I followed the link and read about Lee Brain’s education and experience. What stands out is his training and background in conflict resolution and mediation. That could be very useful to a City that lurches and stumbles from one court case and conflict to another.
If the City is properly represented it inevitably will be at cross purposes with others at times, but the problem here is that the current Mayor and council have so much trouble resolving conflicts. Here’s the run down:
The Sunwave court cases may have been unavoidable. There was a settlement agreement, but we don’t know if it was a good deal because it is kept secret. There is a comment in the WatCo court filing that Sunwave is owed about $3 million if and when the property is sold.
The City is now in court with WatCo because of a failed negotiation, although it appears that WatCo accepted the City’s terms, which changed over time. Best case is that the Court proceedings will cost a lot. A comment on another thread suggests that the City was sidetracked by an offer from the Pattison group. If the Mayor and council do not have an announcement that they negotiated a much better deal with someone else, with more than enough to cover the WatCo court costs and any liabilities, their handling of that dispute can only be regarded as a failure.
There have been outstanding issues with Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) from the Port. The Port made an interim payment of over $2 million, which suggests that the City was low-balled for several years. The City apparently had some success during a statutory review, but that information was kept under wraps. We even try terrorists in this country in public, but a report by a federal panel about how much money the City of Prince Rupert is owed is apparently a state secret.
So there are conflicts that have gone on and on, but the Mayor and council avoid providing details. That does not suggest that they have done very well. There have got to be more timely, more transparent and less costly ways of resolving conflicts.
The Pinnacle issue is the one exception. There is an interesting piece in North Coast Review about Pinnacle’s appearance at a council meeting. northcoastreview.blogspot.ca/201 … trait.html
A lot was said, but the following comment jumps out: ‘Councillor Thorkelson outlined how she “echoed the rest of Council’s disappointment with Pinnacle regarding the promises made during the EA process and the outcome of the first months of loading those vessels” adding on to many of the same topics as those raised by Councillors Ashley and Cunningham.’
The following excerpt from the EA report speaks for itself: “The City of Prince Rupert was invited by the PRPA to participate as a member of the Environmental Assessment Working Group. The City has declined to participate in consultation regarding the proposed project”.
Public comments by some councillors may make for lively political theatre, but the fact is that when they had a chance to participate in what was essentially a conflict mitigation process they did nothing.
The Mayor and some council members seem to enjoy using tough guy, surprisingly violent rhetoric at times: certain individuals should be “kicked in the ass” or “kicked off the mic”, the City “should lay the boots” to the Port, and Pinnacle should be “hauled in”. But none of that works very well. It may create illusions of getting things done and provide a strange feel good for some, but when all is said and done this Mayor and council is very poor at managing conflicts and even basic communications with other civic stakeholders.
Having someone in the Mayor’s chair who is dedicated to mediating and resolving conflicts, and who has better communications skills than what has been evident in recent years, would be a positive change.
oh and property values so artificially pumped up by greed that you may be able to afford a cardboard box to live in … Pushovers