City needs to stop giving financial support to the Exhibition
By Lethbridge Herald on December 1, 2023.
Editor:
It was mind-boggling to watch online the entire city council discussion pertaining to the Lethbridge Exhibition requesting funds from the city taxpayers again, on an emergency basis.
This latest ask follows the ask from March 17, 2023 for $4.6 million to complete the centre. As I watched the discussion and the variety of reasons that emergency funding was requested, I could not help but think of all of the local businesses that also faced similar challenges: COVID, rising inflation, increasing interest rate, rising operational costs, etc. etc. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all could ask for emergency funding, while not being able to answer completely all of the questions posed?
Councillor Schmidt-Rempel might have been the second most entertaining behind CEO Mike Warkentin who was at a loss for words and could not intelligently answer many questions including what the revenue forecasts were, what the break-even point was, or whether the contract was fixed fee.
Schmidt-Rempel, who claims to have experience with start-ups, should know that no funder should flow millions of dollars to an organization, led by a CEO who could not answer basic questions fundamental to a basic business plan.
Thankfully, councillor Parker picked up on this and desperately asked for Mr. Warkentin several times to provide some confidence to the shareholders (taxpayers). As a taxpayer struggling to pay bills and not being able to ask for emergency funding, a ray of hope in the midst of the insanity came when City administration made a presentation shedding light on the fact that the $6.752 million ask is really an ask totaling $33.1 million in known potential future requests.
Even with this knowledge, Schmidt-Rempel insisted council should provide the funding without even trying to get support from the province, translating to passing on the full burden to the taxpayers.
Some common sense needs to be infused into this insanity. I wholeheartedly agree with Parker that the “city is going to be hung out to dry.” And councillor Schmidt-Rempel, shame on you for being the lone vote against retaining an independent third party to evaluate and provide recommendations to help us with this boon-doggle!
In my opinion, council needs to investigate the entire Exhibition Board and senior leadership for mismanagement. Lethbridge taxpayers, it’s time to stop this stupidity.
JJ Ellerton
Calgary – former Lethbridge resident and business owner
12-11
Need to remember. Rempel at the next election, review the track history and get her de-elected.
The Ex is suffering under their own bull s—t. Read where one of the smaller salon rooms goes for $1031.00 plus table and chair rentals per day making it unaffordable for numerous groups who go elsewhere. Also rumoured a new private location for the farmers market may be in the works.
Couldn’t agree more Buckwheat. She’ll be back tracking on this one. She is very sensitive to her accountability as she wants to be Mrs. Lethbridge, the next mayor. Very scary. She is a professional politician now. Look out!
Amen! This money sinkhole has to stop. We hear for years how bad the exhibition was and how they need a new one. Well, you got your new one and have the nerve to cry poor. No, you can’t have any of this taxpayers money. Figure it out, we need that money for our citizens and their services not a non-profit organization who can’t budget.
Is it a money sinkhole or have these Reformers made certain there is no money to fund it properly while they continue to help the rich steal our oil and tax wealth? Don’t forget while Alaska was financing everything properly over the past five years every man, woman, and child has received $8,308.each, what did you get from these Reformers?
All the whining from people who find it smart to ignore what Danielle Smith is doing to us and what these Reformers have done to this Province since they made Liberal turned Reformer Ralph Klein their hero and now we have no money to look after things like this Exhibition that they likely enjoyed as children.You can bet when we were collecting proper royalties and taxes and it was being funded properly it was greatly enjoyed by all. Yet children today don’t get that same chance so where is the intelligence in that?