Patricia Mills says city council is taking too many unnecessary risks when it comes to the Kingsway Entertainment District project.
And the risks are mounting, the mayoral candidate said.
First, Mills said, there are the “legal risks” if the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal (LPAT) rules against the city.
“Despite what some councillors have argued, the Planning Tribunal may rule against the Kingsway project in November,” Mills said this week.
Then, there are the financial risks.
“The city just agreed to spend over $8 million and they don’t even have a final agreement in place with the developer. It’s irresponsible.
“The city will have no power to negotiate after it spends $8 million on preparing a site they don’t even own. This can go south very quickly.”
That the final costs of the project aren’t known is also a concern for Mills.
“What if the final costs for the KED are more than we can afford? The citizens of Sudbury want this project, but we can't depend on wishful thinking,” she said. “This is a $100-million project, for which we will have to borrow, leaving current and future taxpayers to pay this debt in addition to the interest payments.
“We have to be smart about this and do all we can to protect taxpayers’ money. Taking unnecessary risks is not good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”
