The bonanza is on.
The Town of Renfrew is in the business now of selling naming rights to anything that doesn’t move, and really, if you count the ice-resurfacer at Ma-Te-Way, things that do move as well. Just don’t get your eyes on that ice-resurfacer just yet, because I think somebody might have scooped you on that.
But fear not, perhaps in the future, rolling stock like snowplows and public works trucks may be up for sponsorship, along with park benches, various un-spoken-for rooms at Ma-Te-Way, perhaps even the waste receptacle at the Dog Park. For pennies on the dollar, you could adorn such a receptacle with the name, perhaps even the image, of your worst enemy.
But before you start coming up with a short-list of enemies, you’d do well to understand that these naming/sponsorship rights are to be awarded on a first-come-first serve basis, yet the Town attempts to cover itself by claiming it has the right to reject any applicant for any number of vaguely defined reasons.
Did a lawyer draw this up? Was one consulted? Is there a need for a better lawyer? Because I could drive an ice-resurfacer through the entirety of this section of the enabling document. Or maybe that was the point. And if that’s the case, who creates a public document that causes more problems than it avoids? Especially with respect to anything involving Ma-Te-Way. A read of the Third-Party Report by WSCS Consultants is recommended if you wish to gain some insight on that.
And while that document assigns blame, it also assigns some degree of after-the-fact complicity that lands squarely at the feet of this council, the current one, not that former one, the one that was asleep at the switch or too terrified to throw the switch at all.
I’m already on record as not being happy at the tear-down of the traditional Ma-Te-Way name to be replaced by the signage and branding of a local radio station. The same company that gets to slap its colours all over the place for a mere $13,000/year, which is probably less than many advertisers pay to run ads on that radio station. A company that can then possibly hammer us with free advertising on its own behalf. Some people would say this is simply good business. Savvy business. A company taking advantage of a sweetheart deal. A deal I can’t find any answers to just yet as the wagons appear to be circling. Perhaps somebody could better inform me?
Some people might call this something else entirely.
If you look at the most current documents, the deadline for sponsorship applications is November 15, 2024, which is interesting because the corporate name of that radio station, along with the branding of several other local companies and interests have adorned Ma-Te-Way for some time already. There’s that first-come-first-serve action in living colour. Plus, if you happen to be some late-to-the-party type of business, the Town reserves the right to reject your application, or any other application, for indeterminate reasons. So don’t pin your hat on that November 15, 2024 deadline. Somebody may have already beat you to the punch. And, remember, your application can be dismissed for being simply inconvenient to the facts on the ground.
Unless you’re willing to settle for a park bench. There’s some of those left. Perhaps a washroom at Ma-Te-Way. Maybe a pencil-sharpener in one of the conference rooms. You don’t have to despair completely.
By the way, what is this following statement in the EOI —expression of interest — document supposed to mean?
“The evaluation shall be based on professional integrity, respect for the rights of the applicant, the Town of Renfrew, and shall be sensitive to the beliefs and customs of local social and cultural beliefs. The evaluation shall not reflect personal or sectoral interests.”
Professional integrity? Beliefs and customs of local social and cultural beliefs?
So, can I ask, who is the arbiter of that? Who defines professional integrity? What local and social cultural beliefs are we talking about here? Can somebody please articulate for me what the local social and cultural beliefs of Renfrew might be, just so I know? Who makes that call? And on what authority?
Dare we assume that those folks already securing naming rights in advance of the closing deadline have met this standard themselves? And while I’m not here to doubt the veracity of any of these corporate or personal interests themselves, from a procedural/protocol point of view, who the hell decided that they met the criteria, especially when the criteria itself isn’t even properly defined?
And before I forget, there wasn’t even a basic RFP, or request for proposal, put out at any point of the process. A process that would have offered the necessary boxes to be checked. A process that would have been entirely consistent with the way things work in grown-up municipalities.
And no lawyer anywhere said anything about this? A grade 11 law class distracted by cellphones could pick this apart. Anyone with common sense could pick this apart. A total collapse or failure to abide by conventional procedure, ethical procedure, and just about any procedure other than sleazy procedure.
We have a Ma-Te-Way price tag that has ballooned by tens of millions of dollars, and there were reasons for that. Those reasons are for another day. But today is today.
And yet here we go again, with policies from a new council — or was it the former, again? — that bring the whole thing into possible, additional disrepute. Perhaps a little bit of information from on-high might fill that information vacuum a bit, and maybe put folks at ease. But no, they’re not going to do that.
The Town of Renfrew is a corporation. It derives its authority from the Province of Ontario. It’s required to run its affairs in a manner consistent with its founding charter, granted by the province. As such, it’s affairs and manner of conducting business are entirely reviewable by that very same provincial government, something that could lead to provincial audits, and if necessary, take-overs of local government by the province.
Requests for information have gone unanswered. Which, in a way, is an answer on its own. They’re either totally unprofessional or incompetent in responding to enquiries, or there’s a reason why they don’t respond, and aren’t comfortable with that reason being made public. Take your pick which you prefer.
If you pay property taxes in Renfrew, you’ve probably noticed your rates have increased, or soon will, and the 2025 municipal budget hasn’t even dropped yet. So there may well be additional tax-hits forthcoming. Tens of millions of dollars of cost overruns have to be made up somehow, and you’re the number one source, as most municipalities derive their most significant income from property taxes. And in this case, a 30-year debenture so far undisclosed in its details. So that’s you carrying the water for all of this.
I have problems with the whole naming thing generally, as you can probably tell. But this is a far more serious issue: It’s not just the existence of naming rights and the rationale behind them. It’s the process, or seemingly intentional lack of a strict process, that appears to be the much bigger problem.
There are loose threads all over the place, it seems. How could they not foresee somebody, or somebodies, coming along and pulling on them?
It’s not their money. It’s yours.
Transparency in local government? We’ll see. Then again, if they continue to have their way, maybe we won’t.
I guess nobody fully defined transparency.
If there is one redeeming feature in any of this, it’s that the current council has determined that the naming rights proffered before their own installation as council be limited to five-year terms instead of any that were governed by ten-year terms. They did, however, leave some breathing room for injustice to continue by allowing entities who took advantage of the town’s incompetence to possibly keep their names attached to important civic properties. Because, I guess, they had to hedge their bets against totally doing the right thing. Or they’re intimidated by small-town elites who like to think that they run the show. Because for awhile there, maybe they kinda were.
For me, any kind of advantage gleaned by anyone taking advantage of obvious mismanagement — overly generous statement there — be completely invalidated. The five year terms are acceptable as a compromise, given the money already spent in naming things after themselves. But to me, there’s no way these folks get their names plastered all over our “Jewel of the Valley” without going through an appropriate tendering process. And again, if it were me, I’d always have in the back of my mind how they couldn’t get in there fast enough to take advantage of some serious wrong-doing they’d have to be intentionally blind not to see as inappropriate themselves. But they don’t talk of these sorts of things in the self-serving “news” articles they write about themselves.
With all this said, the gold rush remains.
How much would it take for me to brand the hot dog rotisserie in the Ma-Te-Way lobby? And how did that construction company miss that opportunity? What about the individual weights in the fitness centre? The volleyballs in the gym? Why does Low Square have to remain Low Square? The Town Hall the Town Hall? How much for a photo on the side of a fire truck?
How much for the whole place? I mean if we’re going to think big here, what would it take to rename Renfrew itself? And even better, what if you didn’t have to be dead to get your name up there on that sign? Call me old-school, but in my experience, usually things get named for you because other people thought it would be a good idea, not you yourself. And in this day and age of statue tear-downs, are we really that desperate for a handful of coins to take chances like that?
If you ARE going to do this kind of thing, at least follow proper protocols. An RFP process would likely have netted the town a substantial amount more than the current sweetheart — cronyism appearing as per WSCS — deals currently on the books. Other municipalities have been successful at securing fair market value for their naming rights deals. So why not here? If it’s about the dollars, then squeeze some more dollars out, because every one counts, right?
Never mind the possibility of a five-year extension. What does the town get from that? Are we afraid of a freaking radio station? A cabinet maker? Clear the books after that five years and clear your operational conscience. Open the whole thing up to RFP’s, which is now just over four years as the calendar marches on.
Don’t slip free from the handcuffs, only to leave them dangling from one wrist.
EXCERPTS FROM WSCS THIRD PARTY REPORT
EXCERPT FROM THE EXISTING EOI DOCUMENT
NEWSMAGRENFREW 