Mitchell 'bored' by role with Disney?

[DVCconvert]

MTA: Stadium estimate
flight of fancy



BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow criticized the Jets' financial assessment of the proposed site for the West Side stadium yesterday, saying he had issues with the team's creative math.
At issue is the Jets' insistence that the cost of constructing a platform atop the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's West Side yards should be deducted from the team's assessment of the site.

The Jets' assessment pegged the value of the air rights at $350 million, but then deducted $315 million for the cost of the platform - leaving the bottom-line figure at $35 million.

"The Jets are getting money from the city and the state to do the platform; therefore, I don't believe the MTA should have to give them a credit for it," Kalikow testified at a state Assembly hearing in lower Manhattan.

"It literally has been the point, the nut that we cannot crack. It has always been the problem in the negotiations," he said.

The MTA's appraisal identified the fair market value of the portion of the site that the Jets want to develop at roughly $300 million.

At yesterday's hearing, Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester), a potential attorney general candidate, grilled Kalikow about whether it was appropriate for the MTA to allow former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell to settle the impasse.

As the Daily News first reported this week, Kalikow and Jets President Jay Cross have agreed to let Mitchell arbitrate the dispute. For Mitchell to get the assignment, the MTA board must approve the plan.

Brodsky recommended that the site be condemned and that the fair market value be determined by the courts. State and MTA officials questioned yesterday whether that idea was legal.

Marissa Shorenstein, a spokeswoman for the Jets, defended the team's insistence that the Jets receive a credit for the platform.

"Like the MTA, the New York Jets are confident that through the process of arbitration led by Sen. George Mitchell we will establish the fair market value to be paid to the MTA," she said.

 

[Sarangel]

DVCConvert,
Are you sure you got the right article? This seems not to have anything to do with Disney... Except for the passing reference to G. Mitchell.

Sarangel

 

[Plus4206]

I think DVCc is implying that George must be bored with he's doing at Disney because he's possibly going to act as mediator for the MTA.

 

[DVCconvert]

Yes Sarangel,

George Mitchell (Current Chairman of the Board WDC) is accepting to mediate an issue between the Jets & the Transit Authority in NYC over the location of a future sports stadium.

This is being reported in today's press.

I can not help but to be amazed that Mr. Mitchell feels he has the time for such an endeavor and still (under the circumstances) devote sufficient time to perform his duties for Disney with due diligence.

 

[DancingBear]

Mitchell is not an employee of Disney, he's the Chairman of the Board. It's not supposed to be a full-time job. He has a very active life outside of Disney. From the Proxy Statement:

Senator Mitchell, 71, has served as Chairman of the Board of the Company since March 2004 and is Chairman of the law firm of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP and senior counsel to Preti, Flaherty, Beliveau & Pachios in Portland, Maine. He previously served as Chairman of the law firm of Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand in Washington, D.C., which merged with Piper Rudnick in October 2002. He served as a United States Senator from 1980 to 1995, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995. He is a director of Staples, Inc., an office supply company. He has also served as Chairman of the Peace Negotiations in Northern Ireland and the International Fact-Finding Committee on Violence in the Middle East.

 

[DVCconvert]

he's the Chairman of the Board. It's not supposed to be a full-time job. He has a very active life outside of Disney.

Agreed in theory it's not supposed to be full time, however, with as high of profile as he is, and given the difficulties that this iconic company has and is enduring, based on his creditials I would expect more of him. Of course, his long standing relationship with Ei$ner may be tinting his behavior(s).

 

[DancingBear]

Agreed in theory it's not supposed to be full time, however, with as high of profile as he is, and given the difficulties that this iconic company has and is enduring, based on his creditials I would expect more of him. Of course, his long standing relationship with Ei$ner may be tinting his behavior(s).

I actually think it's better to have a true outside director chairman (whether Mitchell is that is up for discussion). It's not Mitchell's job to run the company, that's management's job. It's the board's job to hire good management and monitor their performance. What exactly do you think Mitchell should be doing day-to-day?

 

[DVCconvert]

It's not Mitchell's job to run the company, that's management's job. It's the board's job to hire good management and monitor their performance. What exactly do you think Mitchell should be doing day-to-day?

Agreed (by and large) it's not the "job" of a COB to 'run the company', however, when you have a company in the turmoil that WDC has been/is in, I think that the COB's job elevates. In "normal" times, with "normal" companies, a COB should do exactly what you suggest. In this case, in my opinion, the COB and the BOD in general have an elevated responsiblity to the shareholders to lend guidence in krafting the future of the corporation.

As COB, Mitchell (in theory ) has incredible powers - if supported by the BOD. If he is ( as he chooses to protrait) to be an open minded and worldly leader, then he should devote more time than 'normal' as COB to the company than I believe he is.

 

[DancingBear]

What turmoil? They had a few bad years and a resulting shareholder revolt, which they responded to in fairly limited fashion and seem to have weathered. The CEO is leaving, but has given mucho lead time to find his replacement. There has been no massive turnover of lead executives. And they just finished a very profitable year.

The major item on the Board's plate is finding Eisner's replacement, but (1) they have hired outside consultants to assist with this process, and (2) Eisner's still around for a while. I still don't see why the demands of his COB position would preclude Mitchell from doing other things, such as mediating the Jets valuation dispute. Acting as mediator between two parties with a lot of high-priced legal talent working for them (and with the mediator having access to a lot of high-priced legal talent in his own shop) is not an incredibly time-consuming endeavor.

 

[DVCconvert]

The 'turmoil' is represented by the points you cite. The company is undergoing a period of major changes - possilby life-altering changes for a company such as this. I'm not saying that Mitchell should move a sleeper sofa into the basement of TDA. I am saying that in the present set of circumstances, as the chief representative of the shareholders, I believe he should be focused on what is on his plate now, and not taking on more extra- company junkets.