If You Absolutely, Positively Must Screw Up A Deal …
… hire Capital Councillor Shawn Menard.
Take this tweet for example:
So taxpayers will soon be on hook for $320 million for Lansdowne with no appreciable revenue in it for taxpayers who are footing the bill. Except for air rights. We know how much air is worth. About as much as a waterfall.
That will bring the total spending for Ottawa taxpayers, for which they have not earned a penny but have spent a lot, to about a half-billion dollars. Who can beat a deal like that? About $500 billion spent, nothing in return. Less than nothing in return.
A World-Class Developer City But Little Else: READER
Damn good deal if you are the city’s partner Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group. Partner? That’s the kind of partnership that spawns a divorce.
So what’s the good councillor from Capital ward doing? Well he’s taking people around Lansdowne to show them how the deal could be made better. What he is doing is legitimizing the deal.
That me put this in terms that brings it on home … even for Menard.
What you do when you are negotiating a deal and someone wants something is say no. You say yes when there is something in it for taxpayers … you know, the people you represent and who voted for you. But you say no if there is nothing in it for you. There’s nothing in Lansdowne for taxpayers except a half-billion dollar bill.
That’s not good.
Now once you say no, it’s time for your ‘partners’ to come back with something to convince you to say yes.
But what Menard is doing by strutting around Lansdowne with his supporters is acknowledging the deal. He wants to change Lansdowne. That’s nice. You just accepted that Lansdowne will go forward. In some form. Nice work. On behalf of the taxpayers of Ottawa, I’d just like to say thank you. Not only do we have an environmental crisis and a homelessness crisis at city hall, we have a negotiating crisis as well.
Let’s put this into even similar terms for all to see. Let’s just say you want to buy a bag-of-crap vehicle at a used-car lot. But you haven’t sealed the deal for the car that doesn’t work. “Could you put some new hubcaps on it?” Well, the salesman then knows he’s got you. You want the car because you’re already negotiating the post-deal details. But you haven’t bought the car … yet. But you will.
Menard will get something out of this little Lansdowne tour. He might get a vote or two and some free publicity from photo-ops but what do taxpayers get out of this? Nothing. Like Lansdowne.
Brutally naive negotiating.
Ken Gray
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Funny. I thought the tour pointed out the flaws of the Lansdowne 2.0 plan.
Perhaps we both should have attended to see what was actually said.
Miranda:
Your argument is off-topic.
One way or the other, Menard is acknowledging the deal.
He’s fiddling with the deck chairs on the Titanic.
cheers
kgray
I was at this morning’s tour. All of the flaws and faulty finances were presented, as well as sensible alternatives to the proposal. Sometimes an outright NO is neither feasible nor smart negotiation. I agree the whole deal stinks – as did Lans 1.0. It’s another exchange of public land for private developer profit. Can you report on the legal/contractual obligations the City might be bound to? Perhaps alternatives to the proposal is the only and middle way?
Val:
Thank you for this.
It’s a terrible deal for taxpayers. There’s no easy alternative. We’re building new stands for the RedBlacks. It’s pretty simple.
Bob Chiarelli suggested fixing the roof to the arena as an alternative. That’s not a bad idea but a half-billion for a minor league football team?
Not good.
cheers
kgray
Let’s give Shawn Menard the benefit of the doubt here, my family and I were at lansdowne a couple weeks ago and no environmental issues. The parking lot was full and air quality was great… maybe because the vehicles were in the underground parking lot and we didn’t notice any homeless people.
only crisis at landsdowne is tax payer money crisis.