THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay’s city council took a potentially significant stride forward on a proposed indoor turf facility on Monday, voting to approve a new preferred location for the long-debated project.
In a meeting that lasted until roughly 11 p.m., council also addressed a proposal to cut outdoor rinks and approved a $5-million contract for waste packing trucks that will enable a new green bin program.
A proposal to earmark $3 million toward an ambitious waterfront trail project, meanwhile, was pushed back from Monday’s agenda.
Coun. Trevor Giertuga, who had championed the call to invest in the trail, said city staff need additional time to address property rights issues.
Indoor turf
Bucking a recommendation from city administration, council voted to make a site adjacent to the Community Auditorium the preferred location for a proposed indoor turf facility.
The city will now explore moving forward with a version of a hangar-like facility pitched by Soccer Northwest Ontario, despite warnings from staff the design likely won’t deliver hoped-for savings.
Council compromised over climate concerns, eyeing a LEED Silver design, but not a fully net zero facility.
Council weighs compromise on outdoor rink cuts
A controversial proposal to close nearly 80 per cent of Thunder Bay's outdoor rinks has been taken off the table, but city council appeared open to closing a smaller number of underutilized rinks.
Coun. Kasey Etreni expressed her intention to call for the closure of 17 of the city’s 39 outdoor rinks later this month.
More than half of the rinks are not meeting minimum standards for usage, staff reported.
$5M waste truck contract okayed
The city took a key step toward implementing a new composting program, as council approved a $5.1-million contract for eight new waste collection trucks.
The new trucks, replacing aged-out models, will come with a split compartment to collect organics, as well as automated lift-assist arms.
The city is set to launch weekly green bin collection sometime in 2025.
Shuffle at police board
Coun. Kasey Etreni has replaced Coun. Shelby Ch’ng as council’s second representative on the Thunder Bay Police Services Board.
Ch’ng resigned from the position Monday, calling that a personal decision after opting to pursue a master’s degree.
Funding shortfall limits infrastructure work
The city will limit some planned infrastructure work after receiving only part of the funding it had sought from upper levels of government.
The city received $2 million from the NOHFC to support a major downtown reconstruction, but was denied for a $1 million grant from FedNor, staff reported.
That means the city will proceed with repaving Memorial Avenue, from Central Avenue to the Harbour Expressway, and replace a traffic signal at the Harbour Expressway and Memorial Avenue intersection this year, work budgeted at $1.5 million.
Other work, including storm sewer lining, will be deferred for future budget years.
