More Questionable Land Dealings for Massive Profits

PRIVATE INVESTORS TO FLIP LAND FOR TOWER ROAD BYPASS FOR MASSIVE PROFITS

After extensive research, I can now say publicly, with the utmost of confidence, that LONG LAKE INVESTMENT INC. stands to profit significantly by flipping over 390 Acres of land along Tower Road for the proposed Regina Bypass. While sale prices are not yet being made public, we have confirmed that the minimum sale price offered for lands in that area is $100,000 per acre.  

This would translate to a total profit of at least $35 MILLION for the investors behind Long Lake Investment Inc. for the full 390 Acres. (Potentially up to $95 MILLION)

For a backgrounder, Long Lake Investment Inc. (LLI) was formed in 2011 with the apparent express intent of acquiring large amounts of land prior to the Bypass route being made public. These lands were presumably purchased knowing full well what the plans were for the Regina Bypass and with no intent to do absolutely anything with the lands other than hold them and sell them to the City and Province only a few short years later.

As per City of Regina Administration (See below), LLI made an arrangement with the RM of Sherwood to purchase lands at an agreed price of $12,500 per acre. In total today, LLI owns a minimum of 390.86 Acres. Do the math, and you will find they stand to gain nearly $35 MILLION in pure profit. And all they had to do was purchase the lands and hold onto them for a few years. Resulting in a 700% return on investment.

 

Further to this, file the following under the "what are they thinking?" category. On October 26, Regina City Council will vote whether to allow LLI to purchase a few select pieces of land, that are virtually worthless to any developer as they are Road Right of Ways. At least one of these pieces of land just happen to be smack dab in the middle of the new site for the Pacers Ball Park.

Then, LLI will immediately sell that very same land BACK to the City for an "undisclosed" price. Don't worry though, according to Mayor Fougere, the Province "should" be covering the cost of purchasing this land (back), so it won't impact the City's finances. (Apparently that's okay because provincial tax dollars come from some magical land and not from your back pocket as well)

Yes, Regina, this is how bold these guys are. 

They are literally allowing a private investor to buy and sell the same parcel of land for an assumably substantial profit right before your very eyes. 

Why isn't the media reporting on this? You tell me. Any other city in North America, they would have seen this and been all over it before an individual such as myself had to do the legwork to report on it. 

This particular land transaction is set to go before Regina City Council at the next City Council Meeting on Monday, October 26, 2015 at 5:30PM. As it is a Public Bylaw, you can attend the meeting and address this issue without a prepared speech. Keep in mind, however, that you are still subject to the five minute time limit and the typical rules of decorum apply. 

I've put together this handy dandy visual for the new Pacers Ball Park questionable land deal. The very interesting part of this is the land in the middle that is set to be sold to Long Lake Investment Inc. below market value ($12,500/Acre) and without public offering on October 26, 2015. This very same land is then set to be sold BACK to the City to allow for the new park development. The prices are TOP SECRET at the moment, but it would be fair to assume market rate which is currently between $100k-$250k/Acre.

I've noticed some on Riderfans.com are questioning the current market value, and I thought I would do them a favour and share a current listing to demonstrate lands in the area going for $250,000/Acre.

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I posted the following on my Facebook page just over a week ago, before the above information came to light.
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TOWER ROAD BYPASS - FOR PUBLIC SAFETY OR PRIVATE PROFIT?

The current route for the Regina bypass has been touted as the best option - but the question is best for whom? It would appear private developers have been pulling the strings of this project all along.

What can you do? You need to ask some very pointed questions of your Saskatchewan Government about the TWO BILLION DOLLAR BYPASS that doesn't even "bypass" the City!

If this was truly about PUBLIC SAFETY:
- the overpass at Pilot Butte would have been the #1 priority and begun long ago. Traffic lights would have been implemented years ago. This would have prevented so many tragedies that have occurred in recent years.
- the bypass would actually BYPASS the City of Regina. Where it is currently planned, homes and businesses will be smack next to it. Not to mention new neighbourhoods that will only be built IF the bypass is built along Tower Road.
- the initial stage of the bypass would be routed where it would actually take the heavy trucks off of Victoria Avenue. The majority of heavy trucks don't even go south of Regina. The majority are destined for the industrial area, which would not be helped in any way by the current proposal. The logical route would have been NORTH via the already existing Highway 46. It would also save taxpayers about a billion dollars.

It appears the current bypass is more about PRIVATE PROFIT:
- majority of lands along Tower Road between Arcola and Victoria were purchased in 2012 by a private investment company PRIOR to the official route being made public. This investment company is headed by a known ally of Mayor Fougere, Premier Wall, Prime Minister Harper and also happens to be a current board member of a City of Regina agency.
- Harvard Developments, DREAM Developments and Forster Developments all have neighbourhood and/or business developments in the immediate area of the East and West legs of that bypass.

REMINDER: CIVIC MUSEUM MEETING SEPTEMBER 28, 2015

REMINDER: CIVIC MUSEUM CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Monday, September 28, 2015 5:30PM

Just a friendly reminder that the City Council Meeting is upcoming on Monday, September 28, 2015 at 5:30PM. On the agenda is the funding for the Civic Museum of Regina (AKA Regina Plains Museum). It is currently near the top of the agenda, so it should be discussed within the first hour of the meeting. PLEASE do not show up late if you plan to attend.

Remember, the more physical bodies in attendance, the stronger the message will be that this is a very important issue to citizens!

If you are wishing to speak to the topic (i.e. delegation), then you are REQUIRED to submit your prepared speech (word for word unfortunately) to City Hall prior to 1:00PM on Thursday, September 24, 2015. You can either drop a copy off in person to the Ambassador's desk, or email it to clerks@regina.ca. REMINDER that you are only allowed to speak for five minutes, so please keep this in mind when submitting your delegation. You can submit as much (relevant) information as you wish, but remember you will only be allowed to TALK for five minutes, and you are not allowed to divert from your submitted speech.

You can find the Agenda by following this link: http://www.regina.ca/residents/council-committees/meeting-calendar-agenda/ - I cannot post a direct link to the document itself, as it is a live link and thus changes often and you would receive an error.

If you need any assistance to prepare for this meeting, please feel free to contact the City Clerk's office directly (306) 777-7262, or contact myself, and I would be more than happy to help out where I can.

CIVIC MUSEUM OF REGINA TENTATIVELY SET TO REOPEN!!

Good evening Regina!!!

Something that I have been posting a lot on Facebook recently, but not on my website, is the issue of the Civic Museum of Regina closing - otherwise and formerly known as the Regina Plains Museum. As you may or may not be aware, the Museum faced closure last month because they simply didn't have enough funding to keep the doors open for the rest of the year. They had asked the City on a number of occasions over the past few years for a review of their funding situation - each time getting delayed or the run around. It's obvious that the closure certainly had an impact on the City's decisions, and it raised a much needed awareness around our great City (and province and country for that matter) of the great resource that is the Civic Museum of Regina.

I want to extend a HUGE congratulations to Rob Deglau, Scott Cheston and the entire board at the Civic Museum of Regina, as it is obvious that they have a great passion for Regina's Heritage and they have put a tremendous effort into getting the museum to where it is today.

Here is a video of my delegation from today: 

https://youtu.be/FYgVQCh-Bl4

Here is a great story on the situation from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/civic-museum-of-regina-gets-money-to-stay-open-and-plan-future-1.3220751

 DISCLAIMER: The reopening of the Civic Museum of Regina is tentative only, and subject to final approval by City Council on Monday, September 28, 2015. If you want to see City Hall approve this request, then be sure to be in attendance to show your support!

If you don't follow me on Facebook (why not??), here is the upate I posted today.

CIVIC MUSEUM UPDATE:

GREAT NEWS!!!!!! Although it still has to be approved by City Council at the end of the month, the City has tentatively APPROVED interim funding to enable to the Museum to reopen it's doors ASAP. I will be meeting with the board in the next few days to find out exactly what their plans are, but the City approved a one time additional $60,000 grant which is exactly what they asked for many months ago. This is in addition to the $25,000 to hire a consultant to develop a business plan.

Where do we go from here? Simple. Publicly show your support. Call or email your councillor, the Mayor, or members of the Museum board to tell them you fully support this motion and you thank them for their recognition of the importance of our Civic Heritage. Also, buy a membership for the museum! They are only $25/yr and a portion of it is tax deductible. Donate more than that, and it's all tax deductible!

Finally, please, if you have the time,

Attend City Council on Monday, September 28, 2015. 

The meeting begins at 5:30 PM, and depending on how many items are on the agenda, it could be a long evening. If you want to speak to this issue, you must abide by certain rules and submit your prepared speech (word for word) by the Thursday prior. If you aren't comfortable with public speaking, throw your ideas my way and I would be glad to include them in my speech. Regardless of whether you plan to speak or not, your attendance would mean a lot and show that there is strong public support for the museum.

In closing, I wouldn't say the coast is clear now, but I definitely can say I've gained a lot of respect for City Council today. The hardest part is done. Getting that extra funding to simply allow them to reopen the doors is HUGE! 

Thank you everyone for your attention and passion shown to this matter. Your support has not gone unnoticed.

FREE PARKING FOR ALL! - CITY EMPLOYEES THAT IS

Happy Weekend Regina!!

FREE PARKING FOR ALL! - CITY EMPLOYEES THAT IS

One of the major discoveries of the Downtown Parking Study - and probably one of the prime reasons it was hidden from public view for so long - was that a significant contributor to the Downtown parking nightmare is FREE parking provided to City Employees and "VIPs". It should be noted that this does not come as a shock to the downtown parking enforcement officers, as that was the #1 complaint when surveyed about the downtown parking when I ran for Mayor in 2012.

While it is not discussed exactly how many city employees and "VIP"s get this privilege, it does equate to an annual revenue loss of $1.4 MILLION! This translates to 55% of downtown parking spots being occupied by City employees or "VIP"s while you are driving around, struggling to find a spot that you have to pay two dollars an hour for!

What's worse - If you factor in the total permits issued, which includes free and significantly discounted permits, they account for a whopping 91% of the 1,250 metered spots in Regina. NINETY ONE PERCENT! This means that at any given time, there may be only 9% of the metered parking spots available for you to use. Without question, this is one of the key factors that should have been addressed long before the meter rates were doubled. Thankfully, the consultants also agree.

IMPORTANT TO NOTE: As there are currently no repercussions to these permit holders for parking longer than allowed, on average over 50% of them are overstaying their welcome compared to an average of 20% of coin parkers. Not only are they taking up valuable space that the rest of us pay for, they are staying far longer which multiplies the problem.

For those that don't want to read the full document, here is a clip for your ease of reference:

Why, then, has the City done nothing to address this situation?!

STAY TUNED FOR MORE!

CITY HALL IGNORES CONSULTANT'S PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS

Good evening Regina!

CITY HALL IGNORES CONSULTANT'S PARKING RECOMMENDATIONS

UPDATE: It turns out this report has never actually made it to City Council, let alone the public's eye. It was only because of a Freedom of Information Request by the Regina Leader Post that this report is even available for the public to now view. (As of April 2015) This is a very unfortunate situation, and one that needs to be addressed. Surprisingly, no other media outlet has touched this story yet. The City's public response to this has been that there are a lot of "administrative" tasks included in the report. If you take a read yourself, you will see this is certainly not the case.

In recent months, the City of Regina has become famous for it's overly strict parking enforcement, and in recent years, has made moves that has made the Downtown a parking nightmare. It has gotten so bad, in fact, the metered parking use has dwindled by a whopping 30% since the new rates went into effect.

Speaking of new rates, did you know? Your tax dollars (125,000 of them in fact) went out to a consulting company in 2013 with the sole purpose of studying Regina's parking and making recommendations on how to make it more palatable.

Well, it turns out that someone at City Hall didn't feel this report was worth the paper it is written on, because the City has chosen to do things their own way anyways - $125,000 report be damned. Sadly, this isn't a shocker, because it happens more often than we would like to believe.

One of the recommendations was to increase meter rates to $2/hr. But wait - isn't that what they did? Yes! However, the consultants recommended some very key upgrades to our parking infrastructure long before that was to be implemented. They recommended the new rate go into effect sometime between 2015-2017. Only AFTER off street parking is addressed to give more capacity for those that work or live downtown.

If you think this is atrocious - just wait! In the next while, I will be posting about more items of note that the City really ought to have done months upon months ago. 

STAY TUNED!

MISPLACED PRIORITIES: PARKING ENFORCEMENT "EDUCATION"

Hello Regina!!!

After a pretty long absence from the "City Beat", I've decided it's time to start posting a little more frequently once again. There are some pretty insane things happening at the City of Regina, and election time is just around the corner. What better time to remind those on Council and the great residents of Regina what issues are important and need better attention!

Briefly: Have you heard about the "oops" by the City of Regina lately? Apparently, they said they released "only" 1,000,000 Litres of "filtered" sewage into Wascana Creek, which flows into the Qu'appelle River, but they made a slight miscalculation, and it was actually 15,000,000 Litres. I'm not sure about you, but that discrepancy needs to be considered more than just an oversight, and someone at the City of Regina needs to be held accountable. Will it happen? Probably not.

Getting to today's big story, however, a story that has garnered much attention on Facebook through the Global and CJME posts today - one which was brought to you first by yours truly on my Chad4Regina Taxpayers Facebook page - the City of Regina turning their attention from Parking Enforcement to Parking Education. Wait....what?! What the hell is "parking education"?? My sentiments exactly. As I've said on Facebook, if you need an "education" program to explain your parking bylaws, perhaps your bylaws are too complex - or even more to the point - ludicrous and needless. (DISCLAIMER: They are by no means reducing enforcement here, they are simply reallocating current resources to "educate" people about the City's ludicrous parking bylaws while still ticketing the hell out of anyone that dares park an inch further away from the curb than they are allowed, or have their bumper hanging past the "no parking" signs)

For those that really want to know, it is the City of Regina spending your tax dollars to get parking enforcement officers to tell you "how best" to park. For example, if they approach you and ask how long you plan to be downtown, and you say all day, their "education" is to suggest parking in an off street parking lot. Apparently, citizens of Regina are assumed to be too stupid to figure that out in their own. 

Speaking of education, perhaps they should be educating their own staff?

 
The Million Dollar Question is:

What is the true purpose of this alleged education strategy? 

One can only wonder. 

Proactive planning for parking tickets perhaps?

Why is the City not investing it's time and resources and, more importantly, OUR MONEY, where it would be better served? Like actually working to provide additional off street parking locations for those that desire it. Leaving the on street parking for those that actually need it. You know, the customers that provide the necessary business to keep downtown businesses thriving? 

DID YOU KNOW? The City has experienced a 30% reduction in parking meter hours as per the 2014 City of Regina annual report. This means that either people are parking off street more (unlikely), simply not plugging meters (the data suggests this is not the case as parking ticket revenues have not skyrocketed), or are just avoiding the Downtown altogether. All data (straight from the City's own documents) point to the latter being the case. Surely downtown businesses have noticed this, and yet the City continutes to pretend it is not an issue!

 The solution here has to be far simpler than the City of Regina makes it out to be...

And the good news is that it is!

Come 2016, I plan to unveil a revolutionary plan that will allow all Regina residents, downtown visitors and downtown businesses to survive and thrive together in harmony.

Summer Fun in Regina!

Happy Summer Regina!!

How is everyone's summer going so far? It's been very hot and dry so far, which can be considered both good and bad, depending on your outlook. Good that we can be outside and enjoy the evenings without mosquitos, the sunny days in the park getting some rays and hit Milky Way for that cool, refreshing treat! Bad, however, for those of you who rely on precipitation for a livelihood. The fact is that farming is a way of life in Saskatchewan, and this hot, dry weather would be great if it was split up by a few odd days of rain in between to help the crops grow big and strong. In contrast, however, last year was a virtual monsoon which didn't help the farmers much either, so it's really a balancing act.

How about your kids? Have your kids been hounding you that they are "bored" already? I remember when I was younger, it would only take a week or two out of school until I was already looking for something exciting to do to keep the summer from dragging. Well, GREAT NEWS everyone!!! We brought it to you in 2012 and 2013 - and we are so happy to hear through the grapevine that the Jurassic Attack MONSTER RIDE TRUCK is coming back to the Queen City for another summer. This time, they'll be here giving rides in a more permanent location, on Eastgate Drive by the old Maxwell's Amusements - the old North Star Motel lot - SEVEN DAYS A WEEK!!

That's right, ladies and gentlmen, for the low, low cost of $10 per ride, you can give your kids the experience of a lifetime and let them blow off some steam. 

This is FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY folks!! Starting this week until September 30, so get out there often, because you know the summer will fly by before you know it.

For more information, visit their website at jurassicattack.com.

City Council's Discretionary Decision Making

Good afternoon Regina!

There have been some comments made by our Mayor and Council Members in the past few days that are pretty concerning, regarding the proposed strip club that the Regina Planning Commission approved (Councillor O'Donnell was one of those voting members), and City Council subsequently denied. These comments, coupled with a review of the January 26 City Council Meeting, bring up some serious questions that few have asked, and certainly deserve further attention.

The first comment I refer to is Mayor Fougere speaking to how a "future application" may be granted. For those that aren't aware, the applicant for this strip club is from out of town, and thus would be considered to be an "outsider" by many. This is important because of the fact that City Hall is well known in the development industry to be "less than cordial" to outsiders. Outsiders are given a much harder time when wanting to develop in Regina, than say, Harvard Developments or Dundee Developments. One prominent example is that of Wascana Village, which is looking to develop just outside of Regina. I recall speaking to the developer at one meeting, where it was made very evident that they wanted to do some work within the City of Regina, but it was made virtually impossible and they were given many roadblocks that they had not experienced in any other jurisdiction where they had developed previously.

What is concerning to me is what could possibly be that "future application". If you review the City Council Meeting video (available on the regina.ca website), you will note that City Council members focused far more on the actual business plan, than whether or not it fit with the required bylaws and guidelines. Was this to gain more of an understanding of a business venture they (or friends/associates) might be looking to get into? Was this to force an impression that this kind of industry was not welcomed in our City, but may be "in the future" when they (or their associates) have their business plan ready to go? What, exactly, did this application lack, that a "future application" may include that will meet the very-discretionary judgement of City Council?

Given Council's reputation for not giving into the "vocal minority", it is very difficult to believe that they would simply give in to a few delegations and a petition that is certainly lacking in any validity, in comparison to those of say the WWTP or the Stadium petitions and pushback. This leads me to believe that there is certainly an ulterior motive in their decision on Monday. If this is the case, there are even more questions than there will ever be answers.

In the end, the big questions that have yet to be answered:

What, exactly, was lacking from this application?

What could be done in future applications in order for Council to approve it? 

After everything is said and done, the point of these applications and subsequent approval or denial is to learn for the future. If Council is unwilling to provide recommendations for future applications, and leave so many questions in the air, then they should not deny any such application. Simply denying because it is "unsavoury" behaviour (their words) is not in their jurisdiction. Simply denying because they don't like the idea of acknowledging an industry that is already very prevalent in Regina is not in their jurisdiction. The fact of the matter is, as a business - a legal one at that - let the residents demonstrate if they want this in our community or not. And, not by a select few attending a meeting, but by providing support in the form of patronage. If enough residents support the business idea, then the business will be successful. If they do not, then the market has spoken, and it will have to close.

Finally, Mayor Fougere, and other Councillors, made it perfectly clear on January 26. They claimed they didn't see much public support of such a facility. I'm not sure which sand dune they had their head buried in this time, but could the same not be said for the WWTP and Stadium projects? Where was the public support there? Mayor Fougere claimed that those in support of projects "don't go to rallies". This is selective listening at best, and if they truly wanted to hear from the public, well, now they are getting their chance through the Petition that has quickly garnered over 2,000 signatures in only a matter of days. Far more signatures than those that were submitted to Council on January 26 in opposition to this application.*

*Note: Councillors claimed that there were "thousands" of signatures on submitted petitions. If you review the Council documents, it appears there were more like 200-250 that signed the three petitions (in total) that were circulated, some of which were even duplicate signatures.

Council Rejects Strip Club - Against Own Bylaws and Provincial Legislation

Good afternoon Regina!!

UPDATE: A Petition has been created (not by myself, I've merely signed in support) to encourage Regina City Council to listen to the voice of reason on this decision, and reconsider this application which was in accordance with all known legislation and bylaws.  

Please click here to sign the petition and share.

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In a historic decision on Monday night, Regina City Council voted 9-1 to DENY the application to open a strip club in our great city. This is historic for many reasons, but a major reason that few are talking about is the fact that City Hall basically just overruled the Provincial Government (remember their best buddies in the world, the Sask Party?), who in January 2014 introduced new legislation allowing alcohol to be served in an adult entertainment facility.

I want to make it perfectly clear for all readers, that I am neither for or against strip clubs. I'm not going to pretend I haven't been to them in my life, but I also don't make it a habit to attend them, as I have much better options for entertainment in my life. Same as why I don't frequent night clubs, the symphony or hockey games - they just aren't my thing.

For me, it is about whether or not the business meets the (rather strict) requirements set out. PERIOD.

City Council went against City Hall Administration's own recommendation to APPROVE the request, and went against their own bylaws by denying this application. Granted, for discretionary use applications, City Council does have the right to exercise their "discretion" of approval, but without reasonable justification, this is best used selectively. Otherwise, what's the point of even having these kinds of bylaws in the first place?

There are some great observations already made by some of Regina's prominent media personalities, so I won't repeat what they've said, since they've done a great job at making points that I would just repeat here. Here are some of them:

104.9 The Wolf - Drew Dalby Blog (EXCELLENT POST ANSWERING THE CRITICISMS)

Prairie Dog Magazine - Paul Dechene - Nudie Bars and Old White Dudes

Prairie Dog Magazine - Wanda Schmockel - No Strip Club for you, Regina

Now, keep in mind, the idea of a Strip Club in Regina is nothing new. After all, we've had strippers in an established facility for many years in the industrial area. I don't think they are around anymore, but Regina has in fact been home to stripping for a long time already. The only difference here is the introduction of alcohol to the mix. Which every - other - part - of - the - developed - world already has, and have had for years, if not decades. I should add that I do believe the new legislation is actually even more restrictive than before, in that the strippers can no longer go fully nude.

Regarding the nineteen delegations (which I am sure are related to each other in one form or another - most likely all attendees of the same church), if these people truly have a problem with the morality of strip clubs, they should have brought it to the province's attention years ago. City Council should only approve or deny based on the business aligning with City bylaws and neighbourhood regulations, which to my knowledge, this application very much did. I have great sympathy for the business owner here, in that he jumped through all the hoops and hurdles already set out for him, and still they changed their mind at the very last minute - literally. I sincerely hope he is not out any money because of their decision, or he may very well have a legal case against City Hall.

Going forward, City Hall is setting a very dangerous precedent here. By no means are they forced to approve any application, but they ought to have very good justification for denying such applications. Similar to the Official Community Plan guiding development throughout the City and them allowing developments that completely contradict that OCP. Oh...wait. They do that all the time!

Finally for today, personally, I would much rather these clubs be in high traffic areas, than forced into the remote industrial areas. This would provide a safer environment for staff and patrons leaving the establishment. It would also reduce the risk of questionable behavior happening outside of the club in a higher traffic location.

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On a sidenote, I have heard there were some pretty ridiculous statements made by none other than Wade Murray and a couple of my other "favourite" City Councillors. Things such as "this is a great day to be a part of a municipal government" and "this is the heart of Regina right here" (Referrring to the delegations I believe). Yet, when over 20,000 residents OPPOSED the Waste Water Treatment Plant, or the nearly 10,000 residents OPPOSED the Stadium Project, they were deemed to be the "vocal minority". 

I find it very ironic how the very same kind of opposition can be viewed in such drastically opposite lights, given your own personal stance on a subject, I suppose.

Happy New Year Regina

Happy New Year everyone!

Welcome to 2015 - officially the "future", if you're a fan of Back to the Future, as I very much am. No flying cars or hoverboards, however. Video phone calls, though - we do have!

You may have noticed a drop in the new posts on my page over the last few months. That is not by chance. I have chosen to remove myself from the political landscape since mid-summer due to life events, in an effort to see how it would affect my life. And, I am very happy to say, it's done wonders! Does this mean I'm done with the political world? By no means! It just means you'll be seeing much less on this page, and more on my "Chad4Regina Taxpayers" Facebook page. So, if you haven't "liked" my page yet, why not go do that now?

What's in store for this year? A whole lot of positive. What's in store for 2016? Only God knows!

Have a great 2015 everyone, and again thank you for all your support and encouragement.