City of Vancouver finds funds for Olympic host-city regalia

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      Vancouver taxpayers have been told that the park board can’t afford to operate the children’s petting zoo in Stanley Park and the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. The combined annual subsidy for the petting zoo and the conservatory is $410,000. However, the city has managed to set aside an even greater sum—$450,000—to pay for Olympic host-city uniforms and patches for thousands of municipal staff during the 2010 Games.

      On May 5, council approved the expenditure as part of the Host City Team Program. Staff who wear the uniforms will work at live performance venues in Yaletown and downtown, as well as in bylaw enforcement, according to the city’s director of Olympic and Paralympic operations, Paul Henderson. In a phone interview, he told the Straight that approximately 1,000 staff will receive uniforms, which include an outer shell, rain pants, two long-sleeved T-shirts, a tuque, and gloves. Each uniform costs approximately $350—which adds up to a $350,000 expenditure. Senior management, park commissioners, city councillors, and the mayor will be among those outfitted in these taxpayer-funded uniforms, which are being manufactured by Stormtech Performance Apparel.

      In addition, Henderson said, another 2,000 city workers who work in engineering, parks, and other departments will receive hard hats, safety vests, or coveralls festooned with Olympic branding. Those who already wear uniforms on the job—such as firefighters, police, and parking-enforcement staff—will have Olympic patches sewn onto their clothing. Henderson said that these “uniform elements” will cost an additional $100,000. “It brands our staff so that Games visitors can see that these are representatives of the city,” Henderson said.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Cancel?

      Dec 2, 2009 at 2:46pm

      Does anyone have any idea what the potential return on this Olympic investment may be?

      I have not heard any tangible evidence yet.

      Is it really too late to cancel?

      Rina LIddle

      Dec 2, 2009 at 3:03pm

      Send your video clips, taken by your cell phones or any other video device, of the Torch Relay to wearewatching2010@gmail.com to participate in my art project. Video clips will be projected in a large-scale video public art project in Vancouver during the games. Project details can be found at www.liddlethought.blogspot.com

      Thanks, and pass it on!

      Denis

      Dec 2, 2009 at 7:51pm

      Gregor and his council have fallen into place by spending hard to get cash for the big circus.

      mikey

      Dec 3, 2009 at 8:39am

      $350 for a rainsuit? What a deal!

      mike_sol

      Dec 3, 2009 at 11:45am

      Hate to be the sole voice of reason here, but I'm not bothered by this expenditure at all. These are staff members who are going to be working long hours outside - the least the city can do for them is provide them with decent gear.

      As well, it makes everything look a lot more professional if staff members are clearly identifiable.

      Maybe you think they should all be out there in whatever raincoat they own, looking like a rag-tag bunch of misfits. I personally think that if the point of the Olympics is to show off to the world, the least we can do is try to look good, eh?

      Sydney M

      Dec 3, 2009 at 2:20pm

      I don't understand how you could possibly call yourself the voice of reason and why you would not be bothered by the fact that our tax money is being used to pay for frivolous uniforms that city workers don't actually need.

      Mayor Robertson should feel ashamed that he's not doing everything he can do save the Bloedel Conservatory and is instead pimping out the VANOC agenda. If having city workers be branded with Olympic propaganda is so important then perhaps it should be VANOC putting up the money for it, instead of us.

      I can imagine that if the Olympics weren't coming in 2010 that the city wouldn't be concerned with getting "decent gear" for their employees. This is yet another example of what these Olympics are doing to our city and I for one am sick and tired of it.

      bobby324@yahoo.com

      Dec 3, 2009 at 4:27pm

      I agree with you mike_sol that (if we have to go ahead with this) we should put some money into making the city look good. But cool looking raincoats? Yeah, that's memorable... We'd be better off making ourselves look good by investing in things like petting zoo and the Bloedel Conservatory and Arts, into things that create a more lasting memory of the city. But I guess you'd like the visitors to go home thinking "loved Vancouver, loved their raincoats, can't wait to go back there and get a coat for myself someday"