DBIA's Ambitious Spending Plan Before Council Tonight

Monday, July 05, 2010 04:00 AM

Prince George, B.C. – The Downtown Business Improvement Association has submitted its budget to City Council for approval, but there may be some interesting discussion this evening about the document.

When the initial budget was approved, Prince George City Council requested more details on the spending plan, but developed a bylaw to collect money for the DBIA’s projects based on the original budget. As you may recall, that bylaw was subject to a process which called for at least 50% of the property owners representing at least 50% of the assessed values in the C-1 zone of downtown to speak out against the bylaw in order to stop the City from collecting the funds.

The bylaw was approved as the opposition didn’t pass the threshold.

The budget before Council tonight, does not provide more details on the original spending plan, rather, it is a new spending plan as the DBIA is, as the saying goes, “under new management”.

The new plan, as shown below, proposes to quadruple the amount of rent it will pay. While there is a case to be made in favour of having the DBIA office within the C-1 zone, there is also a case to be made that it’s current location (in the IPG building) avoids any problem ( or perceived problem) that could arise should the selected rental space end up being in a building owned by a member of the DBIA Board of Directors. There is also $5 grand attached to moving the office.

There is also the matter of the DBIA expecting the City to hand over dollars for an event the DBIA has already held, namely the “Let’s Get Started” updates. The two day event brought in former Premier Mike Harcourt and paid the late Paul Zanette to have concept designs produced for various “blocks” in the downtown core.

And there is the proposed spending of $30 thousand dollars this year, a further $60 thousand in each of the next two years, to recruit retail and office users to the downtown. Marketing the downtown is already something being done by Initiatives Prince George (funded by municipal taxes) so are downtown property owners being taxed twice for the same thing? There is also the question of impact on local businesses. If the DBIA is interested in recruiting business ( they mention Chapters Bookstore) would Books and Company on Third Avenue, which pays into the DBIA, be actually contributing to bringing in a competitor?

The new plan also proposes to spend $20 thousand dollars to help the City land the 2015 winter games by holding a concert downtown in August.

The fact the new spending plan is not the one on which the bylaw (which established the DBIA for a three year term) was based, there is also a question about the validity of the bylaw itself.

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Posted on Monday, July 05, 2010 04:00 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: bohemian on July 5 2010 8:20 AM

Classic bait-and-switch.

Posted by: ravinggrannie on July 5 2010 8:41 AM

Once again we see that the DBIA does not have its act together. It is not focused on serving its willing and unwilling levy partners but rather it wants to become IPG. I want to become a fan of the DBIA but just when I think that they might do something they prove once again that there are villages looking for these board members.

Posted by: PrinceGeorge on July 5 2010 8:52 AM

Typical making of a bureaucratic empire! Soon another move to a bigger office building with more corridors and numbers of small offices...more staff, higher salaries, more requests for taxpayer funding...it never fails to follow this pattern.

"Marketing the downtown is already something being done by Initiatives Prince George (funded by municipal taxes) so are downtown property owners being taxed twice for the same thing?"

Let's hope that the two organizations don't start interfering with each other trying to justify their existence!

Posted by: bohemian on July 5 2010 8:59 AM

A significantly changed budget and operations plan should require a new bylaw, or at least passing a motion by the full membership at a special meeting.

This is simply not cool.

Posted by: interceptor on July 5 2010 9:09 AM

How did the wages and benefits go from over 100k to 38k?

Posted by: gus on July 5 2010 9:18 AM

I see the primary problem being one of structure. The DBIA is a Society run by a Board. The Board changed radically after the City agreed to have another go at raising taxes for the DBIA so that they can spend it to improve the area within thier mandate and to the restrictions as set by the Provincial Act that governs.

As far as I can tell, all the City should be doing is to ensure that the money is being spent for that purpose and within those paramaters. Any anything more and they are micro managing.

When Boardsthe change, they cannot change the legal conditions of laws or contracts the society is party to. However, they should have every right to change the way they are going to be doing business. Budegets are reflections of the way an organization wishes to operate.

The money is being raised from landowners within the DBIA boundaries. Those landlords voted on who should make up the Board. By doing that, they voted to have some new people have a go at improving the downtown. If they would have wanted the same old, same old, then they would have voted differently.

Now is not the time to quibble. It is time to get on with it!!!!

Posted by: gus on July 5 2010 9:28 AM

Marketing downtown should be EVERYONE'S business!!!! It is in that bad shape!!

There are different aspects to marketing a downtown. Yes, those responsible to do that should be working together to determine who does what and what parts are being done jointly.

Majestic markets the space it is contracted to market and manage. The City markets its properties. Other landlords market theirs. The occupants market their business. The DBIA markets the precinct they are receiving taxes from.

If they get together, I hope that one pushes the other and supports the others in a joint effort. They are in the unique position of being able to come to an agreement on the objectives, a unified plan to achieve those objectives, and a reponsibility matrix for which everyone will hold each other accountable to deliver.

If they don't, and they might not have in the past, then we, as citizens have little hope of ever getting a downtown to be proud of.

Posted by: gus on July 5 2010 10:19 AM

Sorry folks, one more thing. Well, maybe more than one by the time the day is out.

Downtown PG and the inability of this City to get it together to prevent the place from runnng down post Pine Centre is a subject I, and I suspect a few more people are passionate about.

Why? Because there is hardly a small to medium sized city in Canada and the USA that has not been through this before and often on more than one occasion. There are success stories out there. There is no reason we should not have been one of those success stories if we had had leadership that understood the problem and took actions to counter those.

So, for the time being, what is that one more thing?

The office of the DBIA should be a STOREFRONT office that displays its wares and has ready access to its occupants to passers by. Not only that, but it should be a prime example of how one improves an older building, such as has in part been done for the indoor farmers market.

In fact, perhaps it should be right there with the farmers market.

An office hidden on the second floor of the building on First, going up a steep narrow flight of stairs, simply does nto cut it. It sends the message that they do not want to be seen and they do not want to be accessible.

I want to be able to go into that office to see what is up with MY downtown (remember MyPG??) and I want others to be able to do the same!!!!

Posted by: Retired on July 5 2010 10:40 AM

Gus,I think that you should make a presentation to City Council one the ideas that you have just given us.
Cheers

Posted by: trueblue2 on July 5 2010 11:50 AM

Bottom line? Ego/Empire Building. These new board members see themselves as the saviours of our downtown. The DBIA is no longer about an association of passionate downtowners, it is more about middle-aged men donning capes like superheroes to do what no others have been able.

Second point - until city council and the mayor put their mouth where their money is and stop the sprawl (i.e. UNBC, CN Centre, Aquatic Centre, Superstore, Costco, etc etc etc) there will be little revival in downtown.

Third - if this is the way of the future, with the DBIA the major decision makers on downtown, then the budget of Initiatives Prince George should be reviewed and revised. The main mandate for that organization, when it was first formed, was to develop downtown. Hence the Harris Report, a report with recommendations on the revitilization of downtown, written and paid for maybe five years ago now?

The idea, however, of a store-front downtown association office is very attractive. Accessibility is important...something that was clearly overlooked when Initiatives Prince George offices were located on the second floor of the old train station.

Posted by: He spoke on July 5 2010 12:11 PM

Gus, we may have differences on opinion from time to time, but I always enjoy reading your blog. It is always insightful. I always learn something, you are one of the few people on this site that has both oars in the water. Keep up the comments, and one day I would like to nominate you to council.

Posted by: He spoke on July 5 2010 12:17 PM

I hope the council takes the time to read this blog site.

I think the DBIA, is a society trying justify its existence. I think IPG does a good enough job. I think Dan MClaren and Dan Rogers have already made up their minds on what needs to be done, and the rest are just puppets.

The days of DBIA is toast. You had your chance, and you blew it. Stop the extra funding. lower taxes, not find ways to raise them.

Posted by: gus on July 5 2010 12:32 PM

"These new board members see themselves as the saviours of our downtown"

So have previous Board members. However, they failed, so time to move on to some new blood. Maybe they will fail as well. But, give them a chance.

Also, maybe WE failed the last Boards!!!! So let us NOT repeat that!!

But, it is not only the Board of the DBIA. Much more powerful is City Hall. So let us not give City Hall a free ride and allow them to point the fingers at the DBIA for one minute.

Let them dress up as spiderman. Who cares. As long as like spiderman, they get the job done.

Of course, I agree with the sprawl thing.

However, there are those things that belong in a downtown and those things that do not, because they will just as easily ruin a downtown as empty lots and derelict buildings will.

Things that do not belong in a downtown ...

1. Superstore = parking lots

2. Cosco = parking lots

3. CN Centre (look at Kelowna - a big empty parking lot!!!)

4. Aquatic Centre - we have one ... does squat for the downtown, same as the Library, lots of traffic.... in and out ... not stay downtown kind of users .. a dead building as far as encouraging other downtown activities..

5. UNBC ... will people quit it with the UNBC business. They need to have acreage to grow for the next 100+ years, including research parks and property of their own that they can lease out such as the UBC endowment lands to start ot fund some of their operations. Along the river would have been great!!!!!! but not downtown!!

6. The main mandate of IPG is to market the CITY, not just the downtown. In fact, without a strong regional economy, one of the main drivers of the city as a service centre is the regional economy.

Posted by: trueblue2 on July 5 2010 1:12 PM

Sorry, disagree. All of the above named would have done much to revive the downtown. As for the mandate of IPG, originally, prior to the city taking over, it was the Regional Economic Development Corporation. Then Initiatives PG....and when Gerry Offett was there, and Kinsley was mayor, he was charged to fix downtown. Check the Harris Report....check the headlines of the day. To have a DBIA and Initiatives Prince George (with Tourism PG located underneath their beautiful, discreetly placed offices, is redundant.