THUNDER BAY -- Thunder Bay's mayor thinks the city has gone too far to give up now on its proposed event centre and a majority of his colleagues agree.
On Monday Keith Hobbs put a motion forward that would extend a letter of intent with preferred partner Thunder Bay Live and get administration to look at other options for the proposed event centre.
A caveat in the motion states project, that calls for a combined arena and convention centre built at the current Water Street bus terminal, would stay the same. Options would include finding another anchor tenant, such as tthe Lakehead Thunderwolves hocke team, or finding other funding.
Hobbs said he doesn't want administration, which will come back with the report at the end of June after council voted 7-3 in favour of the motion, to start from scratch after spending nearly $4 million and enduring four years of work.
"I don’t want to start revisiting sites. We’ve already done that," Hobbs said. “I just don't want to look in the rear-view mirror. I want to move forward.”
"At some point we may have to say the project has to be shelved, but I don’t think now is the time.”
McIntyre Coun. Trevor Geiertuga said it couldn't hurt to have administration take a look and come back with options while at-large Coun. Iain Angus said while the federal government turned the city down for gas tax funding, it doesn't mean there aren't other options out there.
"Just because we got a letter that says no to some kind of funding doesn't mean we shouldn't give up the plan at this point in time,” he said.
Northwood Coun. Shelby Ch'ng voted in favour of Hobbs' motion despite last month voting against a controversial plan to use gas-tax funding. Ch'ng said she was concerned that the new motion didn't mention council's option to shelve the plan, but city manager Tim Commisso said that's always been an option. Commisso called Monday's decision a political one for councillors, rather than one that would bind them in some way.
"Council has that right anytime,” he said.
But for at-large Coun. Frank Pullia, the report should start looking at any number of options, including a separate convention centre. There still aren't any options to study impacts on existing business either.
"It's vague. It’s general," Pullia said.
"I don't even know what I'm voting on."
The convention centre's potential impact on existing businesses, the use federal gas-tax funding and a total lack of funding from senior levels of government, along with zero private funding commitments were all reasons Neebing Coun. Linda Rydholm gave for turning the motion down.
Rydholm also wants to see a plebiscite on the issue, something she's raised several times in the past.
A report will head back to council June 29.
