THUNDER BAY -- City council's decision to move the proposed event centre to its next phase came unexpectedly.
Well past the 11 p.m. resolution and into the second round of debate on whether to accept the event centre report and send administration out to ask the provincial and federal governments for their $72 million share of the $114 million project, Coun. Aldo Ruberto asked to call the question.
His colleagues agreed and voted 11-1 in favour, Coun. Linda Rydholm the lone no, and Coun. Ken Boshcoff abstaining because he had more comments to make and questions to ask.
After five years, 11 public meetings, three phases worth millions of dollars and controversies on both the location and the call by some for a plebiscite, the fate of the proposed event centre is now in the hands of senior levels of government.
Ruberto's move came after Westfort Coun. Joe Virdiramo got frustrated with his colleagues. Councillors have been asking the same questions over and over again for years. He didn't want to see another meeting on the issue last until 3 a.m. The decision on Monday was whether to ask for funding, not whether the city was going to build it.
"Has anyone in government said to you 'don’t bother applying'?” he asked city manager Tim Commisso.
"No," Commisso said.
Northwood Coun. Mark Bentz asked if Phase 4 would cost any money. Commisso said it would take some internal resources.
"Let's go see what we can do," Bentz said.
McIntyre Coun. Trevor Giertuga agreed.
"It's costing us nothing to proceed from here," he said. "Let's move on."
But Coun. Larry Hebert said new information, such as the Lakehead Thunderwolves not fully being in the tenant mix, came about because council asked questions at the last meeting. The Wolves willl only play a dozen marquee games at the event centre, if built, not their full home schedule.
"They were a full partner up until then," he said.
Neebing Coun. Linda Rydholm said she is in favour of a new event centre, but the convention component wasn't a good idea. Cities across North America have tried and failed to live up to the promise of big conventions and she doesn't want to see Thunder Bay added to the list.
The city is having trouble taking care of its basic needs and has a responsibility to address them, not commit to an over-sized financial burden.
"It’s going to set us up for some tough times down the road,” she said.
Administration is hoping to hear back about funding by next March.
