citizen "right" to appear as a delegation on late reported Agenda Items but only if Council allows it
• Reports being put on Council Communications so citizens cannot appear as a delegation at all to ask questions or make comments
• Administration ignoring Council requirements
• Seeming errors in calculations
• No concern about potentially improper Purchasing activity and a failure to answer legitimate citizen questions
• Not telling us clearly about extra costs, potentially being millions of dollars
• Not providing key reports on line so they can be reviewed thoroughly
• Lack of controls even after Canderel and MFP

Oh heck, let's pretend everything is OK for the next week.

Saturday Star Follies

A few interesting stories from Saturday's Star to talk about:

1. Do you remember this blast from the past: Windsor Star 10-09-2004 "Francis confirmed in an interview that a deal could be signed within days to sublease two floors of vacant tower office space that have been costing city taxpayers a staggering $77,000 a month in rent." What happened in the 2 years between then and now? Did it take Eddie that long and $2M of taxpayer money down the drain to figure out he inherited a lemon? Just like he lost a ton of money in the Tunnel by keeping rates uncompetitive. Seems like a pattern of management failure.


2. Remember that a source of mine called the sublease deal at Canderel, "THE DEAL OF THE CENTURY" for a tenant. I wonder if that is why a financial firm like Stewart, Fisher & Associates Inc. considers the move "economically wise." They can figure out the dollars that they will save on the rent and renewals over the life of the sub-lease and how much cash they can put in their pockets for "leasehold improvements" right now.
   


3. Speaking about the Spitfires, I see that Private Financial Group financial advisers is also moving to Canderel. Peter Dobrich is President of Private Financial Group, a boutique financial advisory firm in Windsor, Ontario. He is also an owner of the Spitfires. I wonder if he too negotiated a DEAL OF THE CENTURY. I bet that he asked for a "rent inducement" to secure the Firm's agreement to become a subtenant of the Canderel project. I thought about asking him about it but he would probably neither confirm nor deny any such approach. Typical media-type response.
   
   Now the Canderel deal is "confidential" and the Arena deal is "confidential." Don't you find it interesting, as Chris Schnurr, the Ward 2 Candidate, wrote: "That’s standard in the industry for arena agreements with these clubs, to protect the business interests of the owners...was the reason cited in the Windsor Star. But what about the interests of the taxpayer?"
   
   When describing the Spits' deal, the Mayor used this language: "We're very pleased we're able to secure a major tenant. That tenant has signed on for 20 years." It makes me nervous when I see the word "secure" used because then I think about "rent inducements" again and wonder if the Spitfires also got the DEAL OF THE CENTURY at the arena.
   
   Now the Spits could demand big bucks too...20 year tenant who will occupy 40 of the 48 nights the arena bowl needs to be used. That gives them great bargaining power, especially after Dobrich must have negotiated his Canderel sublease and knew how poor the City was as a negotiator. I'll bet he was smart though. He'd never ask for a sum of cash. He probably would suggest some kind of a formula for the payment.
   
   What is really funny about this too is that the inducement would have to be a huge one from the City. I am sure that you have forgotten, dear reader, that the City was competing against Project Ice Track for the Spits and locked them up before the Raceway people knew what hit them. I bet the Spits asked for big dollars from the Raceway people too, probably based on some formula as well and the City had to match or better it. If it is big enough, it could help him pay off the big price he and his partners paid for the Spits in the first place. They supposedly paid over $5M for the Spitfires, one of the highest prices paid for an Ontario Hockey League franchise.(According to the Star, "in recent OHL transactions, Oshawa was sold for $3.8 million in 2004, Belleville for $3.5 million in 2004 and North Bay, which moved to Saginaw, Mich., in 2002, for $3 million.")
   
   One day we may find out.
   


4. We are seeing the kind of money that is being used at the Canderel building: $580,000 to renovate third-floor office space at 1 Riverside Dr. W., and $350,000 for renovations on the fourth floor of 1 Riverside Dr. W. The Star says "The building and development department, which does not disclose applicants' names [for building permits] recently issued building renovation permits." I'd like to know if that is the City's costs. I have heard amounts in the multi-millions as the amount the City will have to pay out.
   


5. Good thing we got those 1,000 jobs. Just in the nick of time as our unemployment rate is "now tied for the worst in Canada with Saguenay, Que., at 8.8 per cent." "Some 15,000 more factory jobs were lost, most of them in Ontario and Quebec."
   
   Some more stats: CMHC Housing outlook for Windsor says fewer people are moving to Windsor, apartment vacancy rate is highest in Canada at 10.3%, 2-3 times higher than most other places, rents are high here, mls sales are down and are projected to slow down even more over the next 2 years and home starts are falling.
   


6. The story on the mayoral candidates "Mayor's foes face uphill fight" was different than the others. In the Councillors' profiles, there was a bit of an introduction but then the position of each person was set out. In this case, I thought that there had been a debate the night before. First Wonham made some allegations and Eddie gave his response. Chams made his comments and then Eddie gave his side. Beydoun was barely mentioned (I assume that he did not tell Roseann much or she would have given him more coverage). We found out about the candidates but in a much more disjointed way than the Councillors.






7. Have you ever wondered much Editorial writers make and how well they live? Obviously not very much and not very well from this statement in Saturday's editorial. "The 1,000 jobs to be created by Sutherland are not equal to the standards of the automotive industry but they have wages that can provide for comfortable lifestyles." Geeez, didn't they see that the pay is $9-10.25 per hour in the classified ad I posted! If that amount of money, about $21,000 per year, brings a comfortable lifestyle...


8. Gord Henderson is good....when his column to make Eddie look good by bringing in jobs turned out to be wrong-- "The source said people are mistaken if they assume this is just another minimum wage call centre " and it is---and that Eddie played a key role, it was really Sandra, he finds "a toxic minority in Windsor" who are "moaners" "peeing on the welcome mat" with "nasal drip." I am not one of those. I am just one who wishes we were told the truth.


9. I just had to add this one in. In Monday's Star, this story "Bypass will let trucks avoid Montreal bottleneck." In this case, "Prime Minister Stephen Harper, striving to make inroads and shore up his slipping popularity in Quebec, came to the seat-rich suburbs around Montreal yesterday to pledge money for a $1-billion-plus traffic beltway."
   
   Eddie has had three years to accomplish something similar and has produced zippo, zilch, nada, nothing, even when he had the Prime Minister, Premier and the US Ambassador eating out of his hand. Just keep on snubbing and threatening lawsuits! It's pathetic already.

Two Wrongs Make A Right

How can a parent teach a child about right and wrong when our Mayor makes absurd statements to support a failed process. Especially because he should know better given his educational background.

Probably the most absurd justification given for the process that the City of Windsor went through to approve the East end proposal was given by the Mayor:
"Francis noted that the association's complaint about sole sourcing would have applied to Windsor Raceway's proposal for the Ice Track arena, since that would not have been tendered either if council chose that project. "That would have been sole sourced as well."

Of course this is a bunch of BS. The process involving Project Ice Track was following the Purchasing By-law if the Mayor would only read the By-law. It was the East End arena proposal procedure that was faulty in my opinion. Remember also that the Mayor said that the By-Law could be "waived." Of course that was ridiculous as well since the By-law is "mandatory" under Provincial law.

The Teflon Mayor, and only he, can take the blame as CEO of the Corporation of the City of Windsor for the mess that the arena fiasco has become. And it will only get worse.

Can you imagine if the Mayor allowed himself to be questioned on his positions on the process by someone who read the By-law. He's on CKLW on Friday isn't he! Perhaps we will get our chance after all.

No matter....as readers will recall, I contacted Gord Henderson's "star performer" performer in Ward 5, Councillor Jo-anne Gignac, and asked her to "let me know forthwith which section is that because there is none in the By-law that I can find. Section 32, the Sole Source section, has no such provision." She claimed "a contractor can be chosen without asking for bids, if the city feels it's in its best interests."

The following is her long, detailed and thorough response that obviously must have been cleared by the Mayor's office and Administration:
"

"

Dr. Dave Meets McGuinty And Pupatello

What do you know, a Windsor politician not afraid to be seen with the Premier of Ontario, Dalton McGuinty. Imagine, not snubbing him, but actually being with him and even being photographed with him. What a novel idea for Windsor!

Who knows, if this keeps up, Councillor Valentinis may no longer have to wonder why no one listens to Windsor and we might actually get some Government grants for this City!

Of course, Sandra was there. I understand that Dr. Dave has known Sandra from the time that she was in Opposition as the Health Critic many years ago when he was Chief of Surgery at Windsor Regional Hospital. It's nice knowing people in high places too I bet.

Speaking of snubbing...not only does Eddie snub Senior Level politicians and hockey players but he also snubs his challengers. Apparently they all re-arranged their schedules to accommodate the Mayor so that they could have a group photo for the Star. Originally scheduled for 6PM, the photo shoot was changed to 8PM for Eddie's benefit. Guess who did not show up. The arrogance is unbelievable. I wonder if his Chief of Staff had the decency to offer an apology to them for the "Star" not showing up at the Star event .

I wonder what the Premier was pointing at in this photo with Dr. Dave and Sandra...perhaps you can send in a caption and let me know what you think!

For me, I think he is pointing at Eddie and saying "Ha, ha, ha, nice try to slam Sandra on the arena...If I lived in Windsor, I 'd be voting for my buddy, Dr.Dave.!"

UPDATE from a Blogreader