Voting Record
June 14 2010 Council Meeting – LakePlacid Blow-by-Blow
Jun 16th
As promised, a blow-by-blow of the LakePlacid/RiverLanding portion of Monday’s (June 14, 2010) City Council Meeting (I’d call it a debate, but that would be overly generous to the pre-determined order of events…). All events are presented to the best ability of my notes and memory. Direct quotes are presented where I was able to adequately record them during the council meeting:
Mayor Atchison introduced the Memorandum of Sale and asked if the City Administration wanted to add anything to their (vague) report, GM Totland declined with a shake of the head.
The Mayor attempted to begin hearing the list of 10 speakers, but Councillor Paulsen jumped his gun by rising to ask Administration some questions.
Councillor Paulsen asked for an explanation from Administration why November 1st, 2010 was selected as the deadline, suggesting that it should be moved up well ahead of that time.
GM Totland replied that Administration was directed by the Executive Committee (likely in one of their many closed door meetings on this issue) to set the date without coming back for direction. He further indicated that they had asked Mr. Lobsinger to set that date. He indicated that November 1st was suggested as a “worst case scenario”, but that More >
Ground Hog Year: Council Agrees to another deadline with Lake Placid
Jun 15th
Last night City Council voted 8-2 in favour of re-entering into a sales agreement with Lake Placid for Parcel ‘Y’.
Under the new agreement Lake Placid has until November 1st, 2010 to provide proof to the City that it has the financing available to build the estimated $50-60 million parking structure and building footings. If this can be demonstrated the City will close the land sale deal, formally transferring the land title to Lake Placid.
There are a few changes from the original agreement that are of interest:
1. Deadline extension:
The language following section 3.01 (which sets out the Nov 1 deadline) appears to give the City the unilateral right to waive the deadline condition (bold my emphasis). Under the previous agreement, Lake Placid had to approach the City (which was done publicly on 3 occasions) to ask for an extension of the deadline. The wording in the new agreement suggests that all the City need do is waive the deadline condition, meaning that the deal could be left in place indefinitely.
“The foregoing condition precedent is for the City’s sole benefit and may be waived,unilaterally by the City, at tile City’s election. Determination of whether Lake Placid has fulfilled the condition precedent shall More >
Majority of City Council Preparing to Surrender to Lake Placid
Jun 10th
In a fairly stunning turn of events, it appears that yet another chapter of the Lobsinger/LakePlacid/RiverLanding saga will be written with another chapter yet to come.
A quick recap of the chapters from the past few months:
- In August 2009 City Council voted to extend (again) the deadline for Lake Placid to meet the requirements of the sales agreement for Parcel ‘Y’. At that time Mr. Lobsinger told council he was “one signature away” from fulfilling that important requirement.
- On October 31st, 2009 the deal between Lake Placid and the City was officially null and void when Lake Placid failed to deliver full payment for Parcel ‘Y’ (approx. $4.8 million). At the following City Council meeting the City Administration was instructed to undertake a new Request for Proposal process, including a re-assessment of the value of Parcel ‘Y’
- On April 12, 2010, Mr. Lobsinger along with his new partner, Mr. Nasser of Victory Major, came to City Council requesting that they revive the null and void deal including all original terms and purchase price (approximately $4.8 million)
- On April 26, 2010, City Council approved (9-1, with Councillor Clark the lone nay vote) a recommendation by Administration to re-enter into negotiations with More >
Is Council About to Fold to Lobsinger/Nasser on Parcel ‘Y’?
May 26th
As reported in the Star Phoenix today:
[...]
It’s been called Saskatoon’s most valuable piece of property and now we know what city council thinks it’s worth: $5,240,494.
The city has reached an agreement on the price of Parcel Y with Lake Placid Developments, in partnership with Karim Nasser’s Victory Majors Investment Corp., one of the final steps toward the end of more than a year-and-a-half of delays, extensions and public drama for the city’s most touted private development.
[...] The apparent selling price is a slight increase from the $4.8 million set in the original agreement that died on October 31, 2009, but well below the $11 million price determined through 2 external appraisals just two months ago. There was no indication on why Council, in a closed door meeting, decided to undercut the value of the land – though given that a majority of Councillors during the last April Council meeting were ready to sell the land for the $4.8 million original price tag, this shouldn’t come as a shock to many. Moreover, the last chance date of May 25th for any deal to be reached between Lake Placid/Victory Major and the City came and went last night without a report to Council More >
We Get Press Clippings: Recycling Consultation Flyer
Jun 25th
Posted by Sean Shaw in City Council
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As reported here yesterday the City of Saskatoon will be delivering an informational flyer to City residents this weekend. In the meantime they have launched their “Let’s Talk Recycling and Composting!” website, which provides the leaflet and some additional information on the current recycling program in Saskatoon and on the four options being put before the public for their input. Included on the website is an online opinion survey that through a series of 10 pages asks respondents their views on recycling and on the four options.
The Star Phoenix picked up on the story yesterday afternoon and I had a short interview with their reporter on my initial thoughts of the informational flyer and the impact it will have on the recycling consultation set to get underway this weekend. Here is what I had to say in today’s article:
[...]
“The truth is borne out in this leaflet that the cost of recycling is not as high as was being discussed by city council,” said Sean Shaw, a geology researcher at the University of Saskatchewan who ran against Coun. Myles Heidt in Ward 4 last year. At the time Heidt opposed the adoption of curbside recycling, saying it would cost $20 to $30 More >