Although city council approved $8.6 million for waterfront development, most councillors did so reluctantly they say.
Mayor Keith Hobbs said he felt that councillors had a gun to their head when they voted in favour of a resolution that would give the first phase of construction at Marina Park an additional $8.6 million to complete the project . Councillors spent five rounds questioning project manager Katherine Dugmore and designer Calvin Brook about the $57.9 million project. Hobbs said he didn’t like the way the project was going.
" I think the voters have been deceived," Hobbs said.
But Dugmore said the money is not an increase but a reallocation of funding since the project has been approved for $67.3 million.
"There’s no requirement for more tax supported funds," Dugmore said.
Almost $1million of the $8.6 million will go to site remediation costs. AN environmental monitoring contract will be increased by $325,083. The largest increase is $3.7 million to Brook McIlroy for professional fees bringing the total consultant’s fees to date up to $7.9 million. Dugmore said working on a project like Prince Arthur’s Landing has required 28 consultants so far.
"There’s a really broad range of professional advice required," Dugmore said.
Coun. Mark Bentz, who also chair’s the waterfront development committee, said the increase seems to have come out of nowhere.
"To say that I’m disappointed about that is an understatement this late in the game," Bentz said. "We certainly are not happy about it nor is the community."
Bentz asked city manager Tim Commisso why council was told the project would stay on budget. Commisso said at the time, administration was being too optimistic.
"Quite frankly I don’t think we were realistic," said Commisso. "And I’ll apologize for that."
Dugmore said working to complete a project as complex as Prince Arthur’s landing has tapped every department in the city. With simultaneous construction overlapping, working through winter and surprises such as increased site remediation have all led to the increase.
"It’s hard to imagine everything that’s going on out there" Dugmore said. So "It is an extremely unusual and complex project."
Coun. Iain Angus said he supported the increase. He said scheduling issues and design changes have held the project up but waterfront development will be worth it in the end.
"I’m not doing it reluctantly this is a very fantastic project," said Angus.
Angus and other councillors were disappointed that because of the increase, only $1.1 million remains for Phase 2 which would see improvements to the marina. Dugmore said to date there is no funding in place from other levels of government for that part of the project.
Also Monday, council unanimously supported a call for pride week in Thunder Bay. Thunder Pride will be held June 6 to 12. The weeklong event will host picnics, concerts and other activities in support of the local LGBT community. Thunder Pride’s Ellen Chambers said the celebration will be about inclusiveness and show people that Thunder bay is an open community.
"Where you can be proud of who you are and you can be open about who you are," Chambers said.
