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I was just thinking... now that I have freed up Unlearn from wasting his time on this forum, perhaps he can put his money where his mouth is, prepare a formal application and submit it to the municipality. He can also now prepare his much needed Powerpoint presentation to council to explain just how awesome his proposal is. By "explain", I mean endlessly rant.
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Events centre fits plan
Tuesday, May 07, 2013 Times & Transcript http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10990 By: Brent Mazerolle City of Moncton's 30-year scenario suggests downtown centre is feasible; would add just one cent to tax rate Like all long-range plans, the 30-year financial plan presented by the City of Moncton's chief financial officer John Martin last night was built from a number of assumptions. That must be said at the outset. Nevertheless, the scenario put forward, based on weeks of exhaustive research and accepted accounting practices, painted an optimistic picture of the next three decades in Moncton. Martin's plan allows the municipality to both effectively address the city's infrastructure deficit, city council's first priority, while still revitalizing downtown with a multi-purpose events centre, council's second priority, all while keeping the property tax rate 'reasonable in the short term and manageable over the long term.' Addressing the infrastructure deficit doesn't mean eliminating it, but rather managing it in a deliberate, effective way. 'It's important to realize we will always have an infrastructure deficit,' Martin said, noting every municipality does, for the same reason people's cars lose value the minute they're driven off the lot. Every building, every road, every sewer starts depreciating from the moment it is built. As for the events centre, Martin said it could be built under the plan with just one cent added to the tax rate. That would mean an extra $15 on the annual tax bill for a $150,000 home. What was presented last night was 'scenario number three,' and Martin warned council the city could easily be at scenario number six or higher before ground is broken. However, Martin said his staff has done enough detailed work at this point, 'the model is robust enough that new information can be punched in,' as it becomes known and the ripple effects seen without starting from scratch each time. The biggest assumption of all contained in the 30-year plan is that the events centre could cost $105.4 million. At this point, three potential development consortia have responded to a request for qualifications issued by the city, but until the three provide their submissions to the City of Moncton's anticipated request for proposals, there is still no way of knowing what precisely will be built and at what cost. At this point, council hasn't even voted to go ahead and issue an RFP, but if it does go ahead, it would likely only be about a year from now that proposals will be submitted, evaluated and made public. Working from the $105-million figure and rounding off a bit for simplicity, the Martin plan assumes the federal and provincial governments would each contribute $24 million to the events centre project. Another $10 million would come from public fundraising, while $10 million more - this to purchase the Highfield Square property and demolish and clean up the site - would come from the city's capital reserves. The City of Moncton would further take on $38 million in debt. Missing from those estimates is the likelihood any consortium making a proposal will likely be offering investment of its own. That's the breakdown of capital costs. Annual operating costs, estimated at about $3.5 million per year, would come from windfalls the city council has already decided to dedicate to the events centre cause - the estimated $1.6-million policing rebate it gets each year from the federal government for federal policing work done by the Codiac Regional RCMP, and the $920,000 it gets each year in property tax from Casino New Brunswick. As well, the Moncton Hoteliers Association and Downtown Moncton Centre-Ville Inc. have both committed to long-range funding worth a million dollars per year. Martin's 30-year projection even sees the city's debt ratio - that is, the amount it spends of every dollar paying on debt - reducing from its current 15.3 per cent to about 10.4 per cent. While it is difficult to distil hours of detailed financial discussions into a few dozen lines, the councillors generally seemed pleased with the level of detail and care put into the report, and the model it now gives them to work with as further decision points come along. Later this month, the evaluation of the respondents to the city's request for qualifications continues with interviews. City staff will likely go before council at the first public session in June with recommendations on how to proceed from there. personal note - It is interesting to see the difference in the coverage of this news story when comparing the T&T to the CBC. The T&T did not mention Coun, Bourgeois and his comments at the presentation about how only the "elite" want an events centre and that the "little people" are more interested in keeping toxic sludge out of their basements. The CBC on the other hand spent quite a bit of time airing the grievances of the self proclaimed leader of the opposition on city council. These two news organizations certainly are approaching this issue from very different perspectives. The T&T is unabashedly boosterish, but the CBC is perhaps a little too negative. The truth lies somewhere in the middle. In any event, I find it very surprising that the entire $3.5M estimated annual operating cost of the centre can be found in existing revenue streams or prior commitments (RCMP rebate, Casino NB and local hoteliers). I find this very encouraging!! :yes: |
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In this case, we need to remind ourselves that the point of having a public broadcaster is to investigate any criticisms, as important (and often publicly expensive) aspects of developments *such as the Moncton Centre* are often overlooked by private interests who desire profits in this game, in which many millions of taxpayer dollars are up for grabs. Of course the T&T is boosterish. I mustn't lose its usefulness, after all. Aside from our sources of media, just out of concern for Moncton's sustainability, I'm wanting this events centre to go forward -- as long as it's somewhere in the downtown. As far as the assumptions in all of this budgetary forecasting, the notion that the feds will contribute to this centre, I think, is more likely in a few years; unless the Conservatives or the Liberals obtain power, in which case, I believe there is a diminished likelihood for a raise in public infrastructure investments, since Canada's two conservative parties are both leaning toward across-the-board, public austerity (even though this is a proven failure for economic growth). And I also don't see any of this forecasting as doing a well enough job to realise the impact a declining north will have on provincial investment in Moncton. |
How much is this expected to cost anyways?
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The potential cleanup costs (which could be much higher than $35 mill.) is the main reason why other sites are being looked at, such as the surface parking around Assomption. The City of Moncton is unlikely to get help from the province or the federal government. Sewerage infrastructure upgrades are certainly going, in any event. :) The possible downtown events centre is not currently the city's first priority for investment. |
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This photo shows that the land occupied by the Highfield Square parking lot was originally a public park. You can also see that the passenger train station was located where the Eaton's store used to be. There was (horrors) yet another park in front of the train station across from the Dominion Public Building..... :rolleyes: http://vintagemoncton.com/wp-content...l/image004.jpg This image shows the old ICR headquarters building which was also on this site. Again, not a heavy industrial area like the CN Shops. http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/largeimages/v3398.jpg |
"This image shows the old ICR headquarters building which was also on this site. Again, not a heavy industrial area like the CN Shops".
http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/largeimages/v3398.jpg Why is this building gone?!?!?! This just messed up my whole day! :( |
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It's already difficult enough to political support the centre, considering the inflated price tag on which municipal candidates did not campaign. |
I don't disagree that the cost to clean up the land would cost a few millions, but not $35M.
Looking at the 1870's map and all the historic photos posted on this site, I can't see there being that much contamination on this site. If for whatever reason you're correct, I totally disagree spending this money for the clean-up. The city should avoid this site all together and consider a second location. Behind Assumption between the court house and BlueCross, which was my preferred location since day one. http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j3...n/arena3-1.jpg |
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I agree with Budyser, I think remediation costs could be a few million but not $35M; that's just way too much money. We aren't dealing with the Sydney tar ponds here...... I don't disagree that there may be some contamination of the site near the rail tracks themselves, but the majority of the property was originally used for the ICR offices, the train station itself and for lands for public purposes. These portions of the property should be relatively clean. I also don't disagree that the lands behind Assomption Place have considerable merit as a potential location for the events centre, but I think that is all water under the bridge. The mayor seems wedded to the Highfield Square site, and neighbouring landowners have made decisions based on the supposition that the events centre will be built in that location. In particular, Crombie REIT is renovating 1234 Main St partly because of it's anticipated location next to the events centre, and the Aquillini's from Vancouver have amassed the whole city block on which the Crowne Plaza Hotel sits for future development. These properties would be much less valuable if the events centre went elsewhere....... |
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Your belief that $35 million is an overestimate will be tested when the information is made public. Whatever the amount, it is forcing the mayor to divorce from his Highfield marriage in seeking a more affordable downtown option, even if it burns any of the plans made by the private sector, even if the cheaper site is less versatile and could have a weaker impact on stimulating downtown economic growth. And this is assuming the city actually decides to go this alone. Funding from the province and the feds is unlikely (sewerage investments are coming first) -- so we may not even get to learn what those cleanup costs would be. |
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Too soon? |
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While we're at it, why not build a 30,000 seat dedicated CFL stadium right next to the new events centre. Unlearn Relearn's field out in Lower Coverdale would easily be big enough for both. Just imagine the economies of scale by putting both facilities side by side!!! :notacrook: You never know, perhaps Unlearn Relearn is RyeJay's "reliable source". That would certainly explain a lot! :runaway: |
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'Unlearn Relearn' would be my source if I suddenly adopted Moncton's fetish for urban sprawl. I mean -- clearly -- I've said time and again how ..absolutely impressed I am with Moncton's density...and that you need to, you know, ease up a bit and relocated a school or three to some of the neighbouring towns. :cool: In all seriousness, I want to discover what the true cleanup costs will be. I hope the information is eventually made public. It must, if the Highfield site is the site to which the City is committing. |
There was a request for information regarding the contamination. It went unanswered until a legal request was made. Then it was answered with ambiguity.
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