For the record, the five projects do not include the four-laning of Municipal Road 35, which I believe is an important and much-needed investment in our roads. People have been waiting 25 years for the widening of this road, and Coun. Evelyn Dutrisac has been a tireless champion for the project, which was finally approved by council last year.
The projects we need to take a closer look at are the new arena, conference centre, library, art gallery and, lastly, Place des arts, but this last one deserves a closer look for an entirely different reason.
I am a big supporter of making investments that make our city better. As a city, we need to grow and we need to invest. But we need to invest wisely.
I want to get these important projects done. But I want to get them done with a thorough understanding of what and how we're paying for them.
Clearly, the necessary groundwork hasn’t been done by the mayor. The five projects are estimated to cost a combined $300 million. But we have yet to see a business plan that outlines the costs and how they will be funded by the city.
The arena started at an estimated cost of $60 million – a figure that has since risen to $100 million. And now, we are hearing the costs may rise even more to pay for the infrastructure that is needed to service the site, such as road widening and water pipe enhancements.
What will be the final all-in costs? Will there be multiple pads and how much more will that cost? Will other community rinks have to close to offset the costs? How will the city fund the arena? Where will we borrow the money? How much interest will we have to pay? What will be the impact to the property taxes in the area where the arena goes? How about where it leaves? These questions are not just associated with The Kingsway site. Any location would bring some of these costs.
We need answers before we spend $100 million on a project.
These questions should not be afterthoughts. These costs, and the plan for how we fund them, need to be available to us.
The one project that should be held as an example of getting it right is Place des arts. Seven groups came together to make the project a reality. They worked with the city to lobby senior levels of government to fund the project. They presented a well-costed business plan including the economic impact. They fundraised in the community to match public funding. Several groups came together to share space and make something better than what they could have done alone.
This is community development at its best, when the necessary groundwork has been done and we know our tax dollars are being spent wisely.
Let’s make the other projects equally successful.
Patricia Mills
Sudbury