Greater Sudbury mayoral candidate Dan Melanson said Ward 5 incumbent Robert Kirwan has been “misinterpreting” his position on the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED) project.
Kirwan has made a few recent statements about Melanson on his Valley East Facebook page.
“Dan Melanson is trying to say that he supports the KED, but what he writes does not confirm that support,” Kirwan wrote on the Facebook page Sept. 28.
“City Council has approved a plan that has been agreed to by the other partners to do the site preparation while waiting for the LPAT so that they are on schedule to build when the appeals are dealt with. To pull out of that now would result in the city being at risk of a major law suit from the other partners who have acted in good faith and would delay both the KED and the downtown developments.
“The City is a business. We have a business relationship with three other private partners. You can't just ignore the agreement because you disagree. The current City Council saw nothing wrong with the approach we approved and it must be allowed to continue. Mr. Melanson would try to stop spending until the LPAT is complete. Therefore, he is against the KED and he would support killing the project.”
In a news release, Melanson said since he first put his name into the mayoral race, he's always held the same position.
“I am in favour of all development in this city including KED however as a taxpayer myself, who would like to represent every taxpayer in this city, I do not believe the current mayor took the leadership necessary to ensure that our money is being spent wisely,” he said.
He said there's too many unanswered questions about the $100 million project. As of Sept. 28, according to the city’s website, KED expenses so far total $1,978,972, Melanson said.
The city’s share of these expenses is $1,207,350 (This does not include the $8.5 million site development tender that has yet to be awarded).
“We have not seen a signed partnership agreement with the developer nor have we seen a Letter of Intent from the Casino so who would be in a legal position to sue us?” Melanson asks.
He calls the current financing arrangement “irresponsible,” and questions why Mayor Brian Bigger — the former auditor general of Sudbury — would support it.
“My position has always been that this project would be best financed as a P3 or that the city should have agreed to guarantee the loan as the developer had first asked,” Melanson said.
The full text of Melanson's news release is below:
It was brought to my attention that Councillor Kirwan has been misinterpreting my position on a subject that concerns this city on his Valley East Facebook page.
While the Valley East Facebook page may be a valuable tool for Councillor Kirwan to connect with his constituents, I have to bring some clarity to my position.
First, if any citizen in this city has a question about my platform I have always encouraged people to call me at 705-521-3536.
Secondly, I am concerned that Councillor Kirwan is using the politics of division to encourage votes for his choice(s) of mayoral candidate(s). Since I first put my name into the mayoral race I have always held the same position on the Kingsway Entertainment District (KED).
I am in favour of all development in this city including KED however as a taxpayer myself, who would like to represent every taxpayer in this city, I do not believe the current mayor took the leadership necessary to ensure that our money is being spent wisely.
There are too many unanswered questions concerning this $100 million project. As of September 28th, according to the city’s website, KED expenses so far total $1,978,972. The city’s share of these expenses is $1,207,350 (This does not include the $8.5 million site development tender that has yet to be awarded).
Kirwan says in his Facebook post, “To pull out of that now would result in the city being at risk of a major law suit from the other partners…” We have not seen a signed partnership agreement with the developer nor have we seen a Letter of Intent from the Casino so who would be in a legal position to sue us?
Kirwan continues, “The current City Council saw nothing wrong with the approach we approved…” Unfortunately that says a lot about the leader of city council. I find it hard to believe that the former auditor general of Greater Sudbury, someone with ‘extensive’ experience in fiscal responsibly would support such an irresponsible financing arrangement.
Kirwan then ended with, “Mr. Melanson would try to stop spending until LPAT is complete. Therefore, he is against the KED and he would support killing the project.”
My position has always been that this project would be best financed as a P3 or that the city should have agreed to guarantee the loan as the developer had first asked.
I want to be absolutely sure that the city is doing the best thing for the people of Greater Sudbury in an open, transparent and accountable way.
Dan Melanson
[email protected]
705-521-3536
Learn more about Melanson's candidacy on his page on Sudbury.com's election section.
