Trust me - would I lie to you?

I have just gone through a letter to the stallholders, written in 2005 by the Murdoch's, asking for help in securing their new lease with the council. I held it up in front of a mirror just to see if it read in reverse!
No wonder so many people feel betrayed. Just for fun, go through it with a red pen and circle the BS.

5th Dec 2005

Dear Stallholder,

FUTURE of FREMANTLE MARKETS

As many of you will be aware, we have put to the City of Fremantle a proposal whereby we fund a number of improvements to the Fremantle Market building (owned by the City of Fremantle) including:

Cooling the building (an urgent issue)
A new electricity system (an urgent issue) and
New signage on the exterior of the building.

We also have a number of other ideas to revitalise the Fremantle Markets business and to keep it West Australia’s premier tourist attraction which we would be keen to explore and implement.

It is not financially viable for us to fund the above improvements (and any other future necessary improvements) under the current head lease which has less than 5 years to run. Accordingly we have asked the City of Fremantle to enter into a new long term lease with us we believe will benefit the Fremantle Markets as a whole and Fremantle in general.

We consider the Fremantle Market business important to us, to stallholders and to Fremantle. Like many of you, we have spent 30 years working to make the business a success and would like to continue.

We believe our business model in trying to keep the Fremantle Markets a relatively low cost environment for small operators like you is the key to long term viability of the business. Integral to this business model is long term tenure (for all of us)

In short, the positives for the business plan being adopted by the City of Fremantle are:

Capital improvements being carried out as soon as possible;
Continuation under same operators who have an understanding of what makes the business a success and what is needed to continue its viability long term;
New management (John and Jamie Murdoch) but in the same family;
Certainty and continuity of stallholders;
Possibility of longer tenure (written into licence agreement) for stallholders if Murdoch company has longer tenure.

Negatives to be considered should the City of Fremantle not approve this Business Plan include:

No improvements will be made to the building in relation to cooling and new electricity supply.
License fees will be higher. Current operators (Murdoch Company) will be forced to view the business as a 5 year cash flow and must assume that at the end of the lease that another operator may be appointed by the City of Fremantle. We cannot guarantee that the market will not change completely with a new operator clearing out all stalls and only replacing them with stallholders willing to pay the highest price.
Your current goodwill you have built up over a number of years or goodwill you have purchased from a previous stall owner will diminish in value as each month goes by and, at the end of 5 years, could be worth nil given the uncertainty of what the markets will be and who will operate them and how they will operate them.
Your ability to sell your stall in the next 5 years will also diminish (along with its value) as who would buy a stall which could for all intents and purposes disappear in less than 5 years give Murdoch company cannot guarantee the Market will be here or who will run it and how in 5 years time.

If you believe the Business Plan should be adopted by the City of Fremantle, we strongly urge you as individuals or as a group to let the City of Fremantle know as soon as possible your support by writing or emailing (and marked as “Fremantle Markets Business Plan Submission”) and addressed to: …

We urge you to consider this letter carefully as the future of the Fremantle Markets as we know it today could be a thing of the past.

(Signed John and Jamie Murdoch)

http://sonyagreen.blogspot.com/

Fremantle to elect new mayor

Politically, the Fremantle Markets is a big issue. It played a big part in Adele Carles triumphant win in the election earlier this year and not only influenced Mayor Tagliaferri’s embarrassing loss but more importantly forced him into the limelight.

Under such close scrutiny he was forced to show who he really was and what he was really made of. The general consensus is evident by the result.

Now, with the upcoming election for a new mayor the pressure is on again. A few of the present councilors are vying for the job and a lot of soft shoe shuffling is going on. Obviously, aspirants would like to look like they are capable of fixing the market issues. Some have, up until now, shown no interest or indeed opposed intervention and opted for a wait until it goes away approach.

A few outsiders are running for position and might be worthy of consideration. Someone fresh; without Tagliaferri’s influence, personality bias or emotional baggage might be the better option. Michael Martin is looking good at the moment and I would be very interested to hear more of what he has to say.

So far all that has been offered are platitudes and vague definitions. No-one can even get clear about definitions such as;
Security of tenure
Low cost environment
Fair market rent

Let’s just lock in straight forward plans and then work out from there. Follow through, modify, disagree or deny them but stop all the smoke and mirrors and stop pretending to look into it. A real leader must have a strategy and put it into action. If it can’t be done or won’t be done then step up and say so.

A number of points keep being raised but never addressed; let’s start here:

An effective working group; council, management and stallholders working together until decisions are made and carried through. So far meetings appear to be casual chit-chats, stallholders have been excluded, attendance seems optional and nothing constructive has ever happened. There must be quarterly meetings with everyone attending.

Tenancy agreements offer no real security of tenure. What has happened to the 5 year+5 year option? At the moment some stallholders can not sell businesses as FMPL will only offer prospective purchasers a 6 month trial. No one in their right mind would pay out tens of thousands of dollars for a stall with only a 6 month trial period.

Instead of paying out phenomenal fees to lawyers why not compensate businesses which are being forced out? Not only a cheaper and cleaner option but a fairer, faster and easier solution.

Offer and then support a transition period to allow people to modify, sell or reinvent their businesses.

Define what a market is. Much of the redevelopment plans sound like imitating Harrods or David Jones; then it’s a growers market and food emporium; next it’s an arts exhibition - what is it? Previously it has been a bazaar style shopping experience with an emphasis on value for money, eclectic and unique merchandise, vibrant and casual entertainment, artistic and handmade products, busking, exotic smells and heaps of personality and community spirit. It has always been, and successfully so, a leisurely weekend outing. Does the council or the community want to change the nature of the markets?

John Dowson not interested in being new Fremantle mayor

Media Statement

Why I am not running for Mayor of the City of Fremantle

I am not nominating as a mayoral candidate. For the past 4 years as Deputy Mayor I have worked very hard to represent the community interest in the face of mediocrity and vested interests.

The community, while tired of internal bickering, has not fully appreciated the necessity for the battles waged to get better decisions and a better future for Fremantle.

I believe that a fresh and mature face such as Michael Martin will unite the council. A vote for Brad Pettitt, who is backed by Peter Tagliaferri, and the very people who, for example, have given us the Fremantle Markets and SMRC Waste Management fiascos, would be a vote for a continuation of big business and factional interest over community interest.

It is obvious that political parties such as Labor and the Greens want to have a major influence in these council elections. For the mayoralty and in the wards, Fremantle needs to elect community candidates, not party ones.

Good luck to all candidates.
John Dowson
Deputy Mayor
City of Fremantle