Young Entrepreneur Recount Demanded

There is a very strong rumour circulating that certain contestants in the "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" contest in the year that the Mayor won his title are demanding a recount. Eddie's University failure bothered them

However, as I will relate to you, there is much more involved than the University transaction. The deal for the Western Super Anchor Site was never going to happen but as everyone should know by now there is a reason why this transaction was set up by the Mayor and destined to fail miserably in my opinion.

Oh the contestants have had enough. They point to some of the deals that the Mayor has been involved in to demonstrate that someone must have made a mistake in adding up the numbers. (They had thought about hiring Grant Thornton to do an audit of the contest process but that accounting firm was too busy apparently proving that WUC people knew how to do mathematical calculations.) They point to agreements with respect to the Mady garage, the Keg, the funky bus terminal deal with Greyhound and the fact that the City's outside solicitors have been working round-the-clock on the Tunnel deal for months and months, since April 2007 at least, presumably generating huge legal fees, with no end to the transaction in sight.

I am told that they were too polite to talk about the Border file and the lack of resolution after the spending of millions in legal and consulting fees and wasting years of time.

What infuriated them, I heard on good authority, is Eddie's total mishandling of the University file. They are annoyed that the spin doctors are out there trying to prove that it was everyone else's fault other than the Mayor's that the deal fell apart. They point to the fact that the transaction started sometime around February 2007 and what was the best that the City could do when the University Board had to make up decision: they presented a proposal that was described as "too vague."

Can you believe it, the contestants say, that at the 11th hour and 59th minute and 59th second:

• "The city was willing to give us something, but we would have to go back and negotiate it," said one of four board members who spoke with The Star Wednesday on the condition they not be named. "There was nothing concrete. I would have preferred a cheque or a timeline, something concrete. I think that would have made a lot of things easier."

They also point out the fact that the Mayor could not commit the City on his own but rather needed the approval of its Council. Had the Council done so when the Proposal was given to the University. Apparently not is the answer:

• "city council met, also behind closed doors, and voted 8-2 to let Mayor Eddie Francis prepare a business case for the downtown site. Councillors had a casual discussion of money and threw around numbers, including talk of providing up to $25 million plus expropriated land behind the art gallery."

The contestants fumed when they heard the amounts of money that were being tossed around presumably for the extra costs that the University would incur and that the City would have to pay for. The Star reported $25 million, Councillor Halberstadt on CKLW mentioned $35 million plus all of the property taxes that would have to be waived and other amounts heard around town went up as high as the $50 million range.

It is clear the contestants state that the Mayor never had any intention whatsoever of doing the deal and all that he wanted was publicity pretending to do so. Remember they point out that he announced his blockbuster of a possible deal when he was supposed to be making a speech to the Downtown business group who were demanding an urban village.

Final proof they assert that there must have been a mistake in the counting of the votes was the comment in Posse Sheriff Henderson's column that demonstrates conclusively that the Mayor's deal was so bad that no one in their right mind, even if they were an academic, could have accepted it.

The Sherrif claimed:

• "an understanding hammered out between Mayor Eddie Francis and university president Ross Paul that would have seen the city contribute $25 million over a number of years, beginning in 2010, plus vacant downtown land valued at more than $12 million."

Even a University academic who lives in an ivory tower can figure out that if it costs the University millions and millions of dollars to move downtown, then a deal in which the money only starts flowing in 2010 with contributions spread over number of years that I have heard ranged from 20 to 30 meant that the interest on the extra costs probably wouldn't even be paid never mind the principal.

As an example, if the extra costs were $40 million, the interest costs alone per year on that would be several million dollars. If the City gave $25 million over 25 years, then tell me how this financial contribution on behalf of the City makes any sense whatsoever. It was easy to turn down this type of deal. The University got stung like this with the Provincial contribution on the Medical school I am told.

Of course, the University wasn't suckered in because the first payment would not have been made until 2010, when this Mayor was leaving office. Do you truly believe that any of the Councillors on the Council today who are thinking of running for Mayor in 2010 were going to stand for a deal in which this Mayor bound them and future generations for payments to the University for his own personal glory. Don't be ridiculous. 2010! What a joke

It was the typical middle-management-type way of doing things... study and negotiate a project to death until the last minute, sign the deal and get the hell out of office so that no one can blame you if the thing falls apart and if they do, blame it on your successor.

My moles informed me who these contestants were and I went out to see them. Fortunately, I was able to calm them down. I did so by explaining to them what this transaction was designed to do. Now, let me explain it to you, dear reader.

Of course, those who attack the Sheriff's column have not read it properly and will have ignored the huge hint that he has given to us and the warning about the boondoggle to come.

Effectively, the Mayor suckered his Councillor colleagues into being agreeable to fund almost $40 million for a project payable over a number of years, even higher if one includes the waiver of property taxes. All that is needed now is for the Mayor to put forward a gigantic transaction and Councillors will have no reason not to approve it. They will have no choice especially since it won't start until around 2010, just in time to get them re-elected. Just in time for Eddie to keep on saying for the next several years until his term expires:

• "I know I'm not going to run again but do as I say and I'll make sure that you win again."

What a great way to maintain unity don't you think. That Eminence Greasie is slick!

Now what could this deal be... Henderson gave it away the day after Eddie was re-elected as Mayor and gave it away again today in his column. The item was dealt with at Council recently as well and the radio station of the "W" news director strapper just happened to run a poll on the subject. As the Sheriff warns us:

• "If nothing else, that leaves the city with fiscal leeway for future deals that could include ... dare we hope, elimination of the Zalev scrapyard."

You will see the dream being promoted soon of a huge multi-million dollar deal for the Zalev scrapyard in which the three levels of Government each contribute $40-$50 million for the Brownfield redevelopment of this site. Obviously, Councillors and the public will jump on board and demand that it be done. A huge development at this site will be Eddie's legacy to himself.

That is why Eddie stalled off the University deal for a year, to buy time, and why he needed to convince the Councillors to be prepared to pay a huge amount of money around 2010.

As I told you, life is never simple in Windsor it seems. Isn't this insight the reason why you read this and other BLOGs in town!