Watson Wrong on the Numbers

I did promise I would not post about Lansdowne Park again, but unfortunately this post is inspired from an email I received on the topic. In said email it was pointed out that the City of Ottawa can walk away from the redevelopment of Lansdowne Park if (and likely when) if the heritage approvals from Ontario Heritage Trust are not granted.  The city can then terminate the arrangement to the tune of $8.14-million to cover Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group’s costs. The question remains to the Siemens lawsuit of $110-million thanks to Larry O’Brien?  If you are not sure, please take the time to read the rest of the information lifted from the websites of both Mr. Watson and Mr. Doucet.

The following information has been taken from Jim Watson’s website and is misleading to the public at best about Lansdowne Park redevelopment.

~ The current council and mayor have approved the plan, and Jim Watson has indicated he will not risk another lawsuit and tear up the agreement. (You may recall the current council tore up the light rail agreement at a cost of $110 million). Jim has indicated that if he is elected mayor it will be his duty to ensure the plan is implemented sensibly and that all relevant concerns for the surrounding community and taxpayers as a whole are dealt with.  Tearing up the agreement and starting the process all over again would cost the taxpayers millions of dollars and delay rejuvenating Lansdowne by another four years. The process was not perfect, but we need to move forward with the plan in a thoughtful fashion. There are some exciting aspects to the redevelopment of Lansdowne that will help revitalize this 40 acre site. ~

Since this is a debate about Lansdowne Park then obviously the only other candidate to talk about it is Clive Doucet.  From Clive’s own website comes the following information:

~ What people need to know, and are not being told, is that it’s not too late for the City to choose a different path for one of Ottawa’s most important and cherished public spaces.  

Lansdowne needs to be revitalized – but not at any cost. 

Several exit ramps out of this mess are still available.

While the Council vote on June 28^th has been described as giving final approval to the Lansdowne Partnership Plan (LPP), a number of significant steps need to be completed before the partnership scheme is finalized. 

The first category of ramps can be taken at no cost to the City.

Under the LPP Project Framework Agreement, the City has the right not to proceed if prior to closing certain requirements are not met, including:

·   environmental and legal due diligence matters;

·   receipt of third party approvals (heritage approvals are a serious and major stumbling block);

·   satisfaction that the retail component contains “Distinctive Uses”;

·   acceptance of the final financial statement respecting the project and the “waterfall”.

The City Council also has the right to terminate the LPP agreement “for convenience” prior to Stage 3 which is scheduled to commence sometime in March 2011.

Should the City exercise this right, it would be required to pay various costs incurred by OSEG to that point.  According to the LPP, total “Stage 1 and 2” costs to OSEG are $8.14M. 

This means that the next duly elected City Council can terminate the LPP for just over $8M and can proceed with a new process that is open, competitive and transparent. 

The $8M cost can be recovered through a more modest go forward plan for Lansdowne that can be achieved in the next term of Council. ~

W.