Did Project Ojibwa get an extension?

The Elgin Military Museum had been hoping for an extension of the $1.9 million in federal grant money which was set to expire yesterday.  Not sure if they were granted an extension apparently the museum forwarded a letter of approval from the DND in principle to the feds in Ottawa.  If the museum does receive an extension it would provide a lifeline for their project.  Of course without an extension the project would certainly be in jeopardy.  Hopefully over the next few weeks the museum will release information as to the status of the extension, trying to find any information on the community adjustment fund website is near impossible.  I did send an e-mail requesting the status of the extension of course that went unanswered.  Government at its best.

Arrival of Ojibwa unlikely

It is highly unlikely the Ojibwa will be coming to Port Burwell this year if ever.  Dredging is not going to be started this year because it can only be done at certain times due to environmental restrictions for certain fish migrations.  The window for dredging closes at the end of September making it impossible to accommodate the Ojibwa in such a short period of time.  The Navy to my knowledge has not released the sub and the museum faces yet another deadline in terms of their CAF funding which expires the end of October.  The big question is whether the Navy will just send the Ojibwa for scrap this year or give the museum until 2012 to prepare for the arrival of the sub.  I figured this project was done months ago however the museum seems to have a knack for getting getting extensions.  The fact that the museum has to pay for dredging, faces the expiration of their federal funding and needs to raise funds for the on site building and facilities tells me the project is in peril.  In an article in the London Free Press the museum said that a worst case scenario was the Ojibwa would not come until 2012.  I think the worst case scenario is that the Ojibwa does not come at all which seems to be more likely as time goes on.  Should know the fate of the Ojibwa this fall when the navy has to decide if they will just scrap the sub or release it to the museum to keep in Hamilton until next spring.

HMS Olympus on a floating drydock en route to Port Maitland for scrap

Will the Ojibwa be sent to Port Maitland for scrap this fall?

The Olympus and Okanagan a being sent for scrap in Port Maitland this summer, they are being towed on a drydock for their journey from Halifax. The Olympus is currently en route while the Okanagan and the Ojibwa wait. I read on a message board that it was reported on the Halifax news that the Ojibwa will be coming this fall to either Port Burwell or Port Maitland for scrap if the museum plan falls through. I cannot confirm this as a certainty, however I do know it will be on the move somewhere.
Still no word on dredging progress in Port Burwell, not sure if the museum has raised the money for dredging or if oceans and fisheries have given any approval to dredge. Still very much up in the air and of course there is very little information to come out for some reason.

Project Ojibwa still in limbo

With the summer well under way there are still no concrete plans on moving the H.M.S.C. Ojibwa that I know of. Dredging still remains a challenge because of the costs involved and the approval from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has still not been received. A special meeting was held on Wednesday June 29, 2011 in the Council Chambers to discuss an RFP (request for proposal) for dredging of the harbour. Council concluded that the Municipality decline to make an RFP submission for the dredging project. This decision was due to "Concerns were raised regarding the extent of financial risks involved and the ability of the Municipality to meet the criteria." My interpretation is there is no point in doing an RFP if you do not have the money or the approvals to dredge. Bayham council has left the dredging costs up to the military museum to cover in exchange for the land where the sub would sit. Estimates for the dredging have been about $1.4 million which is a hefty sum for a museum that operates on a tiny budget. The museum has said they had approached various banks regarding financing for dredging. Of course I don't know of too many banks that are willing to lend money for a business with very little revenue and a business plan that myself and many others have not even seen. To think that a bank is going to lend this kind of money for a project with no guarantees is laughable.
I think Bayham did the right thing by placing the onus of dredging on the museum. They have basically gotten themselves out of saying no to the military museum by placing the sole financial responsibility on them for this project. The fact that they are not willing to do an RFP due to the financial risks and the lack of approvals tells me this project is not going to happen. Of course I have been wrong before, I did not think the museum would get this far and never expected the CAF funding to be extended. If you think my interpretation is wrong or have any comments on this please post something on this blog. Admittedly I do not know what is going on behind the scenes at Project Ojibwa and I am merely speculating at this point. However as I have said previously it is the lack of information that makes me into a skeptic and no one has been able to answer any tough questions regarding the project. Anyways thank you for reading my blog lets hope to get some conclusions for this project in the next few months.

Elgin Military Museum to pay for dredging

The Municipality of Bayham will donate the land for the Ojibwa to the Elgin Military Museum provided they pay for the dredging. This is a good news story for tax payers in Bayham because they will not be on the hook for dredging costs and it will put the onus on the museum to make this project work. I am happy with this arrangement because it makes the most sense especially for Bayham residents. I think the challenge now will be for the museum to come up with the cash for dredging as well as the building for the site.

Future of Project Ojibwa at a critical juncture

I have not posted in a while because I wanted to see how things played out regarding the Ojibwa. The federal funding for the sub was extended to the end of October which had taken the project off life support. The biggest issue that stands in the way of the sub now is the matter of dredging. There are only certain times that you can dredge and of course the municipality is trying to decide if they should purchase a dredge or contract out the dredging. The bottom line is that someone still needs to pay for this to take place.

Here are the numbers according council minutes from May 5th "A required dredging depth of 10’ wide for a full 60’ width has been confirmed. This amounts to over 60,000 cubic meters of dredging material being moved at a cost of $23 to $24 per cubic meter." This would be a cost of $1.4 million, this is money separate from the federal grant of $1.9 million that would just move the sub. The cost to purchase a dredge was around $650 - $700k, not sure if other expenses would be incurred or if that particular dredge could do the job of removing 60,000 cubic meters in a timely manner.

The big question is who will pay the $1.4 million? Is it fair that the tax payers of Bayham should take on this risk for a project that may or may not work? I have heard all along that this will be a great success, however how do we really know this is true. The museum should probably offer to help pay for some of this dredging if they want to see this through. It is my understanding they are in the process of raising money for this project, perhaps that can help pay for this. I think it would be a tough sell to ask Bayham taxpayer to bear the brunt of the cost for something that is still very uncertain.

There is a special meeting May 31st regarding the Ojibwa, I hope some of these questions can be answered. If the cost of dredging is $1.4 million that would be a cost of about $205 per resident (not per household) assuming there are about 7,000 people in Bayham. The Elgin Military Museum ought to do the right thing and put in some money for the dredging to be fair to the Bayham taxpayer.

Bayham council needs to make some difficult decisions regarding the Ojibwa

Before I get into my latest post I need to clarify a couple of things. People reading this blog probably think I am against Project Ojibwa, as I have stated before I am not against the project, I am critical because of the way it has been handled and the potential money being spent on something that may or may not be successful. I understand it takes money and risk in any business venture, however there at least needs to be a business plan which has not been brought forward, as well there needs to be a comparison with other similar projects. This brings me to my next point; everyone is assuming Port Burwell will get 100,000 visitors because of the H.M.C.S. Onondaga's success. Of course we don't really know how many visitors the Onondaga gets each year because they have not published the actual numbers; everyone just assumes it is successful.
I am not going to blame this on the Elgin Military Museum. At the start of this process they just wanted an armored personal carrier and the Navy offered them a sub. I can understand their dream of growing the museum and the project into a world class exhibit. I think the museum does a great job in promoting local military history. They have an important role to play by preserving our history and honouring those that have served. Saying this I think the project is a bit beyond their mandate and well beyond their means. The dream of having the H.M.C.S. Ojibwa as a museum has become a delusion of grandeur. The unfortunate reality is that they have simply run out of time and this is not the museum's fault. They were basically thrust into this process less than a year ago and have gotten a great deal accomplished. However without previous planning and fundraising, putting together a project of this magnitude is virtually impossible.
I think we have come to a point where Bayham Council and the museum need to sit down and discuss the realities of this project. I know that the process is still ongoing, however I remain unconvinced that the project is even possible considering the time constraints and money required to make this happen.
I read an interesting article from the St.Catharines Standard regarding an idea for getting a submarine museum. Council passed on the idea due to other circumstances; however it did lay out some of the difficulties for making such a project happen. Here is the article from the standard;

Submarine tourist attraction torpedoed by council
By MARLENE BERGSMA STANDARD STAFF
Posted 22 days ago


There will be no submarine tourist attraction in St. Catharines.

St. Andrew's Coun. Joe Kushner watched his idea for a marine monument sink on Monday night, as city staff said Kushner's idea would cost millions of dollars to implement with no guarantee of success.

"Although I am disappointed in not having a yellow submarine in the city, it would not make sense to make that kind of expenditure," Kushner said at Monday night's council meeting, as he officially torpedoed the idea.

A report from economic development director David Oakes said that based on a similar effort currently underway to locate a decommissioned navy submarine at the Elgin Military Museum near Port Burwell, it would cost about $2 milllion to move one here and another $2 million to prepare the vessel as a tourist attraction.

Those estimates do not include acquiring land to display the 90-metre, 13,000-tonne vessel, Oakes wrote.

The submarine would have to be dry-stored above the waterline, and, assuming it's parked at the St. Catharines Museum at Lock 3, it "would place a significant burden on the existing resources at the museum," he wrote.

A $2-million federal grant that is being used to move the HMCS Ojibwa to Port Burwell is not available to St. Catharines because the Community Adjustment Fund grant program has been cancelled, Oakes said.

There is no one who has come forward saying they want to sponsor or be involved in such an endeavour, and there is no information about how successful such a tourist attraction could be.

Kushner had asked for a staff report on his idea in September, citing the success of a similar submarine attraction in Rimouski, Que.

"Officially opened in June 2009, the HMCS Onandaga in Rimouski has yet to publish attendance figures," Oakes wrote. "Staff would not recommend pursuing this matter further."

Whats next for Project Ojibwa?

Project Ojibwa seems to be on hold for the time being, the seaway has closed for the winter, the Navy has not released the sub, and the $1.9 million is still on hold. So what comes next for this project? There are still some looming questions that will need to be addressed in the near future. The EMM will need to be a bit more open and inform Bayham Council and local residents as too the progress and feasibility of the project. It is very important that the museum hold a public meeting to answer residents questions and concerns regarding the Ojibwa project. Mayor Ens of Bayham stated last month that council be well informed as soon as possible about the project. The mayor also stressed that the business plan should come out as well.
It is almost the end of January and there is still very limited information available on Project Ojibwa. I think at this point Bayham council should give a deadline for the museum to present their business plan and hold a public meeting on the status of the sub. The public has a right to know what is going on because of the potential costs that may be associated with the project like dredging. Bayham has approached other municipalities about sharing the costs for a dredge which would cost around $600,000. This money is not part of the $1.9 million grant money and would most likely be covered by the tax payer. This is also why it is so important for the business plan to come out. Bayham needs to assess what their costs and responsibilities are going to be. If the museum does have a business plan why are they being so elusive about providing this information? I would ask the museum to be as upfront as possible because the residents of Bayham have the right to know what is going on.