Category Archives: Thoughts

Caveat emptor, Consider, Finances, Municipal, Politics

Apples and Apples OR Oranges?

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That is the Question that I asked myself after I finished reading Let Minor Sports Use Abbotsford Centre.

Now I know that people after reading the opening sentence may well be thinking ‘He’s lost it’ if they know or read me and that anyone reading my writing for the first time is going ‘Huh?’ how can comparing an arena to an arena not be comparing apples to apples? Especially if they have stood in both the Abbotsford rink and the Langley rink and know how very similar the rinks are.

Disclosure:

When the Abbotsford Centre was originally completed and city council was scrambling desperately because they had built this $100,000,000.00 facility and had no tenant lined up to play there I called for council not to let their egos have them paying any price to save face by getting a hockey team to play in their Great White – Empty – Elephant and to save the Abbotsford’s taxpayers $3,000,000.00 a year by leaving the facility closed until they had a sound business plan.[Here we go again – Rush, Rush, Rush,  Not another costly ‘profit’,   Abbotsford’s $expensive$ AHL pipedream ]

Since the Heat have left town I want to know why council renegotiated Global Spectrums contract for the Centre rather that mothballing the Centre, an action that would save taxpayers $3,000,000.00 per year. At least until such time as council finely came up with a viable business plan.

The fact is that in several ways comparing the Langley arena to the Abbotsford arena is comparing an apple and an orange.

Consider this chart:

One of the things that always leaves me shaking my head sadly is that once you have stood inside both Arenas and experience the extent to which both arenas are the same, it boggles the mind that the taxpayers of the Abbotsford paid 667% more than Langley’s taxpayers paid.

Given that Abbotsford City Council always makes excuses and never accepts responsibility for the consequences of their errors in judgement it is no surprise Council has refused to explain to taxpayers how it is that Abbotsford’s taxpayers paid 667% more than Langley’s taxpayers did, for what is effectively the same arena.

It is even more mind boggling that for some unfathomable reason, Abbotsford taxpayers, in light of the fact they have re-elected those responsible and never question the WHY of paying 667% more [6.67 times as much], seemed to be comfortable with and accepting of the fact they, as Abbotsford taxpayers, paid 667% more for the same arena, than did Langley’s taxpayers.

I find that acceptance unfathomable because the only reason for the difference – the vast difference – in the cost to taxpayers between Abbotsford and Langley is the decisions, actions and competence of the two councils.

During the fiscal year Abbotsford pays $6,696,000.00 [7,884,000.00 – 1,188,000.00] more then Langley for their arena.

So, even if you assume that Langley’s arena is as badly managed as the Abbotsford Centre is and thus runs the same yearly operating deficit of $3,000,000.00 as the Abbotsford Centre does, the $6,696,000.00 less per year for construction and interest costs paid by Langley and its taxpayers, gives Langley significantly more flexibility, affordability, when it comes to paying for an annual subsidy of $3,000,000.00.

I think it highly unlikely that Langley’s arena is as badly managed as Abbotsford’s arena for several reasons.

First is that over the past decade plus Abbotsford’s council has time after time demonstrated a lack of basic financial and management sensibilities or abilities. Every time that council has promised a profit or savings or senior government grants, the reality has turned out to be losses/operating subsidies or large cost over runs or Zip, Nada, Nothing from the senior levels of government – because Abbotsford council failed to handle the grant request properly. So while Langley’s council may not have demonstrated masterful financial, business or management skills…… they have demonstrated their ability not to ‘screw up’ financial, business or management as Abbotsford’s council has repeatedly done over the past decade plus.

Second is the fact that the Langley Chiefs were partners with Langley in building the arena – after Abbotsford’s council turned down the Chief’s offer to partner with the City of Abbotsford to build a new arena for the Chief’s to move into and play out of. Langley benefits from the Chief’s experience with the arena in Chilliwack. More importantly Langley has a stable, profitable franchise as their anchor tenant.

The final cost consideration that needs to be consider, another significant negative financial factor for Abbotsford is that Abbotsford’s council has been playing….fast and loose shall we say….with the DCC [Development Cost Charges] funds, using the funds to avoid the large tax raises that were required to pay for council’s profligate, spending.

Actually, not avoid having to have large tax raises but to push the large tax raises into the future in hopes of……an economic miracle that would allow council to avoid or further delay having to crank taxes by double [10% or more] digits?

There has been no economic miracle and Abbotsford’s taxpayers are on the hook to pay back the money used to keep tax increases artificially low. Since the DCC funds are to be spent on infrastructure, not operating the City, Abbotsford’s taxpayers are facing large tax increases, deep cuts to city services or some combination of tax increases and service cuts to repay the DCC funds.

It may well turn out that Abbotsford’s civic government either saves $3,000,000.00 by mothballing the arena OR cuts $3,000,000.00 from other parts of its operating budget or raises taxes by $3,000,000.00.

No matter how similar the Abbotsford and Langley arenas may be in structure, when it comes to the financial realities of each building, the buildings are as different as a luxury penthouse condo and one of Abbotsford’s many [thanks council] homeless camps.

There are also significant differences between two Centres structure and infrastructure.

Langley’s arena is part of a complex that has outdoor sports field, indoor basketball courts, meeting rooms etc. Abbotsford’s arena is squeezed onto a piece of property that only has room for the arena itself..

The Langley complex is surrounded by acres of parking – free parking.

From the day the site of the Abbotsford Centre was proposed parking has been an issue, a nonexistent nightmare.

Why would any local sports team, teams that depend on parents and their participation, want to use the Abbotsford Centre and tell parents: you can park free at a mall and transport yourselves and all the hockey equipment to the arena by bus, reversing the process [bus to shopping centre parking lot] in order to leave; there is paid parking available for only $1 for every 2 hours. Of course the parking is a long or longer distance to be hauling hockey gear so you might want to consider dropping your hockey players off before looking for parking; parking times are strictly enforced and fines for violations are not cheap; there is free parking available if you can handle the 2 – 3 [or longer] kilometre walk to the arena.

Finally, importantly, there is also the fact that there was no need for another ice surface in Abbotsford. The ice surface at the Abbotsford Centre was constructed not to meet a community need or demand for more ice but to meet the needs of mayor and councillors egos.

Enticing teams to use the ice surface at the Abbotsford Centre simply reduces the use, the revenue, at other city rinks – at the cost to taxpayers of $3,000,000.00 a year.

Oh, BLEEP!  An idea that will cost, waste $3,000,000.00 of taxpayers hard earned dollars? Just the types of idea Abbotsford’s mayors and councillors have shown they love.

Consider, Homeless, Issues, Municipal, Politics

The Void – Choices and Consequences

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For all of us Life is a constant stream of choices.

On a daily basis we face and make choices that have consequences that affect our lives and the lives of others in minor and major ways.

We cannot avoid the consequences of our choices by refusing to choose, by trying to wait it out, hoping someone or something else will tell us what’s the best course of action or a ‘solution’ will magically appear or that someone will eventually tell you what you want to hear.

“When you have to make a choice and don’t make it, that is in itself a choice.

William James

Complicating the consequences that befall us is the fact that the little choices that seem insignificant can turn out to carry major consequences as life unwinds and we find out that the tiny decisions we make are not as divorced from our major life decisions as we thought or wished.

Major choices, little choices, choices made by not choosing – it all comes down to the same question, a question of taking responsibility, of accepting responsibility for the consequences our choices, behaviours and actions have on our lives and the lives of others.

Justifying, rationalization, blaming, excuse making. ‘it is not our responsibility’ will not prevent the consequences of our actions and inactions from coming home to roost.

Don’t like what you see as you drive along Gladys Avenue? What you see is the consequences of the city’s choice to behave as ‘The Void’ on homelessness and its interconnected issues, rather than acting responsibly and taking effective action.

What is taking place along Gladys should not  be a surprised to anyone.

Victoria also had a policy of harassing their homeless. At least they did until 2009 when the BC court of appeals ruled that in a city where the city government had failed to address the issue of homelessness or take action on affordable housing, the homeless had the right to camp in city parks.

Suddenly Victoria’s council and mayor were motivated to acquire backbones and begin to take needed actions to address homelessness.

Among the first actions taken in Victoria was a Housing First project; a solid base to build on in putting in place the services and supports needed for recovery.

I wonder if Abbotsford’s sudden tolerance with the camps on Gladys Avenue results from the city’s struggle to stay out of court until after municipal elections in November? The mayor, councillors, the city cannot avoid the consequences of their behaviours –  facing Pivot Legal Society in court over [among other things] the right of the homeless to camp in city parks.

Because, not only has the City of Abbotsford failed to take action on homelessness and affordable housing, the city has actively blocked affordable housing, recovery oriented housing and services from being built by BC Housing and Abbotsford Community Services.

I suspect that once the consequences of the mayor and councillor’s behaviour has camps sprouting up around Mill Lake Abbotsford’s mayor and city councillors will find themselves highly motivated, as did Victoria’s mayor and councillor’s in 2009, to support Housing First projects, other affordable housing initiatives and the providing of the supports and services to reduce homelessness, substance use, mental illness on city streets.

Mankind’s greatest gift, also its greatest curse, is that we have free choice.

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Sadly, it seems that only something as drastic and unpleasant as a court ruling that the city can either address the issues or have the homeless camping at Mill Lake, will motivate the city to realistically and effectively address these issues.

Highly ironic that a mayor and city councillors so ethically challenged that only the negative consequences of their behaviours will/can motivate them to address these social issues, felt they had the right to spend taxpayer dollars to instruct, to lecture, the citizens of Abbotsford on the correct way citizens should behave and about character via their ‘Character Council.’

One’s philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes… and the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Consider, Issues, Mental Health

The Search for Happiness

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Mental Health Week May 5 – 11 2014

It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.   Mark Twain

I have a friend with schizophrenia who speaks of how, when people learn she has schizophrenia, begin looking at her as if they expect her to pull out a knife and kill them. All because of the way television and the broadcast media portray those with schizophrenia.

I and others of my acquaintance have all had the experience, repeatedly, of having people telling us we could not be living with mental illness because we were not homeless, muttering away to ourselves, well groomed, weren’t raving, made sense……

We have spoken of the difficulties posed by the fact that there is often no external evidence of the turmoil going on within or of the ruin that, occasionally lies within,.

CMHA’s Mental Health Week is an annual national event that takes place during the first week in May to encourage people from all walks of life to learn, talk, reflect and engage with others on all issues relating to mental health.

On Tuesday May 6, 2014 from 7:00 – 8:30 PM at Clearbrook Library Fraser Mental Health’s Abbotsford Advisory Committee is presenting The Search for Happiness: three perspectives on living with a mental illness.

Speaking about their experiences and, as time permits, answering audience questions about living and dealing with mental illness, and as time permits will be a person living with mental illness, a family member of a person living with mental illness and a staff member of Fraser Mental Health who works for Recovery.

Everyone is invited to join us to hear about the reality of living with mental illness.

behaviour, Consider, Issues, Municipal, Politics

This is Abbotsford: Common Sense Overrated

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At the Abbotsford City Council meeting on Monday February 17, 2014 Bruce Banman stepped up and delivered yet another blow to democracy in Abbotsford.

When Simon Gibson was elected as a Liberal MLA in the provincial election of May 14, 2013 Mr. Gibson, mayor and council decided democracy for the citizens of Abbotsford was not worth the cost of a by-election.

If Mr. Gibson, mayor and council had not decided that saving a few thousand dollars was more important than the democratic rights of the citizens of Abbotsford, the citizens of Abbotsford would have been going to the polls to elect a new member of council last Fall [2013] as did every city where a city councillor had been elected a provincial MLA.

Every city except Abbotsford, where it was decided the cost of a by-election was to high a price to pay for democracy.

A by-election in the Fall of 2013, when the details of the Abbotsford Community Services housing proposal were before the public for their consideration; a by-election that would have permitted the citizens of Abbotsford to express their opinion on the housing proposal. But no, the cost of a by-election was to high a cost to allow the citizens of Abbotsford to express their will on the ACS housing proposal – or was it the cost to council and special interests that was to high to permit the citizens of Abbotsford to democratically express their views?

Keep in mind Abbotsford City Council was aware of the proposal and of the proposal being made public once all the Ts were crossed and all the Is dotted. Council knew that not holding a by-election would deny the citizens of Abbotsford the right to democratically express, through the ballot box, the citizen’s position on the ACS housing proposal. Council robbed voters of their right to vote, but hey – they saved taxpayers the cost of a by-election.

Ironic, coming from a council that willingly spends millions of dollars of taxpayer dollars every year to subsidize the ownership, by a few privileged business people,  of a professional hockey team.

A few thousand of taxpayer dollars? Far to high a price to grant taxpayers a democratic say in the actions, the governance, of city government.

Spend millions of taxpayer dollars to protect council’s ego by buying a tenant so council’s Great Folly [aka the Great White Elephant] did not sit there empty – no matter how many millions of dollars an empty Folly would have saved taxpayers? Council has no problem squandering however many millions of taxpayer dollars are required.

“It may be irrational, but that doesn’t matter,” said Councillor Smith. A statement that, while warped, makes perfect sense when you consider all the other irrational decisions made and/or supported by Councillors Smith, Barkman, MacGregor and Mr. Banman.

With a municipal election this November 2014, having run twice for council and lost one begins to wonder if the citizens, as mind-boggling as one may find it, want a council that is financially reckless and irresponsible.

What else would you call it when, after years of calling on BC housing for funding  and BC housing steps up with $2,5 million, plus hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for support programs for residents, council tells them to take their housing and their money and shove it?

When council tells the Finance Minister to take his $$millions$$ to a community that wants to do something – besides whining – about homelessness in their community?

When the mayor, with visions of sugar–plums [or something] dancing in his head, expects Fraser Health to step up with millions of dollars to fund housing in Abbotsford; the same Fraser Health that is under scrutiny for its inability not to go $50 million over budget every year. Fraser Health, when Fraser Mental Health must make a special funding proposal to the provincial government for funding to undertake new, and needed, services.

Only reckless and irrational dreaming would have anyone thinking that the Finance Minister is going to give Fraser Health extra funds to spend on housing in Abbotsford after the mayor and council told BC Housing, the Finance Minister and the government to take their money and give it to a community that cares.

One begins to wonder if the citizens want a council that ignores reality, facts and experience and behaves irrationally when dealing with social issues such as homelessness.

A council that deployed chicken manure  in its war on the homeless. An action one Abbotsford citizen heard about when surrendering their passport as they checked into a hotel in Scandinavia where the front desk staff, upon seeing they were from Abbotsford BC informed them they were from the city that dumps chicken shit on its homeless citizens.

A council that chases the homeless around the city never answering the question “where are the homeless suppose to go?” A council that, as it pointlessly chases the homeless around Abbotsford, ensures there is no place for the homeless to go by voting not to permit ACS to use the housing first model to build housing to help the homeless transition off the streets.

A council whose action in rejecting homeless housing provide proof to the courts, for the ongoing homeless related litigation, that not only is the City of Abbotsford not doing anything about affordable housing and housing for the homeless, but that the City is actively preventing the building of homeless related housing projects.

But then Mr Banman stated “Council has to ensure that any changes made to our bylaws are made for the greater benefit of the entire community……. we also need to make sure the interests of all residents are considered in our decisions.”

A statement which brings to mind a notable prior assault on Abbotsford citizens by Mr. Banman and Councillor Smith when, after council voted not to approve the rezoning of the Mahogany at Mill Lake, Mr. Banman ambushed council and citizens by sneaking Mahogany at Mill Lake back before council at a time when one of the council members who had voted against the project could not attend the council meeting, allowing Mr. Banman and councillor Smith to have the project approved against the wishes and interests of the citizens living in the area.

An assault on democracy made worse as both Mr. Banman and Mr. Smith had accepted campaign contributions from the developer.

Mr. Banman is right, the citizens of Abbotsford need people on council who are concerned about building a community, people concerned about considering the interests of all residents not just the well connected and moneyed, in decisions; people who don’t make reckless, irresponsible, fear based or irrational decisions.

It is clear that the majority of the citizens of Abbotsford, those who are not among the well connected and/or the moneyed, need new blood on council to protect their interests from irrational, irresponsible actions such as Mr. Banman, councillors Smith, Barkman and McGregor rejecting the desperately needed housing proposed by ACS.

Thoughts

GREETINGS!

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Santa dropped by in the wee hours of the morning because the space/time unit on his sleigh was malfunctioning and……

What……did you really think Santa could cover all that distance and make all those deliveries in just 24 hours? In times long past yes, but these days Santa starts his deliveries 4 weeks before Christmas and should it be necessary can continue for 4 weeks after Christmas. While Santa can still manage Christmas deliveries outside of the 4 week window to either side of Christmas the energy costs are prohibitive and increase exponentially the further from the window you move.

…..so Santa swung by to see Moog who is guesting with me and who is an expert in interstellar drives. Fortunately for those on Santa’s nice list, Moog was able to repair the space/time drive as it is a primitive form of interstellar drive. As you can see from the photo Moog’s ocular system is a great advantage in dealing with finicky drives.

Moog is a great story teller which makes his visits entertaining. It is not his eyes that I find disconcerting – its that little yellow stub of a tail that sticks out of his suit. And what its actual purpose is, well………SHUDDER…..we really don’t want to go there.

As I say Moog was able to get Santa’s drive up and running better than ever so Santa was quite happy when he departed. If I am lucky Santa’s mood was Jolly enough that my attempt to subtly point out of the 4 bed sheets I had fused together to make a stocking big enough for the car I need, or the new engine the car needs, did not push me onto the naughty list.

As I say, Santa was quickly on his way. However he did leave an interesting problem behind. As noted Santa’s space/time drive was malfunctioning as he came in to land at my place. Moog’s zzxytee was playing and well…..

….the malfunctioning drive created a few time warps and warped some spots of space around the place. Hey You [rough translation of the zzxytee’s name] was running around rather excited and accidentally got stuck in one of the space warps. Which has left his posterior region stuck in a wall at my place.

 

Unfortunately I have no idea where in this space/time continuum the anterior portion of Hey You is located, or even if it is located in this space/time continuum or some other. And until Moog and I get a chance to locate the rest of Hey You [probably after I finish working at the shelter tonight] Moog and I will not be able to create a Warp that will reunite the two portions of Hey You and let us pull him back to my place.

It has been an interesting Christmas so far, but I wanted to take the opportunity to wish all a: