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wardog fan
05-29-2008, 05:40 PM
June 16th?

The Multiplex Steering Committee is getting close to finalizing their recommendations for city council. And for now, that's about all they're going to make public. Members of the committee met at City Hall Thursday morning to prepare drafts of what will become their final recommendations.

We can't tell you what was discussed, because the meeting was behind closed doors. And that's something Bevin Liepert says is very important at this stage. “I think to air those kinds of discussions leaves way too much up for interpretation. That just gets people going down a road that we may or may not be going down because we have not finalized the report”.

The final recommendations were to be presented to council June 2nd, but because there's no regular meeting until the 16th, Liepert says we'll have to wait until then before the recommendations go public.

“This is a major decision, it's a major issue. When we come public with our report we want to know in our minds and in our hearts that we have the best interests of the community at hand and that we are comfortable with the decision that we've made. And, we're not coming forward until we're there”. Liepert did say, the final recommendations aren't ready just yet and says the committee will meet again to finalize the details in the coming days.


so with this said, this tells me that our city for one is in no panic mode, obviously they know more about what the league is demanding then the public knows or they just dont care. i do know that talking with warrior officials they say that our city has to have a plan in place and worked out and start construction very soon for the league to allow the team to stay, hence plan in place is the key. i dont know when the annual meeting is but i do know its this month , by reading the new news the committee isnt prepared to come public till the 16th of june. then in that time all that is , is reccommendation to our wonderful council who then have to approve it and set it motion. talking to alot of people on the matter , the downtown site to me is out of the question. there is property owners who will not sell their land and a calgary investor has boughten up all of the 100 block of river west to revamp it into a capone era tourist theme shopping block and hotel. safeways is spending a ton of cash on renovations . so with that said the downtown area to me is a washout , but yet its still being fought over. to continue the arguement downtown will kill the team as the property owners who wont sell will take the city to court if they are force to sell and that could take forever in court. so with that said , the crushed can spot and a spot on thatcher drive north are the other two locations being duscuss. both make respectable spots for a new rink and traffic and alot of people will be happy with anyone of those locations , at a lower cost then building downtown, but again its out of the citizens hands. all the people with deep pockets are fighting for downtown and it makes no sense but to make these people richer. all i know it makes me sick thinking about this whole mess and the thought of loseing this team over such stupidity and waste of time and tax payers money fighting over something that would in the end cost way more money and its been made public that downtown is the most expensive spot to build . all i ask is what is it all this for some of our city councillors?? i ask mr chow who is the president of the warriors and a city councillor what is going on behind closed doors? talking to alot of poeple here , their all sick of it , sick of hearing about this mess and in the end its hurting our team more and more and its sad to slowly see all this unravel and to think this is it our last season in the dub because of such stupidity . but i guess if theres alight at the end of the tunnel june 16th will be it and i pray that this committee has made a decesion on whats best for the city and the tax payers and our hockey club cause in the end i believe that the only ones who will be hurt are local bussiness who generate revenue off this team being here and the loyal fans who have been threw it all from day one like myself . its kinda sad that alot of fans of the tribe arnt on here showing some support for our club but i understand why as like myself we are all just sick of the whole misery that goes on at our city hall........ true warrior fan till the end......

Scout
05-29-2008, 07:44 PM
Thanks for the updates and keeping the rest of us fellow whlfans.ca posters up to date on the progress. Although we may not be Moose Jaw residents, we do care about the Warriors and want to see them stay there. Its great to have a fan sharing the updates on whats going on in the city itself. Once again thanks.

Scout

agent
05-29-2008, 10:23 PM
worrying about land owners in downtown fighting the city in court is a non issue because of the saskatchwan expropriation act
http://www.justice.gov.sk.ca/Default.aspx?DN=df2b949d-526d-4e88-be0a-5a5fa0e490d4
The city could have them out within a few months. The last time the City of Moose Jaw used this Act was in 1908 and i don't believe council even know they have that option available to them. vc124
seems to be lots of inexperienced people with these issues being the ones in the position of making things happen and they are afraid becuase of there lack of knowledge. :turkey:

wardog fan
05-30-2008, 11:24 AM
i didnt know of the act, thanks for the info.. but to me personally i cant see the city pushing land owners out of their land for a rink that is going to cost way more to build in the downtown location rather then the other two locations? i dont know what to say really on alot of things i know i get pretty passionate over all of this and the team, but to me our city council does not have my vote of convindence . their not doing a great job and it seems that maybe one or two of they are looking for personal gain rather then being a elected city representative. alot of people talk theres no work in this city , mr mcbain hasnt done anything to bring companies to the jaw, our population has been the same for 15 years . but yet all these new homes are going up??but what do i know ! things here are not looking good and our team is on life support.

howley
05-30-2008, 11:58 AM
I don't mean this to be condescending in any way but does location really matter as far as accessibility goes? It's Moose Jaw for crying out loud. It takes 5 minutes to get across town, 15 if your walking. Why would they just not put it in the cheapest possible location? People are going to show no matter where it is. Moose Jaw is a hockey town. Location should not be a big deal.

agent
05-30-2008, 02:36 PM
In a small community like Moose Jaw you know there thoughts are clouded by personal gain or that of a friend or relative. :evil:
I actually pulled property titles at ISC.CA (Land Titles) and its amazing how many vacant down town properties are owned by numbered companies with a Moose Jaw residential address. Its surprising how many people don't want others to know they have interest in these properties. But guess what guys , its public knowledge on the internet. vc1tt
People with no personal gain or interest would know that the down town area is an eye sore and if something like this project doesn't clean it up then it will sit as rat infested vacant buildings for another 100 years. That is one of the reason the goverment is offering millions at all different levels. Its also a perfect way to funnel and filter traffic in different directions after a large event. 1000+ cars leaving in one direction would be caos, but send them in 4 different directions after an event an you have limited issues. vci11
Money shouldn't be an issue with 80+ million dollars in the city reserve fund for rainy days.

wardog fan
05-30-2008, 04:28 PM
i totally agree with you agent , but at what costs are we willing to invest here? and another question is will this multiplex be the savor of all savors for the downtown core? me personally believe that with core development such as the renovations going on 100 block of river things will spruce up soon in the downtown core. building this multiplex downtown isnt the answer , we have other things to worry and on our plates , such as hositpal upgrades, and work placement jobs and infrastructure such as roads and water treatments.. why spend millions extra to go downtown when it can be built at the old crush can site or thatcher drive site. we could have saved ourselves all this grief by building 2 years ago when this was brought up at a cheaper cost and at the one of two other sites besides the downtown core. i agree downtown is a sore eye but theres alot of paperwork and bad ground down there from the railroad and years gone by... but from my point of view i dont care where it goes as long as it goes up and this hockey team stays here , its the only thing moose jaw has to call our OWN. its world class junior hockey at our finger tips at a great price, try and take a family to a NHL game these days good luck on that ... i also agree that there is parties involved who are looking to strike it rich downtown if this rink goes there and its sad but you know i was taught something, cant get ahead in life without investing, and well they did that and played their cards right i guess.....

wardog fan
05-30-2008, 04:43 PM
Multiplex steering committee still a meeting away
CARTER HAYDU
The Moose Jaw Times Herald

After almost 2 1/2 hours in an in-camera meeting Thursday morning, multiplex steering committee members said they still need at least another meeting to finalize their report.
The group, however, hopes to present its recommendations by the June 16 council meeting.
Bevin Leipert, committee vice-chairman, said his group is in the “final throes” and can hopefully wrap up the long recommendation process within the next couple weeks.
For now he’s remaining tight-lipped about what was discussed during this week’s closed-door meeting.
“We can’t really tell anything, because we’re finalizing the report,” Leipert said. He was worried the public might misconstrue committee conversations if the meeting was open.
Leipert admitted finalizing the recommendations has been a long and frustrating process, but he said such diligence is important when trying to provide council with the best report possible.
The biggest hold-up to committee recommendations, according to Leipert, is the length of time it takes to gather all the various information and to wait for reports.
“This is a major decision and a major issue,” he said. Despite rumours that might be circulating around town, the committee has not yet ruled out any of the three proposed multiplex sites, including downtown, Ninth Avenue Northeast and at the current Civic Centre site.
According to administration estimates, the most expensive construction model built at the downtown location would cost over $72.4 million.
Two committee members from city council, Couns. Darin Chow and Regina Sagal-Hendry, were absent from the meeting. Couns. Dawn Luhning and Brian Swanson attended, although they both had to leave when the meeting went in-camera right at the beginning because they do not belong to the committee.
Swanson waited outside right until the meeting ended.

Carter Haydu can be reached
at 691-1265.


Site specific costs:
Downtown — $8.12 million
Civic Centre — $1.95 million
Ninth Avenue Northeast — $3.53 million
Construction-type costs:
Ventura Construction — $64.32 million
Nustadia — $50.45 million
Dominion — $59.95 million

wardog fan
06-03-2008, 11:12 AM
Build it downtown!



That message today from Temple REIT CEO Arni Thorsteinson as his company works on their planned expansion to the Temple Gardens Mineral Spa here in Moose Jaw.



The company that bought the spa in 2006 wants to do a major expansion, something we told you about last year, but Thorsteinson says it all hinges on one city council decision.



"The key thing that we're waiting for is the announcement that the multiplex will go ahead at the downtown site. That will be the final requirement for us to proceed with doubling the size of the casino and adding 95 guest rooms to the hotel."



Thorsteinson says if the multiplex doesn't go downtown, his company will have to rethink their plans and that could mean a severely scaled down expansion.



But he says it makes sense to put the new facility downtown pointing to the recent River Street development announcement. Thorsteinson says between the multiplex, the Little Chicago Development Company project, and the spa expansion there could be over 100 million dollars in work being completed in the downtown area in the next few years.