City council has stopped the momentum of the proposed indoor turf facility but it has not necessarily stopped the project.
The nearly three hour debate Monday night ended with a 7-5 vote to oppose awarding the tender process to the Tom Jones Corporation at a bid price of $37,394,000.
City Clerk Krista Power, in an email to Acadia Broadcasting, indicates that should the decision be ratified, administration would be required to wait until an appropriate time to bring forward a plan for moving forward with the multi-use indoor sports facility.
The clerk noted the decision to proceed with the facility has already been ratified by council.
The funding from the city for the facility was originally pegged between $30 million to $40 million, but council heard Monday night that that the number had ballooned to $46 million dollars, which includes $8.8 million in interest payments on a $16.6 million dollar debenture.
“I really don’t believe this is the time to award a contract upwards of $50 million,” Councillor Mark Bentz stated. “Yes it is a good project but I can’t support it when citizens are hurting and there are some who aren’t working. To put this additional pressure and this anxiety upon them of moving forward with a project of this magnitude right now I think is not in the best interests of our citizens.”
Mayor Bill Mauro stressed the project’s cost is over 25 years.
“Councillor Bentz raised the total cost of the project earlier, which I feel is fair and accurate to do,” Mauro said “However what doesn’t usually get said when we talk about the number and include the interest expense is that’s over 25 years! Why don’t we say that?”
The mayor also referenced an earlier discussion between treasurer Linda Evans and At Large Councillor Aldo Ruberto in which the cost to taxpayers was revealed.
“Councillor Ruberto asked the question about the tax implication for the project with the increased debenture. I believe Linda Evans said it was $22 for the media household, which is about $240,000. However that won’t be felt by the taxpayers until 2023.”
Breaking Down the Funding Further
- Approximately $8.8 million in interest payments on a $16.6 million dollar debenture
- Just over $15 million from a dedicated reserve fund
- $1.6 million in MAT tax revenues
- $3.3 million from the Renew Thunder Bay Reserve Fund
- $300,000 from FedNor
Councillors Ch’ng, Foulds, Fraser, Ruberto and Mayor Mauro all voted in favour of the motion with Councillors Aiello, Bentz, Hamilton, Johnson, McKinnon, Oliver and You casting a ‘no’ vote.
The decision on the facility is expected to be ratified on Monday March 22nd.
The search for an indoor turf facility was spurred on following the collapse of the Sportsdome on the CLE Grounds in a November 2016 snowstorm.
It threw the soccer community into chaos since both men’s and women’s clubs were forced to cancel their seasons because there was no place to play.
Below are some extended comments from council during the debate.
