THUNDER BAY – Mark Bentz says he sees good things coming for Thunder Bay, and he wants to be part of helping the city cross the finish line to get there.
Bentz, who has served on council for 15 of the past 19 years, 11 as the ward councillor in Northwood, and the past four in an at-large role, is in the running for a fifth term and said he wants to help get the city back on track after COVID-19.
“We’ve been through a couple of rough years. I’m really impressed with how things are progressing here with the cruise ships. The waterfront is coming along with the injection of funds from the feds and the province for the new Art Gallery, and Science North wants to locate there,” Bentz said.
“So I think we could really build something special in this community. Civic pride is something I’d really like to focus on. One of the things I think would improve civic pride is renewal ins specific parts of our community.”
Bentz said both the north and south downtown cores are poised for redevelopment and it’s imperative to do it properly.
“If we do it right, it could change the face of the city. It could change the way people think about their city. I find that exciting, and I’d like to take part in it if I could.”
Bentz, who has served as council’s budget finance chair, said as he knocks on doors, people seem pretty happy with the direction the city is going.
“They do mention crime and the drug issues, which we can all understand, but they know that’s a societal thing that’s happening. City council can have some influence there, but we certainly aren’t the drivers to the solutions to that,” Bentz said.
“We do want to be part of the solution.”
The big issues at the door appear to be the future of an indoor turf facility, which as most recently proposed came in around $46 million, and the proposed new police headquarters, which comes with an estimated cost of about $56 million.
“Those will probably be the first [projects] coming to us in the first term. This council dealt with them, but they didn’t finish them. That’s how controversial they are.”
Bentz said he’s all for a turf facility, if it’s affordable.
“The last one was not,” he said. “We had no partner funding and I always said we need to secure the partner funding before we get behind this, before we do anything.”
Bentz said he pushed for proposals of interest from the private sector, adding the city did get some response.
“That’s where we sit now,” he said.
When it comes to public safety, while much of the power is legislated and belongs to police and the province, Bentz said the city has some soft power to make a difference.
“A lot of councillors want to see community policing, as opposed to one centralized brand new station. What council can do there is really dependent on the new council. Where I’m sitting at it is yes, the police need new upgraded facilities. But I don’t think we have to throw away the old building.”
