The city is being asked to forgive one loan and give another grant for local training facilities.
The Thunder Bay Region Protective and Emergency Training Services Corporation was loaned $572,000 by the city in 2008. The not-for-profit training centre came before council asking that the city defer or forgive the loan.
But city council had questions about the request. Coun. Mark Betnz said the city was told the centre would be a money-maker but had learned it had actually lost $6,000 in 2010. And because other fire departments and the Ontario Fire Marshall’s office uses the centre for training as well as city fire fighters, Thunder Bay shouldn’t be the only one subsidizing it.
“At some point this was supposed to make money,” Bentz said.
TBRPETSC president Larry Price said Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue uses the facility free-of-charge. And with events such as Firecon, the centre brings in more than $250,000 to the city through hotels and restaurants.
The centre is also partnering with the Thunder Bay Fish and Game Association to build a new indoor shooting range. The city was asked to kick in $624,000 to pay for the range. Association president Doug Johnson said while they have other sources of funding from the Norhtern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, that funding won’t be around forever.
“We haven’t been able to use it because we don’t have our total funding yet so they’re getting antsy. They’re putting deadlines on us and we keep getting extensions,” he said.
Around $75,000 in Trillium funding has already been lost because there isn’t enough money to pay for the range. The facility would not only benefit local police but also the OPP, NAPS and Border Services Johnson said.
Reports on both the loan and the grant expected to come back to council in two months.
