Looking at the inflation rate and my savings makes we wonder if I need at my advanced age to get into a small business to keep my income up with the price changes.
Plenty of small business opportunities exist, if I had the capital to start.
My early retirement years of collecting left me with a nice little inventory to start a collectibles/antique shop. With consignments from other collectors wanting to downsize, the business should be viable.
The city could use a decent new book store, albeit in competition with the mighty Amazon and other online retailers.
What banker in his craziest moment would lend an old guy like me the money to start a new business? None that I can think of.
As a last resort, I realized the precedent has been set for our city’s place in the banking business.
Spectra is the American-based event centre manager that has a long-term contract to manage the Events Centre, aka Mosaic Place. Spectra took over the concession but came to council cap in hand.
“We have no money to buy inventory for the concession,” pleaded Spectra.
Council fell for the Spectra bluff that concessions wouldn’t open unless it got the money. Had council had the intestinal fortitude to say “no,” Spectra would have found the money from its rather well-heeled parent companies.
Against their better judgment, councillors agreed to give Spectra a $100,000 loan to buy inventory for overpriced concession food.
Coun. Jamey Logan, himself a businessman and owner of a catering business, expressed opposition yet caved in to the request.
Council's judgment skills are sketchy, considering council gave Spectra a management contract where Moose Jaw taxpayers get the losses on the Events Centre while Spectra walks away with a profit.
Doubling down, council may forgive the loan, meekly accepting a comment from management that the loan won’t be repaid.
City managers framed it as requiring less subsidy if the $100,000 isn’t repaid.
Not that Spectra is an impoverished company without funds. The Oakview Group which owns Spectra has around 600 employees worldwide with an estimated annual revenues of $160 million US.
At Dec. 31, 2020, before it was acquired by Oakview, Spectra filed an annual report showing $32 million US assets with $14 million US cash on hand and $14.8 million US revenues. Our city council was conned.
Given that the city, according to council action, has money to lend an international player and can forgive the loan, it’s no stretch to believe the city is in the banking business.
A high and low search of the City of Moose Jaw’s website revealed no place to fill out a loan application.
Apparently, any application for a loan must be made directly to city council by letter.
Now I just need to develop a business plan for my application to city council. Council will probably forgive the loan.
Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net.
The views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Moose Jaw Today, the Moose Jaw Express, its management, or its subsidiaries.
