The city should defer any work on the Kingsway Entertainment District until after the appeals process has concluded, mayoral candidate Dan Melanson said.
The Local Planning Appeals Tribunal said last week a case management conference on the appeals filed against the KED project would commence Nov. 6.
Sudbury.com also learned that despite the aspects of the project being disputed, some site preparation work can commence, even as the appeals process moves along.
Bids ranging from $8.5 million to $12.4 million were received by the city for site grading.
And while site grading can proceed despite the appeals, Melanson questions why the city would start work without knowing how the appeals would play out. If the LPAT rules against the project proponents, taxpayers could be out a big chunk of money.
“The question is this, since it is now certain that the LPAT will be holding hearings on the appeals, and since we now know that the site grading contract can proceed without the issuance of a permit, will the city wait to see what the LPAT findings and rulings will be before commencing the site grading contract? Or will council press on with the site grading contract and the expenditure of a minimum of $8.5 million?
“How does council propose to ensure that any tax dollars that are expended are not being wasted on a site-specific grading plan for a project that may or may not be approved by LPAT?”
Either way, Melanson said, it will fall to the next council to deal with the outcome of the LPAT ruling. Given that fact, he said city council should stop spending any tax dollars on the project until the hearings have concluded.
“It seems to me that the prudent course of action would be to defer the expenditure of any tax dollars until the LPAT hearings are completed, the findings are made public, and the next council is sworn in. This should apply to any development project subject to an LPAT hearing,” Melanson said. “To do otherwise would put taxpayers’ dollars at risk and saddle the next council with a potentially negative financial situation that they would have to take responsibility for, all in the name of expediency.”
In the news release, he concludes by asking Mayor Brian Bigger directly what he will do.
