THUNDER BAY -- The local chamber is asking the city to hold off on its plan to build an event centre.
In a media release the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce says while it supports the project, the city's new financial plan to use federal gas tax money to fund the project is raising concerns in the business community.
"Business owners also place great importance on ensuring the business plan makes financial sense and does not contain undue risk. The apparent lack of new federal funding support towards financing for the Event Centre project and the change from an equal three-way split between federal, provincial and municipal portions are big concerns,” the release states.
Gas tax funding should be used for the city's annual infrastructure gap, something that has seen yearly levy increases to pay for. There are also concerns about private sector contributions for capital.
"This appears to conflict with the Phase 3 Report business plan indicating that naming and sponsorship revenues are allocated to annual operating revenues and raises questions about the calculations used to determine the total annual cost to taxpayers," the chamber says.
City council will hold a special meeting Thursday.
