Wasaga Entertainment Corporation – Why?
Discussion 105 of 365;
Wasaga Entertainment Corporation- Why?
In order to justify this lavish employment shell, the Town has said donât worry, this is nothing new, they do it everywhereâŠ. Ha!
So letâs look at the comparables they put in their shiny presentation:
Austin Texas;
Population- 2,274,000
Wasaga Beach- 25,000
- Most concerts in Austin are held in large commercial restaurants, or privately owned venues.
- Their entertainment division is not a separate corporation, but a division of their Economic Development Department.
- They have an âACEâ program âAustin Centre for Eventsâ which is not a facility, but a collection of services.
- Their mandate is NOT to deliver shows, but to deliver support to assist those in the entertainment industry, which assists with concrete deliverables by companies in the business of entertainment.
Mississauga, Ontario;
Population – 734,843
Bordering Toronto with a mind boggling population/ growth.
Wasaga 25,000
- – This is our CAOâs “backyard”. He worked there for 13 years apparently. They have initiated a 1.3 million GRANT program for many arts and music organizations in the past.
- – I couldnât find anywhere where they formed their own corporation to promote entertainment or âput onâ the actual shows. Those who have contributed to todayâs discussion starter have researched and they canât find it either. Maybe if Andrew McNeill (CAO) is reading this, he can clarify why Mississauga was a good comparable.
Hamilton, Ontario;
Population- 781,000
Wasaga- 25,000
This is a great comparable to useâŠ. NOT!
Itâs actually an interesting concept, but is NOTHING like what Brian and his Council want to build.
Itâs actually an interesting concept, but is NOTHING like what Brian and his Council want to build.
In Hamilton, they recognized several entertainment venues, packaged them as an entertainment RFP and had proposals from PRIVATE companies / groups. The winning consortiumâŠ. (Copied and pasted from Hamilton Website) âThe Precinct Group is a forward-thinking private-sector consortium including LiUNA, Fengate Capital, Meridian Credit Union, Paletta Group, and Carmenâs Group. The Precinct Group’s mission is to honour and enrich the communities they build in with thoughtfully designed arts, entertainment, sports, residential, commercial and mixed-use properties.â
Personally, this direction impressed me, particularly the due process undertaken to arrive at the final agreements was well done. Our Council blindly allowed this to be a comparable to our plans to pay four staff $425,000.00 a year to form their own Corporation.
Remember the old political question⊠does it pass the sniff test?
The list goes on; The Kee to Bala, in Muskoka Ontario has great Concerts. They are done by a private corporation / promoter- Live Nation – 
not the town. Why use this as justification to commit 500-600,000.00 of municipal funds?
not the town. Why use this as justification to commit 500-600,000.00 of municipal funds?
Council even listened to local concert hosts being used as justification. Of course two of these (The Dard and Windjammer) are great trips down memory lane but are no longer promoting concerts locally⊠I guess maybe, just maybe there is a reason for that. Regardless⊠their concerts were produced by private owners. Dard Concerts.
The only other local venue touted in the justification section wasâŠ. TheStonebridge Blues Fest. Contrary to some public perception, this is a privately operated âfor profitâ show. It is great and is very weather dĂ©pendant. ButâŠ. It gets municipal handouts in cash and in kind services and equipment every year.
So, there are more discussions to have about this Party Planning Committee being paid over $400,000.00 a year to risk taxpayers funds on lavish parties, but letâs continue tomorrow. We can discuss one more comparable (St.Johns) tomorrow, but for today⊠the big question is, âWhy do they have the need to sell us on this idea in the first place? Shouldnât they be concentrating on more important municipal issues?
Snow removal, Parks, Pools, Sidewalks, etcâŠ.
My opinion? Our Mayor and his Council are allowing the Town of Wasaga Beach to become the entertainment, not to facilitate it.
Wow, tomorrow is discussion 106. Imagine all we can talk about before we hit 365?
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