Reminder: Public Meeting, Thursday, October 27:  Environmental Matters at Lansdowne Park 

Don't forget this Thursday"s public meeting about contamination at Lansdowne and the City's approach to soil remediation.

This may be your only opportunity to learn about the potential environmental and health impacts of digging up, moving and burying contaminated soil at Lansdowne Park.  We urge you to ask questions about why the City has chosen not to meet current standards for soil remediation. It is also worth questioning what  the costs will be and where the money is coming from.  When the City approved the Lansdowne Partnership Plan it did not include any major funding for environmental remediation costs. There is a clause in the plan approved in June 2010 which gives the City the right to back out of the Lansdowne Partnership Plan if environmental remediation costs are significant. 

The meeting, which is organized by the City and the Glebe Community Association,  starts at 7:30 p.m. at the Glebe Community Centre, 175 Third Avenue (at Lyon). 

Upper South Side Stands to Be Demolished

The City of Ottawa has announced that it is demolishing the upper south stands of Frank Clair Stadium and expects this work to be completed before Christmas. This action reminds us all that the  City, as the owner of the stadium, can do whatever it wishes (from demolition to renovation), independent of OSEG and the whole Lansdowne redevelopment scheme. 

Many people in Ottawa continue to be under the impression that stadium redevelopment is contingent on investment from OSEG. Indeed, this mistaken notion is the reason many people support the Lansdowne Partnership Plan.  it is important to spread the word that it is City taxpayers, not private investors, who will fund 100% of any stadium renovations. 

Reflections on the First Year of the Current City Council 

The one-year anniversary of the last municipal election prompts us to reflect on how our new City Council has managed the Lansdowne redevelopment.  Despite the fact that most Councillors ran on platforms of fiscal responsibility, the new Council has not undertaken any serious review of the project from a financial perspective. It has not even bothered to clarify a $62 million dollar discrepancy in the financial scheme; nor does Council seem disturbed by revelations that the deal for taxpayers is much worse than previously thought.  

Council is so determined to go ahead with the plan that it has approved over $20 million dollars of spending on the Lansdowne Partnership PLan, even though there is no approved final site plan or a final signed agreement with OSEG.

In terms of the Horticulture Building, this Council has disregarded advice from heritage experts and has decided to remove the heritage designation from the building, and relocate it at taxpayers expense. In one fell swoop, it has ignored the public interest and increased the public cost. 

A standard form letter is coming from the Mayor's office these days to anyone who writes regarding Lansdowne. Mayor Watson claims that during the last election campaign, he voiced his support for proceeding with the Lansdowne project. This is not the way we remember things. Wasn't it Larry O Brien who ran on a pro-Lansdowne development campaign? 

During the election campaign, Jim Watson was deliberately middle of the road on Lansdowne, allowing both sides to read into his comments what they wished. We quote from an interview he did on CTV: 

" And IF the the plan comes back with a report from staff that meets the needs of the taxpayers and the finances of the taxpayer and the conditions that the council set, then we should proceed.  I’m disappointed obviously that it was a sole source, the public consultation was not great, we have to bring the community into the decision-making and that’s one of my strengths I think is working with the community and not pitting one group against the other. So,  I’m certainly not going to tear up any agreement that’s signed. Something has to be done with Lansdowne and I commend the four proponents for bringing forward an idea. [I}Wasn’t that happy with the process but let’s get on with it and make sure it’s a good deal for taxpayers.”

Jim Watson, Running for Mayor of Ottawa, http://ottawa.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100112/OTT_Watson_100112?hub=OttawaHome

Given that the Lansdowne financial deal is terrible for taxpayers, and that there is no signed deal to be torn up, we urge Mayor Watson to keep his word and demand a plan that meets the needs and finances of the taxpayer. We also call on him to bring the community into decision-making. We all agree that Lansdowne needs to be revitalized as soon as possible; the point of view of Friends of Lansdowne is that the development should be done right.