Where is Dan Ashton?

[DblDwn11]

Dbledwn11 ... looking at your previous posts and reference to ADHD (poor choice in my opinion) do you find it necessary to label others with similar mental health issues???? Just wondering!

Can you re-phrase the question? Sorry, I was distracted.

It would appear reading into your comments that you are anti-union (which is your right) but I for one don't like the fact you are painting individuals with the same brush!! Perhaps the question that needs to be asked is "what is your issue????"

I'm not sure which comment I made that would make you think I was anti-union..unless it was the comment about napping on the job -- if that means I'm anti-union, then yes, I guess I am.

You say cleaning the slate is not the way to go ... and why not? Show me what this current council has done for the city of Penticton to garner my trust and vote for the next three years?

This council has done quite a bit and I could probably fill a couple of forums but for purposes here, I'll be brief. They have managed a very tough budget, reduced significant costs at City Hall, the SOEC and the Community Center/Pool. They have written and passed Economic Investment Zones which helped secure a new theatre downtown.

Show me the leadership skills that Dan Ashton will provide to move Penticton ahead in the next three years?

It takes leadership to request an independent audit of City Hall and then act to make changes that make things more efficient. It takes leadership to negotiate with a union (oops, there I go again) to make sure that we (taxpayers) can afford to staff a new pool/community centre.

It's no secret! I want a clean slate. I want to see more transparency, motivation, creative thinking and community involvement. I want individuals on council and in the mayor's seat who truly want to be there for the good of the community not the good of themselves!

I actually totally agree on the transparency, creative thinking and community involvement comments. City Hall and Council could use a couple of new faces. I disagree strongly on replacing D.A with J.B or K.R...Neither of them have the experience to guide this City out of the woods. And if you don't think J.B has political aspirations outside of the Mayor's chair then you are kidding yourself.

Your ball.

[XT225]

Dbledwn11 ... looking at your previous posts and reference to ADHD (poor choice in my opinion) do you find it necessary to label others with similar mental health issues???? Just wondering! How do you make the jump that an individual like XT because he voices his OPINION and just happens to work in the Industrial area that he is employed by the city of penticton???? It would appear reading into your comments that you are anti-union (which is your right) but I for one don't like the fact you are painting individuals with the same brush!! Perhaps the question that needs to be asked is "what is your issue????"

You say cleaning the slate is not the way to go ... and why not? Show me what this current council has done for the city of Penticton to garner my trust and vote for the next three years? Show me the leadership skills that Dan Ashton will provide to move Penticton ahead in the next three years? Why would I put my trust, money and confidence in a mayor who is well known to have provincial political aspirations??? It's no secret! I want a clean slate. I want to see more transparency, motivation, creative thinking and community involvement. I want individuals on council and in the mayor's seat who truly want to be there for the good of the community not the good of themselves!

Sorry Dbledwwn can't buy into leave 'em be and let them prove their worth. They've shown me what they are worth and I'm with XT and the majority who will move this council out once and for all!!

Bravo, Southy...Bravo!

I had forgotten that D.A. has intentions of running for the MLA position; another reason not to vote for Dan; he could be gone in a year or less and THEN where are we? Stuck with either a byelection (more expense) or appointing a temporary mayor (and who might that be? Pearce again? OMG). I believe Julius would not abandon the post until at least one full term is up; nor would Katie.

[spacecadet]

As someone running for political office, I would think that Dan Ashton would use whatever tool he could to reach voters.

Nice to see Julius Bloomfield and a few of those running for Council getting involved here. And, I hope I'm not the only one to notice that Dan did not answer the questions posted on here. But then, why would he want to put anything in writing?

A good idea how he dances around questions without really answering them. He should KNOW the answers without having to research them.

I really like Julius's willingness to communicate openly. Now there is a person that gets the meaning of transparency.

[dashton]

Dan, thanks for stopping by. Could you clarify the hockey school land deal a little. At face value it first appeared to be a really bad business decision....buy high sell low......but I am hearing a cpl of different things that may mitigate that thought. Was a significant chunk annexed for road widening? Is there to be some kind of public offering of the land to justify price? Was there in fact two appraisals done? In general terms, why is there such a discrepency between purchase price and sale price? Thanks for your time.

I have had quite a few questions regarding this land deal -- So below are answers to the most common questions. I hope this helps shed some light on the sale of this land. Sorry for the length of this post but this is a detailed response. Thanks for taking the time.


1. I understand that the land in question came to the City as the result of expropriation for parking. Does this mean that the former home owners should start a class action lawsuit for false representation?

At the time the individual properties were purchased, the stated use was for road and sidewalk upgrades not for parking. The Ministry of Transportation required that road widening be implemented on Eckhardt Avenue in the vicinity of Alberni Street as a result of and to provide proper road access to the SOEC. The properties were purchased for this purpose since the extent of the road widening on these properties was such that the existing houses were either directly conflicting with the widening or there would have been insufficient clearance between the road and house. After demolition, the cleared site (which was temporarily used as a construction storage area for the SOEC construction materials) became overgrown with weeds. The decision was made to apply asphalt millings recovered from road upgrade projects to the area with the intent of controlling those weeds rather than spraying chemicals on a continuous basis at great expense. This was always a temporary measure until such time as the property was developed. The property was never intended to be used as a permanent parking area. All land owner’s (except one) voluntarily agreed to the sale at negotiated prices based on appraised market value. Only one of the nine properties was expropriated.

2. Was the property an odd shape for the original intended parking (parkade)?

The property is not a particularly odd shape, although it is long and narrow and will only have limited access off the rear lane. Again, this property was not intended for use as parking.

3. If the City sells to a numbered company at half price should they have a clause that would require the other half to be paid back if the numbered company turns a profit in the next five years?

As was reported in the Penticton Herald article, the proposed sale is at market value as supported by an in-house appraisal and an independent appraisal for the property. Both valuation were carried out by seasoned local appraisers accredited by the Appraisal Institute of Canada. The property is not being sold at half price. The prospective purchaser is a private company. Should the land be sold to the private company, profits will be for the private company. The benefits that the City gains from a potential land sale and $15 million dollar project would include property taxes and spin-offs resulting from sports tourism and related economic development.

4. Did I miss the discussion in Council prior to this decision?

Council first saw the proposed land sale at their In-Camera meeting on October 17th, 2011, where an offer of $900,000 was received for the land. The original offer for this property was $800,000, which was raised to $900,000 when the in-house appraisal reflected a market value higher than the offered price. Council requested that an independent appraisal be completed for the property to determine if the proposed sale price was warranted. Council received the independent appraisal and increased the sale price to $925,000. The Council meeting on October 26th, 2011 introduced the proposed land sale. The opportunity for public comment on the proposed land sale will be held at a public meeting on November 7th, 2011.

5. If we sell now will the building construction start now?

Should the land be sold, the prospective purchaser is intending to commence construction toward the end of November. This is also dependent on approval of the proposed rezoning application, development permit application and subsequent building permit application. There are significant geo-technical costs associated with developing this land, so testing will be required by any prospective purchaser to determine the feasibility of a project.

6. Why now just before an election?

The prospective purchaser contacted the City in early October regarding the proposed land sale. Work has been ongoing by the prospective purchaser in terms of putting a proposal together for both the land sale and potential development of the land. The land was not advertised for sale. The City was approached by the prospective purchaser. In an effort to satisfy the demand expressed by the Okanagan Hockey School for dorm space during next year’s season, the developer is eager to get the project underway as soon as possible.

7. Is there a building plan available?

The proposed plans were introduced to Council on October 17th, 2011. The Council report describing the proposal is
available from City Hall and also the City’s website.

8. Should there be a bid process for the purchase of the land and construction of the multi-use dormitory?

The legislative process for the proposed sale of City owned land is being followed and the opportunity for public input exists on November 7th, 2011, at the open meeting of Council. Should the land sell to a private company, the bid process for construction, construction costs and risk associated with the project will be the responsibility of the land owner.

9. Should the city build the structure and lease this property the way that a for-profit corporation will do?

The City is not going to be involved in the development of the land, should the land be sold. It will be up to the prospective purchaser to develop the land. The City is not in the business of land development and there is not $14,000,000 in the budget to build this structure.

10. What will the City do about inadequate parking at the events centre?

The Design Build Contractor (Giffels) for the SOEC was required to hire a traffic consultant to examine parking requirements at the outset of the design process for the SOEC project. The report concluded that sufficient parking was available on site. There was no reliance placed on the former 9 residential lots for parking. The City is currently in the process of reviewing all potential opportunities to deal with parking at the events centre.

11. Will the $1 million sale price replace the required parking spaces?

Should the land be sold, there is no arrangement proposed to replace the land for parking in an alternative location.

12. Does anyone on Council or their families have shares in the numbered company that the City is selling?

A corporate search of the company indicated that the Company was incorporated on October 17, 2011 and has two Directors, neither of whom is connected in any way to the City.

[twobits]

Thanks for the thourough reply Dan.

[clouseau]

I agree…the reply was appreciated. Hopefully Mayor Ashton will answer my question that was previously posted on this site.

I have a legitimate question. The City did a core services review at City Hall why does the City not do the same for the SOEC and Penticton Trade and Convention Center ? The amount of events and conventions has seriously declined and yet the amount of staff remains the same. Why this double standard with the SOEC and PTCC and not a review as was done at City Hall ?

I would also like to add that as a regular user of the SOEC I have no problems with the parking. In fact despite the larger size of the SOEC I find it much easier to exit the SOEC after a Vees game now then the nightmare of exiting the Parking lot at the old Memorial arena. The parking is fine as is in my books. Please let’s not waste any more tax payer money on parking lots……

[DblDwn11]

Refreshing to actually read the facts as opposed to speculation and conspiracy theories that frequent these forums.

I swear a few people on here must walk around with tinfoil hats so that the government can't hear their thoughts....

Thanks Mayor Ashton for taking the time!

[southy]

Forgive me for being just a tad suspicious with the mayor's questions ... after all this is about politics. Nice of you to show up mayor .. quite timely too I must say! Well placed answers. All we need now is Mr. Pearce and Vasalaki. Oh by the way ... Twobits and Dbledwn11 .. I'm just not quite sure which one of you is the cousin and which one is the other cousin?????? Very very similar comments coming out of the mouths of both of you. Just saying and to quote you Twobits ... "just my opinion"!!

[DblDwn11]

Forgive me for being just a tad suspicious with the mayor's questions ... after all this is about politics. Nice of you to show up mayor .. quite timely too I must say! Well placed answers. All we need now is Mr. Pearce and Vasalaki. Oh by the way ... Twobits and Dbledwn11 .. I'm just not quite sure which one of you is the cousin and which one is the other cousin?????? Very very similar comments coming out of the mouths of both of you. Just saying and to quote you Twobits ... "just my opinion"!!

Wow. This is really paranoid, even for you Southy. Might want to back off the anti-psychotics.

Twobits, your the experienced forum poster, so I'll let you handle this.

[twobits]

Wow. This is really paranoid, even for you Southy. Might want to back off the anti-psychotics.

Twobits, your the experienced forum poster, so I'll let you handle this.

There is nothing to handle. It's completely expected.......ya jnow, the conspiracy stuff. Whenever two plus two equals four, the fix must be in.

[Madtaxi]

"Castanet has learned, through B.C. assessment, vacant lots in the same area of Eckhardt Ave. are assessed at $293,000. If nine of these lots were sold for the B.C. assessment's value the total sale would be $2.6 million."

The building will be property tax free for the first five years.
The city is waiving 50% of DCC's and 50% of building permits.
Is there anymore of our tax dollars you feel like giving away Mayor Ashton and crew? Thank God there is an election soon.
And by the way BC Assessment is more believable than any( independent) appraisal.
How much did we lose on the Munson property?

[Madtaxi]

Forgive me for being just a tad suspicious with the mayor's questions ... after all this is about politics. Nice of you to show up mayor .. quite timely too I must say! Well placed answers. All we need now is Mr. Pearce and Vasalaki. Oh by the way ... Twobits and Dbledwn11 .. I'm just not quite sure which one of you is the cousin and which one is the other cousin?????? Very very similar comments coming out of the mouths of both of you. Just saying and to quote you Twobits ... "just my opinion"!!

Wow. This is really paranoid, even for you Southy. Might want to back off the anti-psychotics.

Twobits, your the experienced forum poster, so I'll let you handle this.[/quTh


I see the city hall minions are out in force.

[twobits]

Forgive me for being just a tad suspicious with the mayor's questions ... after all this is about politics. Nice of you to show up mayor .. quite timely too I must say! Well placed answers. All we need now is Mr. Pearce and Vasalaki. Oh by the way ... Twobits and Dbledwn11 .. I'm just not quite sure which one of you is the cousin and which one is the other cousin?????? Very very similar comments coming out of the mouths of both of you. Just saying and to quote you Twobits ... "just my opinion"!!

Wow. This is really paranoid, even for you Southy. Might want to back off the anti-psychotics.

Twobits, your the experienced forum poster, so I'll let you handle this.[/quTh


I see the city hall minions are out in force.

So you respond like this rather than rebutt the weaknesses pointed out in your multiple identical posts. How terribly intelligent and grown up of you. I'm sure you are swaying a lot of voters with your informed opinions.

[Jamesie]

Great to see the city adminsitrator who is supposed to politically neutral wade in in to the election with a letter to the editor. That is just not right, she is sure pushing Ashton's case. Must be fun, working for a mayor who will do whatever you say,

[twobits]

Great to see the city adminsitrator who is supposed to politically neutral wade in in to the election with a letter to the editor. That is just not right, she is sure pushing Ashton's case. Must be fun, working for a mayor who will do whatever you say,

Perhaps if Julius had sent a letter to correct his own (and likely honest) mistake of a referendum that cost 50k rather than the fact that it was a poll costing less than 10k, the Herald may not have printed the CAO's letter. That is after all a practice you suggest they engage in. I am actualy a little surprised Julius didn't correct his error as I am sure it would have been ponted out to him and I always have and still do consider him a straight up man.