To the editor:
January has passed and everyone is asking - who is the hotelier that will build at the waterfront? We need the hotel so the twin condominium project can proceed.
We need the condominiums so that we can enjoy their economic spinoffs. Without tax revenue from the hotel and condominiums, nothing stands between the taxpayer and their portion of the $60-million waterfront bill.
The longer the hotel and condominiums are delayed, the more taxpayers are exposed. Consider it a direct transfer from our pocketbooks to the developer’s bank account.
There has been some stirring at city hall though. It looks like we have to tighten our belts. Golf courses have to go. The conservatory is on the chopping block. Other cuts are to be proposed, but for now the city manager is not the kind that tells. Don’t look to city council.
Like stern parents, they wave their fingers at us.
We haven’t been using the conservatory enough. We haven’t been playing fair with private enterprise. And we have to grow up - the conservatory is too old and has to be put down.
We are cautioned against sentimentality. Local media have been fair to the waterfront project, but there is an elephant in the room. Years on, the private component has not found funding, even after eliminating so called destination features.
Painful budget trade offs are now necessary. Our community’s riches (the ones we get sentimental about) are about to be strip-mined and there is nothing to do about it. Lets hope the province and feds don’t claw back their waterfront funding because private involvement failed to materialize. Blindsided councilors stood defiant against a basic wisdom - you can’t have your cake and eat it too.
Ironically, we may end up with neither.
William Olesky,
Thunder Bay
