Page Forty-Four  

15 DECEMBER 2005

This is painful.

26º | Hi 32º / Lo 28º |

"Bay Ferries' Don Cormier said his company agreed to pay bills ($2 million) after Rochester Ferry ran out of money because of a shared belief in the project."

Yeah, we'll see how long THIS arrangement lasts.  Any question NOW why this season was cut short?  Now the city of Rochester owes Bay Ferries a cool $2 million for helping finish out this season.  "Shared belief in the project"?  How about this: if it DIDN'T foot the bill, Bay Ferries would be in worse shape from the loss of cruise days from the time the reserve fund ran out until the end of the season?

This begs the question: Why didn't Bay Ferries cover 'the bills' until the end of the season originally scheduled for December 31?  True, the daily passenger numbers were laughable, but no more so than they have been since the end of September.  Could it be Bay Ferries said "$2 million is the most we'll cover"?

Mayor Johnson asks for $11.5M ferry loan   12/14/2005 6:00 PM (Rachel Barnhart and Ty Chandler, WROC-TV) Mayor William Johnson asked City Council to approve an $11.5 million loan to shore up the ferry operation in 2006. Without the cash infusion through the sale of bonds, the ferry would have to be sold. "We have no money to pay bills that will be due and payable in January and February," said Johnson. "Our view is that a good operating season will put this on sound footing and it will be self sustaining." If approved at next Tuesday's meeting, taxpayer debt for the ferry project would be $51.5 million. The $11.5 million loan would be used as follows: $2 million dollars would balance the books for 2005, $2.7 million would pay debt service in 2006, $400,000 to $500,000 would pay for the loan's transaction fees, and the rest would be used as working capital and cash reserves. "It is diligent. It's careful. It's not in any way extravagant," said Johnson. "It is really designed to ensure that taxpayers aren't on the hook," he asserted. City Council begins debating the measure Thursday night at a 7 p.m. Finance Committee meeting. The committee will recommend a vote and possible amendments. So far, only outgoing Councilman Brian Curran says he will vote no. "It strikes me as throwing good money after bad. I think it's time to start talking exit strategy." Mayor Johnson says he believes he has the votes to pass the measure. Some council members say their support will come with strings attached. "When we keep telling taxpayers it's going to be profitable or it's going to be self sustaining and we don't achieve that, we lose the trust of the community," said City Councilman Adam McFadden. He wants more frequent financial reports. Councilman Bill Pritchard told News 8 last week he wants more private representation on the ferry board. Along with the loan request, the city also released a summary of its 2006 operating plan and budget. It calls for a seven-month season, ticket surcharges that would bring in nearly $2 million, and an average of 482 passengers a trip. "I'm far from certain the ferry company can get adequate ridership at high enough ticket prices to make the ferry pay for itself," said financial analyst George Conboy of Brighton Securities, who has closely followed the project. "I'm at the point now where putting more money into this is probably not going to change the outcome," said Rochester Institute of Technology professor Bob Barbato. Other Cities not Deterred Despite the fact Rochester's venture has suffered big losses, three other Great Lakes cities are pursuing ferries of their own. According to the Globe and Mail,  Erie, Pennsylvania, Cleveland, and Grand River, Ohio are interested in buying their own cross-lake ferries to Canada. The cities hope the ferries will be economic boosts to their communities.                 No Public Hearing City Council is not required to hold a public hearing on the ferry loan, or any other borrowing. Citizens can speak out at the "speak to council" portion of next Tuesday's meeting. It runs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. However, council staff tells News 8 so many people are signed up to speak out on pending lead legislation that it's unlikely new sign-ups will get a chance to speak. Council has the option to extend the public hearing past 8 p.m. Council staff says the best way to give input is to call, write, or e-mail. For contact information, click on the link below. Related Link: http://www.cityofrochester.gov/index.cfm...

So it amounts to this: "The public be damned; we're gonna do as we want".  With the possible exception of City Councilor Brian Curran, the rest of the Rochester City Council appears to feel their personal opinions matter more than those of the public they serve.

Yes, SERVE.  Politicians are the lackeys of the public, not the other way around.  Political representatives are merely puppets of those who elected them and unless they vote according to the wishes of their constituency, they're walking the line of totalitarianism.

Fortunately, I'm privileged to be able to vote in Canadian Federal elections and have great hopes that the Right Honourable Paul Martin will achieve a majority government.  Any Canadian in Southern Ontario who can't see the effects of a roaring economy is either blind or in serious denial.

Liberal Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty may be keeping half an eye on the Toronto-Rochester ferry fiasco (although that's got to be a VERY low priority) and while his province may offer moral support to bolster the Rochester project, don't look for much financial support from Queen's Park.  Albany isn't going to bail the flop out; why should the province of Ontario donate to a Rochester venture if their own state isn't?

Oh.  What's the Canadian election got to do with the Rochester area?  Well, it's no secret the Liberals are less than... uhmmm... charitable to their southern neighbours than is the Conservative's Stephen Harper.   There's not likely to be any greater outpouring of sympathy for some U.S. city's bungling of a maritime link to a Canadian city should the Liberals retain control of the top job.

At this point, one can only hope.

16 DECEMBER 2005

Hey, I'm lucking out on these predictions:

Friday   December 16, 2005

Lender Rejected Ferry Credit Plan   by R News staff Published Dec 15, 2005 As Rochester city council considers approving bonding to fund fast ferry operations in 2006, R News has learned the ferry corporation was denied an extension of credit by the Australian lending group that financed the city's purchase of The Cat. The Rochester Ferry Corporation tried to negotiate a $10 million credit extension on the loan it has through EFIC that is used to purchase the ferry. Sources in city government told R News EFIC rejected the credit extension proposal. That led the ferry corporation to propose bonding more than $11.5 million. Analysts say EFIC denied more credit to the ferry corporation because of the ferry's poor business performance. They also told R News bonding is a less desirable form of revenue generation than borrowing the money through a line of credit. City council committees heard details on the bonding proposal Thursday. Ferry board president Ben Douglas said with the credit proposal shelved, the ferry corporation is prepared to support the bonding plan for 2006 ferry operations. "While the city of Rochester enjoys a good relationship with EFIC, the lender refused to lend the city money because it didn't want to operate as a bank for an already operational ferry," said Douglas, who added EFIC involves itself with start-up companies, which the ferry corporation was in 2005, not established companies, which EFIC considers the ferry corporation next year. "One of the challenges that we have as Rochesterians is that we tend to be overwhelmingly negative," city councilman-elect Dana Miller said. "There's almost nothing that happens in Rochester that doesn't happen without controversy. Whether it's Renaissance Square, Pae Tec Park, Frontier Field, High Falls or the fast ferry. I think we have to keep in mind if we're going to be a big city we have to think like a big city." (The trouble is, Dana, you're NOT a relatively 'big city' and never have been.) "The boat never had a full year of operation for us to really understand the potential for being very successful," city council president and ferry board member Lois Geis said. "We know a lot of people liked the experience. We know a lot of people used it." A full city council vote on bonding the money for 2006 ferry operations is scheduled for next Tuesday. Port of Rochester

From my 08 December entry:

"My guess?  EFIC would be wise to deny the credit increase and that's not being mean spirited in the least.  The dismal performance of and response to the ferry service clearly show a serious question of viability to the future of the project.  It looks more likely to fail than succeed and from a business lender's perspective, that ain't good."

From my 03 December entry:

"How's this scenario?

"One option is to go to the Australian government and ask for an extension of the city's $40 million line of credit."

Denied.  The Australian lenders are providing financing for the ship, not the project's operating expenses."

I have to admit, though, it wasn't a real challenge for anyone to know EFIC wasn't going to increase the credit limit for the above reasons plus the fact the increase proposal has been pretty quiet lately.  When the 'leaders' start mumbling under their breaths about a suggestion, it's a good sign the idea's being shuffled to the bottom of the pile.

"One of the challenges that we have as Rochesterians is that we tend to be overwhelmingly negative," city councilman-elect Dana Miller said. "... I think we have to keep in mind if we're going to be a big city we have to think like a big city."

The guy's a rookie, so I'll cut him some slack.  He'll soon learn the ropes and see where idealism and rose-coloured glasses have no place in the Real World where unrealistic expectations can only yield unrealistic results.

But Miller has unwittingly shown non-Rochester area residents from near and far that the local self-perception is one of "Hey, I'm a big kid now and I can play ball with the professional league".  Wrong.  A metropolitan area the size of Toronto dwarfs a community the size of Rochester and like most lop-sided relationships, a highly-successful and prominent business executive isn't going to stick with a lowkeyed, small-town lady of unremarkable distinction for very long.  Shallow and superficial?

Maybe, but that's the way things are and no amount of 'pretending' is going to change that.

Friday   December 16, 2005

City Council Thinks Over Ferry Loan   by Cristina Domingues photo by Jeff Hamson Published Dec 15, 2005 Some city council members have already made up their minds about whether or not they’ll approve Rochester Mayor Bill Johnson’s request to borrow $11.5 million for the fast ferry. At least one council member is still thinking about it. Rochester's Finance and Public Safety Committee voted Thursday night to move Mayor Johnson's request to a full council vote. Johnson says the money is needed to keep the vessel moving. City Council President Lois Geiss agrees the ferry needs this money to prove it can succeed. "We subsidized the War Memorial. We subsidized the Convention Center with the hotel/motel tax,” said Geiss. “There are certain amenities in the community that people say are important to bring tourists and economic development to the community. And we support those." City councilman Brian Curran has been against the ferry from the start. "The facts speak for themselves. It's a loser. It's been a loser from day one. And we've already bought this boat twice. It doesn't make sense to buy it again." City councilman Tim Mains says he has not made up his mind about how he'll vote next week. He still wants to know more about the loan process and he wants it all to be out in the open. "I want to see an end to the privacy. I want to see an end to the secret sessions,” said Mains. “I want us to be willing to run the public operation in the view of the public." Next year, three new city council members will begin to take up the ferry issue. At least one says keeping the boat afloat is the right thing to do. "If we're going to be a big city, we have to think like a big city,” said incoming councilman Dana Miller. We have to look for opportunities to do things better and look for opportunities that might take us out of our comfort zone and try to make them successful." Miller says as he steps in next year and in coming years, he'll be looking for more timely reports about the ferry's finances and its ridership data. Rochester City Council

"We subsidized the War Memorial. We subsidized the Convention Center with the hotel/motel tax,” said Geiss. “There are certain amenities in the community that people say are important to bring tourists and economic development to the community. And we support those."

 

(1)  It's very difficult to crate up community buildings such as the War Memorial and Convention Center, sell them and let the buyers back up with the tow hitch and haul them away.

(2)  There most definitely ARE "certain amenities in the community that people say are important to bring tourists and economic development to the community" and by anyone's definition, the ferry has not, is not and will not be one of those.

(3)  Members of the Rochester City Council may support those "certain amenities" but the people they work for, do not.  Since we're the ones in charge, what Lois Geiss personally thinks is irrelevant and immaterial.  She'll do as she's told or she can start clearing out her desk.  Let's not forget who's boss in this governmental game of "I said - They said"; Geiss, you're on notice.

"...incoming councilman Dana Miller (said) "We have to look for opportunities to do things better and look for opportunities that might take us out of our comfort zone and try to make them successful."

Marvelous attitude.  Yes, let's DO go out of our "comfort zone" and slam an already economically depressed area even further into debt with superfluous and ill-conceived projects which the consumers have already said they don't want or need.  What a concept!  Let's spin the wheel and see what initiative comes up regardless of its feasibility or practicality and call it shrewd 'economic development'.

The Peace Bridge from Buffalo to Fort Erie is bursting at its seams from the crush of traffic and a new span is in the works to accommodate the flow.  Instead, why doesn't the city of Buffalo set up a ferry across the Niagara River as is done for so many rivers within a 300-mile radius of here?  That way, passengers could arrive at the other side of the river 'in style' and skip the horrendously troublesome headache of driving across a bridge.

That's about the gist of what the Rochester City Council is promoting and it makes just as little sense.

Of course, that presumes locals are even familiar with the Peace Bridge.  My guess is out of the entire old and new city council, less than a handful of councillors have crossed the Peace Bridge more than twice in the past ten years.  Sticking close to home may have worked for John-Boy and the Waltons but in an age when it's never been easier or quicker to get from one place to another, it only makes sense that people would venture out of their 'comfort zone' and explore places more than 60 minutes away.

Something I'm certain Councilor Miller is quite familiar with, yes? 

Hey, Councilor Miller?  What business is on the northeast corner of Bloor and Yonge?   That's one of the most prominent intersections in all of Greater Toronto so I know you'll have no problem identifying it.  Dana, maybe Toronto is out of YOUR 'comfort zone' but to other locals who have a fair idea of what's going on in Toronto, it's not.

And the Toronto-Rochester ferry is definitely NOT 'going on'.  Take a clue when it's handed to you.

Oh yeah.  More from the Hopeless Optimist station:

Developing The Port With (Or Without) The Ferry   Mike Doria (Rochester, NY) 12/16/05 -- The winter-like weather doesn't exactly draw people to the lake and the recently announced shortened ferry season doesn't help, but a development firm is working on attracting visitors to the Port of Rochester in Charlotte, especially during the colder months. On Thursday, Sasaki Associates met with the area's residents with the goal to make the area the place to be year round. Ideas in development include a hotel, more shopping, and a greater variety of eating establishments. Next year, the fast ferry will stop operations in October, right before the weather turns cold. Varoujan Hagopian of Sasaki Associates, said that the ferry is just one piece of the puzzle, and that the company is looking at the overall picture. He'd like to see the operation succeed, but also points out that Charlotte survived all these years without it (What was it supposed to do?  Fill with water and sink in the lake?  What else would happen to it?) and will deal with whatever happens. "It's nice to have it, we'd like to see it continue, but if for one reason or another it disappears, downsizes, or doesn't run as often, we'll deal with," he said. While the ferry improved the cash flow in the area, business owners want more than just international visitors; they want locals. Marie Poinan of the Charlotte Business Association said, "We need to get some attractions here to bring people here in January and February, which is normally a slow season for the businesses…Everyone will prosper--once everything is in place."   Solid ideas aren't expected to take shape until February. Part of the reason the ferry won't run in the winter is likelihood of fewer tourists and visitors from Canada.  Ferry operators see better opportunity with making money off the ship in warmer climates during the colder months.

The illogic which is driving the local 'economic development' is staggering.  If it's a given that lakeside activities are -- and always have been -- largely a summertime phenomena (and the above article repeatedly says as much), then why would anyone be shocked when new businesses near the lake never really take off outside the warmer months?  These people ALREADY know the chances for success are weak, so what makes them think they can read the public's mind and change conventional wisdom?

Just let it go.  This isn't Lake Worth Florida we're dealing with here, where year-round waterside appeal is ripe for the development.

Why don't the majority of Finger Lakes cottage owners spend as much time at their summer homes in January as they do in July?  I know I'D see little difference, but I love winter weather and freely admit to being in the minority.  The immutable fact is: the vast majority of this region's residents stay away from the lakes unless they serve some purpose like being more comfortable to be next to in the heat.  Being next to Lake Ontario at this time of the year, unless well prepared, can be challenging.

Anything having any connection to the lake is at a serious disadvantage before Memorial Day and after Labour Day.  That's a fact, that's reality... and trying to buck reality is always an exercise in futility.

17 DECEMBER 2005

An ill wind that blows no good:

28º | Hi 33º / Lo 21º |

"Let's get excited about all the potential Rochester has as a waterfront destination to attract visitors from Canada instead of only looking at the "half-full" ferry."

 

NYS Attorney General Eliot Spitzer Endorses Bob Duffy New York State Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer came to Rochester on Wednesday, October 5th, to endorse Bob Duffy for Mayor. Spitzer said that he was looking forward to working with Bob to grow Rochester's economy, reduce crime and improve the City's schools. Duffy said that he had always been impressed with Spitzer's record fighting for working families, and was honored to have his support. (An ace in Bob's pocket?)

Uh, Kyra?  Speaking as a Canadian, I'm sorry to report that no amount of concocted themes celebrating Rochester's waterfront will have much of an impact on attracting Canadian visitors.  We have more miles of Lake Ontario shoreline than you Americans do and we've done a much better job of relating to the lake throughout the centuries.

"(Getting) excited about all the potential Rochester has as a waterfront destination" does little other than give local cheerleaders something to cheer about.  It solves nothing and accomplishes even less.

As a 'naysayer', I'm getting fed up with listening to gutless wonders prattling on about some idyllic dreamworld with all things bright and beautiful; if these mindless optimists can't deal with realism, they need to shut the hell up and sit down. 

It's beyond annoying and not at all helpful.  Dissention is the progenitor of democracy and these local ferry cheerleaders might want to cut back the Prozac  in order to deal with the realities of life.  Being oblivious to fact and in denial of truth is no way to go through life.

The National Film Board of Canada produces exceptional films and videos; one of them is Acts of Defiance which documents the Oka Crisis in 1990 between Mohawk Warriors and the Canadian Army, with on-site footage of bullets whizzing by the film crew.

Directed by Alanis Obomsawin, this film graphically shows the major ugliness which happens when open dialogue breaks down.  Produced in 1992, it's a story which needs to be remembered by all.  See it.  Believe it.  Learn from it.

Acts of defiance in the Rochester area are hard to find.  Due to complacency or a fear of straying too far from the straight and narrow 'acceptable' community norms or the pathological need for peer acceptance, most acts of defiance are effectively quashed.  Strangely, it doesn't take much for a movement to be labeled as 'radical' or 'reactionary'... which really frightens the bejeezus out of the locals.   In some of the suburbs, it's seen as a direct assault and threat to a way of life to the point of being terrifying --  when the main goal of an In-Yer-Face approach is not simply requesting, but demanding change.  Questioning authority just isn't done around here and outright peaceably challenging authority is practically deemed criminal.

If the local community leaders won't shut the ferry down, then maybe it's time for the people to do the job... it wouldn't be difficult; all it would take is a general boycott of the ferry.  Since the ferry operation is clawing and scratching for every last passenger it can get, calling for a boycott would seal the coffin for good.

Since local area residents are terrified of not fitting in with the local mainstream, if a people's movement (oh -- how carelessly 'socialist' of me; a 'grassroots movement') were to catch on which saw riding the ferry as a direct blow to the Rochester area taxpayers' pockets, possibly the numbers of passengers from the Rochester side would drop.  It wouldn't take much to drive the ferry out of business and save local taxpayers from incurring further gargantuan debt.

Acts of Defiance Lite, as it were.  No need for picketing or Disorderly Conduct charges and the bonus would be the saving of time, money and hassles for the ferry passengers who'd drive to Toronto instead of implicitly condoning a community-wide waste of money.

'Ferry: No'.  If the City Council can't say it, the people CAN...and WILL.  That's pretty much what they've been saying all along anyway.  The lack of sufficient passenger numbers prove that.

The D&C is going to do a saucy exposé in this Sunday's edition which should rally the anti-ferry sentiment (as the local daily has been trying to do) just in time to draw protesters to the Big Vote at City Council on Tuesday.  With community criticism of blithely tossing tens of millions of dollars in a doomed business growing by the day, now would be the time to make note of which City Council members voted for approving the continuation of the ferry business.

When the ferry drops anchor for the final time, there's damn well going to be some people held accountable for the loss and misuse of millions upon millions of dollars.

You hear that, Ben Douglas?  Lois Geiss, are you listening?  You WILL be held accountable when the ferry goes belly up and no creative use of excuses or spin will exonerate your foolishness.  Either do as you're told by your public bosses or suffer the consequences of your smug myopic vision.

Mayor-Elect Bob Duffy

Either way, it's far past time for Rochester area residents to take back THEIR government and let their elected officials know who their REAL bosses are.  For too long, individual community members have accepted being told what they will or won't do by the very people who receive both a mandate and order to do as THEY'RE told.  The individual has much more power and control than they've been lead to believe and it would be a relatively simple matter to collectively ignore the ferry and quickly end the red ink.

Again, if the City Council won't do it, the public will.  Like most managers, if the public has to do the job themselves, there's going to be a slew of people called on the carpet for a reaming they won't soon forget.

And that most certainly includes Mayor-Elect Bob Duffy.  Either he ends this debacle or he can expect to deal with the backlash for the entire tenure of his term.  He might not have started this mess, but he sure as hell better end it.

Excuses are unacceptable.  Results are all that matter.