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Councillor: Kingsway battle hamstrings plans for art gallery, library

Fern Cormier's motion next week would have staff look at other downtown sites
cormier
Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, whose ward includes downtown Sudbury, is bringing a motion to the Feb. 19 finance meeting calling for staff to look at whether alternate sites for the project would be feasible.

As the battle over the Kingsway Entertainment District drags on and on, one city councillor is trying to make sure plans for a new art gallery and library don't become collateral damage.

Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, whose ward includes downtown Sudbury, is bringing a motion to the Feb. 19 finance meeting calling for staff to look at whether alternate sites for the project would be feasible.

The original plan was to build the $42 million art gallery/library and a $65 million convention centre on the Elgin Street land currently home to Sudbury Arena. But that was assuming the arena was moving to the Kingsway alongside a new casino and hotel. But with the legal fight underway, it's unclear when – or if – the arena will be available for the project.

Cormier says the uncertainty is harming efforts to attract funding from upper levels of government, as well as private-sector partners.

“The motion isn't saying abandon the arena site completely, but for staff to take a look and let us know if there's another option,” he said. 

With the sticker shock some in the community have related to the big projects, getting as much non-taxpayer funding support for the projects is key, Cormier said. Upper levels of government have funds to support building libraries and art galleries, and other communities have managed to attract significant private dollars for similar projects.

“But you can't do that until you're almost shovel-ready,” he said. “We can't be shovel-ready or anywhere near shovel-ready until we know the outcome of the location.”

And city council will have to make budget decisions regarding whether to keep spending money on the project -- and that's more of a risk when the location is up in the air.

The city has been buying property in the Shaughnessy Street area downtown, Cormier said, and his motion calls for staff to investigate whether that land would work for the art gallery/library.

His motion isn't abandoning the convention centre, he said, but there's no public funds available for those sorts of projects. 

“With respect to The Junction as a whole, the convention performance piece, I think, is not as advanced in the planning with respect to a private partner,” he said. “There was talk of a private hotel partner that was supposed to come to the table, and I'm just I'm not sure where that's at.”

Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini supports Cormier's motion. Vagnini said he always opposed tearing down the Elgin Street Barn. He favours repurposing the building in similar fashion as the old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

To him, tearing down the arena means destroying a city asset worth at least $40 million or more.

“I'm not in favour, in any way, of getting rid of the Barn,” Vagnini said.

He has said many times more needs to be done to fix roads in the city. Cormier's motion will allow staff to get a better idea of whether they can attract enough funding to make the project more affordable. With a federal election looming this year, it's a good chance for the city to see what support is available.

“I'm definitely not against the projects,” Vagnini said. “It's just I want to make sure the projects are at the right time or at the right funding level. So if there is another way of getting the money, be it from a federal grant or whatever the case may be, we need to know.”

For his part, Cormier said his motion is not aimed at supporting the anti-KED effort. The city made a new art gallery and library a priority long before the Kingsway project emerged, he said. But by deciding to locate them in the arena essentially holds them hostage to the uncertain hearing process at the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal.

“It will be the will of city council to decide on this ultimately,” he said. “And again, it'll be (dependent) on what staff comes back with, as well. If they come back with a report that says look, it's not advisable to do this and here's why, well, then that's fine.”

But if another site would work, it gives city council a chance to complete a project, since the KED could be tied up in legal challenges for years.

“We've blocked ourselves in such a way that we can't seriously move the project forward,” Cormier says. “So this is a potential opportunity – and I say potential because we won't know for sure -- but it's a potential opportunity to look at seriously moving it forward.”

Cormier's motion calls for a report back to council no later than June 25. 


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Darren MacDonald

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