Maven posted on I flub: FITX investor community,
I have only been able to sporadically follow today's dialogue on this board concerning the article released today in the Windsor Star and the content within that is apparently shaking investor confidence in FITX and its current construction project in Lakeshore. I have read the article, and I have some problems with it. I intend to address 1) a statement on the part of the reporter, Monica Wolfson, and 2) a specific statement attributed to a Mr. Steve Salmons, who is listed as the Director of Community and Development Services. My intention is to point out an error on the part of Ms. Wolfson's facts, and a seemingly significant inconsistency on the part of Mr. Salmons and his issue with FITX. For the record, as I previously stated, I have only been able to follow today's ihub dialogue sporadically, so if anything I cover in this post is old news, I sincerely apologize for wasting the reader's time. It is merely my desire to contribute in a positive manner to the dialogue for the benefit of all concerned.
Ms. Wolfson's article states that, "[a]t issue is the construction and zoning of a 53,000-square foot pole barn." Then the article goes on to state that:
[begin quote]
"It's the town's contention that the barn cannot be outfitted with electricity, water, sewer, a vault or even bathrooms under the property's current agriculture value added zoning. A barn is supposed to be for storage of farming equipment or farming product.
The 'value added' designation allows some flexibility for processing of agriculture product, except it's limited to a 6,000-square foot facility and no more than five employees, Salmons told council Tuesday.
Salmons said he sent the letter to CEN Biotech because the company was putting out press releases and reporting through media stories and in YouTube videos information that contradicted what company officials told the town in meetings before Christmas.
'There seems to be a lot going on that's inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility,' Salmons said. [end quote]
While I know that a link to this article has been posted on this board many times today, for the ease of the reader, and particularly newcomers to the dialogue, all may view the article here:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/04/08/lakes...operation/
Now then, my first issue is with Ms. Wolfson's statement that "...the company was putting out press releases... that contradicted what company officials told the town in meetings before Christmas."
At present, I will freely admit that I have no direct evidence to argue against Ms. Wolfson's statement, because I have not researched what CEN Biotech has told the town. However I will show that the town council has known about CEN Biotech's intentions at least since November of 2013. Please bear with me...
My second issue is with Mr. Salmons' statement that " here seems to be a lot going on that's inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility".
Admittedly, Mr. Salmons IS correct. There ARE a lot of things going on onsite that are VERY inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility. One has only to look at the photos made available by Mr. Chaaban, the CEO of CEN Biotech, and by various investor-friends and interested parties in Lakeshore who have graciously taken their time to post pictures of the build site (my thanks to them). The construction looks wonderful, the building will be HUGE, and progress is occurring at pace. It is painfully, nay, blatantly obvious that this will be no simple "6,000-square-foot facility".
HOWEVER, I have to question either the motives, or the professionalism of Ms. Wolfson, and the motives of Mr. Salmons, on the grounds of information that is readily available online from the Lakeshore Council Minutes, dated November 12, 2013. Specifically, beginning on page 31, in a statement addressed to "Mayor and Members of Council" from "Steve Salmons, Director".
In the statement, the first section, headed as "Background", briefly describes the Canadian Government's 2012 decision to change its laws regarding medical marijuana (or marihuana, for the sake of our Canadian brothers and sisters). The "Background" finishes with this statement:
"Lakeshore has been notified by CEN Biotech Inc that it has applied to [H]ealth Canada for a license in Lakeshore (as required by the new regulations)"
The next section in these minutes, entitled "Comments", gets straight to the point:
[begin quote]
"The proposed location is at Manning and North Rear Road (south of the OPP detachment at [M]anning and 401). It has the correct zoning.
The site is zoned "Agricultural Use- Value Added" that provides an accessory use for processing and refining agricultural product to a final retail product. The final retail product shall primarily consist of inputs produced on the farm.
The proponent has applied to construct a 58,000 s.q. steel barn to grow and process the plants. There is also a fencing application to secure the facility. In a meeting with the proponents, they explained that there would be a number of sophisticated security measures in addition to air filtration to remove vapors and odors.
The application is currently in progress." [end quote]
For the benefit of fellow investors and interested parties, please do not take my word for it. You can find the minutes here:
http://weblink8.lakeshore.ca/WebLink8/DocView...amp;dbid=1
Or, if this link doesn't work for you, then try this link to the Town of Lakeshore - Agendas,...
http://www.townoflakeshore.on.ca/lakeshore_1?page=62#minutes
and then click on "Council Minutes", then select the folder for 2013 Agendas, then select the folder for "November 12, 2013 - Regular Council Meeting", then go to page 31.
Or, if all of that doesn't work, go to this link:
http://www.townoflakeshore.on.ca/
and click on the "Search Bylaws & Council Agendas/Meeting" button on the quick links menu in the middle of the page, and proceed accordingly.
The point is that CEN Biotech made efforts to be both transparent AND forthcoming about their intentions in Lakeshore, as is obvious in the Council's record of minutes from November 12, 2013. Incorrect spacial facts aside ("53,000 s.f.," as opposed to the official "58,000 s.f" dimensions of the facility), for Ms. Wolfson to say that Mr. Chaaban and co. have been issuing press releases in a myriad of media outlets that are "contrary" to what they told the town, is really just trash talking. It may, in fact, not be false, because, again, I don't know what Mr. Chaaban and co. have said to THE TOWN. However, the town's LEADERSHIP has been FULLY aware of CEN's intentions regarding the size, location, and purpose of the facility under construction, for almost five months, as per their own Council's recorded minutes.
Furthermore, Mr. Salmon's statement from the Windsor Star article, as quoted previously, is actually directly contrary to the information that he, himself, supplied to the "Mayor and Council Members" regarding the size and purpose of CEN's facility, as per his own statement listed in the noted Council Minutes.
In conclusion, I have never met or had any communication with Mr. Chaaban, and therefore cannot speak to the quality of his character, nor of his true intentions regarding the facility under construction. AND as a shareholder in FITX, and being aware of the company's history, I am certainly concerned for FITX's success, and wary of the risks involved. Nonetheless... something funky is going on up in Lakeshore, and if Mr. Chaaban's statements or behavior are in the least bit questionable, then I would suggest that that goes double for a local reporter, and triple for a back-stabbing Director of Community and Development Services. Thus, I am more than willing to give Mr. Chaaban some breathing room to get on with the business of building the business. So far, regarding the facility, he has done what he has said he was going to do, and he has obviously taken the appropriate steps to make sure that the town officials, and by extension, the town, understand what CEN Biotech is doing in Lakeshore. I find it deplorable that a local reporter can't get facts straight, and that a local official is speaking out of two sides of his mouth and endangering what has amounted to months of work on the part of many,and millions of dollars spent, in pursuit of a perfectly legal and legitimate enterprise. The Lakeshore community and FITX's investor community all have so much to gain from the completion of this project, and Mr. Chaaban has evidently been working diligently to make it happen. The project is not too big to fail, but I would argue that, with so much at stake, particularly for Lakeshore, the project is too big to LET fail. God or the Fates, please save us from irresponsible reporters and fork-tongued officials.
I have only been able to sporadically follow today's dialogue on this board concerning the article released today in the Windsor Star and the content within that is apparently shaking investor confidence in FITX and its current construction project in Lakeshore. I have read the article, and I have some problems with it. I intend to address 1) a statement on the part of the reporter, Monica Wolfson, and 2) a specific statement attributed to a Mr. Steve Salmons, who is listed as the Director of Community and Development Services. My intention is to point out an error on the part of Ms. Wolfson's facts, and a seemingly significant inconsistency on the part of Mr. Salmons and his issue with FITX. For the record, as I previously stated, I have only been able to follow today's ihub dialogue sporadically, so if anything I cover in this post is old news, I sincerely apologize for wasting the reader's time. It is merely my desire to contribute in a positive manner to the dialogue for the benefit of all concerned.
Ms. Wolfson's article states that, "[a]t issue is the construction and zoning of a 53,000-square foot pole barn." Then the article goes on to state that:
[begin quote]
"It's the town's contention that the barn cannot be outfitted with electricity, water, sewer, a vault or even bathrooms under the property's current agriculture value added zoning. A barn is supposed to be for storage of farming equipment or farming product.
The 'value added' designation allows some flexibility for processing of agriculture product, except it's limited to a 6,000-square foot facility and no more than five employees, Salmons told council Tuesday.
Salmons said he sent the letter to CEN Biotech because the company was putting out press releases and reporting through media stories and in YouTube videos information that contradicted what company officials told the town in meetings before Christmas.
'There seems to be a lot going on that's inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility,' Salmons said. [end quote]
While I know that a link to this article has been posted on this board many times today, for the ease of the reader, and particularly newcomers to the dialogue, all may view the article here:
http://blogs.windsorstar.com/2014/04/08/lakes...operation/
Now then, my first issue is with Ms. Wolfson's statement that "...the company was putting out press releases... that contradicted what company officials told the town in meetings before Christmas."
At present, I will freely admit that I have no direct evidence to argue against Ms. Wolfson's statement, because I have not researched what CEN Biotech has told the town. However I will show that the town council has known about CEN Biotech's intentions at least since November of 2013. Please bear with me...
My second issue is with Mr. Salmons' statement that " here seems to be a lot going on that's inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility".
Admittedly, Mr. Salmons IS correct. There ARE a lot of things going on onsite that are VERY inconsistent with a 6,000-square-foot facility. One has only to look at the photos made available by Mr. Chaaban, the CEO of CEN Biotech, and by various investor-friends and interested parties in Lakeshore who have graciously taken their time to post pictures of the build site (my thanks to them). The construction looks wonderful, the building will be HUGE, and progress is occurring at pace. It is painfully, nay, blatantly obvious that this will be no simple "6,000-square-foot facility".
HOWEVER, I have to question either the motives, or the professionalism of Ms. Wolfson, and the motives of Mr. Salmons, on the grounds of information that is readily available online from the Lakeshore Council Minutes, dated November 12, 2013. Specifically, beginning on page 31, in a statement addressed to "Mayor and Members of Council" from "Steve Salmons, Director".
In the statement, the first section, headed as "Background", briefly describes the Canadian Government's 2012 decision to change its laws regarding medical marijuana (or marihuana, for the sake of our Canadian brothers and sisters). The "Background" finishes with this statement:
"Lakeshore has been notified by CEN Biotech Inc that it has applied to [H]ealth Canada for a license in Lakeshore (as required by the new regulations)"
The next section in these minutes, entitled "Comments", gets straight to the point:
[begin quote]
"The proposed location is at Manning and North Rear Road (south of the OPP detachment at [M]anning and 401). It has the correct zoning.
The site is zoned "Agricultural Use- Value Added" that provides an accessory use for processing and refining agricultural product to a final retail product. The final retail product shall primarily consist of inputs produced on the farm.
The proponent has applied to construct a 58,000 s.q. steel barn to grow and process the plants. There is also a fencing application to secure the facility. In a meeting with the proponents, they explained that there would be a number of sophisticated security measures in addition to air filtration to remove vapors and odors.
The application is currently in progress." [end quote]
For the benefit of fellow investors and interested parties, please do not take my word for it. You can find the minutes here:
http://weblink8.lakeshore.ca/WebLink8/DocView...amp;dbid=1
Or, if this link doesn't work for you, then try this link to the Town of Lakeshore - Agendas,...
http://www.townoflakeshore.on.ca/lakeshore_1?page=62#minutes
and then click on "Council Minutes", then select the folder for 2013 Agendas, then select the folder for "November 12, 2013 - Regular Council Meeting", then go to page 31.
Or, if all of that doesn't work, go to this link:
http://www.townoflakeshore.on.ca/
and click on the "Search Bylaws & Council Agendas/Meeting" button on the quick links menu in the middle of the page, and proceed accordingly.
The point is that CEN Biotech made efforts to be both transparent AND forthcoming about their intentions in Lakeshore, as is obvious in the Council's record of minutes from November 12, 2013. Incorrect spacial facts aside ("53,000 s.f.," as opposed to the official "58,000 s.f" dimensions of the facility), for Ms. Wolfson to say that Mr. Chaaban and co. have been issuing press releases in a myriad of media outlets that are "contrary" to what they told the town, is really just trash talking. It may, in fact, not be false, because, again, I don't know what Mr. Chaaban and co. have said to THE TOWN. However, the town's LEADERSHIP has been FULLY aware of CEN's intentions regarding the size, location, and purpose of the facility under construction, for almost five months, as per their own Council's recorded minutes.
Furthermore, Mr. Salmon's statement from the Windsor Star article, as quoted previously, is actually directly contrary to the information that he, himself, supplied to the "Mayor and Council Members" regarding the size and purpose of CEN's facility, as per his own statement listed in the noted Council Minutes.
In conclusion, I have never met or had any communication with Mr. Chaaban, and therefore cannot speak to the quality of his character, nor of his true intentions regarding the facility under construction. AND as a shareholder in FITX, and being aware of the company's history, I am certainly concerned for FITX's success, and wary of the risks involved. Nonetheless... something funky is going on up in Lakeshore, and if Mr. Chaaban's statements or behavior are in the least bit questionable, then I would suggest that that goes double for a local reporter, and triple for a back-stabbing Director of Community and Development Services. Thus, I am more than willing to give Mr. Chaaban some breathing room to get on with the business of building the business. So far, regarding the facility, he has done what he has said he was going to do, and he has obviously taken the appropriate steps to make sure that the town officials, and by extension, the town, understand what CEN Biotech is doing in Lakeshore. I find it deplorable that a local reporter can't get facts straight, and that a local official is speaking out of two sides of his mouth and endangering what has amounted to months of work on the part of many,and millions of dollars spent, in pursuit of a perfectly legal and legitimate enterprise. The Lakeshore community and FITX's investor community all have so much to gain from the completion of this project, and Mr. Chaaban has evidently been working diligently to make it happen. The project is not too big to fail, but I would argue that, with so much at stake, particularly for Lakeshore, the project is too big to LET fail. God or the Fates, please save us from irresponsible reporters and fork-tongued officials.
