Councillor Jordan Bateman announced today that his remarks to The Langley Advance were interrupted incorrectly. He says that the point he was trying to make was that this issue of the Events Centre and the P3 negotiations should have been discussed in a format that allowed all councillors to discuss and comment. Instead Mayor Green chose to use the Mayor's Report for this release of information, not allowing for open council discussion.
Our Editorial Board is relieved to hear that confidential information has not been released and further, that the taxpayers of the Township did not suffer loss from any release of in-camera negotiations.
It is a real shame that another blog has chosen to basically not accept Bateman's post and public appology for any confusion that may have come from this newspaper article. But of course it is par for the course with them, Isn't it?
3 comments:
The Mayor & Council is a Governing Board. As such, they must guide the Town "Ship" toward goals determined by the community. They remain on the bridge of this ship and try to set the sails for promising lands.
They are offered information from the experts in many fields – from all decks on the ship. As a Board, the Mayor & Council are not the experts in these fields. Rather, they are the sober second-look. They are the voices of reason. They remain an arm's length away from operations with an eye toward ensuring the (Town)ship remains, roughly, on course.
This Board must make many decisions on very diverse topics: sewers, parks, roads, schools, development...the list is endless.
To make these decisions (and ultimately sign agreements), they must have all the facts. Some facts come early. Some come late. Once the majority of facts are available, a thoughtful discussion and analysis should ensue. This is the purpose of "in-camera" meetings: to analyze, discuss, dialogue, discourse, debate and eventually, make a decision (as a group).
The Events Center began with a vision during an economic time quite different than what we see today. The vision of a community-building, international sports-destination facility partnered between the public & private sectors was exciting. It remains exciting.
An agreement signed too early in the evolution of this project may not have considered the impact that the economy-crash has brought.
With the Events Center well into its construction, we have a much clearer picture of the end. The agreement we sign now should be more reflective of reality. It will consider and incorporate more variables, now known, than had it been signed too early. .
Yes, hand-shake upfront agreements followed by contract-signing deals can offer risk. But, let us remember, the partners involved in the Events Center are successful business people and strong public officials - all with reputations at stake. They would not lightly offer $15M. Nor would they foolishly try to "screw the other guy" as this would seriously limit their success on the go-forward basis. Reputations are everything.
I encourage our TownSHIP Board to keep in-camera dialogue confidential. The public does not need to know about every nuance of the process. By involving us too early, you force us to analyze your effectiveness pre-maturely: like judging a cake, half-baked.
It sensationalizes and magnifies topics unnecessarily. It distracts from the positive essence and vision of what is being accomplished with the Events Center (and beyond).
We "hired" you. We trust you to keep our best interests at the forefront of your discussions. Please do the job we need from you and limit the amount of politics and grand-standing you chose to include us in as you move through your mandate.
Wow Anonymous, much wisdom here. So many good points, but your comments about today's economic reality (which was not predictable by anyone in Canada) compared with when this project started is something worthy of consideration. So the Township (read we the taxpayers) may actually get a better deal out of this with a final P3 management contract penned today.
You bettcha!
Everyone is in hard times: Public & Private alike.
Should any party decide to take an inappropriate advantage of a situation or find a suspicious "loop hole" in this tenous time, there would be such a dramatic backlash from the community - the cost:benefit would not be worth it.
To date, all sides have acted in good faith. I expect that will continue throughout this deal-signing process and, likewise, throughout the term of the agreement.
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