Consider, Media, Provincial

Ironic Economic Reality

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On Mondays Global news cast was a story about the rebirth of Mackenzie, a forestry mill town in northern BC. It is a story that contained a number of ironic twists.

There is a certain irony in the part that demand from China is playing in the rebirth of forestry, in the economic benefit as lowest cost provider to China that is a result of BC’s location and in the fact that the Liberals will undoubtedly claim credit for what is, at it’s core, blind luck.

There is a higher level of irony involved in the fact the hated HST, which the people of the Prince George – Mackenzie riding (and people throughout BC who will benefit from the returning health of the forestry sector) signed a petition to repeal, contributed to the rebirth of the forestry sector.

But the largest and most darkly humorous irony in the report is the reality of life reflected in a seemingly small but very significant change between the 6 PM and the 11 PM Global newscasts.

On the 6 PM newscast the products of the forestry industry were referred to as BC’s most valuable export.

On the 11 PM newscast the products of the forestry industry were referred to as BC’s second most valuable export.

This change is reflective of the reality that BC Bud (marijuana) is, by a substantial margin, BC’s most valuable export. A further irony is that it was the substantial size of the marijuana business and the recession proof nature of the export market for BC marijuana that protected BC’s economy from the hard, deep economic downturn that would have hit had BC been forced to rely on its traditional (and legal) economy and exports.

Reality does not care what we want to be nor is it changed or affected by denial; Reality simply is. A very ironic truth for politics, politicians and many others in BC – and Canada.

Consider, Municipal, Snafu

Spare Clearbrook Library!

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That was what flashed into my mind as I read city manager Frank Pizzuto.’s statement “There are plans for that space [Clearbrook Library basement], great plans”.

Mr. Pizzuto’s statement was contained in an article on the cost incurred by the MSA Museum Society to store its collection of approximately 17,000 items after it moved out of the Clearbrook Library basement for a planned expansion of the library intro the basement.

Mr. Pizzuto’s statement was made in response to the fact that the new library scheduled to be built in Abbotsford means an expansion into the basement of Clearbrook Library is no longer necessary.

What is so disturbing about the city having “great plans” for the Clearbrook Library’s basement? The city’s track record with council “great plans”.

The same story included reference to half of the MSA Museum Society’s collection being at the Reach Gallery MUSEUM; a facility that was part of Abbotsford City Council’s great plans Plan A. Even though the size and contents of the MSA Museum Society’s collection was know at the time of Plan A the Society has to pay for storage because the Reach Gallery MUSEUM didn’t include storage space for the collection to relocate into from the Library basement.

Great Planning!

Then there was the recent front page story in The Province on the high cost to taxpayers of operating the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Complex. A Complex that was promised, as part of city council’s “great plans” to put $ million(s) into taxpayer’s pockets, not take it out of taxpayers pockets.

Council called those who asked to see the numbers the promised profits were based on ‘naysayers’; called they uniformed naysayers when they suggested council wait until the construction market cooled off to build the arena to avoid having something like the nearly 100% cost overrun happen; called them ‘naysayers’ again when they pointed out that it would be better for the taxpayer’s pocketbooks to not open the AESC until conditions were favourable. Council ploughed ahead leaving taxpayers covering the multimillion dollar yearly operating loses.

More Great Planning!

Of course the focus of the Province’s front page article was City Council having the taxpayers of Abbotsford subsidize the purchase of a professional hockey team for wealthy local businessmen; the fact that that council has failed to disclose to disclose the subsidy taxpayers paid in year one of the ten year agreement (a $ million, $2 million, $3 million?) for the purchase of the team – a subsidy for which taxpayers receive no ownership interest in the team; and that with the poor attendance numbers the subsidy is threatening to be higher in year 2.

More Great Planning!

The original plans for the Clearbrook Library basement by the library staff was as the Children’s Library. Of course that was before council had another of their “great plans” and cut down the shade trees, tore up the grassy slopes and put a pond right outside the basement entrance in building their seldom used $ million+ taxpayer unfriendly garden.

More Great Planning!

Council’s track record is why Frank Pizzuto referring to council having “great plans” for the Clearbrook Library basement is enough to strike terror in anyone who is a supporter, friend or user of Clearbrook Library.

Terror that has one wanting to scream “hands of that library you varmints” and preparing for a campaign to Spare Clearbrook Library any city council great plans.

Municipal

Only Abbotsford City Hall …

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What you should know concerning the above picture is that the times are not a special time set aside for couples or ‘Date Night’ time. The times cited are the existing times for the long established, often promoted and well advertized toonie ($2) swims; they are not any new program or promotion.

I have no idea what makes someone (or someones) with the city think that taking a date to the madhouse that is cheap/toonie swim is a good idea. Although I suppose it would make your dating life considerably less expensive since you would not be faced with the expense of a second or subsequent date(s).

Having the large poster, leaflets and other advertising materials produced is not inexpensive, a cost of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.

Given that toonie swims are already well promoted and advertised, and assuming anyone is so injudicious as to think a crowded cheap swim is a good idea for a date, simple mathematics tells you that the cost of this new promotion will be significantly higher than any additional revenue generated from said new promotion.

I suppose in light of Abbotsford City Hall’s demonstrated lack of any mathematical skill and it’s proclivity to spend millions of dollars in order to ‘save’ taxpayers thousands of dollars, this kind of fiscally irresponsible behaviour is not out of character.

Still …… this campaign …… seems more like an excuse to pay someone for a ‘promotional campaign’. Makes one wonder who was paid to prepare the advertising materials and what their relationship to city hall, city council or the Abbotsford Heat is?

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Silly Season Open?

Under (sadly) the heading of more typical City behaviour I see that the lifeguards at the Abbotsford Rec Centre have been naughty and as a result will now have to bring their own personal towel to work.

It seems the lifeguards were not being diligent about making sure the supplied towels were getting washed and dried I a timely or consistent fashion. Behaviour not all that surprising considering many of the instructors are teenagers or UFV students.

Now I can think of several ways to ‘encourage’ or achieve compliance without the need of resorting to ‘if you don’t play the way I want I’m taking my toys (towels) and going home’ behaviour. Although, perhaps it is not all that surprising in light of numerous other examples of city staff and/or city council behaving more like a child rather than an adult.

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If you examine the special deal the city is offering on the date night promotion leaflet above you will see they are offering $2 off the regular admission price on Friday night at ARC; as a result of this you pay $3.85 (5.85 – 2.00) to get in on Friday under the City’s ‘special deal’.

If, instead of taking advantage of the ‘savings’ you waited until the Friday night $2 swim started you would avoid the $1.85 cost of the City ‘saving’ you money.

If it were not driving the City and taxpayers into bankruptcy territory it would be blackly humorous that even the smallest monetary ‘savings’ by the city results in citizens paying more than they would have without the city ‘saving’ them money.

Which is why, upon hearing words like “a deal, have we got a deal for you, savings, profit, on budget, good idea, a good plan” etc come out of the mouths of the mayor, city councillors or city staff, informed citizens:

1. are filled with foreboding and thoughts of ‘Not Again!”

2. place their hands in their pockets (purse) and take a very firm grip on their wallets.

3. say NO, loudly and firmly

4. urge their fellow citizens to “Just say NO!”

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Of course if someone at the city did have a good idea – say having recycling bins at the recreation centres so people who had no convenient way to recycle would have easy access and could recycle – someone at the city would probably come up with something that would negate the good idea.

Say – by putting the recycling bins behind a locked door.