Before meeting with mayor, Chipman wants written response

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This article was published 07/03/2015 (4152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mark Chipman has apparently set out conditions before he will sit down to talk with Brian Bowman in a bid to salvage True North Sports & Entertainment’s $400-million downtown project.

In a letter dated Feb. 12 to Bowman and members of executive policy committee, True North general counsel Dan Hursh indicates Chipman is willing to meet with Bowman. But before he does, he wants answers — in writing — to three questions surrounding Bowman’s negative portrayal of the option True North has on the 220 Carlton St. property.

“In an effort to ensure a productive discussion, True North Sports & Entertainment Limited respectfully requests a written response to each of the questions set out herein,” Hursh states in the letter, a copy of which was provided anonymously to the Free Press.

Chipman wants answers to the following:

— Why Bowman portrayed the deal between True North and the city’s downtown development agency CentreVenture as “poisonous,” “not cool,” and that it compromised the convention centre’s efforts to strike a settlement with the construction firm doing its expansion;

— Why Bowman repeatedly claims he doesn’t know the details of the option agreement between True North and CentreVenture when senior city staff were provided those details in emails and were instructed to share that information with Bowman and members of his EPC;

— And, why Bowman tied the transfer of $3.75 million to CentreVenture to the agency conducting a public expression of interest for the 220 Carlton property on which True North has an option, when the senior administration recommended a public expression of interest be conducted only if CentreVenture is unable to conclude a deal with True North.

A spokesman for True North declined to comment.

A spokesman for Bowman said he did respond to True North, but would not elaborate on what was said, and no meeting has been scheduled between Bowman and Chipman.

On Friday, Coun. Ross Eadie (Mynarski) said Bowman misled the public and council over what he knew about CentreVenture’s deal with True North, adding he believes the new mayor did not want to be seen as favouring a prominent businessman who had endorsed him in the election campaign.

“Bowman’s not backing off — he’s playing chicken” with Chipman, Eadie said. “Bowman needs to apologize and allow this (deal) to move through.”

Bowman’s office did say the mayor arranged a meeting between CentreVenture and the convention centre next week over the fate of the Carlton Street property to ensure its sale meets the needs of the convention centre.

The Carlton Street property is considered vital to the success of the convention centre expansion — a hotel has to be built there, physically connected to the convention centre, to ensure major conventions can be lured to the city. City hall needs the property taxes from a new hotel to recover a loan it made to the convention centre for its expansion.

Construction firm Stuart Olson was supposed to have secured a hotel operator, but when it couldn’t, arranged to pay a $3.75-million settlement to the convention centre, money that flowed back to city hall and was supposed to offset costs incurred by CentreVenture, which bought the property in a rescue bid to find a hotel operator.

Eadie is echoing comments made by other community leaders, including Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president Dave Angus — who also endorsed Bowman during the campaign — who have called on Bowman to apologize to Chipman.

Bowman has repeatedly defended his position to criticize the confidential deal between CentreVenture and True North, arguing the disposal of publicly owned property needs to be done in a public and transparent manner.

Bowman has backtracked slightly from his hard line opposing the True North deal, saying CentreVenture is free to complete the arrangement, but the agency won’t get the $3.75 million, funds needed to make up the difference between what CentreVenture paid for the Carlton property and what it expects to get in return in a sale to True North or any other developer.

Eadie said CentreVenture acted at the request of former mayor Sam Katz and former CAO Phil Sheegl, adding its officials did nothing wrong.

Eadie tried to get support among council to reverse itself on the condition to hold a public expression of interest but he said no one wanted to get involved. “Right now, nobody trusts anybody on this,” Eadie said of his fellow councillors. “They’re going to let the mayor f it up, if it’s going to get f ed up.”

Chipman’s True North, which also owns and operates the NHL Jets and the MTS Centre, was supposed to have reached an agreement with CentreVenture by Feb. 15 on a purchase price for the Carlton Street property and sign a development agreement. That deadline has now been pushed back to March 30.

Chipman has an ambitious plan for a massive public square and a series of three highrise towers, including a hotel, condominiums and offices in an area to the west of the MTS Centre — the Carlton Street property and the parking lot to east, currently owned by MPI.

True North is one of nine developers that put in a bid to construct the new headquarters for Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries, and it’s believed the Crown agency and a new hotel will be the main anchors for True North’s new development.

But Chipman put a pause on his plans at the beginning of February, after council insisted CentreVenture find out if any other developer is interested in the Carlton Street property.

Chipman held a news conference at the MTS Centre at the beginning of February, where he angrily called out Bowman, saying the mayor was aware of the True North proposal and denied he had done anything improper.

CentreVenture officials later released copies of emails that showed Bowman’s chief of staff and the acting CAO were briefed on the details of the agency’s option with True North.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca