Mayor Dennis O'Keefe's claim that he is trying to keep his comments about the Liberal's Green Shift policy non-political, is hard to take with a straight face.
He raised the issue as Mayor of the city. Not as an individual. And he tabled documents on the issue at a council meeting. This politicises the issue. He also indicated in an article in The Telegram (Saturday September 27), that as a voter, he would be factoring this issue into his considerations.
He raises a valid concern about the impact of the "carbon tax" on the city's operating costs but he is only providing part of the story. He would garner more credibility if he also noted the Liberal's plan to offset the increase in costs by introducing and enhancing various infrastructure programmes for cities.
Councillor Tom Hann did present the Liberal's side of the story at council on Monday 29 September enabling a more balanced discussion for citizens, and while Hann may have been a touch partisan, O'Keefe's credibility is strained by his comment of "I'm trying to keep this non-political..."
It is political and if the mayor wishes to wade into the Federal Election, then do so, and not hide behind the "non-political" comments.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Bar Closing Hours
I attended last night's public meeting, held by the City, to discuss St. John's bar closing hours.
No surprises...the opinions were what I expected. Bar owners wanted no change; Residents wanted an earlier closing time.
I put forward the idea of having different closing times, especially where bars are in close proximity to residential areas. e.g. Water Street
Upon reflection it would appear we are talking about human behaviour. How does one legislate human behaviour?
Closing the bars earlier will probably only bring the problem forward an hour if nothing else is done. The extra policing the RNC had during this past summer appeared to work but obviously this needs to be a continuous commitment from the RNC to be a success story. If there was this commitment from the RNC would there be a need to close earlier?
An obvious impediment is also provincial legislation and the sooner the RNC and government remedy this issue the better.
A rather radical approach would be to have no closing time imposed upon bars. Owners would close when they wanted to and this would alleviate the problem of everyone spilling onto George Street at the same time. There would be a staggered (or is that staggering) exodus and this may in turn alleviate the bravado and misbehaviour that is associated with a "mob mentality".
The purpose of last night's meeting was to provide input to the City as they prepare to submit a paper to the provincial government on the issue. There was a rather small crowd in attendance and this issue obviously affects residents of nearby downtown streets and certain business owners who have tenants above their stores.
It will be interesting to see what the city's recommendations will be.
No surprises...the opinions were what I expected. Bar owners wanted no change; Residents wanted an earlier closing time.
I put forward the idea of having different closing times, especially where bars are in close proximity to residential areas. e.g. Water Street
Upon reflection it would appear we are talking about human behaviour. How does one legislate human behaviour?
Closing the bars earlier will probably only bring the problem forward an hour if nothing else is done. The extra policing the RNC had during this past summer appeared to work but obviously this needs to be a continuous commitment from the RNC to be a success story. If there was this commitment from the RNC would there be a need to close earlier?
An obvious impediment is also provincial legislation and the sooner the RNC and government remedy this issue the better.
A rather radical approach would be to have no closing time imposed upon bars. Owners would close when they wanted to and this would alleviate the problem of everyone spilling onto George Street at the same time. There would be a staggered (or is that staggering) exodus and this may in turn alleviate the bravado and misbehaviour that is associated with a "mob mentality".
The purpose of last night's meeting was to provide input to the City as they prepare to submit a paper to the provincial government on the issue. There was a rather small crowd in attendance and this issue obviously affects residents of nearby downtown streets and certain business owners who have tenants above their stores.
It will be interesting to see what the city's recommendations will be.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
SJSE Financial Results - May 31, 2008
The financial results for the year ending May 31, 2008 for St. John's Sports & Entertainment Limited (SJSE) were tabled at city council a few weeks back.
I've now had a chance to read this document and make the following comments:-
For the first time in its exisitence, SJSE provided a surplus ($109,994) for their shareholders - the citizens of St. John's!
We must be careful when interpreting this surplus. Note I do not use the word "profit". I find it very difficult to justify the use of this word when the organisation in question receives a $2 million subsidy (or as SJSE like to call it "an operating grant") from their shareholders.
This subsidy was increased by $500,000 for the just completed financial year, meaning that their overall performance was only $30,000 better than their 2007 financial result - a loss of $639,596.
The results include the final year of operations with the Fog Devils.
I know efforts have been made by SJSE to become more efficient and to promote themselves as an "Entertainment Centre", so they must receive some acknowledgement of these endeavours.
The challenge for them is to create an operation where Mile One Centre is utilised for as many days as possible while keeping their costs in check. They have become a little more pro active in seeking out concert promoters (about 17 dates booked for this current financial year) and trying to create other activities for the Centre. More has to be done and citizens require an update by the new year as to the actual running costs of the facility and what size of subsidy is required. The current $2 million subsidy was requested as a one-time payment but was renewed by council at the same level for the 2008/09 year.
Also not to be overlooked is the fact that the Convention Centre is still making a loss. This year it is $63,212. This continues the trend of the facility not covering its costs since its inception. This centre's operations has to be reviewed and, I believe, the current management contract that is in the hands of the same people who operate the Delta Hotel has to end. SJSE should operate the facility themselves. The Centre also need to be refurbished and redesigned to provide a more flexible facility thus enabling more conferences and conventions to be held within it.
The 2008 surplus is a welcome result but SJSE still have a way to go before the citizens of St. John's can feel they know the true costs of running Mile One Centre and the Convention Centre.
By the way...SJSE's deficit is now $7,988,627...that is, nearly $8 million dollars.
I've now had a chance to read this document and make the following comments:-
For the first time in its exisitence, SJSE provided a surplus ($109,994) for their shareholders - the citizens of St. John's!
We must be careful when interpreting this surplus. Note I do not use the word "profit". I find it very difficult to justify the use of this word when the organisation in question receives a $2 million subsidy (or as SJSE like to call it "an operating grant") from their shareholders.
This subsidy was increased by $500,000 for the just completed financial year, meaning that their overall performance was only $30,000 better than their 2007 financial result - a loss of $639,596.
The results include the final year of operations with the Fog Devils.
I know efforts have been made by SJSE to become more efficient and to promote themselves as an "Entertainment Centre", so they must receive some acknowledgement of these endeavours.
The challenge for them is to create an operation where Mile One Centre is utilised for as many days as possible while keeping their costs in check. They have become a little more pro active in seeking out concert promoters (about 17 dates booked for this current financial year) and trying to create other activities for the Centre. More has to be done and citizens require an update by the new year as to the actual running costs of the facility and what size of subsidy is required. The current $2 million subsidy was requested as a one-time payment but was renewed by council at the same level for the 2008/09 year.
Also not to be overlooked is the fact that the Convention Centre is still making a loss. This year it is $63,212. This continues the trend of the facility not covering its costs since its inception. This centre's operations has to be reviewed and, I believe, the current management contract that is in the hands of the same people who operate the Delta Hotel has to end. SJSE should operate the facility themselves. The Centre also need to be refurbished and redesigned to provide a more flexible facility thus enabling more conferences and conventions to be held within it.
The 2008 surplus is a welcome result but SJSE still have a way to go before the citizens of St. John's can feel they know the true costs of running Mile One Centre and the Convention Centre.
By the way...SJSE's deficit is now $7,988,627...that is, nearly $8 million dollars.
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