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Council to vote on $3 million grant and $19 million loan for Westerner Park

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City Administration recommending stronger legal oversight and financial support for Westerner Park

A new agreement between Westerner Park and The City of Red Deer will be considered by City Council at a Special Meeting on April 22 with the goal to ensure financial and operating stability for Westerner Park by increasing involvement and legal and financial oversight on the part of The City.

The proposed agreement includes increased City involvement in the decision making process for Westerner Park’s future and financials. It also proposes financial support that responds to short-term operational needs as well as long term-financial sustainability. The proposed financial support comes with a price tag of $22 million.

“In 2019, Westerner Park notified us about their financial instability, and we have since been working with them to ensure they not only survive the economic downturn and global pandemic, but thrive when in-person events and entertainment can resume,” said City Manager Allan Seabrooke. “We are recommending financial support, and a Relationship Framework Agreement inclusive of an updated Master Plan and an Asset Management Plan.”

The first item being recommended is a $3 million cash investment in the form of a grant to ensure continued operations of Westerner Park through the pandemic. A $19 million capital loan is also recommended to enable Westerner Park to pay out an unsustainable loan they currently hold, related to the expansion of Exhibition Hall.

If approved, the proposed $3 million grant is not expected to impact property taxes as it would be funded through the operating reserve; however, the $19 million loan would be funded through debt, and with the proposed payback plan, there would need to be adjustments to The City’s overall capital plan to accommodate this funding.

At this time, without support from The City of Red Deer, Westerner Park cannot continue to operate based on current capital and operating projections.

“It is unfortunate that The City has to consider doing this, but ensuring the success of Westerner Park is mutually beneficial as it drives $150 million in economic activity annually when normal operations are possible. Westerner Park is an important part of the region’s economic recovery and long term community resiliency,” said Seabrooke. “We based our recommendations for financial support on seven years of data and we are confident Westerner Park will be able to pull through these tough times, pay back any loans received, and thrive.”

In addition to this funding, the recommended Relationship Framework Agreement aims to formalize the necessary level of oversight The City will require that is not covered in the previous agreements. The new framework will mean The City has a higher level of involvement in decision-making, budgeting, lease agreements and other major items relating to Westerner Park.

The proposed relationship agreement also outlines expectations on roles and processes for completing a Master Plan for Westerner Park. The plan is expected to establish the 15-year vision, land use concept, multi-modal transportation plan, building design principles and site-servicing concept.

“It is proposed that the first step outlined in the agreement is for Council to discuss and determine the essential elements for what needs to be included in the Master Plan,” said Seabrooke. “Once the plan has been developed, it will go for approval through resolution at an open Council meeting.”

An asset management plan will be developed to ensure all infrastructure on the grounds is maintained. This plan will provide a guide for capital investment to support the long term planning for the site.

Please see attached FAQ Backgrounder for more details. April 2021 – FAQ – WEA (pdf)

After 15 years as a TV reporter with Global and CBC and as news director of RDTV in Red Deer, Duane set out on his own 2008 as a visual storyteller. During this period, he became fascinated with a burgeoning online world and how it could better serve local communities. This fascination led to Todayville, launched in 2016.

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Automotive

Ford workers in Canada ratify agreement, set precedent for other automakers

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TORONTO — The union representing 5,600 workers at Ford Motor Co. facilities in Canada says workers have voted to accept a deal with the automaker.

Unifor and Ford reached a tentative agreement Tuesday after extending a strike deadline by 24 hours.

The union has said the three-year deal addresses all issues raised by members for this round of bargaining.

With the Ford deal ratified, Unifor can move on to trying to replicate that deal at the other big automakers, Stellantis and General Motors.

The union has said wages, pensions, job security and the transition to electric vehicles were key areas of focus for bargaining. 

Meanwhile, workers at GM and Stellantis plants in the U.S. have been participating in limited strikes, and on Friday expanded the work action to 38 locations in 20 states. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 24, 2023.
 

 

Union leader Lana Payne, national president of Unifor, issued a statement today saying the deal will mean tremendous gains for autoworkers. 

Payne says the deal will also set the pattern for future negotiations with General Motors and Stellantis. 

Unifor and Ford reached a tentative agreement last Tuesday night after extending a Monday strike deadline by 24 hours.

The deal covers more than 5,600 workers at Ford’s plants in Canada.

The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: 20230924120956-65106abdf696d3d4f45d28d9jpeg.jpg, Caption: Unifor national president Lana Payne attends a news conference in Toronto, Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2023. Unionized workers at Ford Motor Co. of Canada  have ratified a three-year agreement. Payne issued a
statement today saying the deal will mean tremendous gains for
autoworkers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin –>

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Business

Moneris confirms credit and debit card processing outage, but offers few details

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Toronto

The Canadian payment processing firm Moneris confirmed Saturday that credit and debit card transactions were interrupted by a network outage earlier in the day.

The Toronto-based technology company issued a statement saying there was nothing to suggest the outage was related to a cyber attack.

Complaints about outages started rolling in to the Downdetector.ca website before noon eastern time, but Moneris did not say when the outage started.

About three hours later, Moneris posted a message on X — the  social media site formerly known as Twitter — saying it had resolved the network problem.

It remains unclear how many businesses and transactions were affected, but data provided by Downdetector.ca indicated complaints had come in from across the country.

In a statement provided to The Canadian Press, the company said the outage lasted about 90 minutes.

“We have resolved the network outage and returned transaction processing to normal,” the statement said. “We continue to investigate the root cause of the issue. There are no indications this appears to be cyber-attack related and all transaction systems are functioning normally again.”

The company, a joint venture between  Royal Bank and BMO Bank of Montreal, said transaction processing could be slow as its systems catch up with the backlog.

Moneris says it supports more than 325,000 merchant locations across Canada.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2024.

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