John Hashem from the Box Springs Business Park has submitted to the blog highlights of their presentation from July 28th, 2009 - which outlines key components to their bid

Box Springs Business Park

The Event Centre Committee has been active for more than four years. There have been several changes in direction and a number of proposals presented to the committees and to council.

In the last two years Box Springs Business Park has been developed on the northwest side of Medicine Hat. Phase 1 includes approximately 427 acres of Highway Commercial and Industrial property. Phase 2 consists of 630 acres.

In the last year, as part of our overall development plan, we have offered the City free land to build the Events Centre. We have also made a formal proposal to The Regional Event Centre Committee to provide the land, services, storm water management and roads, all free to the taxpayers of Medicine Hat. At the request of the Committee (Mr Yuill) we have provided an Expression of Interest outlining a plan to provide land, build and operate the facility under a P3 or private ownership plan. We have provided these proposals to both the Committee and to Council.

To date no decision has been made on location, size or design of facility or how we want to build and run it.

Since the release of the last consultants report (GEC) the Box Springs business has accomplished the following:

• We have completed and approved zoning, area structure plan and functional services report for the Box Springs Business Park. This includes traffic studies and environmental approvals.

• We are 90% compete in Phase 1A for servicing, roads and subdivision.

• Phase 1A is presently 60 % sold. Costco is open and several other developments are underway.

• Design for Phase 1B is complete and are we are waiting for final draft of our service agreement. We will begin construction this year.

• In Phase 1B, other than our proposed Event Centre site we have a commitment from The Medicine Hat Lodge to build a new Hotel and Convention Centre adjacent to the Event Centre. As well, Ramada Inn has purchased land to construct a new Hotel and a free standing Restaurant. We have a commitment from Extended Stay Hotels and two other national chain restaurants to build new facilities close to the Event Centre. Petro Canada has purchased a 10 acre site to construct a Retail Travel Centre with a on site A&W. These commitments alone represent $75,000,000 in development and an annual tax base of over $1,500,000. and we still have 800 acres left

• We have had meetings with GEC Architects and Graham Construction in respect to design, construction, financing and operations. Of the sites you are considering they support the Box Springs site. As we stand still, the costs go up. Box Springs site is ready to go today.

• We have met with The Town of Redcliff and they are committed to the Box Springs Site and the REGIONAL Events Centre. They will give serious consideration to both capital and operational contributions.

• We have had negotiations with Community Savings regarding financing and naming rights. They are committed to the Box Springs site

I know you have heard it before, but the Box Springs site is ideally suited for the Events Center for many reasons including, highway exposure, access and egress, no opportunity for noise complaints, vandalism, parking or traffic issues, and it’s free!!!!!!!

There are three options available for the development of this facility. They include:

• City Owned. In this case Box Springs will donate the land and the City will apply for grants and donations to build the facility. The City or a Society that answers to Council could operate the facility.
• P3. This can be a partnership between the City and other interested parties. We believe It can use a combination of grant money and private financing to build the facility. Box Springs will donate the land and/or participate as a partner. We are flexible to any format the committee suggests.
• Private Partnership. If our site is chosen, Box Spring Business Group will assemble a partnership that will finance, build, own and operate the facility.

We believe that it is critical that site selection be completed immediately so that financing, construction and operation planning can begin. No matter how the Centre is built or operated location must be decided first.

We are here today as local businessmen with no hidden agenda, who are committed to Medicine Hat and its growth. We are willing to work with this Committee, Staff and Council to construct a project we can all be proud of.

Respectfully submitted,

Box Springs Business Park

On such short notice I was unable to attend the presentations on July 28th…I was relying on the media to report details that the public could weigh in making a determination themselves, but probably due to short notice and press time deadlines they didn’t have all the information gathered either.

So Medhatblog is willing to publish the proposals for both groups here in our discussion forum. Basically summarize what was presented to the committee on July 28th.

Submit proposals to dangermousemh@gmail.com and I would be happy to present them here.

“The democratic legitimacy of municipal decisions does not spring solely
from periodic elections, but also from a decision-making process that is
transparent, accessible to the public, and mandated by law.”

the words of Canadian Supreme Court Justice Madam Louise Charon in June of 2007 when the supreme court ruled 7-0, that city councils can not run civic business in closed door meetings.

As I wrote on this topic last June Its a powerful statement from the highest courts in the land telling us as citizens that we have the right to DEMAND a transparent and open city council.

and yet today I have heard news reports and have talked to sources confirming that City Hall is to meet in closed meeting to discuss developments in one of the largest ever proposed expenditures in city history. This is not the transparent council that Norm Boucher and others promised during the election last October.

To date we have a committee recommendation to council on an arena location, for which the judgment criteria have never been made public, and now we have developers (the Landsdown group?) meeting behind closed doors with the city. I fail to see how this is a transparent move by council. How can a proposal that requires either tax concessions from the city or city investment be “private” and not for public scrutiny?

A transparent government doesn’t just VOTE on an issue in public, but discusses it openly all along the way. As citizens we need to demand better from our elected representatives.

UPDATE As of 3:00pm this afternoon the City of Medicine Hat has changed its mind and decided to make this meeting open to the public! Interesting - Of course I support and endorse such a move towards transparency, way to reconsider city council!

A little while back Palliser Health decided to make public all of the restaurant inspections done by the health inspectors. The downside to these being public is that a bad food inspection report would probably be detrimental to the restaurant, but on the other hand it gives businesses a great profit motive to stay vigilant with their safe food practices.

While visiting California several years back I noticed they grade all the restaurants based on food inspections with letter grades. A, B, C, D or closed. All businesses were made to display the large letter grade on their Door. I have to admit I thought twice about eating at a “D” restaurant.

I like this system better - you can actually read what each violation was and decide for yourself how minor it is. Dirty floor vs storing food at a dangerous temperature…

Have a Go - I found this an interesting read:
http://www.palliserhealth.ca/Inspection-Reports.html&page=276

For those of you not lucky enough to see the HUGE C-17 plane make a few flybys over Medicine Hat last summer, here is your chance to see this massive carrier.

And even cooler (yes, cooler!), this inaugural flight is flown by a pilot from Medicine Hat, Jeremy sent me this message:

The C-17 Globemaster will actually be flying its first inaugural air demo during the show, and I’ll be flying it!!!
On the way to Lethbridge I’m actually going to try to buzz the city (downtown) again - seemed to really wake people up the last time.

Another reason to take the trip down the #3 on the weekend is “Tora, Tora”;

Tora Tora Tora is a re-enactment of the historical attack on Pearl Harbour. Not only will Lethbridge audiences be treated to theatre in the sky, but an explosive exciting history lesson. This group of performers is coming all the way from Texas, so it is important that we recognize this rare opportunity to see this “once in a life time” event.

More information at www.albertaairshow.com

At 7:40 there was a Tornado warning for Medicine Hat area - now it has been downgraded to a severe thunderstorm / hail watch.

City of Medicine Hat
8:21 PM MDT Tuesday 15 July 2008
Severe thunderstorm warning for
City of Medicine Hat continued

Persons in or near this area should be on the lookout for adverse weather conditions and take necessary safety precautions. Watch for updated statements.
Please refer to the latest public forecasts for further details and continue to monitor the situation through your local radio and television stations or Weatheradio.

Hopefully everyone is safe.

Edit Next Day - If anyone has some storm pictures to share e-mail them to dangermousemh@gmail.com and we can blog it.

Thanks Kim for the heads up on the video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN_F0_QRDrs[/youtube]

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City Council will soon consider whether to add an additional $212,000 to the city’s planning capital budget, bringing the total budget amount of $377,000 tax payer dollars to ensure they are able to “deal with” the area redevelopment plan. As reported by Angus Henderson in the news (who does a great job in my view)

Remember how the city burnt $200,000 on feasibility studies for a new arena, and is now choosing an arena location between 2 groups, neither of which was considered in the study. Was it $200,000 well spent? Is this more of the same or apples and oranges?

The planning and building development services committee is suggesting to council that in order to come up with a proper area redevelopment plan they need more money. So for $377,000 are they going to fix downtown? No not quite. What we would be getting is:

Market Analysis
Terms of reference
Proposed budget
A company to help facilitate public involvement and planning in the design process.
Establish design principles
A building and infrastructure inventory.

Here are my concerns – First that’s a lot of money. $377,000? We could use it to save that down payment on an arena, would could run better transit service to parts of our community, could add police on the streets, and could fund community resources for families dealing with addiction or mental illness, could repair city parks and upkeep trails etc In other words spending tax payer dollars is a heavy responsibility.

Second – Downtown is not a city owned resource, it is a collective of privately held resources. Did the city spend $377,000 on consultants to plan the area of the new Wal-Mart expansion? When South view mall was losing tenants in the 1990’s – was city hall chipping in hundreds of thousands of dollars to help plan the redevelopment of that struggling and privately held business region? Would they do the same for Medicine Hat Mall, or the Ross Glen Business Condo’s?

I support a strong and vibrant downtown business community – but I don’t support investing tax payer dollars to prop up, plan or redevelop privately held districts. The proposal set forth by the mayor and some alderman last week – to finally enforce the building code violations on derelict buildings and absentee property owners – That is the purview and responsibility of our civic leaders, providing the push or stimulus for redevelopment, keeping the playing field fair, enforcing the rules. That’s the sort of city direction that I support. I cheer for downtown businesses, but we don’t live in a planned economy – we generally let the market develop within some guidelines.

To be fair it is these “guidelines” that they want to establish with hired expertise to help decide what the best plan is for urban redevelopment. Will the city of Medicine Hat spend tax payer money in the same manner for all the other areas of the city? At the end of the day downtown is still going to be private property.

I will point out that this is not city hall’s announcement, this announcement is still pending council’s approval, but I hope they (council) will consider the value and benefit of such a large expenditure – and debate whether or not this is the type of business that is best suited for city councils or if it isn’t best left to the free market. I personally think that if the proper incentives were in place to bring the existing buildings up to code - that would stimulate properties to be used or sold - allow entrepreneurs with vision to carve their own markets downtown.

/A Dangermouse salute to Angus Henderson for bringing this story to light – nice reporting…his job plays a critical role in our community, we need the media to research stories like this and we should encourage them to keep doing it

On July 8th we had a discussion on Medhatblog regarding the city’s West Nile Virus / Mosquito control plan and how there was little information available on what the city is doing in regards to this concern. On July 11th the city responded with this press release.

I am glad to see the city of Medicine Hat stepping up to control the mosquito population - Great News! but I wonder if June is a bit late in the season to begin. I notice Grand Prairie starts theirs much earlier. “Experience has shown us that a comprehensive spring control program targeting the larval stage is the best way to handle the problem. All control operations are regulated by Alberta Environment” I wonder if the mosquito control program only targets the mosquito that carries WNv?

It would be interesting to track this program and its results for this fall. I wonder if they will make details of the program available on the city web site at some point.

US mayors (and Barrack Obama’s campaign) approve anti oil sands resolution - reads the headlines - but how real can that possibly be? The US is already counting on the Oil Sands oil to meet their energy needs for the next 50 years - they don’t have a plan B.

Canadian oil supplied 18% of U.S. needs. At least 50% of the oil refined in Illinois, Mr. Obama’s state, comes from Canada, and half of that from Alberta’s oilsands. Demand is only expected to grow, with long-term plans for 90% of oil refined in the U.S. Midwest to come from Canada.

Its easy for the city mayors to pretend that their oil is comming domestically, and its the poor who are using Alberta’s dirty oil? It makes no sense - its not as though Alberta couldn’t just sell the oil to China if they wanted. While I do like the idea of everyone putting pressure on the oilsands industry to get greener, this announcement is all spin. They make such an faux policy so that it looks politically like they are defenders of the environment - only it will make no difference.

From a G&M article:

“In the end, Senator Obama has to get real,” said Dave Sykuta, executive director of the Illinois Petroleum Council.

“Canadian oil is in the bull’s eye right now because environmental groups have decided to make it their cause. But without it, the Midwest would be screwed.”

Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada during the Clinton administration, said U.S. policy-makers have “a very big void in understanding” the extent of Canadian oil resources and the industry’s increasing environmental sensitivity

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It’s that time of year when pesky mosquitoes, the vampires of summer, get to feast on Hatter’s of all ages. This also brings with it a real health hazard in West Nile Virus. In the past history of our species efforts to control the mosquito population have had devastating environmental impact (DDT for example) and since malaria didn’t effect us directly controlling mosquitoes was really an issue of a nuisance instead of any actual harm.

In 2008 however there are many generally accepted methods of controlling the mosquito population, that have much less environmental impact and there is a genuine health threat to leaving the mosquito population unchecked.

The Palliser Health Region has the dubious distinction of leading the way in West Nile Virus cases.

Since Hatters lives and welfare are being affected I have to wonder why our community is the only one of its size in the province who seems to only monitor the mosquito populations, but makes no effort to control it.

I hate to sound melo dramatic here, but why is the health of Medicine Hatters not at least worth the investment in mosquito control as residence in every other major urban center in the province of Alberta?

Just a Sample from Civic Website - Mosquito Control Measures in:

Calgary - If it is determined that the mosquito population in an area has reached the level that is unacceptable, then control measures are initiated. “Larvaciding” is the most efficient and effective means to control mosquitoes

Edmonton - Over a typical spring and summer season, our control methods achieve over 90% reduction of nuisance Aedes which develop in the breeding sites we are able to treat. Proper treatment of Aedes breeding sites with the conventional insecticide Dursban® reliably causes 100% larval mortality under all known habitat conditions

Red Deer - The City of Red Deer funds and operates an environmentally-sensitive mosquito control program that is designed to reduce nuisance mosquito populations in our community to tolerable levels. There have been approximately 30 different species of mosquitoes documented in the Red Deer area

Lethbridge - In early May 2004 the City of Lethbridge will launch an environmentally- friendly mosquito control program that will help protect residents from the West Nile virus. “Our mosquito control program will target the larvae of the specific kind of mosquito that has been proven to be most likely to carry the West Nile virus,” says Kevin Jensen, Public Operations Coordinator

Grande Prarie - The City of Grande Prairie conducts Mosquito Abatement operations from late March through early August. Our control operations target the larval stage of the mosquito life cycle and are often referred to as Mosquito Larvaciding. Experience has shown us that a comprehensive spring control program targeting the larval stage is the best way to handle the problem. All control operations are regulated by Alberta Environment. The City of Grande Prairie uses both biological and chemical control products appropriate to individual site conditions.

Medicine Hat only has information about “Fight the Bite” - avoid getting bit (stay inside, never show skin, bath in Deet - my paraphrase obviously) and monitoring. Perhaps we have a robust mosquito killing operation, but I cant seem to find any evidence of this on the city website or on my body (one mosquito bite actually looks like I have grown a nipple on my arm)

It seems like there could very well be a connection between our community having no mosquito population controls …and our human population being the most affected by West Nile Virus. Probably part of it is climate no doubt as well, but I don’t think we can totally discount the effectiveness of population control either. When we talk peoples health, and productivity …that should probably be a priority for the city - or am I out to lunch on this? Why not us?