THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s city council took what could prove to be an important next step in its search for a viable indoor turf facility on Monday, committing $170,000 to assess a proposal from Soccer Northwest Ontario.
At its Monday meeting — the last until the new year, when the 2023 budget will soon dominate the agenda — council also awarded a contract for upgrades to Fort William Stadium, questioned a recommendation to add a new position within city administration, and reversed an earlier decision to close a local skating pond.
Indoor turf contract approved
Council authorized up to $170,000 in spending to assess a proposal recently brought forward by Soccer Northwest Ontario to build an indoor turf facility adjacent to the Community Auditorium and Canada Games Complex.
The work, largely contracted to Stantec, will include an environmental assessment, geotechnical study, development of a floor plan, cost estimates, and a traffic study.
On Monday, councillors looked to ensure the city won’t be committed to all of that work if the environmental study, which will take place first, raises red flags over soil contamination.
Contract awarded for Fort William Stadium upgrades
Council awarded a $4.9 million contract for upgrades to the Fort William Stadium that include replacing the facility’s running track, synthetic turf, and scoreboard.
The contract, which came in at least 20 per cent above the city's estimates, was awarded to LTL Contracting, which submitted the sole bid – something Coun. Rajni Agarwal (At-Large) questioned during Monday’s meeting.
The city received just over $2.7 million in outside funding to support the project.
Need for new risk management position questioned
Council considered a recommendation from the city manager's office to add a new position, manager of enterprise risk, beginning in 2024.
The addition would cost the city an estimated $125,000 a year, but would support a more proactive approach to risk management that could also bring savings in areas including insurance, staff said.
Not all were convinced. Mayor Ken Boshcoff called the position's duties “something our managers should be doing on a daily basis,” signalling he would oppose the addition.
Council voted to refer the issue back to administration for more information, hoping for metrics on potential savings. A report is due back by July 2023.
Centennial Village skating pond spared
Council voted 8-3 to continue maintaining the Centennial Village skating pond, reversing a Dec. 5 decision to close it, along with the Vale Community Centre pond in Northwood.
Parks manager Cory Halvorsen said his staff are overstretched maintaining the city’s 39 outdoor skating rinks, suggesting the city cut some lesser-used rinks to focus on ice quality and other issues at more popular ones.
Many councillors were friendly to that rationale, with Mayor Ken Boshcoff saying closing the rink would be “by far the easiest decision” council would face as it approaches a 2023 budget staff have warned will be “extraordinarily difficult.”
However, after Coun. Greg Johnson (Neebing) brought forward concerns over the closure from neighbourhood residents, a majority were convinced it was worth sparing the pond from the chopping block for at least another year.
