144 replies to this topic

[spanky123]

^ I don't think that the Grumpy taxpayers support SIPP more or less than anyone else. Their point on Langford is valid however. They do not offer livestreaming of council meetings nor do they offer recordings and there is really no reason why they can't easily do so. 

[Mike K.]

John Trelevean personally encouraged Dallas G (who is from Sask) to take on the position at SIPP, no? I think I’ve got that right? That’s why I consider the two organizations closely knit.

[spanky123]

John Trelevean personally encouraged Dallas G (who is from Sask) to take on the position at SIPP, no? I think I’ve got that right? That’s why I consider the two organizations closely knit.

Dallas has been at SIPP for a while. No idea who encouraged him to join. I haven’t seen anything though to indicate they are aligned.

[Mike K.]

I've double checked, and yes, there is that connection between SIPP and Grumpy.

 

Maybe I'm reading too much into the duplicity of SIPP's comments regarding West Shore economic prosperity during the COVID era while the core is trying to figure out a way forward, and the Grumpy Taxpayers' (seemingly) sudden focus on Langford with charged wording insinuating Langford council is avoiding public oversight and media scrutiny by not live-streaming council sessions.

 

Would live-streaming be nice? For sure. Is Langford council hiding something or avoiding transparency? I don't think that's the case at all.

[GetLisaSomeHelps]

Would live-streaming be nice? For sure. Is Langford council hiding something or avoiding transparency? I don't think that's the case at all.

 

If you can't live-stream, at least post recorded meetings online. This is not expensive & passes the eye test of transparency. I doubt they are hiding/avoiding being transparent, but the optics could be improved.

 

Then again, I've never had a reason to view what went on at a Langford council meeting because they generally stay in their lane/don't draw attention to themselves with wild proposals.

[Mike K.]

And there are also minutes posted from the meetings. I don't feel particularly comfortable with the insinuation that a council, which happens to not want to play along with a heavily City of Victoria-backed economic organization, is acting nefariously because they have not implemented livestreaming during COVID, and the only organization raising this as an issue has a direct relationship with that economic organization.

[GetLisaSomeHelps]

And there are also minutes posted from the meetings. I don't feel particularly comfortable with the insinuation that a council, which happens to not want to play along with a heavily City of Victoria-backed economic organization, is acting nefariously because they have not implemented livestreaming during COVID, and the only organization raising this as an issue has a direct relationship with that economic organization.

 

Oh, totally. One thing I don't like about only having minutes to go off of is you miss out on the debate. That said, for Langford I don't mind that much because their meetings tend to be more administrative in nature than say, CoV.

[Mike K.]

Right, it's a very different flow to those meetings.

 

Anyhow, just my observations. We're in wacky times right now and I can see there are opportunities for tension among the old guard and the up-and-coming economic corridor.

[Victoria Watcher]

If you can't live-stream, at least post recorded meetings online. This is not expensive & passes the eye test of transparency. I doubt they are hiding/avoiding being transparent, but the optics could be improved.

 

Then again, I've never had a reason to view what went on at a Langford council meeting because they generally stay in their lane/don't draw attention to themselves with wild proposals.

 

this seems very reasonable.  and inexpensive.  

[spanky123]

And there are also minutes posted from the meetings. I don't feel particularly comfortable with the insinuation that a council, which happens to not want to play along with a heavily City of Victoria-backed economic organization, is acting nefariously because they have not implemented livestreaming during COVID, and the only organization raising this as an issue has a direct relationship with that economic organization.

 

I don't think that there is any nefarious being suggested. I often refer to recorded CoV meetings to see discussions on various topics and voting. You don't get the nuance from minutes.

[Mike K.]

But Grumpy specifically said Langford is engaging in a practice that “unfortunately allows a council to dodge or minimize public and media scrutiny.”

That’s a sizeable departure from something like 'the nuance of a decision is helpful to understanding the decisions made.’ The Grumpy position is more of an insinuation.

The media is free to scrutinize that council by joining the live call during meetings. There’s no need to see people’s faces, like a podcast format that’s all the rage these days and is heavily used by the media already, and ditto for the original wifi: radio.

[LJ]

But the city of Langford's meetings just talk about local infrastructure, building permits etc. Pretty dull watching.

 

Now if they continually brought up idiotic ideas that were completely out of their jurisdiction it might be worth watching.

[Mike K.]

SIPP gave a presentation to Sooke council yesterday.

 

They say economic outcomes may not be measurable for ten years. They invited Sooke council to attend their virtual AGM on September 30th.

 

They told Sooke council that Sooke is fast-growing, and they showed how Sooke is integrated into the regional economy. To illustrate that integration, they told Sooke council that much of their population works in other municipalities. One of the examples was Seaspan in Esquimalt, which today (a day after SIPP's presentation) announced a major West Shore facility in Colwood.

 

They then talked about an app they are developing, where consumers can "find out if a restaurant is doing a good job," with respect to COVID regulations.

 

In 2021 Sooke's financial commitment will be $16,664, in 2022 they would like to increase the 2020 and 2021 fees by 2.5%.

 

There was more to the presentation, but that's the gist.

[rjag]

 

 

In 2021 Sooke's financial commitment will be $16,664, in 2022 they would like to increase the 2020 and 2021 fees by 2.5%.

 

There was more to the presentation, but that's the gist.

 

Sounds like another waste of air. These groups need to show measurable results in exchange for funding. Typical politicians with good intentions being played by others who really have no clue.

 

I wonder how many of the funding partner muni's have invited their local Chambers to meet and share info?

[spanky123]

SIPP gave a presentation to Sooke council yesterday.

 

They say economic outcomes may not be measurable for ten years. They invited Sooke council to attend their virtual AGM on September 30th.

 

They told Sooke council that Sooke is fast-growing, and they showed how Sooke is integrated into the regional economy. To illustrate that integration, they told Sooke council that much of their population works in other municipalities. One of the examples was Seaspan in Esquimalt, which today (a day after SIPP's presentation) announced a major West Shore facility in Colwood.

 

They then talked about an app they are developing, where consumers can "find out if a restaurant is doing a good job," with respect to COVID regulations.

 

In 2021 Sooke's financial commitment will be $16,664, in 2022 they would like to increase the 2020 and 2021 fees by 2.5%.

 

There was more to the presentation, but that's the gist.

 

Did they point out to Sooke that they were a town on Vancouver Island and that their population was about 13K?

 

Why stop at determining whether a restaurant is doing a good job with covid, how about an app that helps people review the overall restaurant performance? Nobody has done that before and it would be so innovative. Probably only take them a few million to build.

[GetLisaSomeHelps]

SIPP gave a presentation to Sooke council yesterday.

 

They say economic outcomes may not be measurable for ten years. They invited Sooke council to attend their virtual AGM on September 30th.

 

They told Sooke council that Sooke is fast-growing, and they showed how Sooke is integrated into the regional economy. To illustrate that integration, they told Sooke council that much of their population works in other municipalities. One of the examples was Seaspan in Esquimalt, which today (a day after SIPP's presentation) announced a major West Shore facility in Colwood.

 

They then talked about an app they are developing, where consumers can "find out if a restaurant is doing a good job," with respect to COVID regulations.

 

In 2021 Sooke's financial commitment will be $16,664, in 2022 they would like to increase the 2020 and 2021 fees by 2.5%.

 

There was more to the presentation, but that's the gist.

 

Wowzers. SIPP is to the Victoria economic engine what Milton Waddams is to Initech.

[Mike K.]

I’m not sure what value Sooke is generating through their nearly $17,000 commitment. The presentation was not put together well, had outdated slides, and the reasoning for Sooke being a partner was dubious. Sooke knows many of its residents work in other municipalities. As they have for many generations. It’s always been a semi-rural community that is distinct from the rest of the West Shore. That alone does not substantiate Sooke paying this organization thousands of dollars, and it did not sound like they have a plan to generate economic activity directly in Sooke.

[spanky123]

I think a lot of this boils down to the perception that Sooke (and others) are doing something to advance economic growth in the region. Aside from great powerpoint presentations, a failed attempt to get $10M from the Feds to fund a ride sharing service for FN kids that missed their school bus, and trying to re-invent Yelp, I don't really know what the funders are getting for investment. 

[GetLisaSomeHelps]

I think a lot of this boils down to the perception that Sooke (and others) are doing something to advance economic growth in the region. Aside from great powerpoint presentations, a failed attempt to get $10M from the Feds to fund a ride sharing service for FN kids that missed their school bus, and trying to re-invent Yelp, I don't really know what the funders are getting for investment. 

 

I feel like Sooke council must've been thinking during that presentation: "What would you say...you do here?"

[rjag]

SIPP is a complete waste of money, Typical project dreamed up by local politicians and grifters in an effort to reinvent the wheel. It looks good on the CV but if KPI was considered it would be a dismal failure right along with the bike rentals and laneway carriage housing etc

 

I bet that not one of these councils have invited their local Chamber to make a presentation regarding Economic Development and growth potential. Likely because they'd get the truth as the Chambers arent funded by Govt but by members.