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ANGUS HENDERSON
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The Box Springs Business Park (BSBP) came
out the winner Monday night when city council – by a 7-2
vote – chose it as the preferred site for the proposed
Regional Event Centre over Lansdowne Equity Ventures Ltd.
Now it’s up to council to cost out
exactly what that means to local taxpayers and to decipher what
federal, provincial and other possible funding might be available
for the project.
“We’re not going to build it
on the backs of the taxpayers,” stated Ald. Julie Friesen.
“First we have to find out whether we can afford it. This is
not a done deal. We’re not there yet.”
Ald. Robert Dumanowski lamented the fact
that with having chosen BSBP, council members will not now have the
ability to assess what the real and or hidden costs would be for
both sites that were considered.
Local businessman Bill Yuill, who chaired
the city’s previous Regional Major Events Centre Committee,
which recommended the Lansdowne site over Box Springs said he
thought city council’s process was flawed.
“It makes no sense to select a site
and not know what costs are associated with either one,” he
told the News following the meeting.
Ald. Ty Schneider echoed Yuill’s
concerns and added that the whole process hadn’t been
transparent and open.
“We’ve done this thing
backwards,” he said referring to council wanting to choose a
location before knowing what the actual economics of the proposed
event centre actually were.
“I’m not prepared to put my
family and my son’s family in jeopardy for the next 40
years,” he added.
Ald. Jamie White, chair of the
city’s site selection committee that was initiated after
Yuill’s committee had completed its work, defended his
committee’s decision.
He cited the better visibility of the Box
Springs’ location, the tremendous amount of commercial
development that would accompany building the proposed centre
there, and the easily accessible traffic corridors to the
non-residential business park.
He also noted that residents close to the
proposed Lansdowne site had raised major concerns about what impact
the projected traffic increase would have on the local area.
In addition he pointed out that the Box
Springs site had very few complications and was ready to be
developed almost immediately, whereas the Lansdowne site would
entail a major revision to its area structure plan.
Citing a letter of support for Box Springs
from Redcliff Mayor Rob Hazelaar, White stressed how this along
with possible support from Cypress County could increase the
chances of getting provincial/federal funding for the project.
Ald. Graham Kelly supported White in
asserting that he believed the whole process had been very
transparent and that committee reports had been made available to
the public and through public consultations.
“If we can make a decision on the
site, we can work on the other details,” he said.
‘”I do not support a blank cheque on this
project.”
BSBP spokesman John Hashem said his group
was pleased with the site selection, but acknowledged that no
decision has yet been made to build the centre.
Lansdowne spokesperson Don Sandford stated
he was disappointed because he didn’t believe all the facts
had been presented for either proposal, especially the actual costs
involved.
“We have to recognize that council
has acted, and if this is the democratic process than this is the
democratic process,” he added. |
