West Vancouver Mayor Mark Sager is firing back after a critical letter penned by two former heads of the municipality criticized the current council’s decision to buy a waterfront building in Horseshoe Bay.
Earlier this month, former mayors Mary-Ann Booth and Mike Smith co-authored a letter to the editor for publication in the North Shore News.
The letter – which can be read in full below – stated that they had spent considerable time in office trying to correct the district’s “abysmal” track record of acquiring costly, aging assets.
Those include Klee Wyck, Ambleside Youth Centre and the former police station.
The former mayors likened the seemingly bargain $2.7 million price tag of the recently purchased Boathouse building to the tip of an iceberg. Below the surface lie the long-term costs of operating and maintaining the building, which they say far surpass its value.
Booth and Smith said the former Boathouse owners had difficulty finding a new restaurant operator for the space, and that the 8,800-square-foot facility would require significant upgrades.
The former mayors added that the arts community loudly disagreed with the decision to buy the Boathouse to house the art museum, and past studies all pointed to a permanent location in Ambleside as the preferred option.
Booth and Smith lobbed further criticism at Sager for not taking responsibility for the decision and having Coun. Linda Watt take public accountability instead.
Given the content of the letter and its authors, the North Shore News decided to reach out to Sager for comment, and give him an opportunity to reply to the accusations directly.
District already approached by prospective tenants, mayor says
In response, Sager said the appraised value of the property was more than twice what the district paid for it.
The former mayors’ statement that “taxpayers should be outraged at the precious tax dollars that have been squandered” is ridiculous, he said.
“We could sell this building tomorrow – rezone for a commercial tenant and it would sell very quickly,” Sager said.
He also disagreed that the building is in disrepair. “Westbank completely restored all of the exterior,” Sager said.
But he did acknowledge that the former owners had difficulty finding a tenant for the space.
“That’s true. It’s important to understand that the property, the Boathouse, was zoned for restaurant and restaurant only, and that put real limitations on prospective tenants,” Sager said. “The municipality doesn’t have that same restriction. We can allocate the space to whomever we want to lease it to.”
And the interior is usable, he added. Mercury Marine had been renting the space previously, and the district has been approached by three prospective tenants in the past week, Sager said.
Regarding the decision to house the museum in Horseshoe Bay, it’s important to emphasize that the art museum committee voted in favour of moving there, he continued.
“The problem was, their motion said they wanted the entire facility, and council just felt that was too much,” he said.
Instead, Sager imagines the building can be used by a number of different groups in the community.
“For example, we have one local business that needs to rent some space during the [proposed] hotel construction,” he said.
As for the former mayors’ suggestion that Coun. Watt was made to take a bullet, Sager said he’s not at all feeling defensive.
“I give her full credit for saying we should buy that building, and I agree, and so did council,” he said. “I believe it was unanimous.”
Overall, Sager said he welcomes feedback on the Boathouse purchase.
“I’m grateful for their comments, but I will just ask the community be patient and watch what magic will happen in that beautiful building,” he said.
Making deals without RFPs is improper, Booth says
After learning that council backpedalled on using the Boathouse for the art museum, Booth said she and Smith wrote the letter because they believe Sager’s pattern of decision making is bad for the community.
Making deals without consultation or putting out requests for proposal is improper practice for the municipality, Booth said.
“The improper part of it is that you don’t know if that’s the best deal,” she said.
“You may be benefiting someone that you know, but you’re potentially precluding the district, and by extension all the taxpayers, something that could be better,” Booth said.
Smith said council has a fiscal responsibility to residents.
“If you’re going to make a major capital purchase, if you have any business experience at all, you know you have to have a really sound business plan that justifies what you’re doing,” he said. “And in this case, they couldn’t have had one, because how could it change so quickly?”
Sager said it’s important to remember that he ran for re-election after serving as mayor from 1990 to 1996.
“I ran again and offered myself the public service to clean up what was clearly off the rails,” he said. “So some of their comments, I will just take with a grain of salt.”
The original letter
Below is the text of the original letter to the editor sent to the North Shore News.
Dear Editor:
During our years on council and as mayors, we spent considerable time trying to shed high-cost and under-performing assets because we recognized that these facilities are like icebergs: the purchase price of a building is like the portion of the iceberg you see above the water, but the long-term costs of operating and maintaining the building, which are below the water, far surpass that cost.
Before our councils created the asset levy to set aside enough funds to cover some of these future costs on our facilities, West Vancouver had an abysmal record of allocating even minimal resources towards maintenance. Klee Wyck, Ambleside Youth Centre, and the former police station, are all examples of assets allowed to deteriorate beyond repair.
Since completion of the Horseshoe Bay residential development, the owners of the Boathouse had difficulty finding a new restaurant operator for the space. And costs would be substantial to bring the 8,800-square-foot building up to today’s standards. The $2.7 million purchase also eliminated the annual commercial property taxes that they were being paid to the district.
When the arts community became aware of this plan (art doesn’t like windows or water) to make this site the new home of the West Vancouver Art Museum, it was pointed out to council that years of study and engagement had determined that any new arts facility should be purpose-built and centrally located in Ambleside.
Council has now decided that it will not put the art museum in the Boathouse after all, having just purchased the property for that purpose only a few months ago. While it was admirable of Coun. Linda Watt to take responsibility for the council decision, our mayor who had proudly trumpeted the original big announcement back in February, was silent on this disaster.
All taxpayers should be outraged that precious tax dollars have been squandered, given the many other pressing needs we have in a community with limited ways to raise revenue beyond residential property tax. Council has decided to spend $50,000 just to clean up the interior and exterior while they try and decide what to do with the space.
Residents will soon find out the future costs of this reckless decision … and how big this iceberg is below the surface.
Former mayors of West Vancouver,
Mary-Ann Booth and Michael Smith
[email protected]
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