From today's Free Press:

City hall is planning to offer a steep discount to the Winnipeg Football Club for the fees charged for its charter bus service to events at the Investors Group Field stadium.

The discounted offer came after six months of negotiations when Blue Bombers team officials told the city they were not prepared to pay the full charter transit fees, which sources said cost the team $1.3 million in 2013.

Information provided to councillors at a private seminar earlier this week outlined the city’s offer to the Blue Bombers, which includes:

A discount of 42.3 per cent off of Winnipeg Transit’s charter rate in 2014, rising to 44.7 per cent in 2015.

The discount will cost the city $750,000 for 2014; and $950,000 in 2015.

The discount will only be offered if the province agrees to cover 50 per cent of the discount.

Wade Miller, football team president and CEO, said he spent the past six months negotiating the deal with city hall, adding the new rate is good for the team, its fans and the city.

Miller said he understood the deal will be presented to council at Wednesday meeting.

“We can’t sustain paying $1.1 million to $1.3 million (for transit services) every year,” Miller said. “So we negotiated an agreement with the City of Winnipeg.”

1. I'd pay $5 to run the bus, there and back.

2. The city should charge them the regular rate not the charter rate.

3. Sammy is playing politics looking out for his buddy or seemingly trying to do enough to get elected again (see his reversal on rapid transit).

4. The media should hammer Sammy on his crap.

 

I'm not a huge fan of Asper, but I have no problem with Brock Bulbuck.

Atomic are you sure about those term dates? I thought Aspers time on the BOD was up soon.

 

Term length is 3 years.  Members can serve only 2 consecutive terms, unless they are a chair, vice chair, or past chair.  Then they can serve 4 terms back-to-back (12 years).  It is unclear when Asper's term began but I believe 2012 is correct, making 2024 the last year he is eligible.

 

 

They can only serve the additional two terms if they remain Chair, Vice-Chair or Past Chair during that time. If they don't then the limit is two terms.

 

 

Sam's a slimebag but there are 2 slimebags running the Bombers too.  Sam Katz is on his way out, but the Bombers are stuck with David Asper and Brock Bulbuck until 2024.  Term limits don't mean a whole lot when they last 12 years... at which point I'm sure the bylaws will be re-written again so the terms can be extended.

 

Have you ever met Brock Bulbuck? I have and he's the farthest thing from a slimebag as you can get. He's brought in more positive changes to the BoD than any other chair (ie term limits, public nominations, etc). 

I don't see the big deal, pay a few bucks to ride the bus. I'm sure more restaurants will have shuttles and everything will work out.

Also isn't there an app you can use to fetch rides from normal people at cheaper rates then taxis?

Tin foil hats for everyone!!

I for the life of me cannot think of an offseason with so much going on at once! There is so much turmoil and drama around this team right now. All the highs and lows are making me go from happy and elated to wanting to put a bullet in my head (ok not that bad). We have a good offseason and get some good FAs. When have stadium issues with flooding. We have a good draft and get guys we wanted rather than "who is this guy?" We have all the CBA talk and going on strike. The club announces some new and exciting things this year. Now we have the bus drama. It feels like this offseason is the longest one in history! I just want all the negativity to end and this season to start already geeesh.

Would Mr. Moneybags (aka G Selinger) please report to the Bob Irving Media centre???? Mr. Moneybags!@!!

lol gbill2004 you're famous....

 

http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/05/27/bombers-take-to-offence-on-twitter

I don't see the big deal, pay a few bucks to ride the bus. I'm sure more restaurants will have shuttles and everything will work out.

Also isn't there an app you can use to fetch rides from normal people at cheaper rates then taxis?

There was a huge number of charger buses used last season and there was still traffic issues. Take away those charters and it could be a big problem.

But what's worse is the politics of this. Sam Katz behaviour is shameful and this city will be better off when he's gone

Is Katz that unpopular or just with a few of the posters here?

I think this city en mass is sick of Sam Katz.

I live in Calgary so I have no idea. I always thought he was a bit of a hustler.

Is Katz that unpopular or just with a few of the posters here?

 

I think the last opinion poll I saw had his approval rating hovering around 10% or something. So, well, yeah.

Is Katz that unpopular or just with a few of the posters here?

He basically treats taxpayer dollars as his own personal funding for his toys like vacation homes in Phoenix, his baseball team etc. Lots of scandals and criminal investigations with Katz. He's really lucky Rob Ford exists to take most of the national attention away from himself.

 

Is Katz that unpopular or just with a few of the posters here?

 

I think the last opinion poll I saw had his approval rating hovering around 10% or something. So, well, yeah.

 

I think its safe to say around 80% of Winnipeggers despise Sam Katz but if he entered another election less than half of those folks would vote to toss him out. Coffeetalk hatred seldom morphs into polling station authority. Lots of peeps still fear this piece of vermin.

Talk to the school divisions rent their busses for half the price of the city for game day, they are never used during that time.  Get drivers to volunteer and the schools can use the profits to buy sporting equipment for the gyms.

 

Everyone rides and the kids win.

Is there not an image problem with school busses?

 

Not just Bombers games, but are people going to pay a lot of money for events like Banjo Bowl, Grey Cup, NHL Hockey and then ride a school bus?

 

Bombers should get a street team together and have them handing out cards with Katz' contact info on it.  Have this team walking around and handing them out to everyone sitting in traffic on game day because of the lack of charter busses available.

 

As for Katz, he has always been a hustler.  I rented the ball park from in 2002 and like most people, I was a "fan" because he was a "local celebrity".  But my business dealings with him quickly showed what an arrogant prick he really was.  I could never understand the public's love of him, other than he was a celebrity.

 

I also have no idea why the media lets him get away with things.  Like it's a running joke at city hall that Sammy doesnt work Fridays because he's in Arizona.  I realise that Mayor does (or should) put in a lot of "extra" time and its not a 9-5 job but he's paid to be Mayor of Winnipeg, not Mayor of Winnipeg from Monday-Thurs and Mayor of Phoenix from Friday-Sunday.  He seems to have issues with women too.  I was quote appalled when he recently talked about having a son and how happy he was to have someone to take over the family business.  Sucks being his daughters I guess.

Katz had Bomber season tickets in our section last year.   He often left early and didn't show up to all games, but at least he supported the club.

 

Everyone pretty much left him alone, but I wonder if the same would be said this year.  Won't be able to find out or say anything to him as we've moved sections.

Talk to the school divisions rent their busses for half the price of the city for game day, they are never used during that time.  Get drivers to volunteer and the schools can use the profits to buy sporting equipment for the gyms.

 

Everyone rides and the kids win.

I think Miller's proposal for free-rides (a recurring bomber theme) will centre around what you've stated. The city can still provide regular routes to the stadium and charge their $2.55 fee (reg. adult busfare)..... at that point if the City suspects they're losing over a million in revenue they might come back to Miller with another proposal.

 

If Bombers are so concerned about getting their fans to the stadium for FREE why not have the fans pay to ride and give them a free soda (value $7, cost around 35 cents) at the game. Or a half-price game program? Or a $5 merchandise certificate at Bannon's shop? Something like that?

The root issue is this idea that public transport to the games should be free.  I can appreciate the Bombers' desire to provide this and their willingness to pay.  But what's the issue?  That if the rides cost money, fans wont take the bus and thus, we're back in the same situation of insurmountable traffic woes?

 

Is it not a transit mandate and by extension a mandate of the city to push public transport, especially when it comes to events of this magnitude?  It isnt just about providing a convenience to Bombers fans, its a legitimate issue for other Winnipeggers and a safety issue too.  If there are vastly reduced transit options which create massive traffic issues and someone dies because emergency services were unable to do their job in a timely fashion, what then?  What witty remark will Sammy make about that?

 

The way I understand it, the Bombers want to pay what everyone else pays.  So a round trip bus ride costs $5.XX.  The charter service the Bombers paid for made it about $10-$11 I believe.  They wanted a deal that pushed it back down to $5.XX.

 

Is that not revenue for Transit?  Under the terms of the deal the city offered the Bombers (which council rejected), was it a money loser for Transit?  Or did politics cost them additional revenue, cost their operators extra gigs, cost IGF users convenience, etc etc etc?

Does anyone have a list of each councillor, and how they voted on this issue?

Does anyone have a list of each councillor, and how they voted on this issue?

Don't think they voted. Katz's emergency replacement for the recently fired Phil Sheegl, Deepak Joshi told the bombers they could stuff it!

Back when he was first running for Mayor, I remember my grandmother telling me about how she knew people that knew him, and knew that he was involved in illegal activities. Lotta under-the-table stuff going on with him. I've never lived in Wpg, so I'm certainly not one to weigh-in on the merits of Sammy as Mayor, but I've always been leery...

 

 

I'm not a huge fan of Asper, but I have no problem with Brock Bulbuck.

Atomic are you sure about those term dates? I thought Aspers time on the BOD was up soon.

 

Term length is 3 years.  Members can serve only 2 consecutive terms, unless they are a chair, vice chair, or past chair.  Then they can serve 4 terms back-to-back (12 years).  It is unclear when Asper's term began but I believe 2012 is correct, making 2024 the last year he is eligible.

 

 

They can only serve the additional two terms if they remain Chair, Vice-Chair or Past Chair during that time. If they don't then the limit is two terms.

 

 

Sam's a slimebag but there are 2 slimebags running the Bombers too.  Sam Katz is on his way out, but the Bombers are stuck with David Asper and Brock Bulbuck until 2024.  Term limits don't mean a whole lot when they last 12 years... at which point I'm sure the bylaws will be re-written again so the terms can be extended.

 

Have you ever met Brock Bulbuck? I have and he's the farthest thing from a slimebag as you can get. He's brought in more positive changes to the BoD than any other chair (ie term limits, public nominations, etc). 

 

This is the internet.  Saying bad things about people you've never met is considered par for the course.  By some.

The issue here isn't one of "subsidy" but rather one of "surcharge"   The Bombers are willing to pay full regular price for transit on behalf on their customers.  If you take the bus to the Library, it's $5.10 return.   If you take the bus to work, it's $5.10 return.  If you take the bus to the university, it's $5.10 return.  If you take the bus to a Jet game, it's $5.10 return.  

 

I don't think that taking a bus to a Bomber game should cost more than $5.10 return, regardless of who is paying the bill.

Back when he was first running for Mayor, I remember my grandmother telling me about how she knew people that knew him, and knew that he was involved in illegal activities. Lotta under-the-table stuff going on with him. I've never lived in Wpg, so I'm certainly not one to weigh-in on the merits of Sammy as Mayor, but I've always been leery...

There was always something fishy about the Riverside Park arrangement.  Katz formed the company to act as a non-profit lease holder for Shaw Park and parking lots it leased from the city for $1, then in turn sublet to the Goldeyes, which Katz owned.  Money seemed to go back and forth between the two entities.  Riverside was supposed to pay property tax on the parking lots but mysteriously were left off for a few years.

 

Katz promised to put the Goldeyes in a blind trust when he ran for Mayor and then when he won he broke the promise saying essentially "oh well".